A diák szeretne körtét venni.

The student would like to buy a pear.

Breakdown of A diák szeretne körtét venni.

• diák: the student
• egy: a
• szeretni: would like
• venni: to buy
• körte: the pear

Questions & Answers about A diák szeretne körtét venni.

Why is the object written as körtét and not simply körte?

Hungarian marks direct objects with the accusative suffix. In this sentence, körte (pear) takes the -t accusative ending, resulting in körtét. This indicates that the pear is the thing being bought.

What does szeretne mean in this context, and how is it different from szeret or akar?

Szeretne is the conditional form of szeret. It expresses a polite or less direct desire—roughly equivalent to would like in English. Szeret alone can mean likes (as in to be fond of something), and akar more directly translates to wants. So, szeretne has a softer, more polite connotation than akar.

Why do we use venni and not another form of the verb to buy in Hungarian?

In Hungarian, when you express a desire to do something, the helping verb (szeretne, in this case) is followed by the infinitive of the main verb. Venni is the infinitive form of the verb to buy, so that’s the required form when combining with szeretne.

Why is there an article A before diák, but no article before körtét?

Hungarian grammar often places the definite article A (or Az before a vowel) in front of a subject when it is a known or specified person or thing. The word körtét is an indefinite object of desire, so it doesn’t need an article here. If you wanted to specify the pear in Hungarian, you would use a körtét instead.