Nagy fa mellett van egy kis kert.

to be

Breakdown of Nagy fa mellett van egy kis kert.

• egy: a
• kert: the garden
• kis: small
• mellett: next to
• nagy fa: the big tree

Questions & Answers about Nagy fa mellett van egy kis kert.

Why is there no article (like a or az) before "nagy fa"?

In Hungarian, it’s common to omit articles before certain nouns when they have a descriptive function or are used in a more general sense. Here, nagy fa (meaning big tree) is treated more like a descriptive phrase rather than referring to one specific tree that has already been introduced.

What does "mellett" mean and why is it placed after "fa"?

The word mellett means next to or beside. It’s a postposition in Hungarian, which means it typically appears after the noun it governs. So fa mellett literally translates to tree next-to.

Why do we use "van" in this sentence?

In Hungarian, van is the verb to be (in the third-person singular), and it indicates existence or location. Saying van egy kis kert is similar to saying there is a small garden in English. It tells us that the garden exists at that spot.

Why do we say "egy kis kert" and not just "kis kert"?

Using egy here emphasizes that there is one small garden. It’s the indefinite article similar to a or an in English. You could technically say kis kert in a few contexts, but including egy is more natural for introducing a previously unknown garden.