Breakdown of Tegnap is ugyanazt kérdezted, mint ma.
Questions & Answers about Tegnap is ugyanazt kérdezted, mint ma.
What does is mean in this sentence?
Here is means too / also.
So Tegnap is means yesterday too or also yesterday.
A very important Hungarian point: is usually comes after the word it belongs to. So:
- tegnap is = yesterday too
- ma is = today too
- én is = me too / I too
It is not the verb is from English.
Why is it ugyanazt and not just ugyanaz?
Because ugyanazt is the direct object of the verb kérdezted.
- ugyanaz = the same
- ugyanazt = the same thing / the same one, as an object
The ending -t is the accusative marker, which often marks the thing being affected by the verb.
So:
- ugyanaz = the same
- ugyanazt kérdezted = you asked the same thing
Why is the verb kérdezted and not kérdeztél?
Because Hungarian uses two kinds of verb conjugation: indefinite and definite.
Here the object is definite: ugyanazt = the same thing. Since there is a definite object, Hungarian uses the definite conjugation:
- kérdeztél = you asked (something, unspecified)
- kérdezted = you asked it / you asked the definite thing
So ugyanazt kérdezted requires kérdezted.
What exactly is kérdezted grammatically?
Kérdezted is:
- verb: kérdezni = to ask
- tense: past
- person: 2nd person singular
- conjugation: definite
So it means you asked it / you asked the definite thing.
That is why the subject you does not need to be stated separately in Hungarian.
Why is there no word for you in the sentence?
Because Hungarian verbs already show the subject.
In kérdezted, the ending tells us the subject is you (singular). So adding te is usually unnecessary unless you want extra emphasis or contrast.
Compare:
- Kérdezted. = You asked it.
- Te kérdezted. = You asked it. (emphatic)
What does mint ma mean here?
Mint means than / as, depending on the structure.
Here mint ma means as today or more naturally in English, like today.
The full idea is something like:
- Tegnap is ugyanazt kérdezted, mint ma.
- You asked the same thing yesterday too as today.
Hungarian often leaves out repeated material when it is obvious. So after mint ma, the verb kérdeztél/kérdezted is understood and not repeated.
You can think of it as an ellipsis:
- ... mint ma [kérdezted].
Why is there a comma before mint ma?
Because mint ma introduces a comparison, and in Hungarian this kind of comparative phrase is often separated with a comma, especially when it has a clause-like feel or an omitted verb behind it.
So the comma helps show the structure:
- Tegnap is ugyanazt kérdezted, mint ma.
It marks the comparison: the same thing yesterday too, as today.
Is ugyanazt literally made of smaller parts?
Yes. It is related to:
- az = that
- ugyanaz = the same
- ugyanazt = the same thing / that same one (object form)
For a learner, the most useful thing is to memorize:
- ugyanaz = the same
- ugyanazt = the same thing
You do not usually need to mentally split it up while speaking.
Why are tegnap and ma used without any case ending?
Because both are already time words:
- tegnap = yesterday
- ma = today
Hungarian often uses basic time adverbs without extra endings when they answer when?
So:
- tegnap jött = he came yesterday
- ma dolgozom = I’m working today
No extra suffix is needed here.
Is the word order special here?
Yes, but it is also quite natural Hungarian word order.
The sentence begins with Tegnap is, which highlights yesterday too. Then comes the object ugyanazt, then the verb kérdezted, and finally the comparison mint ma.
A rough structure is:
- Tegnap is = yesterday too
- ugyanazt = the same thing
- kérdezted = you asked
- mint ma = as today
Hungarian word order is flexible, but it is not random. It often shows what is emphasized or what is treated as known information.
In this version, tegnap is is given noticeable prominence: the speaker is stressing that this happened yesterday too, not only today.
Could this sentence be translated more naturally into English in different ways?
Yes. Even if the meaning is already known, it helps to see the range.
Possible natural English versions include:
- You asked the same thing yesterday too, as today.
- You asked the same thing yesterday as you did today.
- Yesterday too, you asked the same thing as today.
- You were asking the same thing yesterday too.
(less literal, depends on context)
The Hungarian sentence itself is compact, and English often needs a slightly fuller comparison, such as as you did today.
Can is ever mean something stronger than too?
Yes. Depending on context, is can sometimes feel like even.
But in this sentence, the most natural meaning is simply too / also:
- Tegnap is = yesterday too
If the context were more emotional or surprising, a translation like even yesterday might be possible, but that is not the default reading here.
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