A régi épület a városban van.

A word-by-word breakdown is:

• a = the
• régi = old
• épület = building
• a = the
• városban = in the city
  • város = city
  • -ban = in
• van = is

So the structure is literally:

• The old building the city-in is

Natural English: The old building is in the city.

Because Hungarian uses the definite article separately before each definite noun phrase, just like English uses the more than once.

Here:

• a régi épület = the old building
• a városban = in the city

So both épület and város are definite, and each gets its own article.

Also note that a here is the article the, not the English-style verb a or letter name.

In Hungarian, attributive adjectives normally come before the noun, just as in English.

So:

• régi épület = old building
• nagy ház = big house
• szép város = beautiful city

If you want to say The building is old, then régi is not directly attached to the noun anymore. That would be:

• Az épület régi.

So:

• régi épület = old building
• az épület régi = the building is old

In Hungarian, adjectives usually do not agree with the noun in gender, and Hungarian has no grammatical gender like English he/she/it distinctions for nouns.

So régi stays régi regardless of whether the noun is singular or plural, masculine or feminine—because Hungarian nouns are not gendered that way.

Examples:

• régi épület = old building
• régi ház = old house
• régi épületek = old buildings

The adjective itself usually stays the same in this kind of basic use.

The ending -ban means in.

So:

• város = city
• városban = in the city

Hungarian often expresses ideas like in, on, to, from, etc. with suffixes attached directly to the noun rather than with separate prepositions.

More examples:

• házban = in the house
• iskolában = in the school
• szobában = in the room

So instead of a separate word for in, Hungarian adds a location ending to the noun.

This is because of vowel harmony, a very important feature of Hungarian.

The suffix has two forms:

• -ban
• -ben

Words with mostly back vowels usually take -ban. Words with mostly front vowels usually take -ben.

Since város contains back vowels (á, o), it becomes:

• városban

Compare:

• kert → kertben = in the garden
• szék → székben = in the chair
• város → városban = in the city

So the choice is not random; it follows the vowel pattern of the word.

Great question. Hungarian does often leave out van in the present tense, but not in every kind of sentence.

In simple X is Y sentences with a noun or adjective predicate, van is usually omitted in the 3rd person present:

• Az épület régi. = The building is old.
• Ez a ház nagy. = This house is big.

But when the predicate expresses location, van is normally kept:

• Az épület a városban van. = The building is in the city.
• A könyv az asztalon van. = The book is on the table.

So in your sentence, van is there because the sentence is saying where something is.

Because Hungarian word order is more flexible than English, and the verb often comes later depending on what is being emphasized.

In this neutral sentence:

• A régi épület a városban van.

the topic is a régi épület, and the location information comes before the verb, with van at the end.

This is a very natural Hungarian pattern for a simple statement of location.

English relies heavily on fixed word order:

• The old building is in the city.

Hungarian relies more on information structure:

• what is already being talked about
• what is new or emphasized

So final-position van here is normal.

Yes, but changing the word order can change the emphasis.

For example:

• A régi épület a városban van.
  Neutral: The old building is in the city.

• A városban van a régi épület.
  More like: The old building is in the city / It is in the city that the old building is.
  This may sound more contrastive or context-driven.

Hungarian word order is often about focus and topic, not just grammar. So several versions may be grammatical, but they do not always sound equally neutral.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

• a
• az

The choice depends on the next word:

• a before a consonant sound
• az before a vowel sound

In your sentence:

• régi starts with r, a consonant → a régi épület
• városban starts with v, a consonant → a városban

Compare:

• az épület = the building
• az iskola = the school
• a ház = the house

So if the noun phrase had started directly with épület, you would say:

• Az épület a városban van.

But because régi comes first, it becomes:

• A régi épület...

Because városban begins with v, which is a consonant sound, so the article must be a, not az.

The rule is based on the sound at the beginning of the following word, not on the basic dictionary form without suffixes.

So:

• a városban
• a házban
• az épületben
• az utcában

Since városban starts with a consonant, a is correct.

Sometimes Hungarian can omit articles, but in this sentence the article helps make the meaning definite and natural.

• A régi épület = the old building
• a városban = in the city

If you removed the articles, the sentence would sound different and less like the standard meaning the old building is in the city.

Hungarian articles are used a lot, and in a sentence like this, keeping them is the normal choice.

It is in the inessive case, which expresses being inside something.

The inessive endings are:

• -ban
• -ben

So:

• városban = in the city
• házban = in the house
• dobozban = in the box

Hungarian uses cases where English often uses prepositions.

If you mean The old buildings are in the city, you would say:

• A régi épületek a városban vannak.

Changes:

• épület → épületek = buildings
• van → vannak = are

So singular:

• A régi épület a városban van.

Plural:

• A régi épületek a városban vannak.

The accents in Hungarian mostly show vowel length.

• é is a long e
• á is a long a

So:

• régi has a long é
• épület begins with long é
• városban has long á

A rough pronunciation guide:

• régi ≈ RAY-ghee
• épület ≈ AY-poo-let
• városban ≈ VAA-rosh-bon
• van ≈ vawn

A few useful notes:

• Hungarian stress is usually on the first syllable.
• s in Hungarian sounds like English sh.
  • So város sounds roughly like vaa-rosh.

Usually yes, but in some contexts English might naturally say in town instead.

So depending on context:

• A régi épület a városban van.
  • The old building is in the city.
  • possibly The old building is in town.

The exact English choice depends on what contrast is intended, but grammatically városban simply means in the city / in town.

The pattern is:

• [definite noun phrase] + [location phrase] + van

In your sentence:

• A régi épület = the thing being talked about
• a városban = its location
• van = is

You can reuse this pattern easily:

• A könyv az asztalon van. = The book is on the table.
• A gyerek az iskolában van. = The child is at school / in the school.
• A kocsi a garázsban van. = The car is in the garage.

So this sentence is a very useful model for saying where something is.