Questions & Answers about Ebéd után a család boldog.
Where is the verb “to be” here? Why isn’t van used?
Hungarian usually omits the present-tense 3rd-person form of “to be” (van) when the predicate is a noun or an adjective.
- A család boldog. = The family is happy. (no van)
- Use van with locations/existence: A család otthon van. = The family is at home.
- In the past/future, the copula appears: A család boldog volt/lesz. = The family was/will be happy.
- Negation still omits present van: A család nem boldog.
Why is the article a (and not az) before család?
Hungarian uses a before a consonant sound and az before a vowel sound.
- a család (cs- is a consonant)
- az ebéd (e- is a vowel)
In your sentence: Ebéd után a család boldog.
If you make it specific: Az ebéd után a család boldog.
Can I change the word order? Do the versions mean the same?
Yes. All of these are grammatical and mean roughly the same, with slight differences in emphasis:
- Ebéd után a család boldog. (neutral; sets the time first)
- A család ebéd után boldog. (subject first; still neutral)
- Ebéd után boldog a család. (slight emphasis on “after lunch”)
- Boldog a család ebéd után. (emphasis on “happy” as the comment) Hungarian word order serves information structure (what’s topic/focus) more than fixed SVO order, and time expressions often appear early.