"The red car is not above, but below."

Translation: A piros autó nem fent van, hanem lent.

[mithwiz]

I thought nem and van couldn't be used together, but rather "nincs". Why is it okay here and not "A piros autó nincs fent, hanem lent." Or is that okay too? Thanks in advance.

[96314081311257]

You're contrasting above with below, so here nem negates fent & not van. You could say, though, that "Nincs fent az autó." (Possible translations if you want to stress fent include "Fent nincs az autó." or "Nem fent van az autó.")

[mithwiz]

Oh that makes perfect sense. Thanks so much!

[febrvary]

What about "Nem fent van a piros autó, hanem lent"?

[Zoli259906]

It's correct as well

[GlenOakley1]

Can "van" not be omitted from this sentence?

[Patrik689852]

It can't be. You only could if you describes the car with adjectives. "Az autó nem piros, hanem kék." Adjectives can take the verbs' role as a statement, but places can't.

[AndrewVill17]

Why fent instead of fölött?

[mizinamo]

Why fent instead of fölött?

Because you need an adverb here (that stands by itself), not a preposition (that stands before a noun).

[Zoli259906]

You can use the word "fölött", but then your sentence is "A piros autó nem fölötte van, hanem alatta."