A gyerek a nő mellett ül.

The child sits next to the woman.

Breakdown of A gyerek a nő mellett ül.

• ülni: to sit
• mellett: next to
• nő: the woman
• gyerek: the child

Questions & Answers about A gyerek a nő mellett ül.

What does each word in the sentence correspond to?

• A = the (definite article)
• gyerek = child (noun, singular)
• a = the (definite article again)
• nő = woman (noun, singular; the vowel is long: ő)
• mellett = next to/beside (postposition)
• ül = sits / is sitting (verb, 3rd person singular, present, intransitive)

Why does the sentence have the article A twice?

Hungarian repeats the article for each definite noun phrase:

• A gyerek = the child
• a nő mellett = next to the woman (the noun inside the postpositional phrase also takes its own article)

When do I use A vs AZ?

• Use a before a consonant-initial word: a nő, a gyerek.
• Use az before a vowel-initial word: az asztal, az alma. Example: A gyerek az asztal mellett ül.

Why is mellett after nő instead of before it?

Because mellett is a postposition, not a preposition: it follows the noun. So you say a nő mellett (“beside the woman”), not “mellett a nő.”

Could I use a case like -nál/-nél instead of mellett?

Not for “next to/beside.”

• mellett = right next to, beside.
• -nál/-nél = at/by someone’s place or at a location (looser proximity). So, A gyerek a nő mellett ül = the child is next to the woman.
  A gyerek a nőnél van = the child is at the woman’s place (or with her), not specifically “beside” her.

What’s the difference between mellett, mellé, and mellől?

• mellett = beside/next to (static location)
  • A gyerek a nő mellett ül. = The child is sitting next to the woman.
• mellé = to (movement toward a beside position)
  • A gyerek a nő mellé ül. = The child sits down next to the woman.
• mellől = from (movement away from a beside position)
  • A gyerek a nő mellől jön. = The child comes from next to the woman.

Why do we use ül instead of van?

• ül is a full lexical verb meaning “to sit/be sitting.”
• van is “to be.” You use van to say someone is (located) somewhere without specifying an action:
  
  • A gyerek a nő mellett van. = The child is next to the woman.
    In your sentence, the posture/action is relevant, so ül is used. Note: “A gyerek a nő mellett.” without a verb is ungrammatical in standard Hungarian.

Is there a special progressive form for “is sitting”?

No. Hungarian uses the simple present (ül) for both “sits” and “is sitting.” Context supplies the aspect.

How is this pronounced?

• A: like a back “aw” [ɒ].
• gy in gyerek: a “soft d,” similar to the “d” in “would you.”
• ö/ő in nő: front rounded vowel. ő is the long version (hold it a bit longer).
• ü in ül: like German “ü,” French “u” in “lune.” Stress is always on the first syllable: Á gyerek á nő MEL-lett ül. (Primary stress on each word’s first syllable; within the sentence, normal intonation applies.)

Can I change the word order? What nuances change?

Yes, Hungarian word order conveys topic/focus.

• A gyerek a nő mellett ül. Neutral: “As for the child, he’s sitting next to the woman.”
• A nő mellett ül a gyerek. Puts the location as topic: “As for next to the woman, the one sitting there is the child.”
• A gyerek ül a nő mellett. Focuses the subject/verb: “It’s the child who is sitting next to the woman (not someone else).” The element immediately before the verb is the focus; moving phrases changes what is emphasized.

How do I make it plural?

• Plural subject: A gyerekek a nő mellett ülnek. = The children are sitting next to the woman.
• Plural object of the postposition: A gyerek a nők mellett ül. = The child is sitting next to the women.
• Both plural: A gyerekek a nők mellett ülnek.

How do I make it indefinite (a child, a woman)?

Use egy for “a/an”:

• Egy gyerek egy nő mellett ül. = A child is sitting next to a woman. You can mix definite/indefinite as needed:
• Egy gyerek a nő mellett ül. = A child is sitting next to the woman.
• A gyerek egy nő mellett ül. = The child is sitting next to a woman.

Can I omit the article before nő?

If you mean “the woman,” you must use a.
Without an article, you either sound generic or ungrammatical in this context. For an indefinite woman, use egy: egy nő mellett.

How do I say “next to her/him/them” without repeating the noun?

Use the pronominal forms of the postposition:

• mellettem = next to me
• melletted = next to you (sg)
• mellette = next to him/her/it
• mellettünk = next to us
• mellettetek = next to you (pl)
• mellettük = next to them Example: A gyerek mellette ül. = The child is sitting next to her/him.

How do I negate this?

Two common patterns:

• General negation: A gyerek nem ül a nő mellett. = The child isn’t sitting next to the woman.
• Contrastive negation of location: A gyerek nem a nő mellett ül. = The child is not sitting next to the woman (but somewhere else).

What’s the difference between ül and leül?

• ül = sits/is sitting (state or ongoing action).
• leül = sits down (the action of taking a seat). Examples:
• A gyerek a nő mellett ül. = The child is sitting next to the woman.
• A gyerek leül a nő mellé. = The child sits down next to the woman.

Why doesn’t nő take any ending here?

Because the relation is expressed by the postposition mellett, which governs a base-form noun phrase: a nő mellett. The postposition itself carries the spatial meaning, so the noun doesn’t need a case suffix.

Can I add adjectives or possessives inside the postpositional phrase?

Yes. The modifiers come before the noun:

• A gyerek a fiatal nő mellett ül. = The child is sitting next to the young woman.
• A gyerek az anyja mellett ül. = The child is sitting next to his/her mother.