A tál nagy.

The bowl is large.

Breakdown of A tál nagy.

• az: the
• nagy: large
• tál: a bowl

Questions & Answers about A tál nagy.

What does a mean here? Is it the same as English a?

No. In Hungarian, a here is the definite article, so it means the, not English a/an.

• a tál = the bowl
• Hungarian uses a before consonant sounds and az before vowel sounds.

So:

• a tál = the bowl
• az alma = the apple

Why is there no word for is in A tál nagy?

Because Hungarian usually leaves out the verb to be in the present tense, third person, when the predicate is a noun or adjective.

So Hungarian says literally:

• A tál nagy.
• The bowl big.

But it means The bowl is big.

This happens very often:

• A ház szép. = The house is beautiful.
• A leves meleg. = The soup is warm.

If you change the person or tense, the verb appears:

• Nagy vagyok. = I am big.
• A tál nagy volt. = The bowl was big.

Also, in a simple negative sentence like this, Hungarian still normally leaves out is:

• A tál nem nagy. = The bowl is not big.

Why does nagy come after tál?