Breakdown of Az üveg az asztalon van, és még van benne víz.
Questions & Answers about Az üveg az asztalon van, és még van benne víz.
Because Hungarian uses the definite article separately for each definite noun phrase.
- az üveg = the glass
- az asztalon = on the table / literally the table-on
So Hungarian does not say something like the glass on table is. It marks both glass and table as definite.
A small extra point: the article is a or az depending on the next sound. Before a vowel, Hungarian uses az.
- az üveg
- az asztal
But:
- a pohár
- a könyv
Because Hungarian usually expresses location with a suffix instead of a separate word like on.
- asztal = table
- asztalon = on the table
The ending -on / -en / -ön often means on (on top of something). This is called the superessive case.
Examples:
- a széken = on the chair
- a polcon = on the shelf
- az asztalon = on the table
So az asztalon van literally means is on the table.
That is a very common question. Hungarian does often omit van in the present tense, but not in every kind of sentence.
You usually leave out van in simple noun/adjective predicates:
- A nő tanár. = The woman is a teacher.
- A víz hideg. = The water is cold.
But with location or existence, van is normally used:
- Az üveg az asztalon van. = The glass is on the table.
- Van víz a pohárban. = There is water in the glass.
So in your sentence, both uses of van are natural:
- first: location → az asztalon van
- second: existence → van benne víz
Because the two clauses are saying two different things:
Az üveg az asztalon van
= the glass is on the tableés még van benne víz
= and there is still water in it
The first van tells you where the glass is.
The second van says that water exists in the glass.
So the repetition is not awkward in Hungarian; it is doing two separate jobs.
benne means in it, in him, or in her, depending on context.
In this sentence, it clearly means in it, referring to the glass.
It comes from the idea of in + pronoun:
- a dobozban = in the box
- benne = in it
So:
- van benne víz = there is water in it
Hungarian often uses these built-in adverbial pronoun forms instead of saying the noun again.
Other similar forms:
- rajta = on it
- alatta = under it
- mellette = next to it
You could repeat the noun, but Hungarian often prefers the pronoun once the referent is already clear.
So these are both possible:
- és még van benne víz
- és még van víz az üvegben
The version with benne sounds natural because the glass has just been mentioned. It avoids repetition, much like English prefers in it instead of in the glass when the meaning is obvious.
Both are possible, but the word order changes the emphasis.
van benne víz is a very natural existential pattern in Hungarian:
- there is water in it
It presents water as something that exists in the glass.
If you say Víz van benne, the focus shifts more onto water:
- It is water that is in it
- or more naturally, There is water in it with extra emphasis on water
So the sentence you gave uses the neutral, common existential structure:
- van + place + noun
Here még means still.
So:
- még van benne víz = there is still water in it
It suggests that some water remains.
Depending on context, még can also mean yet, more, or another, but here still is the right meaning.
Examples:
- Még itt van. = He/She is still here.
- Még kérek. = I want more.
- Még egyet kérek. = I’d like one more.
Because víz here is an indefinite mass noun in an existential sentence.
- van benne víz = there is water in it
In English, water also often appears without an article in this kind of meaning.
If you used the definite article, a víz, it would usually mean the water in a specific, already known sense, and the sentence structure would likely be different.
So in this sentence, no article before víz is the normal choice.
It can mean both, depending on context.
- üveg = glass as a material
- üveg = glass bottle / glass container / drinking glass in some contexts
In your sentence, Az üveg az asztalon van most naturally means The glass is on the table or possibly The bottle is on the table, depending on the context already given.
If someone wanted to be very explicit about a drinking glass, they might also use pohár.
- pohár = drinking glass / cup-like vessel
So context matters.
Hungarian word order is more flexible than English, and it often reflects information structure, not just grammar.
In Az üveg az asztalon van, the order is very natural:
- topic: Az üveg = the glass
- comment about it: az asztalon van = is on the table
So the sentence is basically:
- As for the glass, it is on the table.
You could change the order for emphasis:
- Az asztalon van az üveg.
= The glass is on the table / It’s on the table that the glass is
That version may sound more like you are identifying the location.
Very literally, it is:
- Az üveg = the glass
- az asztalon = on the table
- van = is
- és = and
- még = still
- van = there is / is
- benne = in it
- víz = water
So a very literal gloss would be:
The glass on-the-table is, and still is in-it water.
That sounds strange in English, but it helps show how Hungarian builds meaning:
- location with suffixes
- existence with van
- pronoun-like location words such as benne
Yes, absolutely.
Hungarian often leaves some unexpressed when English would naturally include it.
So:
- még van benne víz
can be understood as:
- there is still water in it
- there is still some water in it
Both are good translations, depending on how natural you want the English to sound.