Hungarian Basic Course 1732 Studios

Hungarian · Unit 18

Unit 18: Fekete kocsit vett

Volume 2

He bought a black car

258 lines

Basic Sentences I

  1. 1

    I hear that you have a new car. When did you buy it?

    Hallom,I'm told, from what I hear
    hogyhow; that
    újnew
    kocsijacar
    van.I'm busy, I've something to do
    Mikorwhen
    vette?monument
  2. 2

    Two weeks ago. However, it's not a new but a used one.

  3. 3

    How much did you pay for it? ('For how much did you buy it?')

  4. 4

    Forty thousand forints. They gave me 25,000 forints for my old car, although it was in pretty bad condition. That's why I bought another car.

használt
used
Mennyiért
for how much
jóllehet
although
A
condition
  1. 5

    When are you going to show it to me?

  2. 6

    Whenever you wish, but just now it's still in the garage. They're repairing the transmission and replacing the spark plugs.

  3. 7

    How many thousand kilometers does the car have?

  4. 8

    Eighty-five thousand. That's why I took it to the garage to be checked before I go on a trip in it. I wouldn't like to have trouble somewhere on the road.

átvizsgálni
to examine, check
  1. 9

    How many cylinders does the car have?

  2. 10

    Six. It has a fifty-eight horsepower motor. My previous car had only four cylinders with forty horsepower.

  3. 11

    With this car you can easily climb any high hill. Does the car have good tires?

lóerős
horsepower
benne
in, inside, within
előző
previous
  1. 12

    The two front tires are good but I'll have to change the back ones. The tires are badly worn but I can still use the inner tubes.

hátsó
rear, back
külső
outside, exterior
  1. 13

    You'll probably be able to find good used tires in one of the auto supply stores while they're repairing the car. Why don't you see if you can get them where I bought my tires?

  2. 14

    All right. Did you get them in the store where we both went the other day?

valamelyik
one or the other
mialatt
while
múltkor
the other day, recently
ahova
where (whither), wherever
  1. 15

    Yes. How much gasoline does your car use?

  2. 16

    I haven't found out yet. However, the man from whom I bought the car told me that it takes about 18 liters for every hundred kilometers.

  3. 17

    That's not bad. What are the brakes like on the car? It's dangerous to drive with bad brakes!

  4. 18

    They work all right. Both the hand brake and the foot brake are in good condition. But I believe I'll have to change one wheel bearing.

  1. 19

    I wonder whether they can get bearings in the garage. It's usually hard to get them anywhere except by ordering them from the factory.

  2. 20

    They've already sent for them. The mechanic also ordered a transmission gear.

  3. 21

    You'll have to replace many parts in your car. Wouldn't it have been better if you had bought a new automobile?

Kíváncsi
curious
hacsak
if only, if by any means
nem
unless, except
Sőt
indeed, moreover
szerelő
mechanic
  1. 22

    Don't be funny. The battery is brand new. The motor was recently overhauled. When the car is repaired anyone would give 50,000 forints for it, even if the body is a bit run down.

a
carburetor
ha
even if
  1. 23

    I hope you got a good bargain. Don't forget to put antifreeze in the radiator. It'll be freezing before long.

  2. 24

    Of course I won't forget. I also want to have the oil changed and the car lubricated before winter. We intend to make a lot of trips with the car in the spring.

Dehogy
oh no, by no means
lezsírozni
to lubricate
  1. 25

    But just drive carefully. People who don't obey traffic regulations are very likely to have accidents.

  2. 26

    I've been driving for ten years and I know traffic regulations well enough. I haven't had any accidents up to now. But unfortunately last week a policeman gave my wife a ticket.

  3. 27

    Why? What did she do?

  1. 28

    I worked overtime and she came to my office to get me ('for me'). Unfortunately she left the car in a no-parking zone.

  2. 29

    Didn't she see the "No Parking" sign?

  3. 30

    She didn't notice it because it was already dark. She had to pay a fine of 30 forints.

értem
for me
parkolni
to park
  1. 31

    That happens sometimes. Once I didn't stop at a red light and the police caught me. It cost me 50 forints.

  2. 32

    It certainly is expensive to have a car.

  3. 33

    I hear that you have a new car. When did you buy it?

  4. 34

    Two weeks ago. However, it's not a new but a used one.

  5. 35

    How much did you pay for it? ('For how much did you buy it?')

  6. 36

    Forty thousand forints. They gave me 25,000 forints for my old car, although it was in pretty bad condition. That's why I bought another car.

