Learn Hardcore Hungarian: Este az ablak zárva van, ezért a szoba nem olyan világos. - In the evening the window is closed, therefore the room is not so bright.

Este az ablak zárva van, ezért a szoba nem olyan világos.

In the evening the window is closed, therefore the room is not so bright.

Breakdown of Este az ablak zárva van, ezért a szoba nem olyan világos.

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Questions & Answers about Este az ablak zárva van, ezért a szoba nem olyan világos.

What exactly does este mean here? Why isn’t there a preposition like “in” (as in “in the evening”) or a case ending?

Este is an adverb of time meaning “in the evening / at night (in the evening hours)”.

Hungarian often uses simple adverbs for time where English uses a preposition + noun:

este = in the evening
reggel = in the morning
délután = in the afternoon
éjjel = at night

So you don’t say *az estén or add a preposition; este by itself already contains the idea of “in the evening”.

Why is the word order Este az ablak zárva van? Could I also say Az ablak este zárva van?

Both Este az ablak zárva van and Az ablak este zárva van are grammatically correct; word order in Hungarian is flexible and mainly reflects what you want to emphasize.

Este az ablak zárva van…
– Topic: este (“in the evening”)
– Rough feeling: As for the evenings, (the) window is closed…
Az ablak este zárva van…
– Topic: az ablak (“the window”)
– Rough feeling: As for the window, it is closed in the evenings…

In neutral context, both are fine. Time expressions like este commonly appear at the front of the sentence, so Este az ablak zárva van sounds very natural and neutral.

Why do we say zárva van but a szoba nem olyan világos (without van) in the second clause? When is van used and when is it dropped?

Hungarian has a key rule about van (“to be”) in the 3rd person singular present:

With nouns and adjectives as the main predicate, van is normally omitted:
- A szoba világos. = The room is bright.
- A fiú tanár. = The boy is a teacher.
- A szoba nem olyan világos. = The room is not that bright.
With adverbs, verb-like forms (-va/-ve), and many other non‑adjectival predicates, van is kept:
- Az ablak nyitva van. = The window is open.
- Az ajtó zárva van. = The door is closed.
- A könyv az asztalon van. = The book is on the table.

In zárva van, the predicate is zárva (a -va form, not a simple adjective), so van must stay.

In a szoba nem olyan világos, the predicate is the adjective phrase nem olyan világos, so you leave out van in the 3rd‑person present.

What exactly is zárva grammatically, and how is it different from a normal adjective?

Zárva is a -va/-ve participle-like form built from the verb zár (“to close/lock”). In traditional descriptions it’s often called an adverbial participle or a state/resultative form.

Key points:

It expresses a state resulting from an action:
zárva ≈ “in a closed/locked state”.
Because it’s not a plain adjective, it requires van:
- Az ablak zárva van. (correct)
- *Az ablak zárva. (wrong in standard Hungarian)

By contrast, something like világos is a regular adjective, so:

A szoba világos. (no van in 3rd person, present tense)

What’s the difference between zárva, be van zárva, and csukva for a window? Are they interchangeable?

They are related but not identical:

zárva
- From zár (“to close/lock”).
- Often implies locked / fastened, not just pushed shut.
- Az ablak zárva van. = The window is (properly) closed / locked.
be van zárva
- be- is a prefix meaning “in/into”.
- be van zárva often emphasizes locked from the outside / shut away.
- With windows/doors it can mean firmly locked, stronger than plain zárva.
csukva
- From csuk (“to shut”).
- Focuses more on being shut (not open) than on the idea of being locked.
- Az ablak csukva van. = The window is shut (as opposed to open).

For an ordinary “closed window”:

Az ablak zárva van.
Az ablak csukva van.

are both natural. Be van zárva suggests a stronger locked/shut‑in nuance and is more typical with doors or people (e.g. someone is “locked in”).

Could I say Este az ablak be van zárva instead? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, Este az ablak be van zárva is correct, but it’s stronger:

Este az ablak zárva van.
– The window is closed (and likely locked, but the locking isn’t heavily stressed).
Este az ablak be van zárva.
– The window is locked shut; it really emphasizes that it is locked, not just closed.

In many everyday contexts people still use zárva van even when something is actually locked; be van zárva just highlights that locked‑state more explicitly.

