The past participle in Hungarian is an adjectival participle, and is where we turn a verb, whose action is completed, into an attributive adjective. It's sometimes called the participle of complete action.

c.f. present participle.

It is identical in appearance to the third person singular indefinite past tense, but it performs a different function. As mentioned, it's essentially an adjective, although we shall also see that is can be used as a noun.

The same rules for creating the past tense apply to creating the past participle. Once you know how to form it, look at these examples:

• fő boil
• főtt boiled
• egy főtt tojás a boiled egg

• nyit open
• nyitott open, opened
• beleesik az eső a nyitott ablakba the rain falls into the open window

• bezár close
• zárt closed
• a zárt ajtók csöndesek closed doors are silent*

* Compare to these two particples:

• a záró ajtók nyikorognak closing doors creak - see the present participles page.
• zárva van az ajtó the door is closed - see the adverbal participle page.

Just like their present brothers, past participles can be used as nouns and adverbs. There is no change to use a participle as a noun, but to make one into an adverb we simply add the suffixes for making adverbs as normal.

In these examples of using participles as nouns, they've been placed into the plural form so you can be certain we're using them as nouns.

• nő grow
• a felnőttek the grown-ups, the adults

• küld send
• a küldöttek the delegates

Making an adverb:

• nyitottan openly, frankly