Breakdown of A barátnőm sok fotót küld a családjának, mert ez az utazás szép élmény neki.
Questions & Answers about A barátnőm sok fotót küld a családjának, mert ez az utazás szép élmény neki.
In Hungarian, possession is usually shown with an ending on the noun, not with a separate word.
- barátnő = girlfriend
- barátnőm = my girlfriend (-m is the 1st person singular possessive ending)
So barátnőm already contains the meaning my girlfriend. There is no separate word like my in this phrase.
Hungarian normally uses the definite article a/az even with possessed nouns:
- a könyvem = my book
- a házunk = our house
- a barátnőm = my girlfriend
So A barátnőm is the neutral, normal way to say My girlfriend as the subject of a sentence.
You can sometimes drop the article (Barátnőm sokat dolgozik.), but that sounds a bit more emphatic or stylistic; the version with a is the default.
With quantity words like sok (many, a lot of), kevés (few), néhány (some), több (more), Hungarian usually keeps the noun in the singular, even though the meaning is plural.
- sok fotó = many photos
- három könyv = three books
- kevés barát = few friends
When you need the accusative, you add -t to this singular form: sok fotó → sok fotót.
So sok fotót literally is many photo-ACC, but it means many photos.
The -t is the accusative ending, which marks the direct object of the verb.
- fotó = photo (subject or basic form)
- fotót = photo (as a direct object: sends a photo / sends photos)
In the sentence, sok fotót is what she sends, so it must be in the accusative.
Hungarian verbs have indefinite and definite conjugation.
- Use definite (like küldi) when the object is definite/specific:
- A barátnőm a fotókat küldi. = My girlfriend is sending the photos.
- Use indefinite (like küld) when the object is indefinite / not specific:
- A barátnőm sok fotót küld. = My girlfriend sends many photos. (not specific which photos)
Here sok fotót is an indefinite quantity (not a known, specific set), so the verb is küld (indefinite).
a családjának literally breaks down as:
- család = family
- családja = his/her family (-ja is the 3rd person possessive ending)
- családjának = to his/her family (-nak is the dative ending: to/for)
So a családjának = to her family (or to his family in other contexts).
The whole phrase sok fotót küld a családjának means she sends many photos to her family.
családom would be my family (with -om = my).
családja means his/her/their family (3rd person possessive).
In this sentence, the natural interpretation is that the possessive refers back to the subject A barátnőm:
- subject: A barátnőm (my girlfriend, she)
- indirect object: a családjának (to her family)
So the default reading is My girlfriend sends many photos to her (own) family. You would only understand my family if the context forced that reading.
Hungarian word order is quite flexible and is used to show emphasis and information structure, not just grammar.
The given order is a neutral version:
- A barátnőm sok fotót küld a családjának.
- Subject: A barátnőm
- Direct object near the verb: sok fotót
- Indirect object after the verb: a családjának
You can change the order, but it changes the focus:
- A barátnőm a családjának küld sok fotót. – emphasizes to her family (not to others)
- Sok fotót küld a barátnőm a családjának. – emphasizes it’s my girlfriend who sends many photos
So the original order is the most neutral and common in this context.
In ez az utazás, there are actually two separate words:
- ez = this (demonstrative)
- az = the (definite article used before a vowel-initial noun)
- utazás = trip, journey
In Hungarian, when you use a demonstrative before a noun, you must also use the definite article:
- ez a ház = this house
- ez az utazás = this trip
So ez az utazás literally is this the trip, but in English it is just this trip.
In Hungarian, the present tense 3rd person singular of “to be” (van) is normally left out in sentences where:
- the subject is a noun or pronoun, and
- the predicate is a noun or adjective.
So instead of:
- Ez az utazás szép élmény neki. (standard)
- Ez az utazás van szép élmény neki. (sounds wrong in this context)
You simply say Ez az utazás szép élmény neki. = This trip is a nice experience for her.
The verb van would appear in the past, future, or in some special present constructions, but not here.
neki is the dative pronoun (to/for him/her). Its base form is ő (he/she), dative is neki.
With some nouns like élmény (experience), Hungarian uses the dative to mean for someone:
- Ez az út nagy élmény nekem. = This trip is a great experience for me.
- Ez az utazás szép élmény neki. = This trip is a nice experience for her.
So here neki naturally corresponds to English for her.
Yes, mert ez az utazás egy szép élmény neki is also correct.
- Without egy: szép élmény – more general, like a nice experience (as a quality).
- With egy: egy szép élmény – slightly more like a (particular) nice experience, often a bit more concrete or emphasizing that it is one such experience.
In everyday speech, the version without egy is very common and sounds perfectly natural; adding egy just gives a small nuance, not a big meaning change.
Yes, mert ez az utazás neki szép élmény is also grammatical.
- szép élmény neki – neutral; just states that it is a nice experience for her.
- neki szép élmény – puts some emphasis on “for her”, often implying a contrast (e.g. maybe not for others).
So:
- Ez az utazás szép élmény neki. – This trip is a nice experience for her.
- Ez az utazás neki szép élmény. – For her, this trip is a nice experience (perhaps for someone else it isn’t).
The original sentence uses the more neutral word order.