Breakdown of Ma olyan későn érkeztél, mint tegnap.
ma
today
tegnap
yesterday
későn
late
érkezni
to arrive
olyan
as
mint
as
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Questions & Answers about Ma olyan későn érkeztél, mint tegnap.
What does the olyan … mint construction do here? Is it the normal way to say “as … as”?
Yes. olyan … mint expresses equality: “as … as.” You put olyan before the adjective/adverb and mint before the thing you compare to: Ma olyan későn érkeztél, mint tegnap = “You arrived as late today as yesterday.” It works with adjectives and adverbs: olyan magas, mint te; olyan gyorsan fut, mint ő.
Why is it későn and not késő?
Because késő is an adjective (late), while későn is the adverb (late/latish) that modifies the verb érkeztél. Hungarian often forms adverbs with -n: szép → szépen, gyors → gyorsan, késő → későn.
What exactly does érkeztél tell me?
It’s the 2nd-person singular past tense of érkezik (to arrive), using the indefinite conjugation. Morphology: érkez- (stem) + -tél (past, 2SG). The ending encodes “you,” so no separate subject pronoun is needed.
Where is the subject “you”? Why isn’t te used?
Hungarian is pro‑drop: the verb ending shows person/number, so te is usually omitted. Add Te only for emphasis or contrast: Te ma olyan későn érkeztél, mint tegnap.
Why is there a comma before mint?
Comparisons with mint are typically written with a comma in Hungarian, especially with pairs like olyan/ugyanolyan/annyira … mint. It reflects a natural pause and is standard in careful writing. You may see it omitted in informal texts; keeping it is safe.
There’s no verb after mint. Is that okay?
Yes. The verb is understood (ellipsis). A fully explicit version would be heavy: Ma olyan későn érkeztél, mint (amilyen későn) tegnap (érkeztél).
Can I use jöttél instead of érkeztél?
Yes: Ma olyan későn jöttél, mint tegnap is fine. jönni (to come) is more general/colloquial; érkezni (to arrive) is a bit more formal or neutral and common with schedules or transport.
Can I move words around, e.g., put ma later?
Neutral order is time → manner → verb: Ma olyan későn érkeztél… Variants change emphasis:
- Olyan későn érkeztél ma, mint tegnap. (slight emphasis on “today”)
- Ma érkeztél olyan későn, mint tegnap. (more focus on “arrived”) All are grammatical; Hungarian word order signals information structure.
How do I say “not as late as yesterday”?
Use nem with the equality frame: Ma nem érkeztél olyan későn, mint tegnap. You can also say Ma nem olyan későn érkeztél, mint tegnap. Both are common.
Is annyira possible instead of olyan?
Yes: Ma annyira későn érkeztél, mint tegnap. It’s grammatical and stresses the extent (“to that degree”). For straightforward “as … as,” olyan … mint is the most neutral.
What about ugyanolyan / éppolyan / pont olyan?
All work and add nuance:
- ugyanolyan = exactly the same: Ma ugyanolyan későn érkeztél, mint tegnap.
- éppolyan / pont olyan = just/exactly as (a bit more emphatic or colloquial).
Can I drop olyan and say Ma későn érkeztél, mint tegnap?
No. In equality comparisons, mint needs a correlative in the first part (olyan/annyira/ugyanolyan, etc.). Without it, the sentence is ungrammatical.
How do I say “later than yesterday”?
Use the comparative később:
- Ma később érkeztél, mint tegnap. Or use -nál/-nél:
- Ma tegnapnál később érkeztél. Both are natural.
What’s the difference between későn and késve?
- későn: late in time or relatively late (time-of-day or expectation).
- késve: belatedly/behind schedule, highlighting tardiness.
Often both fit, but késve puts more focus on being late relative to a deadline.
Could I use ugyanakkor to mean “at the same time”?
Yes, but that changes the meaning: Ma ugyanakkor jöttél, mint tegnap = you came at the same clock time as yesterday. Note that ugyanakkor also means “however” in formal prose, so context disambiguates.
Any pronunciation tips?
Stress the first syllable of each word. Approximate IPA: Ma [mɒ], olyan [ˈojɒn], későn [ˈkeːʃøːn], érkeztél [ˈeːrkɛsteːl], mint [mint], tegnap [ˈtɛgnɒp]. Remember Hungarian s = [ʃ], so későn has a sh sound.