  7. 37

    When are you going to show it to me?

  8. 38

    Whenever you wish, but just now it's still in the garage. They're repairing the transmission and replacing the spark plugs.

  9. 39

    How many thousand kilometers does the car have?

  10. 40

    Eighty-five thousand. That's why I took it to the garage to be checked before I go on a trip in it. I wouldn't like to have trouble somewhere on the road.

  11. 41

    How many cylinders does the car have?

  12. 42

    Six. It has a fifty-eight horsepower motor. My previous car had only four cylinders with forty horsepower.

  13. 43

    With this car you can easily climb any high hill. Does the car have good tires?

  14. 44

    The two front tires are good but I'll have to change the back ones. The tires are badly worn but I can still use the inner tubes.

  15. 45

    You'll probably be able to find good used tires in one of the auto supply stores while they're repairing the car. Why don't you see if you can get them where I bought my tires?

  16. 46

    All right. Did you get them in the store where we both went the other day?

  17. 47

    Yes. How much gasoline does your car use?

  18. 48

    I haven't found out yet. However, the man from whom I bought the car told me that it takes about 18 liters for every hundred kilometers.

  19. 49

    That's not bad. What are the brakes like on the car? It's dangerous to drive with bad brakes!

  20. 50

    They work all right. Both the hand brake and the foot brake are in good condition. But I believe I'll have to change one wheel bearing.

  21. 51

    I wonder whether they can get bearings in the garage. It's usually hard to get them anywhere except by ordering them from the factory.

  22. 52

    They've already sent for them. The mechanic also ordered a transmission gear.

  23. 53

    You'll have to replace many parts in your car. Wouldn't it have been better if you had bought a new automobile?

  24. 54

    Don't be funny. The battery is brand new. The motor was recently overhauled. When the car is repaired anyone would give 50,000 forints for it, even if the body is a bit run down.

  25. 55

    I hope you got a good bargain. Don't forget to put antifreeze in the radiator. It'll be freezing before long.

  26. 56

    Of course I won't forget. I also want to have the oil changed and the car lubricated before winter. We intend to make a lot of trips with the car in the spring.

  27. 57

    But just drive carefully. People who don't obey traffic regulations are very likely to have accidents.

  28. 58

    I've been driving for ten years and I know traffic regulations well enough. I haven't had any accidents up to now. But unfortunately last week a policeman gave my wife a ticket.

  29. 59

    Why? What did she do?

  30. 60

    I worked overtime and she came to my office to get me ('for me'). Unfortunately she left the car in a no-parking zone.

  31. 61

    Didn't she see the "No Parking" sign?

  32. 62

    She didn't notice it because it was already dark. She had to pay a fine of 30 forints.

  33. 63

    That happens sometimes. Once I didn't stop at a red light and the police caught me. It cost me 50 forints.

  34. 64

    It certainly is expensive to have a car.

Közmondások - Proverbs

Ahol: a- before a question word

Sajnos ott hagyta a kocsit, ahol tilos volt parkolni. Unfortunately she left the car in a no-parking zone.

Ahol is 'where' at the head of a clause. Many words that begin a clause are a question word with a- in front.

Hol, ahol. Hova, ahova. Ki, aki. Mikor, amikor. Milyen, amilyen.

Before, while, although

Ezért vittem a kocsit a garázsba átvizsgálni, mielőtt használom. That's why I took it to the garage to be checked before I go on a trip in it.

Some words that begin a clause are built on postpositions: mielőtt, before. Mialatt, while. Miután, after. Other words of this kind: bár and jóllehet, although. Még akkor is, even if.

The tables pair each word in a- with its question word, then list the words built on postpositions, then the others.

Subordinate Clauses and Clause Introducers, 1 of 4

Subordinate Clauses and Clause Introducers, 2 of 4

Subordinate Clauses and Clause Introducers, 3 of 4

Subordinate Clauses and Clause Introducers, 4 of 4

Somewhere, any time, everyone

Nem szeretném, hogy valahol az országúton legyen valami baja. I wouldn't like to have trouble somewhere on the road.

Valahol and valami are compounds. Most words of this kind join vala-, akár-, bár- or minden- to a question word. Valahol, somewhere. Valami, something. Mindenki, everybody.

The forms in akár- mean 'any': akárki, anyone. Akármikor, whenever you wish.

The table gives the four kinds side by side, one question word to a row.

Indefinite Forms, 1 of 4

Indefinite Forms, 2 of 4

Indefinite Forms, 3 of 4

Indefinite Forms, 4 of 4

Nobody, nowhere: sem- and se-

Sehol sem lehet kapni. You cannot get them anywhere.

