Граматична тема

The Construction 'I Have...' (Nekem van / Nekem vannak)

How do you say “I have a car”? Hungarian expresses it more like “To me there is my car.” The structure uses the dative case (“to whom?”) + van (there is one item) or vannak (there are multiple items) + the possessed object with a possessive ending.

1. Pronouns in the dative case (“to whom?”):

• Nekem - to me / I have
• Neked - to you / you have
• Neki - to him/her / he or she has
• Önnek - to you formally / you have
• Nekünk - to us / we have
• Nektek - to you plural / you have
• Nekik - to them / they have

2. Nouns in the dative case: add -nak / -nek to the noun.

• a fiúnak - to the boy / the boy has
• az orvosnak - to the doctor / the doctor has

Sentence structure: owner in dative + van / vannak + possessed object with possessive ending. The pronoun Nekem, Neked... is often omitted when context is clear.

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Reading Practice

• Nekem van egy kutyám. [I have a dog. Literally: to me there is my dog.]
• Neked van autód? [Do you have a car?]
• Neki két macskája van. [He/she has two cats.]
• Péternek sok könyve van. [Péter has many books.]
• Nekünk nincsenek gyerekeink. [We do not have children.]
• A szomszédomnak van egy nagy háza. [My neighbor has a big house.]
• Kinek van pénze? [Who has money?]
• Nekem nincs időm. [I do not have time.]