A kartondoboz nagy.

the

Breakdown of A kartondoboz nagy.

• nagy: large
• kartondoboz: a cardboard box

Questions & Answers about A kartondoboz nagy.

What does a mean in A kartondoboz nagy?

A is the Hungarian definite article, so it means the.

In Hungarian, the definite article has two forms:

• a before consonant sounds
• az before vowel sounds

So here it is a kartondoboz because kartondoboz starts with a consonant.

Why is there no word for is in the sentence?

In Hungarian, the verb to be is usually omitted in the present tense, third person.

So:

• A kartondoboz nagy. = The cardboard box is big.

Literally, Hungarian is saying something like:

• The cardboard box big.

But this is completely normal Hungarian grammar.

The verb van or vannak appears in other situations, but not usually in simple present-tense sentences like this one.

Why does nagy come after kartondoboz?