Questions & Answers about A célvonal ott van.
What does a mean here, and why is it a instead of az?
A is the Hungarian definite article, so it means the.
Hungarian has two forms:
- a before a consonant sound
- az before a vowel sound
Since célvonal starts with c (pronounced like ts), the correct article is a:
- a célvonal = the finish line
If the next word started with a vowel, you would use az instead.
Is célvonal really one word?
Yes. Célvonal is a compound noun written as one word.
It is made from:
- cél = goal, target
- vonal = line
So literally it is something like goal-line, but in normal English the natural meaning is finish line.
Hungarian very often builds compounds like this and writes them as a single word.
Why is van used here?