A szakember meghatározza a problémát.

It has a neutral subject + verb + object structure:

• A szakember = the specialist / the professional / the expert
• meghatározza = determines / identifies / defines
• a problémát = the problem

So grammatically, it is a very straightforward sentence.

Because a is the Hungarian definite article, meaning the.

Hungarian uses the definite article before definite nouns, whether they are the subject or the object:

• a szakember = the specialist
• a problémát = the problem

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

• a before a consonant
• az before a vowel

Since szakember and problémát both begin with consonant sounds, the correct form is a.

Because problémát is the direct object of the sentence.

Hungarian marks a direct object with the accusative ending -t:

• probléma = problem
• problémát = problem + accusative, so the problem as the thing being acted on

There is also a spelling/sound change here: nouns ending in -a or -e often lengthen that final vowel before a suffix:

• probléma → problémá-
  • t → problémát

Because Hungarian uses a special verb form called the definite conjugation when the object is definite.

Here the object is a problémát = the problem, which is definite, so the verb must match that:

• meghatároz = indefinite form
• meghatározza = definite form

Compare:

• Meghatároz egy problémát. = He/she identifies a problem.
• Meghatározza a problémát. = He/she identifies the problem.

This is one of the biggest differences from English: in Hungarian, the verb can change depending on whether the object is definite.

That is a normal spelling pattern for this verb form.

The verb base is meghatároz-, and in this conjugated form Hungarian writes zz:

• meghatároz → meghatározza

Many Hungarian verbs ending in -z, -s, or -sz show a doubled consonant in certain forms.

The double zz is also pronounced longer than a single z.

meg- is a very common Hungarian verbal prefix.

In many verbs, it adds a sense of:

• completion
• result
• reaching an outcome

So while határoz on its own is related to deciding/determining, meghatároz usually means something more like:

• determine
• define
• identify clearly

You should not always try to translate meg- with one English word. Very often it changes the overall meaning or makes the action feel more complete.

No, Hungarian word order is more flexible than English word order.

This sentence:

A szakember meghatározza a problémát.

is a neutral way to say it.

Hungarian often changes word order to show emphasis or focus. For example, if something is strongly focused, it often appears right before the verb, and verbal prefixes may separate:

• A szakember meghatározza a problémát. = neutral statement
• A szakember határozza meg a problémát. = it is the professional who identifies the problem

So the original sentence is the normal, unmarked version.

No. szakember is not grammatically masculine.

Hungarian does not have grammatical gender like he / she built into most nouns.
So szakember can refer to:

• a male professional
• a female professional

The word ember literally means person / human being, not specifically man in the grammatical sense here.

A few helpful points:

• sz is pronounced like English s
• Hungarian s by itself is pronounced like English sh
• á is a long vowel
• double consonants like zz are held a little longer
• stress is normally on the first syllable of the word

So:

• szakember starts with an s sound, not z
• meghatározza is stressed on MEG-
• problémát is stressed on PRO-

A rough guide:

• szakember ≈ SAW-kehm-ber
• meghatározza ≈ MEGH-ha-taa-rozz-aw
• problémát ≈ PROB-lay-maat

Those are only approximations, but they can help at first.

Potentially either one, depending on context.

Hungarian simple present often covers both:

• identifies
• is identifying

So meghatározza a problémát could mean:

• The specialist identifies the problem
• The specialist is identifying the problem

English forces you to choose between simple and continuous much more often than Hungarian does.

If Hungarian wants to make the right now / in progress meaning clearer, it can add a word like éppen:

• A szakember éppen meghatározza a problémát. = The specialist is just now identifying the problem.