Mennyi tej van a hűtőben?

to be

Breakdown of Mennyi tej van a hűtőben?

• tej: the milk
• -ben: in
• hűtő: the fridge

Questions & Answers about Mennyi tej van a hűtőben?

What does mennyi mean, and when do I use it?

Mennyi means how much and is used for uncountable things, amounts, or quantity in general.

In Mennyi tej van a hűtőben?, it means How much milk is there in the fridge?

Compare:

• Mennyi tej? = How much milk?
• Hány alma? = How many apples?

So a learner often needs to remember:

• mennyi = how much
• hány = how many

Why is it tej and not something like tejet?

Because tej is the subject of the sentence, not the direct object.

In Mennyi tej van a hűtőben?, the structure is basically:

• mennyi tej = how much milk
• van = there is / is
• a hűtőben = in the fridge

So the sentence literally works like: How much milk is in the fridge?

You would use tejet only when milk is the direct object of a verb, for example:

• Iszom a tejet. = I am drinking the milk.

Why is there no article before tej?