Free Esperanto Course
in English

Version 24 August 2005


This page was copied October 16th, 2000 from:
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~esperanto/ec.html


Lessons:     1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10     Return

Vocabulary    Correlatives     Endings     Affixes

 
LESSON 6 - SESA LECIONO

A real quick overview of the lessons so far:

Subject thing(s)
adjective/noun

----a    ----o

----aj   ----oj

Bona knabino

Action
Verb

----as
----is
----os

lernis

Adverb
 

----e


rapide

Object thing(s)
adjective/noun

----an    ----on

----ajn   ----ojn

malfacilan lingvon.

Malbonaj knabinoj

lernos

malrapide

facilajn lingvojn.


To form questions, place "ĉu" in front of the statements:

La knabo manĝas.
Ĉu la knabo manĝas?

____________ extract from here ____________

Ekzercoj, Leciono Ses (parto unu)

[ki-, ti-, i-, ĉi-, neni-]   plus   [o, a, e, u, om, am , el, al, es]   forms 45 correlative (interrelated) words.   Give below the meanings of the roots (5) and endings (9):

ki

ti

i

ĉi

neni      

o
a
e
u
om
am
el
al
es

____________ extract to here ____________

Try without referring back to lesson five. If you find yourself referring too often, you may want to review the lesson before continuing. The correlatives are hard to learn out of context, but the combinations will come naturally after a while.

Difficult sound: one of the hardest sounds for English speakers to master is the 'c' or /ts/ sound. Imagine it as below and it's easier than it seems:

danco   leciono   biciklo

say:

DANT-so   let-si-ON-o   bit-SI-klo

Vocabulary note:
The English word 'old' may be the opposite of both 'new' and 'young'. Therefore there are two translations for 'old' in Esperanto:

juna (young)     maljuna (old)
nova (new)       malnova (old)


Prepositions (little words which show the relationship between two other words.)

cup on table
saucer under cup
milk with sugar in coffee

Prepositions in Esperanto:

al
anstataŭ
antaŭ
apud
ĉe
ĉirkaŭ
da
de
dum
ekster
el
en
ĝis
inter
je
kontraŭ
krom

to
instead of
in front of, before
near, next to
at, near
about, around
of (quantities)
of, from
while, during
outside (of)
out of, from within  
in
until, up to
among, between
(indefinite)
against
besides, apart from

kun
laŭ
malgraŭ
per
po
por
post
preter
pri
pro
sen
sub
super
sur
tra
trans

with, together
along, according to
in spite of
with (by means of)
at the rate of
for
after (time)
beyond, past
about, concerning
for (because of)
without
under
above
on (position)
through
accross, at the
other side of


Mi estas membro de la Junulara Esperantista Klubo, kaj mi iris al la Esperanto-Kongreso, kiu okazis en San-Francisko. Ni vojaĝis de Nov-Jorko dum tri tagoj en nia aŭtobuseto, kaj ne haltis ĝis ni alvenis al Dalaso, en Teksaso. Tie ni vizitis niajn geamikojn kaj manĝis. Ni portis sandviĉojn por la tagmanĝo, kaj ili estis sub la seĝoj sur kiuj ni sidis. Ni dankis niajn geamikojn pro la bona kongreso.

Vocabulary:

Junularo:   a group of young people
okazi:   to take place
aŭtobuseto:   minibus
alveni al:   to arrive at
tagmanĝo:   lunch
geamikoj:   friends (male and female)
iri:   to go

Note the use of "pro" after "dankis". Prepositions can be tricky - there is no word-for-word correspondence between prepositions in English and Esperanto. The "Plena Vortaro" (Esperanto-Esperanto dictionary) is a good source of examples.

La knabo sen hejmtasko staris antaŭ la instruisto; anstataŭ la hejmtasko, li prenis el koverto leteron pri la afero. Estis bela tago ekster la ĉambro, kaj la instruisto staris apud la fenestro, tra kiu venis brila sunlumo, per kiu li legis la leteron.

