Questions & Answers about A folt nagy, de nincs szakadás.
Why is there no word for is in A folt nagy?
In Hungarian, the verb to be is usually left out in the present tense, third person when you are linking a noun and an adjective or another noun.
So:
- A folt nagy. = The stain/spot is big.
- literally: The stain big.
This is completely normal Hungarian grammar.
But in other persons, the verb appears:
- Nagy vagyok. = I am big.
- Nagy vagy. = You are big.
- Nagy. = He/she/it is big.
So the missing is is not an omission or a casual shortcut; it is the standard rule.
Why does the sentence use nincs instead of nem van?
Hungarian has special negative forms of van (to be / there is):
- van = there is / is
- nincs = there is not / is not
- plural: vannak / nincsenek
So:
- Van szakadás. = There is a tear.
- Nincs szakadás. = There is no tear.
You do not normally say nem van in standard Hungarian for this meaning.