Breakdown of A nyugta nálam marad, mert holnap a bankban is kérhetik.
Questions & Answers about A nyugta nálam marad, mert holnap a bankban is kérhetik.
Hungarian often uses the definite article a/az when referring to a specific, known thing—here, a particular receipt that both speaker and listener know about.
Without the article (Nyugta nálam marad…) it would sound more like a label or a note, not a normal spoken sentence.
nyugta = a receipt (usually a simple proof of purchase, like what you get in a shop).
számla = an invoice (often more formal, may include buyer details, used for accounting/VAT).
In everyday contexts, if you just mean a store receipt, nyugta is the natural word.
nálam literally means at me / by me (from -nál/-nél, “at/near”).
In this sentence, nálam marad is a common way to express I’ll keep it / it stays with me. It emphasizes possession/keeping rather than physical location alone.
It is the pronoun én (I) in the adessive case:
- én → nálam = at/by me
Other persons: nálad (by you), nálunk (by us), náluk (by them), etc.
Hungarian commonly uses the present tense to talk about planned/expected future situations, especially when a time word like holnap (tomorrow) or the context makes it clear.
So marad can naturally mean stays / will stay here.
Most naturally: I keep the receipt / The receipt stays with me.
It can imply physical location (it’s with the speaker), but the usual communicative intent is “I’m the one holding onto it.”
Because mert (because) introduces a subordinate clause, and Hungarian normally separates the main clause and a mert-clause with a comma:
A nyugta nálam marad, mert… = The receipt stays with me, because…
bankban = bank + -ban/-ben (the inessive case), meaning in (the) bank.
So a bankban = in the bank (inside the building/at the bank as an institution).
is means also / too / as well.
Placed after a bankban it specifically means: at the bank too (in addition to some other place/situation).
Position matters: X is typically means “X too,” focusing on X.
kérhetik breaks down as:
- kér = ask/request
- -het- = potential suffix (“can/may”)
- -ik = 3rd person plural, definite conjugation
So it’s literally they may ask for it / they can request it.
Hungarian often uses 3rd person plural to express an indefinite group (“they” meaning “people/officials/staff”). Here it means something like: the bank staff might ask for it.
It’s similar to English “they might ask for it” when you don’t mean a specific group you’ve already named.
Because the object is understood from context: it refers back to a nyugta (the specific receipt). Hungarian can keep the object implicit but still conjugate the verb as definite when the intended object is definite/known.
If you used the indefinite form (kérhetnek), it would sound more like “they might ask (for something)” without clearly pointing back to the receipt.
Yes, and it’s very natural. elkér often means ask for (something) to be handed over / request to see it—which fits well with showing a receipt.
- kérhetik = they may ask (for it)
- elkérhetik = they may ask for it / request it (often “please hand it over/show it”)
Hungarian word order is fairly flexible, but it changes emphasis.
- A nyugta nálam marad, mert holnap… is neutral and common.
- Mert holnap a bankban is kérhetik, a nyugta nálam marad. foregrounds the reason first (more dramatic/argument-like), and can sound more emphatic.