Chapter II · THE ARTICLE
Reading edition
The Definite Article is a or az.
a is used before words beginning with a consonant.
az is used before words beginning with a vowel.
Whenever any definite object is referred to the definite article is used.
a fiú, the boy; az alma, the apple.
The definite article is used in many cases where it would not be used in English; for example, even after a demonstrative adjective, or where a pronoun precedes the noun.
ez az alma; az én fiam.
(this apple;) (my son.)
jobban szeretem a selymet mint a vásznat.
(better do I like silk than linen.)
In such cases the article must not be translated into English.
N.B.—The definite article az must not be confused with the demonstrative adjective az, that. The article, when accompanying the demonstrative adjective, follows it: e.g. az az ember, that man; az a madár, that bird.
The names of persons, towns, countries, months, and days do not take the article.
Károly, Charles
Magyarország, Hungary
Európa, Europe
Berlin, Berlin
január,[2] January
hétfő,[2] Monday
The names of mountains, rivers, and lakes take the article.
a Duna, the Danube
a Balaton, Lake Balaton
a Kárpátok, the Carpathians
a Gellérthegy, Gellért hill
magyarországi, Hungarian
angol, English
berlini, belonging to Berlin
német, German
Similarly,
egy angol, an Englishman
egy német, a German
The Indefinite Article is egy, which is also the numeral, one.
The indefinite article is much less frequently used in Hungarian than in English. It is not necessary to use egy before a noun if spoken of in general terms only.
embert láttam, I saw (or have seen) a man.
almát ettem, I have eaten an apple.
egy must never be used before an adjective or noun used as a predicate. Thus—
Szent István király volt, St. Stephen was a king.
A sas madár, the eagle (is) a bird.
József jó fiú, Joseph (is) a good boy.
egy should be used in cases where its meaning is that of “a certain.”
volt egyszer egy ember aki, stb., there was once a man who, &c.
egy is used when stress is laid on the singleness of the object.
csak egy embert láttam, I saw only one man.
egy almát ettem, I have eaten one apple.
The article is not inflected for number, gender, or case.
az ember, az emberek, az embernek, az embereknek.
(the man) (the men) (to the man) (to the men).
Exercise I.
A piros virág. Az atya ir. A szép asszony. Ez a fiú. Ez a nagy ház. A jó emberek. Kutyát láttam. Csak egy kutyát láttam. Az az alma.
The swift horse. That brave man. I have eaten only one plum. I saw a beautiful garden. The mother is gentle. Roses are beautiful flowers.
virág, flower
atya, father
ir, writes
szép, beautiful
nagy, great
ház, house
gyors, swift
bátor, brave
csak, only
kutya, dog
láttam, I saw (or have seen)
anya, mother
rózsa, rose
magas, high
szelid, gentle
szilva, plum