Why is it az ablak (singular) here? Could I say az ablakok zárva vannak (“the windows are closed”)?

Yes, you can absolutely say:

Este az ablakok zárva vannak, ezért a szoba nem olyan világos.
= In the evening the windows are closed, so the room is not that bright.

The original sentence simply talks about one specific window (az ablak = “the window”). Maybe the situation is such that only one window matters, or the speaker is thinking of a single window.

So:

az ablak = the window
az ablakok = the windows
verb agreement changes accordingly:
- zárva van (singular)
- zárva vannak (plural)

Why is it a szoba, not a szobában? In English we might say “it’s not so bright in the room”.

Both are possible in Hungarian, but they say slightly different things:

A szoba nem olyan világos.
– Literally: The room is not that bright.
– Talks about the property of the room as a whole.
A szobában nem olyan világos.
– Literally: It’s not that bright in the room.
– Focuses on the situation inside the room.

The original sentence uses a szoba nem olyan világos, describing the room’s general brightness level as a characteristic of the room. English naturally translates that as either:

“the room is not that bright” or
“it’s not that bright in the room.”

Both capture the idea.

What is ezért exactly, and why is there a comma before it?

Ezért is a conjunctive adverb that means “therefore / for this reason / so”.

In the sentence:

Este az ablak zárva van, ezért a szoba nem olyan világos.

we have two clauses:

Este az ablak zárva van. – In the evening the window is closed.
A szoba nem olyan világos. – The room is not that bright.

Ezért connects them and shows that the second is a consequence of the first.

Hungarian normally uses a comma between such independent clauses:

…, ezért …
…, mert … (because)
…, de … (but)

So the comma marks a boundary between two clauses, and ezért introduces the second as a result.

Can ezért go later in the sentence, like A szoba ezért nem olyan világos? Is that different?

Yes, you can say:

Este az ablak zárva van, a szoba ezért nem olyan világos.

This is also correct. The nuance:

…, ezért a szoba nem olyan világos.
– Very typical way to say “therefore, the room is not that bright.”
– ezért stands right at the start of the consequence clause.
…, a szoba ezért nem olyan világos.
– Slightly more like: “the room is therefore not that bright.”
– Feels a bit more formal or written, but still natural.

In both versions, ezért connects the two clauses with a causal (“therefore”) meaning; word order mainly changes the rhythm and emphasis, not the core meaning.

What nuance does nem olyan világos have compared to just nem világos?

The phrase nem olyan világos means roughly “not so bright / not that bright”. It’s somewhat softer than a bare nem világos.

A szoba nem olyan világos.
– The room is not that bright; maybe it’s a bit dim, but not pitch‑dark.
A szoba nem világos.
– More like “the room is not bright”; this can sound stronger, closer to saying it’s simply dark or poorly lit.

Similar softeners in Hungarian:

nem túl világos = not too bright
nem nagyon világos = not very bright

So nem olyan világos fits well here: the room is less bright than desired or expected, because the window is closed.

What does világos mean in this sentence? Does it mean “clear” or “light/bright”? Are there other options for “bright”?

Here világos means “bright / light (well‑lit)”:

A szoba világos. = The room is bright / well‑lit.

Világos is polysemous:

About light/colour/rooms: bright, light (not dark).
About ideas/speech: clear, easy to understand.
- Világos? = Is that clear?

Other common words for brightness of a room:

fényes – literally “shiny / full of light”, can sound a bit stronger or more poetic in this context.
napfényes – “sunny”.

But for a natural, everyday description of how bright a room is, világos is the standard choice, so nem olyan világos is very idiomatic.

Does Este az ablak zárva van describe a general habit, or one specific evening? Could I say zárva lesz here?

Este az ablak zárva van in isolation is formally present tense, but in Hungarian present tense often covers:

Current state: This evening, the window is closed.
Usual / habitual actions: In the evenings, the window is (always) closed.

Context decides whether it’s about a specific evening or a habit.

You could say:

Este az ablak zárva lesz, ezért a szoba nem lesz olyan világos.
= In the evening the window will be closed, so the room will not be that bright.

That’s explicitly future, talking about what will happen (e.g. planning, predicting). The original sentence is more like a general description of how things are (now or usually).