A szemüvegem a könyv mellett van, a kulcstartóm pedig a fiókban.

In Hungarian, possession is usually shown with an ending on the noun, not with a separate word like my.

• szemüveg = glasses

• szemüveg-em = my glasses

• kulcstartó = keychain
• kulcstartó-m = my keychain

Those endings are possessive suffixes:

• -em / -om / -öm / -m can mean my, depending on vowel harmony and the shape of the word.

So Hungarian often says:

• szemüvegem = my glasses
• kulcstartóm = my keychain

You can add az én for extra emphasis, but it is not necessary:

• az én szemüvegem = my glasses / my own glasses

Because Hungarian often uses the definite article before a possessed noun.

So:

• a szemüvegem = literally the my-glasses, but naturally just my glasses
• a kulcstartóm = my keychain

This is normal Hungarian grammar. English does not say the my glasses, but Hungarian often does use the article this way.

Hungarian has two forms of the definite article:

• a before a consonant
• az before a vowel

Here all the following words begin with consonants:

• szemüvegem
• könyv
• kulcstartóm
• fiókban starts with f, even though fiók contains a vowel after that

So a is correct in all four places.

Examples:

• a könyv = the book
• az asztal = the table

Because Hungarian treats szemüveg as a singular noun for one pair of glasses.

So:

• szemüveg = glasses / a pair of glasses
• szemüvegem = my glasses

If you wanted to talk about several pairs of glasses, then you would use the plural:

• szemüvegek = glasses (several pairs)
• szemüvegeim = my glasses (several pairs)

This is a very common thing for English speakers to notice: Hungarian and English do not always divide reality into singular and plural in the same way.

mellett means next to / beside.

It is a postposition, which is similar to a preposition in English, except it comes after the noun instead of before it.

So:

• a könyv mellett = next to the book

Compare:

• English: next to the book
• Hungarian: the book next to

This is why it is written as a separate word.

Because Hungarian uses two different systems for location:

1. Postpositions: separate words after the noun

   • a könyv mellett = next to the book

2. Case endings: suffixes attached to the noun

   • a fiókban = in the drawer

Here:

• mellett is a separate postposition
• -ban means in

So:

• fiók = drawer
• fiókban = in the drawer

Hungarian uses both postpositions and case suffixes, and learners need to memorize which structure goes with which meaning.

-ban means in.

So:

• fiók = drawer
• fiókban = in the drawer

This ending follows vowel harmony rules. After back vowels, Hungarian usually uses -ban; after front vowels, it usually uses -ben.

Examples:

• házban = in the house
• kertben = in the garden

So a fiókban means in the drawer.

Hungarian often omits van in the present tense in sentences like:

• A könyv érdekes. = The book is interesting.
• A kulcs ott. is not normal

But with location, van is normally used:

• A könyv az asztalon van. = The book is on the table.
• A szemüvegem a könyv mellett van. = My glasses are next to the book.

So in this sentence, van is needed because the sentence tells us where something is.

Here pedig means something like:

• and
• while
• whereas
• as for

In this sentence, it connects the second clause and gives a slight contrast or topic shift:

• A szemüvegem a könyv mellett van, a kulcstartóm pedig a fiókban.
• My glasses are next to the book, and/as for my keychain, it is in the drawer.

It is not exactly the same as és.

• és = simple and
• pedig = and/while/as for, often with contrast or comparison

Because pedig often comes after the topic of the clause.

So:

• a kulcstartóm pedig = as for my keychain / and my keychain, meanwhile

This is very natural Hungarian word order. The thing being talked about first is a kulcstartóm, and then pedig marks the connection/contrast with the previous clause.

English speakers often expect conjunctions to come first, but Hungarian does not always do that in the same way.

Hungarian word order is flexible, but it is strongly influenced by topic and focus.

The neutral order here is very natural:

• A szemüvegem = topic: what we are talking about
• a könyv mellett = where it is
• van = is

So the sentence simply states the location of my glasses.

If you move things around, the emphasis can change. For example:

• A könyv mellett van a szemüvegem can sound more like It’s next to the book that my glasses are
• A szemüvegem van a könyv mellett is usually less natural in a neutral context

So the original sentence is a normal, neutral way to say it.

Because the sentence contains two coordinated clauses:

• A szemüvegem a könyv mellett van
• a kulcstartóm pedig a fiókban

Hungarian normally separates such clauses with a comma, especially when words like pedig connect them.

So the comma helps show the structure:

• first clause: where the glasses are
• second clause: where the keychain is

A helpful rough breakdown is:

• A szemüvegem = my glasses
• a könyv mellett = next to the book
• van = is
• a kulcstartóm pedig = and/as for my keychain
• a fiókban = in the drawer

So very literally:

My glasses next-to the book are, my keychain meanwhile in-the-drawer.

That is not good English, of course, but it helps show how Hungarian builds the sentence.