"The children are not wearing skirts, but pants."

Translation: A gyerekeken nem szoknya van, hanem nadrág.

[GergelyMol1]

A gyerekek nem szoknyát hordanak, hanem nadrágot.

[as2907]

Why singular here?

[woolfool]

If you mean you miss this:

• A gyerekeken nem szoknyák vannak, hanem nadrágok.

This sounds awkward. The grammar is correct in the sentence, but if I picture it, I can see a boy wearing three trousers.

We go with the singular.

[as2907]

Thanks, that's something I had never paid attention to before.

[1158534388]

Most jutottam idáig. Igazad van, i am a HU.

[as2907]

Yes, that seems to be a universal rule in Hungarian: when in doubt, go with the singular! Except for "a három királyok", of course. There are always exceptions.

[hatcher]

Plural works as well.

[as2907]

Actually it is not accepted.

[hatcher]

Sorry I meant it worked in the language, not on Duolungo.

[petkoo2]

'van' placed to the end of the sentece: why is't correct..?

[guilth]

what about: a gyerekek nem szoknyában van, hanem nadrágban?

[as2907]

"a gyerekek nem szoknyában vannak"

[carolgoslen]

Very confusing...plural or not?

[Linda38047]

Is it wrong to say: a gyerekeken nincs szoknya, hanem nadrág van?

[as2907]

The way I learnt it "a gyerekeken nem szoknya, hanem nadrág van" is correct. Here you negate the subject (szoknya), not the verb.

[deactivated user]

What the roll of van in this sentence?

[as2907]

It's the way Hungarian translates "to wear": literally "on the children is not skirt but trousers". That is, "valakin van valami" means "someone is wearing something".

[KathyLudan]

Why not 'nincs' szoknya here, rather than 'nem' and 'van'?

[MercedesWa51364]

Why not "A gyerekeken nem szoknyákban vannak, hanem nadrágokban?"

[Richard604037]

A gyerekek nem szoknyában VANNAK, hanem nadrágban works. Once we're talking about the children being in something it's the children who take van and it becomes vannak.

[Richard604037]

Only 3 days and I had forgotten my own comment!! Once again I wrote a gyerekek nem szoknyában VAN, hanem nadrágban and of course, I fell over. Once it's the children being IN something we have gyerekek so we must have vannak. As soon as you do it the other way around and put the clothes ON the children, (in much the way of putting something on a table), you're referring to the item of clothing which is singular and takes van.