A kert nagy, sok virág fér el benne.

to be

Breakdown of A kert nagy, sok virág fér el benne.

• nagy: big
• virág: the flower
• kert: the garden
• sok: many
• férni: to fit
• ben: in

Questions & Answers about A kert nagy, sok virág fér el benne.

Why is the verb "van" omitted in "A kert nagy"?

In Hungarian, it's natural to omit van in sentences describing what someone or something is like in the present tense, specifically in the third person singular or plural. So instead of saying A kert van nagy, we simply say A kert nagy ("The garden is big").

Why do we say "sok virág fér el benne" rather than something like "sok virágok férnek el benne"?

After quantifiers like sok ("many"), the standard rule in Hungarian is to use the noun in the singular form, not plural. Hence sok virág is the correct standard form, even though we mean "many flowers."

What does "fér el" mean, and is it different from "elfér"?

Fér el and elfér come from the same verb (férni), meaning "to fit." The contracted form elfér is the dictionary form, while splitting the preverb (el) from the verb (fér) is a normal process in Hungarian, often related to word order or emphasis. Practically, sok virág fér el and sok virág elfér have the same meaning: "a lot of flowers can fit (there)."

Why do we use "benne" here instead of saying "a kertben"?

Benne is a pronoun-plus-locative ending combined in Hungarian (roughly "in it"), referring back to a kert. By using benne, we avoid repeating kert. It’s a common way to say that something is fitting in it, where it = the previously mentioned garden.