Questions & Answers about A vasaló itt van.
What does a mean here?
A is the definite article, like the in English.
So a vasaló means the iron, not just an iron or iron in general.
Hungarian has two articles:
- a before many consonant sounds
- az before vowel sounds
For example:
- a vasaló
- az asztal
Why is van used here? I thought Hungarian often leaves out to be in the present tense.
That is a very common question.
Hungarian often does omit the present-tense verb van in simple sentences like:
- A vasaló új. = The iron is new.
- A vasaló nagy. = The iron is big.
But when you are talking about location or existence, Hungarian normally uses van:
- A vasaló itt van. = The iron is here.
- A könyv az asztalon van. = The book is on the table.
So in this sentence, van is needed because the sentence is about where the iron is.
What does itt mean, and what kind of word is it?