Breakdown of Az előzetes információ fontos.
fontos
important
az
the
információ
the information
előzetes
preliminary
Questions & Answers about Az előzetes információ fontos.
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 one noun or adjective is simply describing another.
So:
Az előzetes információ fontos.
literally looks like
The preliminary information important.
But in normal Hungarian, that already means The preliminary information is important.
You would use an explicit form of to be in other persons, for example:
- Fontos vagyok. = I am important.
- Fontos vagy. = You are important.
And in some other structures, especially for existence or location.
Why is it az and not a?
Both a and az mean the in Hungarian.
The choice depends on the sound that follows:
- a before a consonant sound
- az before a vowel sound
Since előzetes begins with the vowel e, Hungarian uses:
az előzetes információ
Compare:
- a fontos adat = the important piece of data
- az előzetes információ = the preliminary information