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On one occasion, the only translation that is accepted for "táskák" is "purses", while at another time, only the word "bags" is considered correct. In fact, both are perfectly fine. Recognizing that we're in Beta, I've submitted this note to the Team.
The definite article a at the beginning makes it impossible to read it that way. With the definite article there, there are some specific bags under discussion.
Abenhakan's examples drop the definite article in order to say "There are no bags outside."
Why is this not nem vannak. We are not talking about the nonexistence of the bags, but the nonexistence of the bags OUTSIDE
Where exactly is the problem? Nincsenek is the expression for nem + vannak; it does mean "they are not". I've never seen "nem vannak".
Correct. Nincsenek means exactly "nem vannak". This latter expression is very rarely used in some special context, otherwise is considred grammatically incorrect.
Yes, you can. However, the meaning is slightly but very clearly different. "A táskák nincsenek kint" - You send me out to the yard to collect the bags, I go out then I come back saying: "The bags are not outside", so I have not found the bags in the yard, perhaps they had already been moved into the house or they were stolen.
"A táskák nem kint vannak" - You send me out to the yard to collect the bags, but I remember that I have already moved them into the house so I say "The bags are not outside", so I know that the bags are not in the yard but somewhere else.
I hope this helps, sorry friend, Hungarian is difficult so I truly admire your 100 streak!!! Carry on!
thanks for the detailed explanation . Frankly I MUST learn Hungarian ASAP because I will travel there soon but unfortunately Hungarian is Challenging . So my back is against the wall :) Thanks for your help
I agree. It is very challenging but you can do it! Just to encourage you....I recently stayed in Hungary for two weeks. The sons speak English but not the parents ( who are my age). I was able to communicate with the parents using the Hungarian I learned in the lessons here. (I even did lessons while there that I was struggling to complete and the mom said the sentences were very complex and not everday language. ) There were a few times when the son went to translate and I said "oh, she said such and such" and he would say "you're right". I'm sure my Hungarian was very disjointed and rough but I was able to spend time with the parents alone and talk. I felt good that I accomplished the goal of not having to always have their son there to translate. Now his mom has started the DuoLingo course to learn English.
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Carolgoslen, my personal experience in Hungary was somewhat similar (minus your superior language skill) in that I found I was able to communicate with young people (say those under 30) or elderly folk (say 90 and over) as both these age groups had the opportunity to learn English at school. For those whose education was completed after WWII up until about 1990 were never unfortunately given the same opportunity and now struggle with English just as I struggle with Hungarian. Your story is an inspiration and I admire the way you managed to converse in person. If I don’t hurry up and learn faster I will end up growing too old to travel to Hungary again to use any of my newly acquired, but limited, Magyar language skills. Thanks for the encouragement.
Thanks for your kind words. My friends actually just visited me here in the US. The youngest son brought his mom who understands just a very little English. As you said, she was not give the opportunity to learn English in school, but was instead taught Russian. (She actually spoke a little Russian with a young man here adopted from the Ukraine.) While they were visiting, it was very tiring for her son to go back and forth from English to Hungarian trying to translate everything. As she was very dependent upon him for communication, he really appreciated that with me he wasn't always needed for all of our conversations. While my ability to speak Hungarian is very limited, he did feel comfortable leaving her in my care while he did other things. Between what I've learned and my online translator on my phone, we were able to communicate some and I could translate menus, ask questions and understand many things that she said to me. Keep up the hard work. I found that I understood so much more than i did six months ago and gained a little more understanding of how to put some thoughts together.
I asked a native Hungarian speaker who is very fluent in English because I was curious about this, too.
I asked him: Question....
Is it ok to say.... "A táskák nem kint vannak"? Or does it have to be "A táskák nincsenek kint?"
His response was: it is ok i would say the first one
I hope that helps.
As I said, it is a perfect Hungarian sentence but the meaning is different.
