Ma akció van a boltban, ezért tejet és sajtot veszek.

There is a sale in the shop today, so I am buying milk and cheese.

Breakdown of Ma akció van a boltban, ezért tejet és sajtot veszek.

• lenni: to be
• én: I
• és: and
• tej: the milk

Questions & Answers about Ma akció van a boltban, ezért tejet és sajtot veszek.

Why does Ma come first?

Ma means today, and putting it first is a very natural way to set the time frame for the whole sentence.

Hungarian often puts the time expression near the beginning:

• Ma akció van a boltban. = Today there is a sale in the shop.
• Holnap dolgozom. = Tomorrow I work / I’m working tomorrow.

English can also do this, but Hungarian does it very regularly.

What exactly does akció van mean?

Literally, akció van means something like there is a promotion / sale.

Hungarian commonly uses van (is / exists) in this kind of expression:

• Akció van. = There’s a sale on.
• Csend van. = It’s quiet / There is silence.
• Baj van. = There is trouble.

So Ma akció van a boltban is not structured like English The shop has a sale today, but more like Today there is a sale in the shop.

Why is there a in a boltban? Does it mean the?