The rest of the machine
Syntax & extras
van that disappears, plurals that refuse to double-count, word order that is really focus order, and postpositions with personal forms.
van / nincs
van is ‘is’ and also ‘there is’. Hungarian drops it when a quality is predicated in 3rd person present.
- Keep van for location, existence, and possession: Itt van. Van kenyér. Van kutyám.
- Drop van when saying what someone/something is like, in 3sg/3pl present: Ő tanár. A ház nagy. Ők fáradtak.
- Never drop it in the past or future: Tanár volt. Tanár lesz.
- Negatives of existence: nincs / nincsenek. Nincs időm. Nincsenek almáim.
- 1st and 2nd persons of ‘to be’ never drop: Tanár vagyok. Éhes vagy?
A kávé forró.The coffee is hot. (no van)
A kávé az asztalon van.The coffee is on the table. (van stays)
Nincs itthon.S/he isn’t at home.