Breakdown of A tagok kedvesek egymás iránt.
Questions & Answers about A tagok kedvesek egymás iránt.
Why is A at the beginning? Does it mean the?
Yes. A is the Hungarian definite article here, so it means the.
- a is used before words that begin with most consonants
- az is used before vowel sounds
So:
- a tagok = the members
What is the base form of tagok?
The base form is tag, which means member.
- tag = member
- tagok = members
The ending -ok is a plural ending here.
Why is tagok plural, and how do Hungarian plurals work here?
Because the sentence is talking about more than one member: the members.
In Hungarian, nouns usually form the plural with -k, often with a linking vowel:
- tag → tagok
- könyv → könyvek
- lány → lányok
So tagok is simply tag + plural ending.
Why is there no separate word for are?
In Hungarian, the verb to be is often omitted in the 3rd person present tense when the sentence is simple and descriptive.
So:
- A tagok kedvesek. = The members are kind.
There is no visible word for are, but it is understood.
Compare:
- én kedves vagyok = I am kind
- te kedves vagy = you are kind
- ők kedvesek = they are kind
In the 3rd person present, Hungarian usually leaves out van/vannak in sentences like this.
Why is kedvesek plural? Why not just kedves?
Because the subject is plural: a tagok = the members.
In Hungarian, when an adjective is used as the main predicate in a sentence like this, it often takes plural marking to match a plural subject.
- A tag kedves. = The member is kind.
- A tagok kedvesek. = The members are kind.
So:
- kedves = kind
- kedvesek = kind, referring to plural people in this sentence structure
This is very common with predicate adjectives.
What does egymás mean?
Egymás means each other or one another.
Examples:
- Szeretik egymást. = They love each other.
- Beszélnek egymással. = They are talking with each other.
- kedvesek egymás iránt = they are kind toward each other
It is a very useful reciprocal word.
What does iránt mean?
Iránt is a postposition meaning something like:
- toward
- for
- in relation to
It is often used with feelings, attitudes, or behavior directed at someone.
So:
- kedves valaki iránt = kind toward someone
- szeretet valaki iránt = love for someone
- tisztelet valaki iránt = respect toward someone
In your sentence, egymás iránt means toward each other.
Why is it egymás iránt and not something like a dative form meaning to each other?
Because Hungarian expresses this idea with the adjective/postposition combination kedves ... iránt.
In English, we often say kind to each other, but Hungarian uses a different structure:
- kedves valaki iránt = literally something like kind toward someone
So this is not a word-for-word match with English. It is just the natural Hungarian pattern.
Is iránt a preposition or a postposition?
It is a postposition.
English usually uses prepositions that come before the noun:
- to each other
- toward each other
Hungarian often uses postpositions, which come after the noun phrase:
- egymás iránt
So literally the order is more like each other toward.
Why doesn’t egymás change form before iránt?
Because postpositions in Hungarian typically follow the base form of the noun or pronoun-like element.
So you get:
- egymás iránt
- a ház előtt = in front of the house
- János mellett = next to János
The relationship is shown by the postposition itself, not by adding a case ending to egymás here.
Could this sentence be translated literally as The members are kind toward each other?
Yes, that is a very close literal translation.
Natural English translations include:
- The members are kind to each other.
- The members are kind toward one another.
The first is usually the most natural in everyday English.
Can egymás iránt be used only with people?
Usually it refers to a mutual relationship between people or groups, because egymás means each other.
So it works well when two or more people or groups have feelings or behavior directed mutually at one another.
Examples:
- A gyerekek kedvesek egymás iránt. = The children are kind to each other.
- A kollégák türelmesek egymás iránt. = The colleagues are patient with each other.
Is the word order special here?
This is a very normal, neutral word order:
- A tagok = topic / subject
- kedvesek = predicate adjective
- egymás iránt = complement
So the sentence flows naturally as:
The members — kind — toward each other.
You can change the order for emphasis, but this version is standard and clear.
For example:
- Egymás iránt kedvesek a tagok.
This is possible, but it sounds more marked or emphatic.
Could Hungarian also say A tagok kedvesek egymással?
Yes, you may hear egymással in some contexts, but egymás iránt is especially natural when talking about attitude, feeling, or manner toward one another.
Very roughly:
- egymás iránt focuses on attitude directed toward each other
- egymással often means with each other
So kedvesek egymás iránt is an excellent and idiomatic choice here.
What is the singular version of the sentence?
A singular version would be:
- A tag kedves. = The member is kind.
But if you want to keep the idea of reciprocity (to each other), you need at least two people, so egymás would not fit a singular subject.
That is why egymás naturally appears with plural subjects like a tagok.
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