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- "Where is the director?"
"Where is the director?"
Translation:Hol a rendező?
12 Comments
In one earlier grammar section, Duolingo states that you don't say the verb if 1) the subject is in the third person and 2) the sentence expresses a property relating to the subject.
Now, in this case, the director's whereabouts isn't a property (as I like to compare with the Spanish ser vs estar), is it? So why can you leave the verb? Is there another rule?
"hol" (where), "ott" (there) and "itt" (here) are exceptions: they can be used either with or without "van", but only if they precede the subject. So "Hol van a rendező?" and "Hol a rendező?" are both correct, but "A rendező hol?" is INCORRECT and only "A rendező hol van?" would be correct.
I can't tell you that but what I CAN tell you is that "Hol van a rendező?" is just as correct. Just include it in this case until you find a good explanation. :)
I thought that it was essential to use 'van' / 'vannak' when talking about location ('A rendező a üzletben van' vs. 'A rendező a üzletben') Or does it not relate to questions?
It being a question has nothing to do with it.
Rather, "hol" (where), "ott" (there) and "itt" (here) are exceptions: they can be used either with or without "van", but only if they precede the subject. So "Hol van a rendező?" and "Hol a rendező?" are both correct, but "A rendező hol?" is INCORRECT and only "A rendező hol van?" would be correct.
Still, not sure if we should talk about language in terms of "correctness". I even feel like the connotations differ a bit. "Hol van a rendező?" can be a general question, asked out of curiosity. "Hol a rendező?" Sounds more like "And now where are they? I want to find them finally..."
