"A nő nincs otthon."
Translation:The woman is not at home.
13 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
With location, "Van" is used in the third person (Az autóm itt van). When negating it, "Van" becomes "Nincs" (Nincs ott a húgod?).
Can you please explain this again? I am struggling a bit to understand.
"Nincs" used when we negate "van" and the emphasis is on the denial of the existence. "Nem (...) van" is used to deny something else, location for instance, but not the existence.
Nincs itt = He IS NOT here.
Nem itt van = He is not HERE.
I just hope it helps... I did not think it is this hard to explain :D :D :D
This explanation is different to the one I found after googling: https://hunlang.wordpress.com/2010/06/03/word-order-nem-van-or-nincs/
Az autó a garázsban van -> The car is not in the garage.
Az autó nincs a garázsban -> There is no car in the garage.
Is this explanation wrong, or are there different rules when talking about people as opposed to objects? Or something else that I'm missing?
Correction:
Az autó a garázsban van -> The car is in the garage.
The examples on the page are not quite correct either unfortunately. (I did not read the entire page)
Az autó nincs a garázsban -> (I have been looking for the car, but... ) The car is not in the garage.
Nincs autó a garázsban -> (You can park your car in the garage because... ) There is no car in the garage.
Az autó nem a garázsban van. -> (Get the wrench from the car, but... ) The car is not in the garage (rather behind the house).
I hope these contexts help a bit. Nincs = nem van. But in some cases both can be used and they will mean slightly different things. Word order matters for emphasis. And as for people vs objects... Does not matter in this case. I could give you the same examples with "Peter" as well.
But careful.
Is not here - Nincs itt. - Emphasis on "is not".
Is not here but instead there - Nem itt van, hanem ott. - Emphasis on "not here"
Otthon means "home" while ház means "house". While your house may be your home, but your home is where your tv is. ;) It can be in your parents' house, in your other house, abroad, anywhere.
https://tiny.cards/decks/ef478374-e443-4a6a-8c43-3fdd5b06afc5
I always read the comments and try to update my cards with what I believe to be the clearest descriptions:
van = 'something exist somewhere' eg A nő van otthon = 'the woman (something)' + exists in the location of + home
nincs = 'something doesn't exist somewhere' eg A nő nincs otthon = 'the woman (something)' + doesn't exist in the location of + home
And then I finally translate that into clear English.
ő is a 'placeholder for existence': ő nő = 'the existence is a woman' which is then reduced to 'this is a woman'. "...pedig ő egy fiú" = "but is something other than the existence of a boy" ---> ...but is not a boy.
I'm just a beginner, go easy on me ;)
How does one differentiate "the woman is not home" and "the woman is not AT home"?