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Questions & Answers about A könyvraktár nagy.
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 of the definite article:
- a before a consonant sound
- az before a vowel sound
Since könyvraktár begins with the consonant sound k, the correct form is a könyvraktár.
Why is there no word for is in the sentence?
In Hungarian, the verb van (to be) is usually left out in the present tense, third person singular and plural, when it connects the subject to a noun or adjective.
So:
- A könyvraktár nagy. = The book warehouse is big.
Hungarian literally looks more like:
- The book warehouse big.
But this is completely normal Hungarian grammar.
The verb does appear in other tenses or persons, for example:
- A könyvraktár nagy volt. = The book warehouse was big.
- Nagy vagyok. = I am big.
Why is nagy after the noun instead of before it?