Inter la vortoj estis tiom da tipaj knabaj eraroj, ke post nelonge, la knabo kliniĝis super la tablo, kaj pantoflo batis kontraŭ lia postaĵo.

Vocabulary:

hejmtasko: homework
stari: to stand
preni: to take
koverto: envelope
afero: case
fenestro: window
veni: to come
sunlumo: sunlight
legi: to read
vorto: word
tipa: typical
klini: bow, lean over
pantoflo: slipper
bati: to hit
postaĵo: behind, bottom

____________ extract from here ___________

Ekzercoj, Leciono Ses (parto du)

Respondu ĉi tiujn demandojn en Esperanto
Answer these questions in Esperanto

1. Kia klubo ĝi estas?
2. Kion ni portis kun ni?
3. Kie ili estis?
4. Kio okazis en San-Francisko?
5. Dum kiom da tagoj ni vojaĝis?
6. Ĉu iu staris antaŭ la instruisto?
7. Kio venis tra la fenestro?
8. Kiom da hejmtaskoj faris la knabo?
9. Kiel la instruisto batis lin (per kio?)
10. Kial la instruisto batis lin? (ĉar = because)

____________ extract to here ____________

More about prepositions: When an 'object thing' occurs in a sentence, and when that 'object thing' is a pronoun (I, he, she, etc.) it takes the object or accusative form (me, him, her, etc). Thus we say that the preposition in English 'governs' or requires the accusative form. The only place in English where the accusative is different from the nominative (subject form) is in the pronouns.

A cake for him. A letter for her.

In Esperanto, a preposition governs the nominative (subject) form of a thing, either noun or pronoun.

Kuko por li. (not lin!) Letero por ŝi. (not ŝin!)

You will be well understood if you follow this rule. But don't be surprised if you see a preposition followed by a "-n" word! Let's see why:

There is a difference between "I walked in the garden" and "I walked into the garden". In the first case, I was already in the garden, walking around, and in the second case, I was outside the garden and walked to a position inside the garden.

Instead of "I walked into the garden" we can say: "I walked to in-the-garden",

which translates: "Mi promenis al en-la-ĝardeno." and we actually say:"Mi promenis en la ĝardenon."

Ah ha! The last "-n" indicates the omitted preposition, usually 'al', which showed movement toward something. Therefore we can say, "The accusative "-n" after a preposition shows motions toward."

Mi iris en la ĉambron. (into the room) Mi promenas ekster la domon. (to the outside of)

Do not use "-n" after: al, ĝis, de, el. They already show motion.

Also: Use "-n" with dates to show an omitted preposition: Mi estis en Nov-Jorko pasintan mardon [(on) last Tuesday].

____________ extract from here ____________

Ekzercoj, Leciono Ses (parto tri)

Translate into Esperanto.
11. I came on a bicycle.
12. I cycled into San Francisco.
13. I cycled in San Francisco.
14. She runs on the grass (herbo).
15. He will run onto the grass.
16. He ran behind the tree (arbo).
17. He smoked behind the tree.
18. She traveled with a friend.
19. He wrote with a pen.
20. He put (meti) the pen under the paper.


 
LESSON 7 - SEPA LECIONO

In school students can expect to study French for about 5 years, 40 weeks in the year, 4 lessons a week at about (on the average) 30 minutes for each lesson. Or, roughly, about 400 hours. By the end of this time, only about 10% of the students would receive a passing grade on a decent exam, and not all of those would be understood in France.

Esperanto is about 5 to 10 times easier to learn than French, so you would expect to take about 40 to 80 hours of study to achieve a comparable language level in Esperanto, but in these ten network lessons you may spend a total of only 10 hours.

So you can easily see that this course will not have you speaking fluent Esperanto by Lesson Ten, but it will have introduced you to the basic principles of the language, which by now should not appear so 'foreign' to you if you were to pick up a textbook or elementary reader.

