Learn Hardcore Hungarian: A szülők csak zöldséget esznek, és a gyereknek is gyümölcslevet készítenek. - The parents eat only vegetables, and they also make fruit juice for the child.

A szülők – the parents
- a = the (definite article)
- szülő = parent, szülők = parents (plural)
csak zöldséget – only vegetables
- csak = only
- zöldség = vegetable
- zöldség + -t → zöldséget (accusative case: “vegetables” as the direct object)
esznek – (they) eat (3rd person plural, indefinite conjugation)
és – and
a gyereknek – for the child
- gyerek = child
- gyerek + -nek → gyereknek (dative case: “to/for the child”)
is gyümölcslevet – also fruit juice
- is = also / too
- gyümölcslé = fruit juice
- gyümölcslé + -t → gyümölcslevet (accusative case)
készítenek – (they) make / prepare (3rd person plural, indefinite conjugation)

Why is zöldséget and gyümölcslevet in this form with -t at the end?

The -t ending marks the accusative case in Hungarian, which is used for the direct object of the verb.

zöldség (vegetable) → zöldséget = vegetable(s) as object
gyümölcslé (fruit juice) → gyümölcslevet = fruit juice as object

English relies mostly on word order (“eat vegetables”, “make juice”), but Hungarian marks the object explicitly with -t, so the listener always knows what is being eaten or made, even if the word order changes.

Why is csak (only) placed before zöldséget and not somewhere else?

In Hungarian, csak normally appears directly before the thing it limits or focuses.

A szülők csak zöldséget esznek.
→ The parents eat only vegetables (they don’t eat other kinds of food).

If you moved csak:

Csak a szülők esznek zöldséget.
→ Only the parents eat vegetables (other people don’t).

So its position changes the meaning. In the given sentence, csak is before zöldséget, so it is the type of food that is restricted, not the subject.

What exactly does is mean in a gyereknek is gyümölcslevet készítenek?

is usually means “also / too / as well”. Like csak, it attaches logically to what it comes right after.

a gyereknek is gyümölcslevet készítenek
Literally: for the child also they make fruit juice.

Here, is comes after gyereknek, so the natural reading is:
They make fruit juice for the child as well (in addition to something else they do for the child, or in addition to something they do for others).

If you move is, the emphasis changes:

a gyereknek gyümölcslevet is készítenek
→ They make fruit juice as well for the child (maybe they also make other things for the child).
a gyereknek is készítenek gyümölcslevet
→ More neutral “they also make fruit juice for the child” (emphasis on “also make”).

Word order with is is very flexible but always affects the nuance.

Why is it esznek and készítenek, not eszik or készíti?

Two things are going on:

Person and number
The subject is a szülők (the parents), which is 3rd person plural.
- 3rd person singular: eszik, készít (he/she/it eats, makes)
- 3rd person plural: esznek, készítenek (they eat, they make)
Indefinite conjugation
In Hungarian, verbs have indefinite and definite conjugations. You use indefinite when the object is:
- indefinite / not specific / not grammatically definite
- like zöldséget (“vegetables”) and gyümölcslevet (“fruit juice”) here

So we get:

esznek = they eat (something indefinite)
készítenek = they make (something indefinite)

If the object were definite (e.g. a gyümölcslevet = the fruit juice), you would use the definite forms:

eszik (they eat it – context dependent)
készítik (they make it / they prepare it)

Why is a gyereknek in the dative (-nak/-nek) instead of just a gyerek?

The verb készíteni (to make, to prepare) is often used in the pattern:

készíteni valakinek valamit
to make something *for someone*

The person who receives or benefits from the action is put in the dative case (with -nak/-nek):

a gyereknek gyümölcslevet készítenek
= they make fruit juice for the child.

So:

gyerek (child) → gyereknek (to/for the child).

This is similar to English “give to someone”, “make for someone”, but Hungarian marks the “for/to” meaning with the case ending instead of a separate preposition.

Why is szülők plural but gyereknek singular? Could it be plural too?

Yes, it can be plural if the meaning requires it. In the given sentence:

a szülők = the parents (plural)
a gyereknek = for the child (singular)

So we understand: The parents (plural) eat only vegetables, and they also make fruit juice for the (one) child.

If there were several children, you would say:

a gyerekeknek (gyerek + -ek plural + -nek dative)
→ A szülők csak zöldséget esznek, és a gyerekeknek is gyümölcslevet készítenek.
= The parents eat only vegetables, and they also make fruit juice for the children.

Why isn’t szülők marked with any case ending? How do we know it’s the subject?

szülők is the subject of the sentence and is in the nominative case, which in Hungarian usually has no special ending besides the plural -k.

szülő = parent (singular, nominative)
szülők = parents (plural, nominative)

We know it’s the subject because:

it appears near the beginning of the clause,
the verb esznek / készítenek are 3rd person plural and agree with it,
the other nouns have clear case endings (-t for objects, -nek for dative).

In Hungarian, case endings (or their absence) and verb agreement together show who is doing what to whom.

Does zöldséget mean “a vegetable”, “the vegetables”, or “vegetables in general”?

zöldséget here is grammatically singular (one “vegetable”), but in this kind of context Hungarian often uses the singular object for things in general or as a mass.

So:

csak zöldséget esznek = they eat only vegetables (in general, as a type of food).

If you want to make the plurality very explicit, you can say:

csak zöldségeket esznek – literally “they eat only vegetables (plural)”, but the meaning is almost the same here.

For everyday speech, zöldséget is perfectly natural for “vegetables” as a category.

Is the comma before és necessary in Hungarian? Why is it there?

Yes, in this sentence the comma before “és” is standard, because we have two separate clauses with their own verbs:

A szülők csak zöldséget esznek – the parents only eat vegetables.
[A szülők] a gyereknek is gyümölcslevet készítenek – (the parents) also make fruit juice for the child.

The subject a szülők is not repeated in the second clause, but it is understood from the context, and készítenek is a new finite verb.

Hungarian punctuation usually separates such clauses with a comma, even if they are joined by “és”.

How would the meaning change if I moved is after gyümölcslevet instead of after gyereknek?

Compare these:

a gyereknek is gyümölcslevet készítenek
→ They make fruit juice for the child as well (often: in addition to making something for someone else, or in addition to some other action involving the child).
a gyereknek gyümölcslevet is készítenek
→ They also make fruit juice for the child (in addition to other things they make for the child).

Grammatically both are correct, but:

is after gyereknek focuses on the recipient (“for the child, too”),
is after gyümölcslevet focuses on the kind of thing they make (“fruit juice as well”).

Word order with is is an important tool for expressing what is being added or emphasized.

How are the sounds sz, s, cs, and gy in this sentence pronounced, compared to English?

Using rough English equivalents:

sz (as in szülők, csak) = like English s in see.
s (not in this exact sentence, but often confused) = like English sh in she.
cs (in csak) = like English ch in church.
gy (in gyereknek, gyümölcslevet) = a soft sound, somewhere between English d and the du in duty (British), or like a very soft dj.

So:

szülők ≈ sülők
csak ≈ chak
gyerek ≈ djerek
gyümölcslevet ≈ djümölch-levet (with that soft dj at the start).