Ez az óra az asztalon van.

this

Breakdown of Ez az óra az asztalon van.

• lenni: to be
• asztal: the table
• -on: on

Questions & Answers about Ez az óra az asztalon van.

Why do we have both ez and az before óra? Why not just ez óra?

Hungarian usually uses two elements in front of a definite noun with this/that:

• ez / az = this / that (demonstrative pronoun)
• a / az = the (definite article)

So:

• ez az óra = this clock
• az az óra = that clock
• ez a ház = this house
• az a könyv = that book

You cannot normally say *ez óra to mean this clock.
Ez óra (without the article) would rather be understood as This is a lesson / hour (and even then it sounds a bit incomplete; more natural: Ez egy óra.).

So in Ez az óra az asztalon van., ez is this, and az is the definite article the. Together ez az óra literally feels like this the clock → this clock.

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What is the role of van here, and can it be left out like in other Hungarian sentences?