Breakdown of A diák délután érkezik a könyvtárba.
diák
the student
könyvtár
the library
délután
in the afternoon
-ba
to
érkezni
to arrive
Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Hungarian grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about A diák délután érkezik a könyvtárba.
What is the function of A at the beginning of the sentence? Why do we say A diák instead of just diák?
A is the definite article (equivalent to “the” in English) used before singular nouns that start with a consonant. It makes diák (“student”) into the student. If a noun starts with a vowel, you use az instead (e.g. az iskola = “the school”).
What part of speech is délután, and how would we translate it?
délután functions as an adverbial time expression meaning “in the afternoon” or “this afternoon.” Unlike English, Hungarian often just uses the bare noun to express time (“délután érkezik” = “he arrives in the afternoon”) without a preposition.
Why doesn’t délután take an article or any case ending here?
When used as an adverb of time, délután appears without an article or case suffix. If you wanted to talk about “the afternoons” as countable events, you could say a délutánok (“the afternoons”), or if you wanted “each afternoon” you’d say délutánonként, but as a simple time adverb it stays unmarked.
What case does the suffix -ba on könyvtárba indicate, and what does it express?
The suffix -ba marks the sublative case, which indicates movement into or toward the inside of something. So könyvtárba literally means “into the library.”
Why is there a definite article a before könyvtárba, while délután has none?
Place nouns normally take an article when you refer to a specific location. The article attaches before the case ending: a könyvtárba = “into the library.” Time adverbs like délután aren’t countable objects, so they don’t need an article.
Why does the verb érkezik end in -ik, and what is its basic conjugation here?
érkezik is the 3rd person singular present tense of érkezik (“to arrive”). Many Hungarian verbs (the so-called “ik” verbs) keep their -ik ending in this form. Because érkezik is intransitive (no direct object), it uses the indefinite conjugation: “he/she/it arrives” = érkezik.
What is the neutral word order in Hungarian, and how does this sentence reflect it?
A common neutral order is Subject–Time–Verb–Place. In A diák délután érkezik a könyvtárba you have:
- Subject: A diák
- Time: délután
- Verb: érkezik
- Place: a könyvtárba
This layout presents background info (when, where) around the verb without special emphasis.