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Questions & Answers about Ez az asztalom.
Why do we need both ez and az in this sentence?
Hungarian distinguishes between a demonstrative pronoun (ez = this) and the definite article (az = the). Ez points at the object (“this”), and az is still required before the noun (even with a possessive suffix). So “Ez az asztalom” literally means “this the my-desk.”
Why is az used instead of a before asztalom?
In Hungarian the article a appears before consonant-initial words, and az appears before vowel-initial words. Since asztalom begins with the vowel a, you must use az.
What does the -om suffix on asztalom indicate?
The suffix -om is the first-person singular possessive marker. It attaches to asztal (desk) to mean “my.” Thus asztalom = “my desk.”
Why doesn’t Hungarian use a separate possessive word like English my?
Hungarian typically expresses possession by adding suffixes directly onto nouns (e.g. -om, -od, -a/-e, etc.) rather than using separate possessive pronouns before the noun.
Can we emphasize the possessor by adding én?
Yes. If you want to stress ownership you can say Ez az én asztalom. The extra én is a stressed pronoun meaning “I” and makes it clear it’s specifically my desk.
How would you say “that is my desk”?
Replace the demonstrative pronoun ez (this) with az (that). You end up with Az az asztalom, literally “that the my-desk.” Hungarian allows two identical-sounding words when one is a pronoun and the other an article.
How would you say “these are my desks”?
You need the plural demonstrative ezek (“these”), the article az (because asztalaim begins with a vowel), and the plural possessive suffix -aim. So you get Ezek az asztalaim.
Why is there no apostrophe or space in asztalom?
Hungarian possessive suffixes attach directly to the noun without extra punctuation or spaces. Hence asztal + -om becomes the single word asztalom.