Breakdown of A testvérem sokáig készülődik, ezért néha későn indul.
néha
sometimes
ezért
so
későn
late
testvér
the sibling
Questions & Answers about A testvérem sokáig készülődik, ezért néha későn indul.
Why is it testvérem and not testvér or a testvéremnek?
Testvérem means my sibling / my brother / my sister.
It is built from:
- testvér = sibling
- -em = my (a possessive ending)
So:
- testvér = sibling
- testvérem = my sibling
The sentence uses a testvérem because testvérem is the subject of the sentence, so it stays in the basic form.
You would only use something like testvéremnek if it needed the dative ending -nak/-nek, for example: Adok valamit a testvéremnek = I give something to my sibling.
Why is there an a before testvérem if -em already means my?
In Hungarian, possessive forms often still take the definite article when they are the subject or a definite noun phrase.
So:
- testvérem = my sibling
- a testvérem = my sibling / my sibling in this specific sentence
This is very normal Hungarian usage. English usually does not say the my sibling, but Hungarian often uses the article with possessed nouns:
- A bátyám itt van. = My older brother is here.
- A könyvem az asztalon van. = My book is on the table.