Rowing across the ocean would be more satisfying (and a little bit easier) if you could see the milestones going by. Otherwise, once out of sight of land, it is an act of faith whether you are making any progress at all. In the same way in learning a language, are you really learning more than you are forgetting?

In a 'correspondence' course such as this one, it is impossible to test your speaking and listening abilities. That will come at some later level in your quest for complete control over the International Language. Right now, we will have to be content with written tests and exercises.

Below, you will find a series of vocabulary and grammar ("fill-in-the-blank") exercises to be used as sort of a test. Try to complete and send in these exercises without referring back to previous lessons. If you do look back, then you never really will know how much you've learned so far. So, do the exercises and study the little bit of new material.

____________ extract from here ____________

Ekzercoj, Leciono Sep

Vocabulary Test
Translate into English

1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.  

akvo
al
ami
amiko
Anglujo
atendi
aŭtobuseto        
bela
biciklo
blanka
blua
bona
bruna
butiko
cigaredo
ĉambro
ĉe
ĉokolado
danco
de
dek
demandi
domo
du
dum
en
esti
fari
flava
forgesi

31.
32.
33.
34.
35.
36.
37.
38.
39.
40.
41.
42.
43.
44.
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
51.
52.
53.
54.
55.
56.
57.
58.
59.  
60.

frato
fumi
granda
ĝis
ĝojo
havi
hejmo
horo
ili
instruisto
juna
kafo
kaj
kial
kiam
kiel
kies
kiom
knabo
kuko
kun
kuri
kvar
kvin
lakto
lavi
manĝi
patro
skribi
verda


Grammar Test
Replace 'missing bits'

Use the following 'missing bits':

a, aj, aj, al, an, ĉe, ĉion, ĉiuj, de, dum, e, e, en, estas, ĝis, havas, ili, in, ist, iu, jun, kaj, kiel, kies, kio, kun, la, mal, ne, o, o, oj, ojn, on, on, por, sub, sur, tio, as, as, tiu, tiom.


61. The boy
___ knab___

62. A good boy
Bon___ knabo

63. And a girl
___ knab___o

64. The girl is bad
La knabino ___ ___bona

65. She has a cigarette
Ŝi ___ cigared___

66. Men smoke cigarettes
Vir___ fumas cigared___

67. Good girls don't smoke
Bon___ knabinoj ___ fumas

68. But they quickly learn
Sed ___ rapid___ lern___

69. The pupils are young
La lernantoj estas jun___

70. They have a new school
Ili havas nov___ lernejon

71. The teacher is old
La instru___o estas mal___a

72. 'What's that?' he asks '
___ estas ___?' li demandas

73. Start working quietly
Eklaboru silent___

74. Whose book is that?
___ libro estas ___?

75. How (did) you do so-much?
___ vi faris ___?

76. Do everything again
Refaru ___

77. To the club in Paris
___ la klubo ___ Parizo

78. In the minibus from London
___ la aŭtobuseto ___ Londono

79. With lemonade under the seats
___ limonado ___ la seĝoj

80. For drinking whilst we journey
___ trinkado ___ ni vojaĝas

81. On the freeway as far as Paris
___ la ŝoseo ___ Parizo

82. We all run on to the beach
Ni ___ kur___ sur la plaĝ___

83. And someone swims in the sea
Kaj ___ naĝas en la mar___

____________ extract to here ____________


Let's take a look now at some very important verbs...

voli (want)
povi (can, be able)
devi (must, have to)

Mi volas veni. Mi volas kompreni
I want to come. I want to understand

Mi povas veni. Mi povas kompreni.
I am able to come. I am able to understand.
I can come. I can understand

Mi devas veni. Mi devas kompreni.
I must come. I must understand.
I have to come. I have to understand

Always use the infinitive verb after voli, povi, devi.


plaĉi al, ŝati, ami

Io aŭ iu plaĉas al mi.
Something or someone is pleasing to me.
I like someone or something.
(a mild, noncommittal verb)

Mi ŝatas ion.
I esteem, greatly like something.
(inanimate objects, etc.)

Mi amas iun.
I love someone (or pets).

