"A mellett az étterem mellett beszélgetünk, amelyikben nincsenek vendégek."

Translation: We chat beside that restaurant in which there are no guests.

[GerSzej]

we are talking beside the restaurant, in which there are no customers, was rejected. Duo wanted "chatting" and "guests". Reported, I don't think that "guests" is correct in this case.

[Judit294350]

Yes, I'd say customers or patrons. "Guests" just doesn't work if it is just food.

[guntunge]

Thanks, this answers exactly what I wanted to ask.

[Biff812086]

If only the clumsy English translations were consistently clumsy in the same way! I spend far more time focusing on my English than actually learning Hungarian with these lessons. I am losing my mind. Every time I hear Duolingo's wrong answer audio I get that much closer to throwing my laptop into the garbage.

[vasvariistvan]

Szerintem lehetne ez is : We are chatting beside the restaurant in which there are no guests. Nem fogadta el.

[Patricia460976]

I realize now that Hungarian constructs a single (albeit complex) contruction where in English we would use two simple sentences. Do contemporary Hungarians actually speak this way? I ask because the English translations are nothing any one would say (at least not that I've encountered).

[Judit294350]

This is a major difference and a reason my Hungarian teacher would complain I wrote Hunglish - because I would translate as we speak in English. He said people could understand me but it sounded very foreign.

[snexy88]

I write the exact same answer that is correct and it rejects it...

[sherm0]

where is the clue that "that" restaurant, and not "the" restaurant, is correct?

[Judit294350]

a az etterem - "a az" = that (special form of az az due to the mellett). Just the would be just az etterem. What makes it hard to see is the "mellett" - or easy to see because it is repeated - a mellett az etterem mellett - "next to that restauarant". Next to the restarunt would just have one mellett.

[sherm0]

Thanks. Helps.

[RyagonIV]

Actually both "the restaurant" and "that restaurant" should be accepted, since the az is purely a marker here, connecting the restaurant to the relative clause. Az doesn't carry any special weight here.

[sherm0]

AAAARRRGGGHHH! So basically I was right, but only because there was really nothing to be wrong about.

[Judit294350]

Yes - except in this construction IN HUNGARIAN the "az" is not optional. And you alos need to recognize what the a mellett means. :-(

[RyagonIV]

To your latest reply:

Sorry if I was unclear, I meant the az as in a mellett being the marker. It's a bit confusing when both az and a change their appearance when doing grammar. :)

Using "a mellett" is this sentence is necessary, but you can restructure the sentence a little to drop the marker: "Beszélgetünk az étterem mellett, amelyben nincsenek vendégek." In this case you cannot translate it with "that restaurant", of course.

[Judit294350]

Wait - I thought with relative clauses the main clause has to have a marker. For an "amely" in the sub-clause you have to have "az" in the main clause. Is that not always the case?

[RyagonIV]

If the relative clause is disconnected from the noun it refers to, you need a marker az and amelyik as a relative pronoun. But there's also the option to restructure that sentence to have the relative clause right after the noun, and use amely instead, and in that case you don't need to use az. vvsey has talked at length about the topic in another discussion. It's really interesting. :)

[vasvariistvan]

Thank you.

[BoVeKa]

All the other (dozens of) sentences up to now used "the" instead of "that". How come suddenly it must be "that" ?