Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Hungarian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about A tortagyertya kicsi.
Why is there no word for is in A tortagyertya kicsi?
In Hungarian, the verb to be is usually left out in the present tense when the subject is third person and the predicate is a noun or adjective.
So:
- A tortagyertya kicsi. = The birthday candle is small.
But in other persons, the verb appears:
- Kicsi vagyok. = I am small.
- Kicsi vagy. = You are small.
So the missing is is completely normal here.
What does a mean here?
A is the Hungarian definite article, so here it means the.
- a is used before words beginning with a consonant
- az is used before words beginning with a vowel
So:
- a tortagyertya = the birthday candle
- az alma = the apple
In your sentence, tortagyertya starts with t, so Hungarian uses a.
Why is kicsi after the noun instead of before it?