# elmentem



## sesperxes

Hello everyone!

The title of the thread is a bit misleading, but I didn't know to explain it better.

What I meant is: someone is leaving and, just before crossing the door, says "sziasztok, elmentem!" instead of "most elmegyek!", "na, akkor, elmegyek!, "hallodé?, elmegyek!"" or something in the line of "I'm leaving" (and even after that "I went away", the departing person tells you something else, like "találkozunk 7-kor, oke?...) 

Why is used a past tense instead of a present in these cases?

Kössz!


----------



## francisgranada

This is, of course, not a question of grammar since "elmentem" always means "I've gone" (or I went away) and not "I'm leaving". I hear it often today, especially from young people. I think originally it might be a jocose way how to accentuate that "now I _really _go away", i.e. "I have already gone, even if it seems that I'm still here..." or something like this . 

But let's wait also for other answers, maybe somebody knows a better explanation.


----------



## tomtombp

The same exists in English too: "I'm off".


----------



## tomtombp

sesperxes said:


> Kössz!


"Kösz" is the correct version.


----------



## francisgranada

Ha nagyon köszöni, akkor lehet _kösssz _is


----------



## Zsanna

I agree with the above. It is a _colloquial way_ of expressing that "I'm leaving." (Or the "I am off" that tom mentioned above.)

Francis, in "proper" Hungarian, it cannot be "Kösssz!" - unless right spelling is not respected for reasons like a) lack of knowledge of spelling b) meaning to express "thank you, that helps me an awful lot!" - in an ironic way, etc. (And please, don't switch languages within the same thread!)


----------



## tomtombp

Zsanna said:


> I agree with the above. It is a _colloquial way_ of expressing that "I'm leaving." (Or the "I am off" that tom mentioned above.)


I mentioned "I'm off" because it -similarly to the Hungarian "elmentem"- is in the past (I'm already off = I'm gone), while "I'm leaving" is the same as "most megyek" in Hungarian.
So "I'm off" is exactly what the OP is looking for.


----------



## Zsanna

Don't see any contradiction, tom. 
(Only, that "I'm off" is strictly speaking in the present, too. There is no Past Tense in it.)


----------



## tomtombp

Zsanna said:


> (... "I'm off" is strictly speaking in the present, too. There is no Past Tense in it.)


I didn't mean it's grammatically in the past tense, but that "I'm off" implies that "I have left"="El vagyok menve"=I'm no longer in the house"="I was in the house in the past, but now I'm out/off"="elmentem", still it is used as an equivalent of "I'm leaving" which implies the progress of leaving, just as "elmegyek".
Hope you get my point. Does it make sense?


----------



## Zsanna

I understand what you mean but the original question refers to a _present_ action expressed by a verb in _past_ tense (_and_ in Hungarian).


----------



## tomtombp

Zsanna said:


> I understand what you mean but the original question refers to a _present_ action expressed by a verb in _past_ tense (_and_ in Hungarian).


OK, clear.


----------

