On Surfaces: -on, -ra, -ról

For surfaces Hungarian uses a second set of endings: -on/-en/-ön (on), -ra/-re (onto) and -ról/-ről (off, down from).

• After a consonant the 'on' ending needs a linking vowel: -on for back words (asztalon), -en for front words (széken), -ön when the last vowel is ö, ő, ü or ű (földön).
• After a vowel it is just -n: tető → tetőn. A final -a or -e becomes long: posta → postán.

Many places that are in or at in English take these endings: buszon, villamoson (on the bus, on the tram), utcán (in the street), emeleten (on a floor), egyetemen (at university), piacon (at the market), postán (at the post office).

-ról/-ről also means about: beszélgettünk a filmről (we talked about the film).