"A lány elöl van, a fiú meg hátul."
Translation:The girl is in the front, and the boy is in the back.
28 CommentsThis discussion is locked.
1588
Although both "in front" and "in the front" both exist in English, "in back" does not. It should be "in the back".
If "in front" "formally exists", then so does "in back". As this course freely uses Hungarian idioms, English ones should also be an option. Otherwise one might say "on the right" is allowed but certainly not "on the left".
Perhaps it's a regional thing, but to me as a native English speaker in America, "in back" is perfectly natural and grammatical.
Note that they both have other uses, too but in sentences like this, I think they are interchangable. Maybe "pedig" is more oppositional while "meg" is a bit more extending? The difference must be really nuanced though
(4 years later) The actual meaning provided by prepositions in English are post-position suffixes in Hungarian. My guess would be different when (1) "back-vowel-words" and "front-vowel-words" are used, but not when (2) "in the front" and "at the front" are used alone, because -- as far as prepositions go-- they both express "place" which is the locative case, in grammatical terms. So:
Example when at/in are used as suffix: az autónál at the car / az étteremnél at the restaurant
az autóban in the car / az étteremben in the restaurant
Example of in/at front alone, same location:
"Elöl" állok. I stand "at the front". "Elöl" állok. I stand "in the front".
Example when at/in front are used in different places:
Sült csirkét eszünk "az üzlet [bolt] előtt". We eat fried chicken "in front of the store".
Sült csirkét esznek "a üzlet [bolt] elején." They eat fried chicken "at the front of the store"
Sült csirkét esznek "az étterem előtt" They eat fried chicken "in the front of the restaurant"
Sült csirkét esznek "az étterem elején". They eat fried chicken "at the front of the restaurant".
Example of movement to/toward a location:
Megyek "az elejére". I go "to the front."
Example where in/at = same location:
Soha nem várok, ezért "elöl" állok. I never wait, so I stand "in the front".
Soha nem várok, ezért "elöl" állok. I never wait, so I stand "at the front".
Not really. Behind mostly makes a comparison between two things, meaning 'mögött, után'. 'Hátul' stands in itself. What is behind something/valami mögött van, than it probably also means 'hátul van'.
On a second thought, I've realized that 'behind' can be used alone, but in the meaning of left behind, fall behind. I wouldn't translate it as 'hátul' either, because 'hátul' is a stable place, while behind is a bit vague. If someone is behind me in a line, I'd say:
Hátul van - He's at the back; when he is among the last ones in the line.
Hátrébb van - He's behind; he's somewhere in the line, I don't know where, but I'm ahead of him.
Well, in fact, not really... it serves a similar role in this sentence. Meg is more of an "attaching" word, also used for "plus" as in "one plus one". (And it's also a preverb and you'll hate it later on...)
"Elöl", not "elől". Otherwise, I think it is acceptable. But only when it is a standalone word, ie. not "ahead of sg". It vould need some declension in that case.
Can you say 'Mindig elöl vagy!' ? You are always the center of attention.
Maybe. It would need some context. The center of attention is "a figyelem középpontja".
"Mindig a figyelem középpontjában vagy." - You are always in the center of attention.
Could the Hungarian be translated as "the girl is in front, the boy, however is behind?"
"A lány elöl van, a fiú meg hátul," was the sentence which I translated as; "The girl is in the front, the boy is in the back." Incorrect? Excuse me? Or should I say.. Elnézést kérek? lol