# Usage of adverbials ending in -é



## Lazar_Bgd

Hi Everyone!

My question is about adverbials that end in –é and that are in comparative degree, like ‘többé’ and ‘kevésbé’. For example: ‘Laci nem él itt többé’. Why is it not possible to say here: ’Laci nem él itt több*et*’...?

Also, in the following example: ’Nekem az kevésbé bonyolult’ (I find this less complicated). I would have thought that ’kevesebben’ would be right here but apparently this is correct.

When do you use the forms ending in -é as opposed to the ’normal’ ones (for lack of a better word).

Thank you!


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## AndrasBP

Hello Lazar,

"Többé" + "a negative verb" means "not anymore", as a time adverbial. However, in colloquial Hungarian it is often substituted by "többet". Still, "Laci nem él itt többet" sounds odd. With other verbs, it sounds better but it's hard to explain why.

_Laci nem jár oda többé._ - Laci doesn't go there any more. (slightly literary version)
_Laci nem jár oda többet._ - (more colloquial)

In your example, the most common version would leave out "többé/többet" altogether and use "lakik" instead of "él", if you mean "Laci doesn't live here (at this address) any more":
_Laci már nem lakik itt.



Lazar_Bgd said:



			I would have thought that ’kevesebben’ would be right here but apparently this is correct.
		
Click to expand...

_"Kevesebb*en*" means "fewer people", its opposite is "több*en*". The endings *-an/-en* create a "collective numeral":

Ma _kevesebben _vannak, mint tegnap. = There are _fewer people_ today than yesterday.
Tegnap _többen _voltak. = Yesterday there were _more people_.
_Ketten/hárman/négyen/sokan_ vagyunk. = There are _two/three/four/many of us_.


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## Lazar_Bgd

Dear AndrasBP,

Thanks a lot! Now I get it. I knew that 'sokan' and 'ketten' refer to the number of people but I didn't draw a parallel with 'kevés'. It makes sense.


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## AndrasBP

You're welcome.

I'd like to add that "kevesen" is "few people" while "keves*ebb*en" is "few*er* people", a comparative form.

Good luck with learning Hungarian!

PS: I don't know if it's relevant to you, but Hungarian usage in Vojvodina may differ slightly from my "Budapest dialect".


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## Lazar_Bgd

Thank you! Yes, I know, but I am lucky to have a teacher from Budapest. Still, some questions can only be answered on a forum like this!


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## francisgranada

Only for curiosity:_ többe*t* _is grammatically the accusative of _több, _thus it's principally an adjective, while _többé _is an adverb. So I think that  ’Laci nem él itt többe*t*’  practically stands for  "’Laci nem él itt több _éve*t*/napo*t*/idő*t*/etc_ ..."  (Well, this comment doesn't help too much in practice, I know ....)


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