Libroj plaĉas al mi.
Books are pleasing to me.
I like books.

Betty plaĉas al mi.
Betty is pleasing to me. I like Betty.

Mi ŝatas ĉokoladajn kuketojn.
I really like chocolate cupcakes.

Mi amas vian filinon.
I love (am in love with) your daughter.


koni vs. scii

Mi konas...
I know OF, I am aware of such a person, place or thing, or happening.

Mi scias...
I know something, have studied it.

Ĉu vi konas Johanon?
Do you know John?

Ĉu vi scias Esperanton?
Do you know Esperanto?

Ĉu vi konas Esperanton?
Are you familiar with Esperanto?


 
LESSON 8 - OKA LECIONO

We need to consider actions (verbs) in more detail. We have already dealt with the simple verbs ending in "is", "as", and "os". Now we take a look at compound (two-part) verbs, in which the first part gives the general time of the action and the second part gives the state of the action.

Before looking at the Esperanto use of compound verbs, let's look at the use of compound verbs in English.

____________ extract from here ____________

Ekzercoj, Leciono Ok (parto unu)

In the following diagram, under 'General Time', write either yesterday, now, tomorrow. Under 'State of Action', write completed, on-going, or not yet.

               General Time   State of Action

He is reading.

He was reading.

He will have eaten.

He is about to go.

He will be reading.

He has eaten.

He was about to write.

He had eaten.

He will be about to go.

____________ extract to here ____________

Notice that the first part of the two-part verb, which we call the auxiliary or helping verb, is 'to be' except when the action has been completed; in that case, English uses the auxiliary verb 'to have'. In Esperanto, the auxiliary verb is always esti (to be).

(yesterday)
(now)
(tomorrow)  

Li estis manĝinta
Li estas leganta
Li estos skribonta  

(completed)
(proceeding)
(not yet)

The idea is simple, but the explanation is somewhat confusing and difficult; hang in there! Let's look now at a fuller demonstration of Compound Verbs in Esperanto....


Compound Verb Tenses - Active (inta, anta, onta)

Jeanne has regular habits.
Using simple verb tenses we say:

every day at 8:00
She eats her breakfast.
Ŝi manĝas sian matenmanĝon.
(sia - his/her own)

every day at 8:05
She reads her paper.
Ŝi legas sian ĵurnalon.

every day at 8:10
She writes a letter.
Ŝi skribas leteron.

But none of these actions is instantaneous, and we can show this better by using the compound verb tenses:

and say at 8:00
She is eating her breakfast.
Ŝi estas manĝanta sian matenmanĝon.

and say at 8:05
She is reading her paper.
Ŝi estas leganta sian ĵurnalon.

and say at 8:10
She is writing a letter.
Ŝi estas skribanta leteron.

Suppose we are spying on her, and we report by phone. Then at 8:05 we would say:

She has eaten her breakfast.
Ŝi estas manĝinta sian matenmanĝon.

She is reading her paper.
Ŝi estas leganta sian ĵurnalon.

She is about to write a letter.
Ŝi estas skribonta leteron.

Later during the day, we may have to confirm in writing what we previously reported. Then we would say that by 8:05:

She had eaten her breakfast.
Ŝi estis manĝinta sian matenmanĝon.

She was reading her paper.
Ŝi estis leganta sian ĵurnalon.

She was about to write a letter.
Ŝi estis skribonta leteron.

Also, we must tell the next day's spy what to expect. We tell her that if she gets there by 8:05, she will find that:

She will have eaten her breakfast.
Ŝi estos manĝinta sian matenmanĝon.

She will be reading her paper.
Ŝi estos leganta sian ĵurnalon.

She will be about to write a letter.
Ŝi estos skribonta leteron.


