A levéltetű a hajtáson van.

to be

Breakdown of A levéltetű a hajtáson van.

• az: the
• levéltetű: an aphid
• hajtás: a new plant shoot

Questions & Answers about A levéltetű a hajtáson van.

Why is a used twice in A levéltetű a hajtáson van?

Because a is the Hungarian definite article, meaning the.

So:

• a levéltetű = the aphid
• a hajtáson = on the shoot

Hungarian often uses the definite article where English would too. The form is:

• a before most consonant sounds
• az before vowel sounds

For example:

• a ház = the house
• az alma = the apple

Why is on attached to hajtás instead of being a separate word?

Hungarian usually expresses ideas like in, on, and at with case endings rather than separate prepositions.

Here:

• hajtás = shoot
• hajtáson = on the shoot

The ending -on is a location ending meaning roughly on.

This is a very common pattern in Hungarian:

• asztal → asztalon = on the table
• szék → széken = on the chair
• föld → földön = on the ground

So instead of a separate word for on, Hungarian adds a suffix to the noun.

Why is the ending -on here, and not -en or -ön?