Here’s a funny sign that I saw posted on a shop in my neighborhood:
“NEM ÁRULUNK!!! és azt sem tudjuk, hol lehet kapni!!”
The photo is of a hand holding a public transportation ticket, crossed out. So apparently, they don’t sell public transportation tickets here. Nem árulunk!!! = “We don’t sell (them)”.
But what does the statement under that tell us?
a) …so don’t even ask!!
b) …but you can get them at the store next door!!
c) …but maybe we will one day!!
Click on “Read More” to see the answer and an explanation!
Answer:
a) …so don’t even ask!!
Explanantion:*
First, let’s start with “Nem árulunk!” This is based on the verb:
- árul- = sell, vend. It’s conjugated to the first person plural (indefinite conjugation) árulunk = we sell. Adding nem makes it negative.
“Nem árulunk” = “We don’t sell”
- “és azt sem tudjuk” = “and we don’t even know”
This phrase is based on the words:
- és = and
- azt = that
- sem = not even
- tudjuk = we know (definite conjugation)
“Sem” usually means “neither,” but here it is closer to “not even.”
The last phrase is straightforward:
- hol = where
- lehet = can, be possible
- kapni = get, receive (infinitive form)
So if you put this together, you get the phrase:
NEM ÁRULUNK!!! és azt sem tudjuk, hol lehet kapni!! = WE DON’T SELL THEM!!! and we don’t even know where you can get them!!
With a subtext that means:
…so don’t even ask!!
*Please note that we don’t provide a very detailed explanation of grammar in these short posts. For a more detailed explanation of grammar, I highly recommend a book like Hungarian Verbs & Essentials of Grammar 2nd ed.
by Miklós Törkenczy.
Readers: what do you think of this series so far? Can you recommend anything else you’d like to see in this blog? Let us know in the comments, thanks!
Recent Comments