Questions & Answers about A macska a széken ül.
A is the definite article the. Hungarian has two forms:
- a before a word that starts with a consonant sound: a macska, a széken
- az before a word that starts with a vowel sound: az egér, az asztal, az iskolában
Each definite noun phrase takes its own article. Here we have two definite noun phrases:
- a macska (the subject)
- a széken (the locative phrase “on the chair”) Even though széken has a case suffix, it still keeps the article: a széken.
That’s the superessive case: -n/-on/-en/-ön, meaning “on (the surface of).” The form is chosen by vowel harmony and pronunciation rules:
- Back vowels: typically -on (e.g., asztalon “on the table”)
- Front unrounded vowels: -en (e.g., széken “on the chair”)
- Front rounded vowels: -ön (e.g., földön “on the ground”)
Hungarian usually uses case suffixes instead of prepositions. Common location/motion pairs:
- “on”: superessive -n/-on/-en/-ön (e.g., széken)
- “onto”: sublative -ra/-re (e.g., székre)
- “off/from (a surface)”: delative -ról/-ről (e.g., székről)
- “in”: inessive -ban/-ben; “into”: illative -ba/-be; “out of”: elative -ból/-ből
- A: like a short, back “aw” [ɒ].
- macska: [ˈmɒt͡ʃkɒ]. Note: cs = “ch” in “church”; s (by itself) is “sh,” but here it’s part of cs; stress on the first syllable.
- széken: [ˈseːkɛn]. sz = “s” in “see”; é is a long, closed “e” (like the vowel in “say,” but pure, not a diphthong).
- ül: [yl]. ü is like German ü or French u (say “ee” with rounded lips). Stress is always on the first syllable in Hungarian.
Both. Hungarian simple present covers progressive and habitual. Context clarifies:
- Most a macska a széken ül. = The cat is sitting on the chair right now.
- A macska mindig a széken ül. = The cat (habitually) sits on the chair.
Because ül is a full lexical verb (“to sit”). You use van for pure “be” sentences:
- A macska a széken van. = The cat is on the chair. When another verb already expresses the state/action (like ül), van isn’t added.
Hungarian word order reflects emphasis (“focus”), not rigid SVO. The focused element appears immediately before the verb.
- A macska a széken ül. Focus on location: it’s on the chair (not elsewhere).
- A macska ül a széken. Focus on the subject/action: it’s the cat that sits (not the dog), location is backgrounded.
- A széken ül a macska. Topic/scene-setting: as for the chair, the cat is sitting there. Sounds like “On the chair sits the cat.”
Use the sublative -ra/-re for movement onto, and often a verb with a directional prefix:
- A macska leül a székre. = The cat sits down onto the chair.
- A macska ráül a székre. = The cat sits onto the chair (onto it). For movement off, use -ról/-ről: A macska leugrik a székről.
- Subject plural: A macskák a széken ülnek. = The cats are sitting on the chair.
- Both plural: A macskák a székeken ülnek. = The cats are sitting on the chairs.
- Object/location plural rules: noun stem + plural -k
- case suffix; linking vowels may appear (e.g., szék → székek → székeken).
Place nem before the verb, and focus any contrastive element before the verb as well:
- A macska nem ül a széken. = The cat is not sitting on the chair (at all).
- A macska nem a széken ül. = The cat is not sitting on the chair (but somewhere else).
- Nem a macska ül a széken. = It’s not the cat that’s sitting on the chair (someone/something else is).
Not in standard neutral speech. You’d say:
- A macska a széken ül. = The cat is sitting on the chair.
- Egy macska a széken ül. = A cat is sitting on the chair. Leaving out articles (e.g., Macska a széken ül) sounds like a headline, note, or very telegraphic style.
A szék (chair) is a surface you sit on, so Hungarian uses the superessive -n/-on/-en/-ön:
- a széken = on the chair Use -ban/-ben (“in”) for container-like spaces, e.g., fotelben (“in the armchair”), dobozban (“in the box”).
- Question: Hol ül a macska?
- Answer: A széken. (You can also repeat the verb: A széken ül.)
Adjectives come before the noun; the noun alone takes the case ending; the article appears once at the start of the noun phrase.
- A fekete macska a régi széken ül. = The black cat is sitting on the old chair. Not: “a régi széke-n” on the adjective—the suffix goes on the noun: széken.