Tegnap óta látjuk, hogy kihajt a vetőmag.

to see

Breakdown of Tegnap óta látjuk, hogy kihajt a vetőmag.

• az: the
• tegnap: yesterday
• hogy: that

Questions & Answers about Tegnap óta látjuk, hogy kihajt a vetőmag.

What does tegnap óta mean, and why is it óta instead of -tól/-től?

Tegnap óta means since yesterday.

• óta is used for something that started at a point in time and has continued up to now.
• -tól/-től usually means from in a more general starting-point sense, often without the idea of continuing until the present.

So:

• tegnap óta = since yesterday
• tegnaptól = from yesterday onward / starting yesterday

In this sentence, óta is the natural choice because the meaning is that this has been true continuously since yesterday.

Why is the verb látjuk and not látunk?

Because látjuk is the definite conjugation of lát (to see).

Hungarian verbs often have two kinds of conjugation:

• indefinite: used when there is no definite object
• definite: used when the object is definite

Here the verb is followed by a hogy clause:

• látjuk, hogy... = we see that...

Hungarian treats this as if there were an implied azt (that/it):

• Látjuk (azt), hogy kihajt a vetőmag.
• Literally: We see it, that the seed is sprouting.

Because of that implied definite object, látjuk is used, not látunk.

Why is the sentence in the present tense if it starts with tegnap óta?