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- "Te vársz egy almát."
22 Comments
Is the change from 'a' to 'á' when adding the accusative suffix just a quirk of the word 'alma', or is there a rule when root vowels change when '-t' is added?
I noticed that this happens with 'este' as well. 'Este' -> 'estét'
Whenever adding "k" for plural, "t" for accusative, or any kind of possessive/case endings, "a" always changes to "á," and "e" always changes to "é." It's not just "alma."
387
"Te egy almára vársz." - you are waiting for an apple - not an orange. "Te vársz egy almára."? - you, not Anna, are waiting for an apple.
It's good to be aware that "egy almát vársz" leaves some place to an "expect" interpretation that "egy almára vársz" wouldn't fit.
So are you saying that "Te egy almát vársz" could mean "you're expecting an apple" (because that's the most common fruit, or that's what you ordered, etc)? Whereas "Te egy almára vársz" can only mean "You are waiting for an apple."?
Yes, I think so. Although the given sentence sounds quite nonsensical anyway, with this word order.
"Azt várnám, hogy ..." ~ "I'd expect that ..."
"Arra várnék, hogy ..." ~ nonsense, what keeps you from actually waiting for that thing that you only "would wait" for
"Azt vártam, hogy ..." - I think that could refer to "I expected X to happen" as much as "I was waiting for X to happen"
"Arra vártam, hogy ..." ~ "I was waiting for X to happen", sure why not
Does this even make sense as a sentence? Why would anyone wait for an apple?? :') :(
When the apple is late, of course. Everyone knows that apples have a problem with punctuality.
- 387
Someone ordered an apple for desert but it hasn't arrived. They are waiting for an apple.
Lol, I thought that too! But of course it can mean you are waiting for someone to bring you an apple.
But still, I think waiting for the apple to do something sounds much funnier. Lol
Duolingo should accept "await" anytime a form of vár means "wait for."
So "You await an apple." should be accepted.
That is cleaner English. There is nothing grammatically wrong with "wait for," but in general English is crisper if you can avoid unnecessary prepositions, especially "of" and "for," which have little semantic value.
In fact, that is one thing I like about Hungarian, it seems prepositions are often built into the verbs. Keres = wait (for), vár = search (for). But maybe this is not that common.
I'd like to note that you mixed up keres and vár.
Also, I really don't think this is the right moment to say "it seems prepositions are often built into the verbs". So far, this has nothing to do with prepositions - that Hungarian doesn't even have. These are just plain old transitive verbs, like kér or köszön or even figyel. At some point, though, you will realize there are verbs that could be described by "having stuff built into them". These are prefixed verbs like megkeres or kikeres. You will find that it's not uncommon that the prefixes are derived from case suffixes or postpositions - and you will have to face that this has nothing to do with what you were talking about here and hardly even with what those case suffixes or postpositions originally meant.
- 387
"You await an apple" sounds very odd in English! "await" is used more for abstract things. You await your fate but wait for an apple or a friend.
I (native speaker) do not think "await" sounds odd. And it is a good way for English speakers to think of a verb that translates as "wait for."
Much like "seek" is a good way to think of keres, which translates as "search for."
"Await" is somewhat uncommon in American English, but if that's not your dialect then maybe it's more common where you live.
I think the very notion of waiting for an apple is bizarre no matter how it's phrased. :)