Most negatives are sem- or se- with a question word: semmi, nothing. Sehol, nowhere. Before k, sem- becomes sen-: senki, nobody.

The table lists them. Soha, never, is one of them.

Negatives

  1. 65

    However much is said, it comes down to one thing in the end.

  2. 66

    Whoever does not work should not eat either.

  3. 67

    If a remark is not about you, do not take it to yourself.

  4. 68

    Do not give up an old friend for a new one.

  5. 69

    If God is with us, who can be against us?

C. Subordinate Clauses and Clause Introducers

In preceding units we have had many examples of dependent (or subordinate) clauses. You may have noticed that most of these were introduced by the word hogy. This unit contains many additional clause introducers; several are formed directly from interrogatives:

 |  |  | 
aki | ki | ahova | hova
ami | mi | ahol | hol
amely | mely | ahonnan | honnan
amelyik | melyik | amerre | merre
 |  | ameddig | meddig
amilyen | milyen | amióta | mióta
amekkora | mekkora | amikor | mikor
 |  | ahogyan | hogyan
amennyi | mennyi | ahogy | hogy
ahány | hány |  | 

Notice the following which are based on postpositions:

 | 
mielőtt | before
mialatt | while
miközben | while
miután | after
mióta | since
mihelyt | as soon as

Other subordinate conjunctions and clause introducers:

 | 
bár | although
dacára | notwithstanding
hacsak | if only
jóllehet | although
még akkor is | even if
D. Indefinite Forms

The following compound forms (often called 'indefinite forms') are frequently used in Hungarian. Note that most of the words in the list are compounds of vala-, akár-, bár- or minden- (mind-) plus an interrogative:

 |  |  | 
valaki | akárki | bárki | mindenki
valami | akármi | bármi | -
valamelyik | akármelyik | bármelyik | mindegyik
valamilyen | akármilyen | bármilyen | -
valamiféle | akármiféle | bármiféle | mindenféle
valamekkora | akármekkora | bármekkora | -
valamennyi | akármennyi | bármennyi | -
valahány | akárhány | - | -
valahova | akárhova | bárhova | mindenhova
valahol | akárhol | bárhol | mindenhol
valahonnan | akárhonnan | bárhonnan | mindenhonnan
valamerre | akármerre | bármerre | -
valameddig | akármeddig | bármeddig | -
valamikor | akármikor | bármikor | mindenkor
valahogy | akárhogy | bárhogy | mindenhogy
valahogyan | akárhogyan | bárhogyan | mindenhogyan
valaha | - | - | -
E. Negatives

Many negative forms are likewise compounds with an interrogative as a base. Among the negatives following, most fit the pattern sem- (sen before k) or se- plus an interrogative:

 | 
senki | sehova
semmi | sehol
semelyik | sehonnan
 | semerre
semmilyen | semeddig
semmiféle | semmikor
semekkora | soha
 | sehogy
semennyi | sehogyan
sehány | semmiképpen

Notes on Grammar: The Suffix -ért

For: -ért

Mennyiért vette? How much did you pay for it? Negyvenezer forintért. Forty thousand forints.

The ending -ért is 'for': in exchange for, for the sake of, because of, on behalf of. Ötven forintért vette. He bought it for fifty forints.

A családjáért dolgozik. He works for his family. Miért, 'for what', is 'why': Miért tanul magyarul? Why do you study Hungarian?

For me: értem

Túlóráztam és értem jött a hivatalomba. I worked overtime and she came to my office to get me.

With personal endings, -ért stands as a word of its own: értem, for me. Érte, for him or her. Értünk, for us.

The table gives the six forms.

The Suffix -ért

  1. 70

    I'm going for Mary.

  2. 71

    He bought it for fifty forints.

  3. 72

    He works for his family.

  4. 73

    Why do you study Hungarian?

  5. 74

    They fight for the country.

A. The Suffix -ért

The causal ending -ért corresponds to English 'for' (in exchange for, for the purpose of, for the sake of, by reason of, because of, on behalf of).

Máriáért megyek.  I'm going for Mary.
Ötven forintért vette.  He bought it for fifty forints.
A családjáért dolgozik.  He works for his family.
Miért tanul magyarul?  Why do you study Hungarian?
A hazáért harcolnak.  They fight for the country.

