Az intézet nagy.

big

Breakdown of Az intézet nagy.

• az: the
• intézet: an institute

Questions & Answers about Az intézet nagy.

Why is it az and not a?

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

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

Because intézet begins with a vowel, Hungarian uses az intézet.

Compare:

• a ház = the house
• az intézet = the institute

This is similar to English a/an in function, although Hungarian uses it only for the definite article.

Why is there no word for is in this sentence?

In Hungarian, the verb to be is usually left out in the present tense, third person when the sentence is simple and descriptive.

So:

• Az intézet nagy. = The institute is big.

But in other persons, Hungarian does use the verb:

• Nagy vagyok. = I am big.
• Nagy vagy. = You are big.
• Nagy. = He/She/It is big.

It also appears in the past or future:

• Az intézet nagy volt. = The institute was big.
• Az intézet nagy lesz. = The institute will be big.

So the missing is is completely normal here.