Van még paradicsom a konyhában, de saláta már nincs.

In Hungarian, van often works like an existential verb: there is / there are.

So Van még paradicsom... is not just is tomato... literally in the English sense; it means There is still some tomato / there are still tomatoes...

Hungarian does not need a dummy word like there to build this kind of sentence.

Because paradicsom is being used as a bare singular noun, which is very common in Hungarian when talking about an unspecified amount of food or substance.

So even if English might say there are still tomatoes, Hungarian can say van még paradicsom with singular paradicsom.

This is especially natural with food words, materials, and indefinite quantities:

• Van kenyér. = There is bread.
• Van sör. = There is beer.
• Van alma. = There are apples / there is some apple.

It can effectively mean either, depending on context.

In this sentence, paradicsom is best understood as an unspecified amount of tomato/tomatoes. English usually forces you to choose between singular and plural, but Hungarian often does not.

So van még paradicsom can correspond to:

• there is still some tomato
• there are still some tomatoes

The exact English wording depends on the situation.

Because both nouns are indefinite and non-specific here.

Hungarian often leaves off the article when talking about:

• an unspecified quantity
• a general kind of thing
• something simply existing or not existing

So:

• van paradicsom = there is some tomato / there are tomatoes
• saláta nincs = there is no salad

If you added an article, it would usually make the noun more specific, and the meaning would shift.

Here még means still.

So:

• Van még paradicsom = There is still tomato / there are still tomatoes

It suggests that some remains.

Depending on context, még can also mean more, yet, or even, but in this sentence still is the key idea.

Literally, már often means already, but in negative sentences it often corresponds to English any more or no longer.

So:

• saláta már nincs = there is no salad any more / there is no salad left now

The pairing még ... már ... is very common in contrasts:

• még van = there is still
• már nincs = there is no longer / there isn’t any more

Because van has a special negative form in the 3rd person singular: nincs.

So:

• van = is / there is
• nincs = is not / there isn’t / there is no

This is something you simply have to learn as part of the verb system.

There is also a longer variant nincsen, but nincs is very common and natural.

This is mainly about topic and contrast.

The sentence is contrasting paradicsom with saláta:

• there is still tomato,
• but salad is already gone.

By putting saláta first in the second clause, Hungarian highlights it as the thing being contrasted.

So de saláta már nincs feels like:

• but as for salad, there isn’t any any more

This word order is very natural when setting up a contrast.

Yes, that is also grammatical.

The difference is mainly one of emphasis and information structure:

• de saláta már nincs emphasizes saláta as the contrasting item
• de már nincs saláta is a bit more neutral and just states the fact

Both are correct, but the original sentence is especially good if the speaker wants to contrast tomato with salad.

a konyhában means in the kitchen.

It is made up of:

• a = the
• konyha = kitchen
• -ban / -ben = in

So:

• konyhában = in the kitchen

The form is -ban here because of vowel harmony.

Because a konyhában refers to a specific place: the kitchen.

But paradicsom is indefinite and unspecified: some tomato / tomatoes.

So the article appears where English would also usually use one for a specific place:

• a konyhában = in the kitchen

But it is omitted for the indefinite food item:

• van paradicsom = there is some tomato / there are tomatoes

It could be either, depending on context.

In Hungarian, saláta can refer to:

• salad as a dish
• lettuce in some contexts

So the exact English translation depends on what the situation is. The grammar of the sentence stays the same either way.

Because Hungarian does not need a dummy subject in existential sentences.

English says:

• There is still tomato in the kitchen.

Hungarian simply says:

• Van még paradicsom a konyhában.

The verb van itself is enough to express existence, so no separate word for there is required.

Yes. It shows a very common contrast pattern:

• Van még X, de Y már nincs.
• There is still X, but there is no more Y.

You could reuse it with many nouns:

• Van még kenyér, de tej már nincs.
  There is still bread, but there is no milk left.
• Van még kávé, de cukor már nincs.
  There is still coffee, but there is no sugar left.

So this sentence is useful not just by itself, but as a model.