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Questions & Answers about Talán neki van egy jó ötlete.
Why is it neki and not ő?
Hungarian expresses “have” with a dative possessor: dative possessor + van + possessed noun with a possessive suffix. So you say neki (“to him/her”), not nominative ő. Literally: “Maybe to him/her there is a good idea.”
Can I omit neki?
Yes. Talán van egy jó ötlete. is perfectly natural. The possessive ending (-e) already says it’s “his/her.” Adding neki adds emphasis/contrast: “Maybe it’s him/her (rather than someone else) who has a good idea.”
Why does ötlete end in -e?
That’s the 3rd‑person singular possessive suffix. Since ötlet ends in a consonant and has front vowels, it takes -e: ötlet → ötlete = “his/her idea.”
Is possession double‑marked here (neki + -e)?
Yes. Hungarian typically marks possession on both sides: the possessor (dative: neki/Péternek) and the possessed noun (suffix: ötlete). The dative can be omitted if obvious; the suffix cannot.
Can I say Talán van egy jó ötlet (without the possessive ending)?
You can, but then it means “Maybe there is a good idea (somewhere),” with no possessor. To mean “Maybe he/she has a good idea,” keep the possessive: ötlete.
What exactly does van do here?
Van means “to be/exist.” Hungarian says “there is to X” instead of “X has”: neki van ötlete = “to him/her there is an idea.”
Can I drop van in the present tense?
Not in possession/existence sentences. You can drop the copula in simple “X is Y” (e.g., “Péter orvos”), but you must keep van here: (Neki) jó ötlete van, not “(Neki) jó ötlete.”
How do I negate this?
Use nincs (not “nem van”):
- Talán nincs jó ötlete. = “Maybe he/she doesn’t have a good idea.”
- Talán neki nincs jó ötlete. (emphasizes the possessor) Adding egy after nincs (nincs egy jó ötlete) implies “not even one.”
What does Talán do, and where can it go?
Talán = “maybe/perhaps,” usually early in the sentence. Common options:
- Talán neki van egy jó ötlete. (contrastive focus on the possessor)
- Neki talán van egy jó ötlete.
- Talán van egy jó ötlete. (more neutral) Word order mainly adjusts emphasis.
Is the given order focusing someone in particular?
Yes. Talán neki van… implies “Maybe it’s him/her (not someone else) who has a good idea.” The most neutral is Talán van egy jó ötlete.
What about putting the possessed phrase before the verb, like Egy jó ötlete van?
That emphasizes the possessee: “What he/she has is a good idea.” Compare:
- Neki van egy jó ötlete. (focus on who has it)
- Egy jó ötlete van. (focus on what he/she has)
- Van egy jó ötlete. (neutral)
Can I use the emphatic form őneki?
Yes: Talán őneki van egy jó ötlete. It strongly highlights “he/she (rather than others).”
Where does egy go with a possessed noun? Can I leave it out?
- Placement: egy comes before the whole noun phrase: egy jó ötlete. Don’t say “jó egy ötlete.”
- Omission: You may omit egy: (Talán) (neki) van jó ötlete. Both versions can mean “a good idea”; egy can make the “one” feel a bit more concrete.
How do I ask “Does he/she have a good idea?”?
- Neutral: Van jó ötlete? or Neki van jó ötlete?
- Formal/literary: Van-e jó ötlete? Note: the -e in van-e is the question particle, unrelated to the possessive -e in ötlete.
How do I say “Maybe he/she has some good ideas” (plural)?
Talán neki vannak jó ötletei. Here ötletei = “his/her ideas,” and the verb agrees in plural (vannak).
Who is the grammatical subject here?
The possessee is the subject: egy jó ötlete. The dative neki is just the possessor. That’s why the verb agrees with the possessee (singular van, plural vannak).
How would this look in 1st and 2nd person?
- “Maybe I have a good idea”: Talán van egy jó ötletem. (Add nekem for emphasis: Nekem talán van egy jó ötletem.)
- “Maybe you have a good idea”: Talán van egy jó ötleted. (Neked optional for emphasis.)
Any quick pronunciation tips?
- Talán: ta-LAAN (á is long).
- neki: NE-ki.
- van: “vahn.”
- egy: like “edge” without the d.
- jó: long ó (“yoh”).
- ötlete: ÖT-le-te; ö is like French “eu” in “deux.” Primary stress is always on the first syllable of each word.