A szomszéd nő a kertben ül.

The female neighbor is sitting in the garden.

Breakdown of A szomszéd nő a kertben ül.

• ülni: to sit
• kert: the garden
• -ben: in
• szomszéd nő: the female neighbor

Questions & Answers about A szomszéd nő a kertben ül.

Can this mean both “is sitting” and “sits” in English?

Yes. Hungarian simple present covers both ongoing and habitual readings. So it can be understood as either:

• The neighbor woman is sitting in the garden (right now).
• The neighbor woman sits in the garden (habitually). To make the “right now” sense explicit, add an adverb: Most/éppen a szomszéd nő a kertben ül.

Why are there two instances of the definite article a?

Hungarian repeats the definite article before each definite noun phrase. The first a belongs to szomszéd nő and the second to kertben. Without the second article you’d get an indefinite location:

• A szomszéd nő a kertben ül. = in the garden (a specific, known one)
• A szomszéd nő kertben ül. = in a garden (unspecified)

What does the ending -ben in kertben do?

It’s the inessive case suffix meaning “in, inside.” So kert + ben = “in the garden.” Hungarian uses case endings instead of prepositions for most basic locations.

Why is it -ben, not -ban?

Vowel harmony. Nouns with front vowels (e, é, i, í, ö, ő, ü, ű) take -ben; those with back vowels (a, á, o, ó, u, ú) take -ban. kert has the front vowel e, so it’s kertben.

Could I say kertbe instead of kertben?

-ba/-be means “into” (motion toward the inside). -ban/-ben means “in” (static location). Since ül is a stative verb, use kertben. If you describe motion first, then sitting down:

• Bemegy/kimegy a kertbe, és leül. = She goes (in/out) into the garden and sits down.
• Leül a kertben. = She sits down in the garden.

Why is a kertben placed before the verb ül? How would the meaning change with A szomszéd nő ül a kertben?

In Hungarian, the element right before the finite verb is the focus. A szomszéd nő a kertben ül puts focus on the location: roughly “It’s in the garden that the neighbor woman is sitting.” The more neutral, all-new-info order is A szomszéd nő ül a kertben (no special emphasis on the location).

How do I say that it’s the neighbor woman (not someone else) who is sitting there?

Put the subject in the focus slot (right before the verb): A kertben a szomszéd nő ül. This emphasizes that it’s she (and not, say, her husband) who’s sitting there.

Why isn’t there a form of van (“is”) here?

Because ül itself is the main verb. You use van only when “to be” is the predicate (especially with nominal/adjectival predicates or pure location): A szomszéd nő a kertben van = The neighbor woman is in the garden.

Why is the verb just ül? What about forms like üli or ülik?

Ül is intransitive here (no object), 3rd person singular indefinite: “(she) sits.” Forms like üli (3sg definite) or ülik (3pl definite) occur only when there’s a direct object in set expressions, e.g., üli a büntetését (“serves her sentence”), ülik a lovat (“they ride/sit the horse”). Not applicable in this sentence.

Should it be one word (szomszédnő) instead of two (szomszéd nő)?

Both are used. Szomszédnő (one word) is the standard compound meaning “female neighbor.” Szomszéd nő (two words) also occurs and is understood the same way in most contexts, though many speakers prefer the compound. Alternatives: szomszédasszony (somewhat old-fashioned/regional) or more polite szomszéd hölgy.

Does szomszéd nő mean “the neighbor’s woman”?

No. It’s not possessive; it’s “neighbor woman” = “female neighbor.” Possession is marked differently:

• “the neighbor’s garden” = a szomszéd kertje
• “the neighbor’s wife” = a szomszéd felesége
• “the neighbor’s girlfriend/woman” (colloquial) = a szomszéd nője

Does Hungarian have grammatical gender? Why do we need nő to say it’s a woman?

Hungarian has no grammatical gender (the 3rd person pronoun ő means both he/she). If you want to specify female, you use a lexical word like nő (woman), otherwise szomszéd alone is gender-neutral.

How do I pronounce the tricky letters here?

• sz = s in English “see” (not sh)
• (FYI) Hungarian s = sh in “ship” (not in this sentence, but easy to mix up)
• ő (in nő) = long front rounded vowel (like French “deux” but long)
• ü (in ül) = front rounded vowel (like German “ü,” French “u” in “tu”)
• é (in szomszéd) = long e (like the vowel in “café”)
• Stress is always on the first syllable: A SZOMszéd nő a KERTben ül.

How do Hungarians actually pronounce kertben?

Due to voicing assimilation, the t in kert becomes voiced before b, so it sounds like kerdben. The spelling stays kertben.

Why is it a and not az?

Use a before a consonant sound and az before a vowel sound. Szomszéd starts with the consonant sz, and kert with k, so you need a in both places.

Can I drop the second article and say A szomszéd nő kertben ül?

Yes, but then the location is indefinite: “in a garden.” With a kertben, it’s definite: “in the garden” (a specific one known from context).

How would I say “A neighbor woman is sitting in the garden” (indefinite subject)?

Use the indefinite article on the subject: Egy szomszéd nő a kertben ül. You can also say Egy szomszédnő a kertben ül.