Compound Verb Tenses - Active Participles

(action is preformed by the subject of the sentence)

inta (action recently completed)
anta (action still on-going)
onta (action soon to begin)

Please note: because participles are actually adjectives, [Cf. kuranta knabo, a running boy] they must agree in number with the subject. For example:

Ili estas manĝintaj. They have eaten.
Ni estis irontaj. We were about to go.
Vi estos skribantaj You will be writing


____________ extract from here ____________

Ekzercoj, Leciono Ok (parto du)

(translate into Esperanto, using compound verbs):

1. Father is reading a book [libro].
2. Mother is making a cake.
3. The boys are about to write.
4. The boy is about to drink tea.
5. Who has washed the small boy?
6. Father was reading a book.
7. Who has eaten my cake?
8. Mother was making a beautiful cake.
9. The boy was about to write.
10. They were going to write.
11. My brother has washed [lavi] my car [aŭto].
12. My sister had eaten my cake.
13. Father will be reading a book.
14. I will be selling tea and coffee.
15. The boy will be about to write a letter.
16. He will have eaten.
17. He is shooting [pafi].
18. He is going to score [trafi].
19. He has scored.
20. He had scored.

Perk up! The worst is over! Just some odd bits left over for the next two lessons.


 
LESSON 9 - NAŬA LECIONO

Wow! That last lesson had a lot in it, so let's do something a little simpler.

Numbers:
unu, du, tri, kvar, kvin, ses

Fractions:
      duono, triono, kvarono, kvinono, sesono

1/3 = (unu) triono;
3/4 = tri kvaronoj;
7/16 = sep deksesonoj;
5/8 = kvin okonoj

Note the following:
(contrast the expressions)

I look, and then I see.
Mi rigardas, kaj tiam mi vidas.

I listen, and then I hear.
Mi aŭskultas, kaj tiam mi aŭdas.

I think, then afterwards I have an opinion.
Mi pensas, kaj poste mi havas opinion.

I think that... Mi opinias, ke...

His father drank his lemonade.
(Whose lemonade?)

Lia patro trinkis lian limonadon.
(NOT the father's lemonade)

Lia patro trinkis sian limonadon.
(YES, the father's lemonade)

sia (third person) refers to the subject of the sentence:
(his own, her own, one's own, their own).

The box is blue, isn't it? La skatolo estas blua, ĉu ne?
[Watch your answer!
The box isn't blue, is it? What would JES mean?]
La skatolo ne estas blua, ĉu?


Shades of meaning by using the suffixes -eg and -et:

bonega
bona
boneta
malboneta
malbona
malbonega  

excellent        
good
fair
poor
bad
terrible

varmega
varma
varmeta
malvarmeta
malvarma
malvarmega  

hot
warm
lukewarm
cool
cold
freezing


Verb prefixes and suffixes:
ek-, -ad-, -iĝ-, and -ig-

ek

La suno ekbrilis.
La birdoj ekkantis.
La ondoj ekdancis.
 

The sun began to shine.
The birds began to sing.
The waves began to dance.
The waves suddenly danced.

 
ad

La suno briladis.

La birdoj kantadis.

La ondoj dancadis.
 

The sun kept on shining.
The sun shone and shone.
The birds kept on singing.
The birds sang and sang.
The waves kept on dancing.
The waves danced and danced.

 

La sablo sekiĝis.

La aero varmiĝis.

La homoj ruĝiĝis
 

The sand became (got) dry.
The sand dried up.
The air became (got) warm.
The air warmed up.
The people became (got) red.
The people reddened (blushed).

 
ig

La suno sekigis la sablon.

La suno varmigis la aeron.

La suno ruĝigis la homojn.
 

The sun made the sand dry.
The sun dried up the sand.
The sun made the air warm.
The sun warmed up the air.
The sun made the people red.
The sun reddened the people.


____________ extract from here ____________

Ekzercoj, Leciono Naŭ (parto unu)

Translate into Esperanto:

1. He ate three-fourths of [de] the cake.
2. I think that Esperanto is an easy language [lingvo].
3. Her mother washed her dress [robo].
[The dress was the daughter's]
4. Their mothers washed their (own) dresses.
5. The evenings are cool, aren't they?

