"I do not see a reporter."

Translation: Én nem látok riportert.

[FerEtayoRguez]

Can't you say "nem látok EGY riportert"? Like, is EGY not used this way in negative sentences?

[Findil]

First of all, as a non-native English speaker I'd like to ask if "I do not see a reporter" is synonymous with "I do not see any reporters" or not.

In Hungarian if the indefinite article is included and the verb is negated ("Nem látok egy riportert"), the sentence means I don't see a particular reporter (whose identity is not revealed).

"Nem látok riportert", "Nem látok riportereket" and "Nem látok egy riportert sem" are synonymous -- I don't see (any) reporters.

[mizinamo]

I'd tend to say can't see rather than don't see.

For me, the feeling is:

• I can't see a reporter. = I expect to see (at most) one reporter here, but there isn't one.
• I can't see any reporters. = I expect to see more than one (or at least: one or more) reporter here, but there are no reporters at all.

[Judit294350]

That would be "Én nem tudok látni riportert" or "Én nem láthatok riportert"

[vvsey]

Literally, maybe, but otherwise no.
Hungarian would say "Én nem látok riportert" for both the "don't" and the "can't" versions.

"Én nem láthatok riportert." - this one sounds like I am not permitted to see any reporters.

[Bilegdembe]

Can't I say Én nem riportert latok?

[mizinamo]

I think that would be "It's not a reporter that I see" and would be expected to be followed by "but [instead] a ...".

So when you do see something, but the thing you see is not a reporter.

It's a possible translation of the English sentence, but I think not a good one since the English doesn't seem to set up such a contrast.

[AndrsBrny]

That's accepted now!

[lazp]

Why is 'Én nem látok egy riportert.' wrong?

[Judit294350]

see above

[kos479137]

What's wrong w/újságíró? That's who i think of when i hear "reporter".

[Lili920420]

In Hungarian is it always necessary to give the: en, te, o, etc. In English we do because the verb remains the same. I though it would not be necessary since the verb gives the message.

[Judit294350]

No I isn't. It is usually used for emphasis. (I suspect it is used here for foreigners who may miss the ending - ie two clues)

[ItsmeCelli]

It may be a stupid question, but I'm still struggling with it- why isnt the defivinite conjugation used? Is "a" riporter too unspecific? I read somewhere that you mostly use the definite conjugation when theres an onject in the sentence.. but is this even true? Is there a rule to this whole thing or do you know what to use when you get a "feeling for the language"?

[Judit294350]

"a reporter" - "a" is called the indefinite article. But a/az in Hungarian is the definite article and is equal to the in English.

You use the definite conjugation when there is a definite direct object. That is "the" in English (or a/az in Hungarian) and the object is direct ie in the accusative case. (There are other definitions of a direct object, but let's keep it simple :-) )