Breakdown of Ha nem érti a feladatot, a diák megkérdezi a tanárt.
tanár
the teacher
diák
the student
ha
if
nem
not
Questions & Answers about Ha nem érti a feladatot, a diák megkérdezi a tanárt.
Why is it érti and not ért?
Because the verb érteni (to understand) is being used with a definite object: a feladatot = the task / the exercise.
Hungarian has two main present-tense conjugations:
- indefinite conjugation: used when there is no object, or the object is indefinite
- definite conjugation: used when the object is definite
So:
- ért = he/she understands something in a general or indefinite sense
- érti = he/she understands it / the specific thing
Since a feladatot is definite, Hungarian uses érti.
Why does feladatot end in -ot?
The ending -t marks the direct object in Hungarian, similar to how English shows the object by word order.
- feladat = task, exercise
- feladatot = the task / the exercise as the object of the verb
The extra vowel -o- appears for pronunciation reasons, so the object ending here is -ot, not just -t.
So:
- érti a feladatot = understands the task
Why does tanárt also end in -t?