Nekem is kell ennem, mert éhes vagyok.

I also need to eat because I am hungry.

Breakdown of Nekem is kell ennem, mert éhes vagyok.

• lenni: to be
• én: I
• is: also
• enni: to eat
• mert: because
• éhes: hungry
• kell: to need

Questions & Answers about Nekem is kell ennem, mert éhes vagyok.

What is the role of nekem in the sentence?

Nekem is the dative form of én (meaning "I") and functions as the experiencer of the necessity. In Hungarian’s impersonal construction with kell, the subject isn’t expressed in the nominative case but instead appears in the dative, so nekem indicates "for me" or "to me"—showing that it is the speaker who must eat.

Why does the infinitive form enni appear as ennem in this sentence?

In necessity constructions with kell, Hungarian sometimes attaches a personal ending to the infinitive to reflect agreement with the dative subject. Here, ennem includes the first person singular ending -em, indicating that the action ("to eat") is required of the speaker. This is why enni appears as ennem.

What does the verb kell mean and how is it used here?

Kell expresses necessity or obligation—it can be thought of as equivalent to "need" or "must" in English. In this construction, kell is impersonal and does not have a standard nominative subject; instead, the necessity is experienced by the agent expressed in the dative, which in this case is nekem.

What is the function of the word is in this sentence?

Is means "also" or "too." Placed directly after nekem, it adds the nuance that the speaker, like someone else or in addition to some unstated context, has this necessity. It emphasizes that the condition or requirement applies as well to the speaker, reinforcing the obligation to eat.

Why isn’t there an explicit nominative subject (like "I") in the Hungarian sentence?

Hungarian commonly uses an impersonal construction for expressing necessity with kell. Instead of a nominative subject, the language relies on the dative case to indicate who is affected by the necessity. In this sentence, nekem (meaning "for me") serves this purpose, so there’s no need for an additional nominative pronoun equivalent to "I."

How does the subordinate clause mert éhes vagyok contribute to the overall meaning?

The subordinate clause mert éhes vagyok means "because I'm hungry." It provides the reason behind the necessity expressed in the main clause. The conjunction mert ("because") links the speaker’s state of hunger directly to why it is necessary for them to eat.