The causal form of personal pronouns:

 | 
értem | értünk
érted | értetek
érte | értük

Notes on Grammar: The Interrogative Particle -e

Whether: -e

Kíváncsi vagyok, tudnak-e a garázsban csapágyat szerezni. I wonder whether they can get bearings in the garage.

The particle -e asks whether something is so. It goes on the predicate: a verb, an adjective or a noun. In writing it takes a hyphen.

Nem tudom, hogy igaz-e. I don't know if it's true. Látta-e Évát? Have you seen Eve?

Vajon: I wonder

Vajon hol van most? I wonder where he is now.

Before a statement, vajon is 'I wonder'. At the head of a dependent clause it is 'whether' or 'if'. With vajon, -e is often left out.

Vajon eljön Péter? I wonder if Peter is coming. A question with a question word never takes -e. Hol van az állomás? Where is the station?

  1. 75

    He asks me whether I'm going.

  2. 76

    Have you seen Eve?

  3. 77

    I don't know if it's true.

  4. 78

    He was curious about whether that boy was John.

  5. 79

    I wonder if Péter is coming.

  6. 80

    I wonder if he has learned the lesson.

  7. 81

    I wonder if they will transfer him to Europe.

  8. 82

    I don't know whether we can buy the house.

  9. 83

    I wonder who can tell.

  10. 84

    I wonder where he is now.

  11. 85

    Where's the railroad station?

B. The Interrogative Particle -e

In Hungarian the interrogative particle -e is usually suffixed to the predicate (verb, adjective, noun).

Azt kérdezi, hogy megyek-e.  He asks me whether I'm going.
Látta-e Évát?  Have you seen Eve?
Nem tudom, hogy igaz-e.  I don't know if it's true.
Kíváncsi volt, János-e az a gyerek.  He was curious about whether that boy was John.

Note that in the written form -e is hyphenated to the predicate.

The word vajon commonly introduces an indirect question. Before an independent statement it corresponds to English 'I wonder'; as the first element of a dependent clause, it has the same meaning as 'whether' or 'if'. In this connection, when vajon is used, -e is often omitted. Also, -e never occurs in a question introduced with a question word.

Vajon eljön (-e) Péter?
Vajon megtanulta (-e) a leckét?
Vajon áthelyezik (-e) Európába?
Nem tudom, vajon meg tudjuk-e venni a házat.
Vajon ki tudja megmondani?
Vajon hol van most?
Hol van az állomás?

Substitution Drill

  1. 86

    I'm curious about whether they can get one.

  2. 87

    I asked her if she was coming.

  1. 88

    I asked her if she was coming.

  2. 89

    He asked me whether I knew him.

  3. 90

    I don't know whether we're going.

  1. 91

    I don't know whether we're going.

  2. 92

    I wonder whether she's coming.

  3. 93

    He sent his son for bread.

  1. 94

    He sent his son for bread.

Variation Drill

  1. 95

    I paid 9 forints for the meat.

  2. 96

    Are you going back for your wife?

  3. 97

    He sent his wife for me.

  4. 98

    There's someone in the living room.

  1. 99

    There's someone in the living room.

  2. 100

    Is something wrong?

  3. 101

    Put the flowers into one vase or the other.

  4. 102

    I've already seen this man somewhere.

  1. 103

    I've already seen this man somewhere.

  2. 104

    They opened all the bags.

  3. 105

    I did ('wrote') the homework somehow.

  4. 106

    Anyone will give 40,000 forints for it.

  1. 107

    Anyone will give 40,000 forints for it.

  2. 108

    You can't take just anything in your luggage.

  3. 109

    Any book will do for me.

  4. 110

    No matter how much he offers, I'm not going to give it.

  1. 111

    Whenever I ask him, he doesn't say anything.

  2. 112

    I'll buy it at any price.

  3. 113

    However much he may want to, he can't buy it.

  4. 114

    I have a good time wherever I may be.

  1. 115

    I have a good time wherever I may be.

  2. 116

    I saw nobody.

  3. 117

    Nothing was left.

  4. 118

    It didn't rain anywhere.

  1. 119

    It didn't rain anywhere.

  2. 120

    Everybody, who is anybody, was there.

  3. 121

    A man came in while he was waiting in the corridor.

  4. 122

    They left before I came.

  1. 123

    They left before I came.

  2. 124

    I'm going even if it rains.

  3. 125

    He didn't come although he promised.

  4. 126

    Where you go I'll go too.

  5. 127

    The man from whom I got it has already left.

  1. 128

    The man from whom I got it has already left.

  2. 129

    I don't know the man who is standing in front of the church.

