Este a barátom a nappaliban néz tévét.

In the evening my friend watches TV in the living room.

Breakdown of Este a barátom a nappaliban néz tévét.

• barát: the friend
• este: the evening
• -ban: in
• -om: my
• nézni: to watch
• tévé: the television
• nappali: the living room

Questions & Answers about Este a barátom a nappaliban néz tévét.

What does Este literally mean, and why is there no word for "in" like in "in the evening"?

Este literally means “(in the) evening” and functions as a time adverb.
Hungarian often uses bare time words as adverbs without prepositions:

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

So you don’t say *in este or *on este. Este by itself already means “in the evening”.

Why is it a barátom and not just barátom? Do we need the article a here?

Both are possible, but they feel slightly different:

• Barátom a nappaliban néz tévét. – grammatically OK, a bit more neutral, often more “bare”/matter-of-fact.
• Este a barátom a nappaliban néz tévét. – using a makes a barátom sound more like a specific, identifiable person in the conversation (that friend you and I both know about).

With possessed nouns (like barátom = my friend), the article a(z) is optional in many contexts. It’s often added when the person or thing is specific and already known in the situation. In everyday speech, you’ll hear both versions; the difference is subtle and often just stylistic.

Why is there no word for “is” in “is watching TV”? Why just néz?

Hungarian doesn’t have a special continuous tense like English “is watching”. The simple present tense néz can cover both:

• Este a barátom a nappaliban néz tévét.
  = In the evening my friend watches TV in the living room. (habitual)
  = This evening my friend is watching TV in the living room. (with the right context)

You only use van (the “to be” verb) when it’s needed as an actual verb of existence/location or in certain constructions, not to build continuous tenses:

• A barátom a nappaliban van. = My friend is in the living room.
• But *A barátom van néz tévét. is wrong.

What is the ending -ban in nappaliban, and why isn’t there a separate word for “in”?

Hungarian usually uses case endings instead of separate prepositions.

• nappali = living room
• nappali + -ban → nappaliban = in the living room

The case ending -ban / -ben means “in, inside”:

• házban = in the house (ház = house)
• autóban = in the car
• szobában = in the room

So a nappaliban literally means “in the living room”; no extra word for “in” is needed.

Why does tévét end in -t?

The -t is the accusative case ending, marking the direct object of the verb.

• tévé = TV
• tévé + -t → tévét = TV as an object (something you watch)

In Hungarian, most direct objects take -t:

• olvasok egy könyvet = I’m reading a book (könyv + et)
• eszem egy almát = I’m eating an apple (alma + t)
• nézek egy filmet = I’m watching a film (film + et)

So néz tévét = (he/she) watches TV.

Can the word order change? For example, is A barátom este a nappaliban tévét néz also correct? Does it mean the same?

Yes, you can change the word order, but it affects focus (what is emphasized). All of these are grammatical but slightly different in emphasis:

• Este a barátom a nappaliban néz tévét.
  Neutral: setting the time (este) as the topic; stating what your friend does and where.

• A barátom este a nappaliban néz tévét.
  Puts a bit more weight on a barátom as the topic: As for my friend, in the evening he/she watches TV in the living room.

• A barátom a nappaliban néz tévét este.
  Sounds like you’re adding este more loosely, often as an afterthought or contrast: My friend watches TV in the living room – in the evening (not at some other time).

Hungarian word order is quite flexible, but the focus (new or contrastive information) usually appears immediately before the verb. In your original sentence, there is no very strong contrastive focus; it’s fairly neutral.

What’s the difference between néz tévét and tévét néz?

Both are possible and mean essentially “watches TV”, but they differ in focus:

• néz tévét
  – more neutral; the verb néz comes first, then its object.
  – fits well in your sentence as a simple statement.

• tévét néz
  – puts focus on tévét (it’s TV that he watches).
  – e.g. A nappaliban a barátom tévét néz, nem filmet.
  = In the living room my friend is watching TV, not a movie.

So if you specifically want to emphasize what he is watching (as opposed to something else), you’d say tévét néz. For a neutral description, néz tévét is fine.

Is barátom “friend” or can it also mean “boyfriend/girlfriend”? How do you say that clearly?

Barátom literally means “my friend”, but in everyday speech it can be ambiguous:

• barátom
  
  • most often: my (male) friend
  • can also mean my boyfriend depending on context

To be explicit:

• a barátom – my (male) friend / my boyfriend (context decides)
• a fiúm – my boyfriend (colloquial, clearer)
• a barátnőm – my (female) friend or my girlfriend
• a párom – my partner (gender-neutral, relationship implied)

In your sentence, Este a barátom a nappaliban néz tévét., it could be understood either as my friend or my boyfriend, depending on the wider context.

How would you say “this evening” instead of just “in the evening”?

Use ma este:

• Ma este a barátom a nappaliban néz tévét.
  = This evening my friend is watching TV in the living room.

Este alone is more like a general “in the evening / in the evenings”, unless context makes it clearly about tonight. Ma este specifically points to this evening (today).

Does Este a barátom a nappaliban néz tévét. sound habitual (“in the evenings he usually watches TV”) or about one specific evening?

By itself, it’s slightly more natural as habitual:

• In the evenings my friend watches TV in the living room.

However, Hungarian simple present is flexible. With the right context (for example, you’re talking about today’s plan), it can also refer to tonight:

• (Talking about today’s schedule:)
  Este a barátom a nappaliban néz tévét.
  = This evening my friend is going to watch TV in the living room.

If you clearly mean a specific evening, you often help it with words like ma (today) or ma este (this evening).

Could you also say A barátom a nappaliban tévézik instead of néz tévét? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can:

• A barátom a nappaliban tévézik.
• A barátom a nappaliban néz tévét.

Both mean roughly “My friend is watching TV in the living room.”

Differences:

• néz tévét

  • literally: watches TV
  • verb néz (to watch) + object tévét

• tévézik

  • a specialized verb meaning to watch TV / to be TV-ing
  • more compact and very common in speech

Semantically they’re almost the same. Tévézik is just a one-word way of describing the activity of watching TV.