Breakdown of Nem tudom pontosan, mikor érkezik a vonat, de valószínűleg délután.
de
but
tudni
to know
délután
in the afternoon
nem
not
Questions & Answers about Nem tudom pontosan, mikor érkezik a vonat, de valószínűleg délután.
Why does the sentence start with Nem tudom? Does it literally mean I don't know?
Yes. Nem tudom literally means I don't know.
- nem = not
- tudom = I know it
More exactly, tudom is the 1st person singular definite form of tudni (to know). Hungarian often uses a definite verb form when the thing known is specific, even if it is expressed by a clause like mikor érkezik a vonat (when the train arrives / when the train is arriving).
So the first part means: Nem tudom pontosan = I don't know exactly
Why is it tudom and not tudok?
This is a very common learner question. Hungarian verbs can have two conjugations:
- indefinite conjugation
- definite conjugation
Here:
- tudok = I know / I can in a more general or indefinite sense
- tudom = I know it, where the object is definite or specific
In this sentence, what is being known is a specific piece of information: mikor érkezik a vonat (when the train arrives). Because of that, Hungarian uses the definite form tudom.
So:
- Nem tudok would not fit here.
- Nem tudom, mikor érkezik a vonat is the natural form.
What does pontosan do here?