Learn Hardcore Hungarian: Ma kevés időm van, ezért gyorsan ebédelek a kávézóban. - Today I have little time, so I have lunch quickly in the café.

This pattern shows possession in Hungarian. Instead of saying my X with a separate pronoun, Hungarian usually attaches the possessive ending directly to the noun:

könyvem – my book
autóm – my car
munkám – my work

I thought van is often dropped in the present tense. Why do we keep it in kevés időm van?

In the 3rd person singular present, van is usually dropped when it’s just linking a subject to a description:

Ő orvos. – He/She is a doctor. (not Ő orvos van.)
A könyv az asztalon. – The book is on the table.

But with possession (the “I have X” structure), van is normally kept:

Időm van. – I have time.
Kevés pénzem van. – I have little money.

You can omit van only in a very restricted, often contrastive or emphatic style, usually spoken:

Most kevés időm van. → very casually, you might hear Most kevés időm., but this is more like clipped speech and not neutral standard.

So for learners, treat [possessed noun] + van as the normal, correct pattern: időm van, kevés időm van.

What’s the nuance of kevés here? Is it just “little”, or “not enough”, or “almost none”?

kevés means “little / few”, usually with the implied idea of “not enough” for the situation.

kevés időm van – I don’t have much time / I have little time (implies it’s not really enough)

Compare:

nem sok időm van – I don’t have much time (more neutral, slightly softer)
alig van időm – I hardly have any time (almost none)

kevés is the basic word you use when you want to say you have too small an amount of something.

Why is the word order Ma kevés időm van and not Kevés időm van ma? Are both correct?

Both are grammatically correct, but the focus changes.

Default, neutral-sounding order:

Ma kevés időm van. – Today I have little time.
- Ma is at the beginning, highlighting today as the context.

If you say:

Kevés időm van ma.
This sounds more like you’re stating the fact that you have little time and then adding ma as an afterthought: “I have little time – today, that is.”

In everyday speech, Ma kevés időm van is the more natural, neutral version. Hungarian tends to put the time expression (Ma) early in the sentence.

What does ezért do in this sentence? Is it a conjunction like “so / therefore”?

Yes. ezért means “therefore / so / because of that”.

Your sentence has two clauses:

Ma kevés időm van, – Today I have little time,
ezért gyorsan ebédelek a kávézóban. – so I eat lunch quickly in the café.

ezért links the result to the reason:

Későn keltem, ezért sietek. – I got up late, so I’m in a hurry.
Esik az eső, ezért maradok otthon. – It’s raining, so I’m staying at home.

It’s written with a comma before it because it starts a new clause, similar to English “, so …”.

Can I change the word order in the second clause, like Ezért a kávézóban gyorsan ebédelek? Does it change the meaning?

You can change the word order, and it affects what is emphasized:

ezért gyorsan ebédelek a kávézóban. – neutral: therefore I eat lunch quickly in the café.
ezért a kávézóban gyorsan ebédelek. – slight emphasis on a kávézóban (in the café), e.g. not at home.
ezért a kávézóban ebédelek gyorsan. – emphasis can fall more on gyorsan at the end, especially in speech.

Hungarian word order is very flexible, but the “focus slot” is typically right before the verb. In your original:

gyorsan ebédelek – the manner (gyorsan) is highlighted before the verb ebédelek. That’s a very natural, neutral way to say it.

What exactly is ebédelek? It looks like ebéd plus something—how is it formed?

You’re right: ebédelek is derived from the noun ebéd (“lunch”).

ebéd (noun) → ebédel (verb: “to have lunch”)
ebédel conjugated:
- ebédelek – I have lunch
- ebédelsz – you (sg.) have lunch
- ebédel – he/she has lunch
- ebédelünk – we have lunch
- ebédeltek – you (pl.) have lunch
- ebédelnek – they have lunch

So ebédelek = “I am having lunch / I have lunch.” The -ek ending marks 1st person singular (indefinite conjugation) in the present tense.

Why use the verb ebédelek instead of saying something like ebédet eszem?

Both are possible, but ebédelek is the standard, simple way to say “I have lunch”.

ebédelek – I have lunch (neutral, very common)
ebédet eszem – I eat lunch (literally), slightly more “spelled out”

The difference is mainly style:

ebédelek is one compact verb, like English “I’m lunching” or “I have lunch”.
ebédet eszem breaks it into object + verb (“I eat lunch”), which can sound a bit more specific or descriptive.

In everyday Hungarian, for routine meals, the derived verbs are most common:

reggelizek – I have breakfast
ebédelek – I have lunch
vacsorázom / vacsorázok – I have dinner

Why is it gyorsan ebédelek, with the adverb before the verb? Can it be ebédelek gyorsan?

The neutral position for many adverbs (especially manner adverbs like gyorsan) is right before the verb:

gyorsan ebédelek – I eat lunch quickly.
lassan sétálok – I walk slowly.
hangosan beszél – he/she speaks loudly.

You can say ebédelek gyorsan, but the word order feels a bit marked; depending on context it can sound like you’re stressing gyorsan more, or making a stylistic choice.

For learners, use:
[adverb] + [verb] → gyorsan ebédelek as your default pattern.

Why is it a kávézóban and not just kávézóban? When do I need the article?

a is the definite article (“the”). kávézó is “café”.

a kávézóban – in the café
kávézóban – in a café / in (some) café, or as a more generic location

In your sentence:

… a kávézóban. – likely refers to a specific café both speaker and listener know (e.g. the café you usually go to, or the one mentioned earlier).

Hungarian often uses the definite article in places where English might allow either “the” or no article, especially with familiar or specific locations:

a suliban – at school (the one you both know)
a munkahelyemen – at my workplace

You can say kávézóban ebédelek if you mean “I eat in a café (not at home / at the office)” without specifying which café.

Why does kávézó become kávézóban? What does the -ban ending mean?

The ending -ban / -ben is the inessive case, meaning “in / inside”.

kávézó – café
kávézóban – in the café

General pattern:

vowel harmony decides -ban vs -ben
- back vowels → -ban: házban (in the house), boltban (in the shop)
- front vowels → -ben: kertben (in the garden), zsebben (in the pocket)

Since kávézó has back vowels (á, ó), it takes -ban: kávézóban.

So a kávézóban literally means “in the café”.