A piac a központban van.

to be

Breakdown of A piac a központban van.

• központ: the centre
• -ban/-ben: in
• piac: the market

Questions & Answers about A piac a központban van.

Why are there two a’s in A piac a központban van?

Hungarian uses the definite article a/az (like English the) before most definite nouns. Here you have two definite nouns:

• A piac = the market
• a központban = in the (city) center/downtown (literally in the center)

So it’s simply the market + in the center. English often doesn’t repeat the as noticeably, but Hungarian does it very naturally.

When do I use a vs az?

It depends on the next word’s first sound:

• a before a consonant: a piac, a központ
• az before a vowel: az iskola, az állomás

So A piac a központban van is correct because piac and központban start with consonants.

What does központban mean exactly, and why does it end in -ban?

központ = center
-ban/-ben is the inessive case meaning in (inside/within).

• központ + -ban → központban = in the center

So a központban = in the center / downtown (depending on context).

How do I know whether it’s -ban or -ben?