____________ extract to here ____________

(Read in Esperanto)

Ĉe la junulara klubo

La vivo ĉe nia klubo estas tre interesa. Je la 7-a (sepa), diskludilo ekludas, kaj ludadas ĝis la 8-a, kiam ĝi silentiĝas. Ni studadas inter la 8-a kaj la 9-a, kaj ankaŭ la instruisto paroladas al ni (=li faras paroladon). Je la 9-a, ni manĝetas kaj la diskoj eksonas denove, kaj la dancado daŭras ĝis la 10-a kiam ni ekiras hejmen.

Esperanto interesas min. Mi interesiĝis antaŭ du monatoj, kaj tiam mi aliĝis al la klubo; mi ankaŭ interesigis mian fratinon, kaj varbis ŝin.

Dum la unua horo, ni ludas tablotenison kaj bilardon. Mi pliboniĝas je tabloteniso, sed malpliboniĝas je bilardo.

Dum la dua horo, ni havas legadon, skribadon, kaj esperantan kantadon. Poste, du fraŭlinoj varmigas la kafon, kaj kiam la kafo sufiĉe varmiĝas, oni malfermas la bufedon. La kafo estas sufiĉe varma je la 9-a.

La novaj membroj rapide interesiĝas pri la aliaj geknaboj ĉe la klubo. Ili ofte ekrigardas unu la alian, kaj de tempo al tempo fraŭlino ekploras se ŝia amiko interesiĝas pri alia fraŭlino.

disk-lud-il-o
studi
ankaŭ
parol-ad-i
denove
iri
varbi
fermi
ofte
alia

pli
malpli

pli bona
malpli bona  

record player    
to study
also
to lecture
again
to go
to recruit
to close
often
another

more
less

better
worse

ludi
monato
paroli
soni
daŭri
aliĝi
fraŭlo
bufedo
plori
tempo

plej
malplej

plej bona
malplej bona  

to play;
month;
to speak;
to sound;
to continue;
to join;
bachelor;
buffet;
to cry;
time

most
least

best
worst

____________ extract from here ____________

Ekzercoj, Leciono Naŭ (parto du)

Answer in English and Esperanto:

6. Kiom da horoj la disko sonas?
7. Kiam mi aliĝis al la klubo?
8. Kio okazas kiam la kafo estas sufiĉe varma?
9. Kial fraŭlino ekploras de tempo al tempo?

____________ extract to here ____________

Time: "Kioma (how-many-eth) horo (hour) estas?"
For hours, "Estas la unua, la dua, la tria, ktp ("etc.").
For hours plus minutes, "Estas la tria, dudek" or
"Estas la tria kaj dudek (3:20)".
Also used: "Estas la sepa kaj duono (7:30)" or
"Estas la sepa kaj kvarono (7:15)."

Indirect Speech:
(note the use of tense in Esperanto)

Direct:
He said, "I came from New York."
Li diris, "Mi venis de Nov-Jorko."

Indirect:
He said (that) he came from New York.
Li diris, ke li venis de Nov-Jorko.

Direct:
He said, "I'm waiting for my suitcase."
Li diris, "Mi atendas mian valizon."

Indirect:
He said (that) he was waiting for his suitcase.
Li diris, ke li atendas sian valizon.

Direct:
He said, "I shall go to Paris."
Li diris, "Mi iros al Parizo."

Indirect:
He said (that) he was going to Paris.
Li diris, ke li iros al Parizo.

In indirect speech, always use the verb that would be used in the direct speech equivalent. This is sometimes called "the logical tense". Also note that you must always use "ke" (that) even if it is not used in the English sentence.

____________ extract from here ____________

Ekzercoj, Leciono Naŭ (parto tri)

Translate into Esperanto:

10. She said, "I write badly."
11. She said that she wrote badly.
12. They said, "We washed the cups."
13. They said they had washed the cups.
14. You said, "I will drink lemonade."
15. You said you would drink lemonade.
16. He said he was unhappy. [happy = feliĉa]
17. She said she would come.
18. They said they had eaten the cake.
19. They said, "We are going-to-eat the cake."
20. They said they were going-to-eat the cake.


