A nagy fa mögött van egy titkos szoba.

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Breakdown of A nagy fa mögött van egy titkos szoba.

• egy: a
• szoba: the room
• mögött: behind
• titkos: secret
• nagy fa: the big tree

Questions & Answers about A nagy fa mögött van egy titkos szoba.

Why do we say fa mögött and not something else like fa mögé?

In Hungarian, mögött indicates a position behind something, while mögé indicates movement behind something. In this sentence, the secret room is already located behind the tree, not moving there, so mögött is correct.

Why do we need van in the sentence?

Hungarian typically uses van to indicate the existence or location of something. Saying A nagy fa mögött egy titkos szoba without van might be acceptable in casual or poetic contexts, but in standard Hungarian, you normally include van to form a complete clause stating the room’s existence or location.

Why is the article egy used before titkos szoba?

egy in Hungarian functions like the English indefinite article "a/an." It indicates that we are talking about an unspecified secret room (not a particular, identified one). This is the first time it’s being mentioned, so the indefinite article fits perfectly.

How does the word order work in this sentence?

Hungarian word order is quite flexible. The sentence A nagy fa mögött van egy titkos szoba places the focus on the location first (behind the big tree), then states the verb van (there is), and finally presents what exists there (egy titkos szoba). This is a common structure when emphasizing the location.

Why does nagy come before fa?

In Hungarian, adjectives typically precede nouns. nagy describes fa directly, so you keep them together: nagy fa (big tree). Putting the adjective first is the usual, neutral order in Hungarian.