Ez valódi agyag.

this

Breakdown of Ez valódi agyag.

• agyag: clay
• valódi: real or genuine

Questions & Answers about Ez valódi agyag.

Why is there no separate word for is in Ez valódi agyag?

In Hungarian, the verb to be is usually left out in the present tense, third person.

So where English says:

• This is real clay.

Hungarian simply says:

• Ez valódi agyag.

This omission happens very often:

• Ez jó. = This is good.
• A ház nagy. = The house is big.

But in other persons, Hungarian does use forms of van:

• Én tanár vagyok. = I am a teacher.
• Te fáradt vagy. = You are tired.

So in your sentence, the missing is is completely normal.

What does each word in Ez valódi agyag do?

Word by word:

• Ez = this
• valódi = real, genuine
• agyag = clay

So structurally it is:

• Ez → subject-like demonstrative pronoun
• valódi agyag → noun phrase meaning real clay

A very literal breakdown would be:

• This real clay

But because Hungarian omits is here, the natural English meaning is:

• This is real clay.

Why is there no article before agyag?