Ez alapvető eljárás.

• Ez = this
• alapvető = fundamental, basic, essential
• eljárás = procedure, process, method

So the full sentence means This is a fundamental procedure or This is a basic procedure.

In Hungarian, the verb to be is often left out in the present tense, third person when one noun or adjective is being linked to another.

So:

• Ez alapvető eljárás. = This is a fundamental procedure.

But in English, you must say is.

This is a very common Hungarian pattern:

• Ez jó. = This is good.
• Ő tanár. = He/She is a teacher.

So the missing is is completely normal here.

Hungarian often omits egy (a/an) in this kind of sentence, especially when something is being identified or classified.

So both of these can work:

• Ez alapvető eljárás.
• Ez egy alapvető eljárás.

The version without egy can sound a bit more general or categorical, while the version with egy is often a little more explicit and may feel closer to normal English This is a fundamental procedure.

So if you expected egy, that is understandable, but leaving it out is also natural.

Because Hungarian adjectives normally come before the noun they describe, just as in English.

• alapvető eljárás = fundamental procedure
• jó könyv = good book
• nagy ház = big house

So the order here is completely standard: adjective + noun

Hungarian adjectives do not change for gender, and when they are directly before a noun, they usually do not change for number either.

So:

• alapvető eljárás = fundamental procedure
• alapvető eljárások = fundamental procedures

Notice that alapvető stays the same.

This is easier than English in some ways, because Hungarian has no grammatical gender, so you do not need to worry about masculine/feminine adjective forms.

Eljárás is in the singular nominative form, which is the basic dictionary form.

In this sentence:

• Ez is the subject: this
• alapvető eljárás is the predicate noun phrase: a fundamental procedure

So Hungarian is basically saying:

• This — fundamental procedure

with the present-tense is understood.

There is no special ending on eljárás here because it is not an object and does not have any extra case marking.

A rough pronunciation is:

ehz AH-lawp-vEH-tuhh EL-yaa-raash

More accurately in IPA:

[ɛz ɒlɒpvɛtøː ɛljaːraːʃ]

A few useful notes:

• Hungarian stress is usually on the first syllable of each word.
• ő is a long vowel, somewhat like the vowel in German schön, but held longer.
• á is a long a sound.
• s in Hungarian is pronounced like English sh.

So eljárás ends with a sh sound, not an English s.

Yes, Hungarian word order is more flexible than English, but changing it usually changes the focus or emphasis.

The sentence as given:

• Ez alapvető eljárás.

is a straightforward, neutral way to say This is a fundamental procedure.

A different order, such as:

• Alapvető eljárás ez.

is possible, but it sounds more marked or emphatic, something like This is a fundamental procedure with special focus on fundamental procedure.

So for a learner, the original order is the safest and most neutral one to use.