postpositions + demonstrative pronouns

[LICA98]

in the duolingo course they teach that when you have a demonstrative (ez/az) and a postposition you have to put the postposition twice, so for example "in front of this house" is "ez előtt a ház előtt"

but in the comments I've seen many natives claiming that we don't actually speak like that, we would rather say "e ház előtt" (and this is usually also accepted by duo)

also I've seen on some sentences that it's ezen instead of ez, for example here they accept "ezen lámpa alatt" instead of "e lámpa alatt"

and on some it's all 3 that are accepted, for example here they take both "ezen folyó fölött" and "e folyó fölött"

so what gives? are they all correct and it's just a matter of preference?

[jzsuzsi]

Yes, the Duolingo version is "ez előtt a ház előtt"

What about "ez a ház előtt"? - some commenters claim they say that. But I am also a native speaker and I would not say it.
So on Duolingo, we decided not to accept it, to force users to learn the "ez előtt a ház előtt" structure.

e ház előtt / ezen ház előtt - these are acceptable, but sound a bit formal. Okay in fancy writings or if you are living in the 19th century.

Therefore, if you want a form that is surely correct and not too formal, use "ez előtt a ház előtt".

See also this blog post:
https://magyarbagoly.blogspot.com/2022/ ... ozott.html

[LICA98]

it's just weird that some people claim that they wouldn't ever say the double előtt and others say it's the standard way to say it

[JuditRandomNumbers]

I learnt Hungarian in a language school in Hungary - and I assure you we learnt "ez előtt a ház előtt". However, my teachers commented that many native speakers had very poor grammar and while poor grammar might be acceptable in informal settings it was not in a formal register - nor in written language.

You can always learn bad grammar and slang later - in the meantime learn the way DL teaches. Ain't that the idea?

[jzsuzsi]

We say:
azt a házat
abban a házban
annál a háznál - and no one bats an eye

we say a mellett a ház mellett - and everyone loses their minds