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E S P E R A N T O C O U R S E
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Lesson Three
It may seem like we packed a lot into Lesson Two, but here are the main
things you have learned so far:
subject thing(s) action object thing(s)
-o -as -on
-is
-oj -os -ojn
Mia patrino --------- lavas --------- mian fraton.
Niaj fratinoj --------- vidis ------- viajn instruistinojn.
You don't have to write sentences in the above word order, but it is the
most common form, and for English-speakers it's easier to learn just
this pattern at first.
Once you realize that "grammar coding" tells you what part each word plays
in a sentence (its function), you could, for poetry or emphasis, arrange
the coded words in any other order without changing the original meaning.
Let's take a look at a couple of examples of different word order and
answer a couple of questions (remember to pay attention to the endings of
the words).
__________________________ PRACTICE ____________________________
Ekzercoj, Leciono Tri (parto unu)
Mian fraton lavis mia patrino.
1. Who was washed?
Who did the washing?
Instruistinojn viajn fratinoj niaj vidis.
2. Who did the seeing?
Who was seen?
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In this 10-lesson course we are going to stick to the subject-verb-object
word order, but in well-written Esperanto texts other word orders are
frequently used for reasons of emphasis and text coherence. If you use
Esperanto you will rapidly acquire a feeling for word order. The best
word order to use depends mainly on the context, so it is difficult to give
precise "rules".
Let's go on now, right to this lesson's word list below.
Vocabulary, lesson three
Nouns Verbs (infinitives) Adjectives
horo (hour) atendi (to wait for) blanka (white)
jaro (year) fumi (to smoke) blua (blue)
mateno (morning) kuri (to run) bruna (brown)
minuto (minute) sati (to be satisfied) flava (yellow)
nokto (night) promeni (to stroll) griza (gray)
semajno (week) respondi (to answer) nigra (black)
tago (day) soifi (to be thirsty) ruĝa (red)
vespero (evening) vivi (to live) verda (green)
demandi (to inquire, ask a question)
Note the difference between demandi (related to questions) and peti
(related to requests or "petitions"). Both can be translated as
"ask" in English.
Remember, j is pronounced like y, so jaro = YAH-row.
Adverbs: Adverbs are like adjectives, but instead of describing nouns,
adverbs describe verbs and adjectives, usually telling how, when, or where.
(Adverbs in English usually end in -ly).
In Esperanto, adverbs derived from other words always end in -e.
We can use the basic idea of a word in different ways by simply changing
the grammar-coded ending:
sano = health ŝi havas bonan sanon
sana = healthy ŝi estas sana
sani = to be healthy ŝi sanas
sane = healthily ŝi sane vivas
Adverbs usually precede the word they describe.
Note: The pronunciation of adverbs, ending in "-e", needs some attention.
In general, every vowel makes up one syllable (sound unit) of an Esperanto
word. Therefore, we must read the two-part sound of "sane" as "SAH-neh"
and not as the one-part sound of the English word "sane".
Lesson four will concentrate more on the correct sounds of Esperanto.
Right now, let's just say that Esperanto "e" should be pronounced as the
"e" in "met". Due to different pronunciations throughout the English-
speaking world, it is impossible to give exact Esperanto pronunciation in
writing.
subject thing verb adverb object thing
-a -o -as -e -an -on
-aj -oj -is -ajn -ojn
-os
__________________________ PRACTICE ____________________________
Ekzercoj, Leciono Tri (parto du)
3. My brother will-stroll in-the-morning ("morningly").
4. His friend replied warmly.
5. The brown pen writes well ("goodly").
6. The grey teacher runs badly.
7. Our father smokes in-the-evening ("eveningly").
8. He loves her.
9. He loves her sister.
10. She loves him.
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Numbers (cardinal numbers are not grammar-coded: no endings)
nulo 0 dek 10 tridek 30
unu 1 dek unu 11 tridek unu 31
du 2 dek du 12 tridek du 32
tri 3 dek tri 13 ...
kvar 4 dek kvar 14 kvardek 40
kvin 5 ... kvindek 50
ses 6 and so on to sesdek 60
sep 7 dudek 20 cent 100
ok 8 dudek unu 21 mil 1 000
naŭ 9 ... miliono 1 000 000
Numbers (ordinal numbers have the ending "-a", like adjectives, and take
the plural "-j" and object "-n", like adjectives)
unua first dudeka twentieth
dua second sepdek unua seventy-first
tria third centa hundredth
unue firstly trie thirdly
due secondly kvare fourthly
Note: the "aŭ" is pronounced as "ow" in cow.
Note: the adverb form of the numbers is sometimes translated as: unue =
in the first place; trie = in the third place, etc.
__________________________ PRACTICE ____________________________
Ekzercoj, Leciono Tri (parto tri)
11. The first man loves the second woman.
12. The second woman hates the first man.
13. Two boys firstly asked for three cakes.
14. In-the-second-place they asked for lemonade.
15. The shop makes bad brown bread.
16. The shop makes brown bread badly.
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Intransitive verbs do not show action from a subject to an object; instead,
intransitive verbs are used to show the state of the subject. Adjectives
after intransitive verbs describe the subject.
Li estas sana. Ŝi estas instruisto (or: instruistino).
He is healthy. She is a teacher.
The object "-n" is not used after such verbs.
__________________________ PRACTICE ____________________________
Ekzercoj, Leciono Tri (parto kvar)
17. Sixty minutes are one hour.
18. Twenty-four hours are one day (and night).
19. Seven days are one week.
20. The third boy is my second son.
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On to Lesson 4!
Or go back to the index for other lessons.