A mentesség fontos.

The exemption is important.

Breakdown of A mentesség fontos.

• fontos: important
• az: the
• mentesség: an exemption

Questions & Answers about A mentesség fontos.

Why is there no word for is in A mentesség fontos?

In Hungarian, the verb van (to be) is usually left out in the present tense, third person singular when you have a sentence like X is Y.

So:

• A mentesség fontos. = The exemption is important.

But in other tenses, or with other persons, the verb appears:

• A mentesség fontos volt. = The exemption was important.
• A mentesség fontos lesz. = The exemption will be important.

What does a mean here, and why is it a instead of az?

A is the Hungarian definite article, meaning the.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

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

Since mentesség starts with m, a consonant, you say:

• a mentesség

If the next word began with a vowel, you would use az instead.

Why is there a definite article at all? English often says something like Exemption is important without the.