Egy barát itt van.

to be

Breakdown of Egy barát itt van.

• itt: here
• egy: a
• barát: the friend

Questions & Answers about Egy barát itt van.

Why do we use "egy" here instead of "a"?

In Hungarian, egy can function both as the number one and as an indefinite article similar to a or an in English. So Egy barát means A friend or literally One friend.

How flexible is the word order in Hungarian for this sentence?

Hungarian word order is quite flexible compared to English. You might see Itt van egy barát or Egy barát van itt with slightly different emphasis. However, Egy barát itt van is a perfectly natural way to say A friend is here.

Why is "van" necessary when "itt" already indicates location?

Itt just means here, but van is the to be verb in Hungarian that indicates existence or that something is. Combining itt with van specifies that someone or something exists here.

Can "barát" be used for both male and female friends?

Yes, barát (friend) is generally gender-neutral in Hungarian. If you specifically want to say a female friend, you might say barátnő, but in everyday speech barát commonly covers both.

Does "egy" change form based on the noun's gender?

Hungarian does not have grammatical gender the way some other languages do. Egy remains the same, regardless of whether you’re referring to a man, a woman, or an object.