Learn Hardcore Hungarian: Ma valahol a táskában van a térkép, de sehol nem találom. - Today the map is somewhere in the bag, but I can't find it anywhere.

When you describe location or existence, you normally keep van:
- A térkép a táskában van. – The map is in the bag.
- A kulcs az asztalon van. – The key is on the table.
You usually drop van only in simple “X is Y” sentences without a place:
- Péter orvos. – Peter is a doctor.
- A térkép fontos. – The map is important.

Since a táskában is a place (location), van must be present:
Ma valahol a táskában van a térkép… is correct;
Ma valahol a táskában a térkép… is not.

Why does the sentence start with Ma? Could we also say A térkép ma valahol a táskában van?

Both word orders are grammatical; they just emphasize different things.

Ma valahol a táskában van a térkép…
Puts stronger emphasis on “today”: Today, the map is somewhere in the bag (maybe on other days it isn’t / it has a different place).
A térkép ma valahol a táskában van…
Sounds more neutral: The map is somewhere in the bag today.

Hungarian word order is used to highlight what is new or contrastive information. Putting Ma first makes today the most prominent part at the start of the sentence.

What exactly does valahol mean here, and why does it come before a táskában?

Valahol means “somewhere”. Together with a táskában, it means “somewhere in the bag”:

valahol a táskában ≈ “somewhere inside the bag”

The order valahol a táskában is very natural:

Ma valahol a táskában van a térkép.

You could also say Ma a táskában van valahol a térkép, but it sounds more marked or slightly awkward in everyday speech. The usual, smooth order is valahol before the specific place expression.

What’s the difference between valahol and sehol?

valahol = “somewhere” (positive, indefinite place)
sehol = “nowhere” (negative, used with nem/sem)

In positive statements:

A térkép valahol a táskában van. – The map is somewhere in the bag.

In negative statements:

Sehol nem találom. – I can’t find it anywhere / I find it nowhere.

So valahol suggests there is some place; sehol denies every place.

Why do we say sehol nem találom and not just sehol találom? Isn’t sehol already negative?

Hungarian uses “double negation” in these cases: a negative word (sehol) plus a negative verb (nem találom).

So the natural pattern is:

sehol nem
- verb
  - Sehol nem találom. – I can’t find it anywhere.
  - Sehol nem látom. – I don’t see it anywhere.

Sehol találom without nem is ungrammatical in standard Hungarian. The negative meaning needs both sehol and nem.

Could we also say Nem találom sehol instead of Sehol nem találom?

Yes, Nem találom sehol is also correct and common. The meaning is the same: I can’t find it anywhere.

The difference is in emphasis:

Sehol nem találom.
Slightly stronger emphasis on “nowhere” / “no place at all”.
Nem találom sehol.
Slightly more neutral; the focus is more on the not finding, and sehol just adds where.

In everyday speech, both orders are fine.

Why is it nem találom and not nem találok?

The verb találni (“to find”) has two present forms:

találok – indefinite conjugation (no specific, definite object)
találom – definite conjugation (one specific object: “the map”, “it”, etc.)

Here we are talking about a specific map that we know about, so we use the definite form:

(A térképet) nem találom. – I can’t find the map / I can’t find it.

If you said:

Nem találok térképet. – I can’t find any map (indefinite, non-specific).

In sehol nem találom, what is the direct object? It’s not mentioned after the verb.

The direct object is understood from the previous clause: a térkép.

First clause: Ma valahol a táskában van a térkép…
Second clause: …de sehol nem találom.

Hungarian often drops an object if it’s already clear from context. Also, the definite verb form találom already signals “I find it / the specific thing”, so repeating a térképet is unnecessary:

…de sehol nem találom (a térképet). – both are correct; the long version just sounds repetitive.

What does the ending -ban in táskában mean?

The suffix -ban/-ben means “in / inside”.

táska – bag
táskában – in the bag

The form -ban (with a) is chosen because táska has a back vowel (á), and Hungarian vowel harmony picks -ban (back) instead of -ben (front).

Compare:

házban – in the house (á: back vowel → -ban)
szobában – in the room (o, a: back vowels → -ban)
kertben – in the garden (e: front vowel → -ben)

Why is it Ma and not Most? Both seem to mean “now / today”.

Ma and most are different:

ma = “today” (the whole day)
most = “now”, “at this moment”

In the sentence:

Ma valahol a táskában van a térkép…
You are locating the map for today (today its place is “somewhere in the bag”).

If you said:

Most valahol a táskában van a térkép…
It would mean right now, at this moment, the map is somewhere in the bag.

Both are possible, but they are not interchangeable in meaning.

Could we say Ma a táskában van valahol a térkép? Does that change the meaning?

Ma a táskában van valahol a térkép is grammatically possible, but it sounds a bit awkward or overly marked in everyday speech.

Typical, natural orders are:

Ma valahol a táskában van a térkép.
A térkép ma valahol a táskában van.

Placing valahol later (…van valahol a térkép) tends to break the usual rhythm and makes the sentence feel less smooth, unless you have a very specific prosody or emphasis in mind.

What about megtalálni? Why doesn’t the sentence use megtalálom, like sehol nem találom meg?

Találni and megtalálni are related but not identical:

találni – to find (general)
megtalálni – to find successfully / to manage to find (result, completion)

In the negative:

Sehol nem találom. – I can’t find it anywhere (I try, but I don’t find it).
Sehol nem találom meg. – very similar meaning; slightly more focus on the result not being achieved.

In everyday speech, Sehol nem találom is completely natural and enough to express that you cannot find it anywhere. Adding meg is optional and adds a bit more “I fail to achieve finding it”.

I’ve also seen sehol sem találom. What’s the difference between sehol nem találom and sehol sem találom?

Both are correct and very common:

Sehol nem találom.
Sehol sem találom.

sem is another negative particle, roughly like “either” in English negatives (“I can’t find it anywhere either”). In this context, nem and sem are practically interchangeable, and using sem often sounds a bit more emphatic or slightly more colloquial:

Sehol sem találom. – I just can’t find it anywhere at all.

Functionally, for a learner, you can treat them as equivalents.