  3. 130

    I came when the teacher came.

Transformation Drill

  1. 131

    Senki sem volt ott.

    Nobody was there.

  2. 132

    Valaki van az ajtónál.

    Somebody is at the door.

  1. 133

    Valaki van az ajtónál.

    Somebody is at the door.

Translation Drill

  1. 134

    Szabó took his car to the garage to be checked.

  2. 135

    Last week he had a lot of trouble on the road with the engine.

  3. 136

    The car was quite old and he had used it a lot.

  4. 137

    He wanted to buy another car with a smaller engine.

  5. 138

    But he never had enough money to buy another car.

  6. 139

    The six-cylinder engine used a lot of gasoline.

  7. 140

    His friend had a four-cylinder engine in his car.

  8. 141

    It used only 15 liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers.

  9. 142

    The mechanic in the garage told him they'd have to replace a lot of parts in his car.

  10. 143

    One of the gears in the transmission was broken.

  11. 144

    One of the wheel bearings had to be changed also.

  12. 145

    The spark plugs were very old and worn out.

  13. 146

    The hand brake had to be repaired also.

  1. 147

    The engine was overhauled five years ago.

  2. 148

    Lately he has not gone on longer trips in his car.

  3. 149

    He was afraid that any minute the engine would go dead.

  4. 150

    He always had trouble with the car.

  5. 151

    He recently bought two tires and an inner tube.

  6. 152

    But his third tire wasn't good either.

  7. 153

    Once he got a flat tire downtown and had to change the tire in the middle of the street.

  8. 154

    The traffic stopped and the policeman went there.

  9. 155

    The policeman told him that it was dangerous to drive with such a bad tire.

  10. 156

    Up until then Szabó had never gotten a ticket.

  11. 157

    He always drove carefully and that's why he never had an accident.

  12. 158

    However, he had to go everywhere in the city in his car.

  13. 159

    Every day after work he went for his wife.

  1. 160

    It was very hard to park where his wife's office was.

  2. 161

    They had 'No Parking' signs on both sides of the street.

  3. 162

    If anybody parked there, he had to pay a fine of 30 forints.

  4. 163

    Szabó always obeyed the traffic regulations.

Response Drill

  1. 164

    When did Fekete buy his car?

  2. 165

    Did he buy a new or a used car?

  3. 166

    How much did he pay for the car?

  4. 167

    How much did they give for his old car?

  5. 168

    What was his old car like, and what is his new car like?

  6. 169

    When will Fekete show the car to Kemény?

  7. 170

    How many thousand kilometers has the car already run?

  8. 171

    Why did Fekete take the car to the garage?

  9. 172

    What are they repairing on the car in the garage?

  1. 173

    How many cylinders and how many horsepower does the engine in the car have?

  2. 174

    What was the engine like in his old car?

  3. 175

    Does the car have good tires?

  4. 176

    Are the front tires or the rear tires worn?

  5. 177

    Do the tires or the inner tubes have to be replaced?

  6. 178

    How much gasoline does the car use?

  7. 179

    What kind of brakes does the car have?

  8. 180

    What condition is the hand brake in?

  9. 181

    What has to be replaced in the transmission?

  1. 182

    Where does the mechanic want to buy ball bearings?

  2. 183

    What other part did he order from the factory?

  3. 184

    What other new parts does the car have?

  4. 185

    When the car is ready, who will give 50,000 forints for it?

  5. 186

    What has to be put in the car before winter?

  6. 187

    What kind of car do you have?

  7. 188

    How old is your car?

  8. 189

    How much did you buy your car for?

  9. 190

    Have you had much trouble with your car?

  1. 191

    How much does your car use?

  2. 192

    Has a policeman ever given you a ticket?

  3. 193

    How much of a fine did you have to pay?

Conversation Practice 1

  1. 194

    I heard that you bought a new car.

  2. 195

    I didn't buy a new one, but a used one.

  3. 196

    How many cylinders does the engine in your car have?

  4. 197

    It has a six-cylinder, seventy-two horsepower engine.

  5. 198

    Didn't you have to buy any new parts?

  6. 199

    Yes, I did. They replaced the starter and the radiator.

  7. 200

    Are the lights on the car good?

  8. 201

    Good enough; there's a new battery in the car.

Conversation Practice 2

  1. 202

    How much does your car use?

  2. 203

    It goes 100 kilometers on 15 liters of gasoline.

  3. 204

    That's quite a lot. Why don't you replace the carburetor?

