Nem tudom, maradt-e még tészta az edényben.

The -e is a question particle. In this sentence, it marks the embedded yes/no question:

• maradt-e még tészta... = whether there was any pasta left...

So:

• Nem tudom, maradt-e még tészta az edényben. = I don’t know whether there is/was any pasta left in the pot.

This -e often appears in indirect questions after verbs like:

• tudom / nem tudom = I know / I don’t know
• kérdezem = I ask
• nem biztos = I’m not sure

You may also see hogy before such clauses:

• Nem tudom, hogy maradt-e még tészta az edényben.

That is also correct.

Because the second part is effectively an embedded yes/no question, Hungarian often puts the verb first, especially when using -e.

So:

• maradt-e még tészta...? literally feels like did any pasta remain...? / whether any pasta remained...

This is normal in Hungarian indirect yes/no questions.

Compare:

• Maradt még tészta? = Is there any pasta left?
• Nem tudom, maradt-e még tészta. = I don’t know whether any pasta is left.

Maradt is the past tense of marad, which means to remain, stay, be left over.

So:

• marad = remains / stays
• maradt = remained / was left

In Hungarian, the past tense is often used in places where English may prefer present wording, depending on context. In many situations, this sentence can naturally be translated as:

• I don’t know if there’s any pasta left in the pot.

even though the Hungarian verb is formally past tense.

The idea is not really about a completed historical event, but about the result: whether any pasta remained.

Hungarian often leaves nouns bare when English would use some, any, or no article in a partitive sense.

So:

• maradt még tészta = there is still some pasta left / any pasta left

A bare noun is very common here. It sounds natural because we are talking about an unspecified amount of pasta, not a specific, previously identified pasta item.

Compare:

• Van kenyér. = There is bread.
• Maradt leves. = There is some soup left.
• Nincs kávé. = There isn’t any coffee.

Because tészta here means an unspecified quantity of pasta, not a specific, countable object.

Hungarian often uses no article with mass nouns in this kind of meaning:

• maradt tészta = some pasta remained
• van víz = there is water
• nincs tej = there is no milk

If you used an article, the meaning would change or sound more specific.

So the lack of article here is normal and natural.

Még here means still or helps express any ... left / remaining.

In this sentence:

• maradt-e még tészta = whether there is still any pasta left

It adds the sense that you are checking whether something remains after some has already been used, eaten, or expected to run out.

Compare:

• Van még tészta? = Is there still any pasta?
• Maradt még valami? = Is there anything left?

So még is very natural in questions about leftovers or remaining quantity.

Az edényben means in the pot / in the container / in the dish.

It is made of:

• az edény = the pot, container, vessel, dish
• -ben = in

So:

• edényben = in a container / in the pot
• az edényben = in the container / in the pot

This is the inessive case, expressed with -ban / -ben.

Examples:

• a házban = in the house
• a dobozban = in the box
• az edényben = in the container

Both are possible in Hungarian, but az edényben is more specific: it means in the container / in the pot, referring to a particular one.

• edényben = in a container / in some pot
• az edényben = in the container / in that pot

Since the speaker probably has a specific pot or dish in mind, the definite article is natural.

Yes. You can say:

• Nem tudom, hogy maradt-e még tészta az edényben.

This means the same thing.

In Hungarian, after nem tudom and similar expressions, hogy is often optional before an indirect question clause. Without hogy, the sentence can sound slightly more direct or compact, but both versions are standard.

Hungarian normally uses a comma before a subordinate clause, including clauses introduced implicitly or with hogy.

So:

• Nem tudom, maradt-e még tészta az edényben.
• Nem tudom, hogy maradt-e még tészta az edényben.

Both take a comma before the subordinate clause.

This is standard Hungarian punctuation.

Yes, absolutely.

• Nem tudom, van-e még tészta az edényben. = I don’t know if there is still any pasta in the pot.

This version focuses more directly on whether there is any there now.

The version with maradt-e emphasizes whether any remained / was left over.

So the difference is small, but:

• van-e = is there?
• maradt-e = was any left / did any remain?

Both can be natural depending on context.

Tészta can mean several related things depending on context, including:

• pasta
• dough
• sometimes noodles
• more broadly, a dough-based food

In this sentence, if the meaning has already been given as pasta, that is probably the intended sense. But learners should know that tészta is a flexible word, and context decides which English word fits best.

For example:

• gyúrja a tésztát = kneads the dough
• fő a tészta = the pasta is cooking

So here the grammar stays the same, even if the exact English noun changes with context.