  4. 205

    I'll buy a new one in the spring. Right now I want to buy two tires.

  5. 206

    Are your tires bad?

  6. 207

    The tires on the two rear wheels are worn.

  7. 208

    How do the brakes work?

  8. 209

    Excellently. Both the hand brake and the foot brake work well.

Conversation Practice 3

  1. 210

    Why did you take your car to the garage?

  2. 211

    The transmission is bad; it has to be repaired.

  3. 212

    What's wrong with the transmission?

  4. 213

    A gear and a bearing have to be replaced.

  5. 214

    Will they change the oil in the engine too?

  6. 215

    Yes, and they'll lubricate the car.

  7. 216

    When are you going to put antifreeze in the radiator?

  8. 217

    Next week. I don't want the water to freeze in the radiator.

Narrative

  1. 218

    Kovács had wanted to buy a car for a long time.

  2. 219

    For two years he had been saving money for it.

  3. 220

    Now he had 30,000 forints altogether and decided not to wait any longer.

  4. 221

    New cars are very expensive in Hungary, so he wanted to buy a used one.

  5. 222

    He thought that if he got a used car, they would repair it in the garage and he would have a good car.

  6. 223

    He looked at the classified ads in the newspapers.

  7. 224

    Many used cars were for sale.

  8. 225

    Kovács had a friend who was an auto mechanic, and he asked him to go with him to look at the cars.

  9. 226

    First they went to Buda, where a young man wanted to sell his car.

  10. 227

    It was a small car, with a four-cylinder, forty horsepower engine.

  11. 228

    It hadn't run much, because the odometer showed only 50,000 kilometers.

  12. 229

    The tires were quite worn, especially on the two front wheels.

  13. 230

    The engine worked well, but the battery was already old.

  14. 231

    The owner of the car said that the engine uses 14 liters of gasoline per 100 kilometers.

  15. 232

    That's not much, Kovács thought, but he would rather have bought a big car.

  16. 233

    Then they went to the suburbs, where a doctor wanted to sell his car.

  17. 234

    This was already a big car, with a six-cylinder engine.

  18. 235

    The engine was sixty horsepower.

  19. 236

    The doctor had used his car a lot, so Kovács knew that a few parts would have to be replaced on the car.

  20. 237

    But if he can buy it cheaply, it's still worth it, his friend said, because the car is in quite good condition and can be repaired.

  1. 238

    This car had good tires, and there was a spare tire in the trunk too.

  2. 239

    Kovács and his mechanic friend wanted to try out the car.

  3. 240

    They got into the car and set off.

  4. 241

    There was a little trouble with the transmission.

  5. 242

    The mechanic said that a gear and a bearing would have to be replaced and new spark plugs bought, but that wouldn't cost much.

  6. 243

    The carburetor on the car was new, so according to the doctor the car used little gasoline.

  7. 244

    Kovács liked the car, because it ran smoothly and was clean inside too.

  8. 245

    On the streets where Kovács was driving, the traffic was heavy.

  9. 246

    Horse-drawn carts, cars, trucks, streetcars, buses, bicycles and motorcycles were going everywhere in great numbers.

  10. 247

    Kovács had been driving for a long time and was a good driver, so the heavy traffic didn't make him nervous.

  11. 248

    When pedestrians or bicycles went by him, he always slowed down, because he didn't want anything to happen by accident.

  12. 249

    Meanwhile it occurred to Kovács that his driver's license would soon expire.

  13. 250

    He decided to go and renew it the next day.

  1. 251

    After a short while he turned around and drove back to the doctor's apartment.

  2. 252

    The doctor asked 32,000 forints for the car.

  3. 253

    Kovács began to bargain with him.

  4. 254

    In the end they agreed on 30,000 forints.

  5. 255

    Kovács was very happy that he got the car for 30,000, and paid the doctor the price of the car at once.

  6. 256

    Then they got into the car again and went for Kovács's wife, to show the car to her too.

  7. 257

    Kovács's mechanic friend promised that he would order the parts right away, and when they came he would call Kovács.

  8. 258

    Then he would tell him when to bring the car to the garage to be repaired.

The particulars

The course
Foreign Service Institute, Hungarian Basic Course, Washington, 1962. Public domain. The teaching pages, the glosses and the narration of lines the tape lacks are ours.
Reading aloud
Digital narration, directed by 1732 Studios.
The book
Gulliver’s Fifth and Sixth Voyages, the work this course leads to, free to read here.
Data
JSON · Markdown · A guide for agents
Two whoopie pies and a pine. An inside joke.