 
LESSON 10 - DEKA LECIONO

Regular word building:
Applicable to all animal families:

ox
bovo

sheep
ŝafo

dog
hundo

horse
ĉevalo

rabbit
kuniklo    

cow
bovino

ewe
ŝafino

bitch
hundino    

mare
...

rabbit
...

calf
bovido

lamb
ŝafido

puppy
hundido    

foal
...

---
...

herd
bovaro

flock
ŝafaro

pack
hundaro

herd
...

---
...

Got the idea? In Esperanto it's easy, but in English it's hard!

A few more word building suffixes and prefixes:

ge-
of both
sexes

-an
member of  

-eg
enormous

-ej
place for

-et
tiny

-ul
person

bo-
in-law

gepatroj
parents


klubano
club member

pluvego
downpour

klubejo
clubhouse

libreto
booklet

junulo
youth

bofrato
brother-in-law  

gesinjoroj
ladies and
gentlemen

vilaĝano
villager

ridego
hearty laugh

trinkejo
pub

manĝeto
snack

blindulo
blind person

bopatrino
mother-in-law  

geknaboj
boys and girls


nov-jorkano
New Yorker

bonega
excellent

necesejo
restroom (WC)

monteto
hill

belulino
a beauty



Logic dictates when to use prefixes and suffixes, but there are no precise rules. So use them when they make sense. Can anything be easier?

Kio estas la puno por bigamio? Du bopatrinoj!

Summary of verb forms:
(What makes the following so great is that it can be used with all verbs; no exceptions!)

Simple verb forms
(use with any noun or pronoun subject).

dormi
dormis
dormas
dormos    

[infinitive]
[past time]
[present time]
[future time]

to sleep
(yesterday)
(now)
(tomorrow)

 

dormus

[conditional]



Se mi estus riĉa, mi estus kontenta.
If I were rich, I would be content.
(describes situations that aren't true.)

 

dormu!

[imperative]

A command!


Aŭ silentu, aŭ foriru.
Either be quiet or go away.


Common verb affixes:

Prefixes:
re-   repeat of action; again
ek-   sudden start or short duration

Suffixes:
-ad   continual action
-iĝ   to become
-ig   to make (something happen)

Compound verbs - active
(Action by the subject of sentence)

Ŝi  estis    manĝinta sian matenmanĝon.
Ŝi  estas   leganta sian ĵurnalon.
Ŝi  estos   skribonta leteron.

Note: participles can have a plural form:

Mi estas manĝinta.     Ni estas manĝintaj.

And participles can be used as adjectives:

La dormanta knabo.   The sleeping boy.


Compound verbs - passive
(Action on the subject of sentence)

Compare:

active:
Li estas leganta la ĵurnalon.
He is reading the newspaper.

passive:
La ĵurnalo estas legata de li.
The paper is being-read by him.

Compare with lesson 8:
La matenmanĝo   estis   manĝita de ŝi.
La ĵurnalo   estas   legata de ŝi.
La letero   estos   skribota de ŝi.

ita     been -ed
ata    being -ed
ota    about to be -ed

Our apologies for packing all that stuff in such a small mail - but just try to cover the same information about any other language in anything smaller than a textbook.

The compound verbs are used a lot less in Esperanto than in English. Use of the simple form is usually good enough. Instead of "Li estis manĝinta", we say "Li manĝis."

Participles can be used as nouns.

active:
aminto   someone who was loving
amanto   someone who is loving
amonto   someone who will-be loving

passive:
amito   someone who was loved
amato   someone who is loved
amoto   someone who will-be loved

Noun participles can have feminine [amantino] and plural [amatoj] forms. They can be formed from any verb [parolanto, dormintoj, falontino (the girl who is about to fall)].

Note the difference between -anto and -isto:

instruanto:   one who teaches (not professionally)
instruisto:   a teacher (professional)

A little more about the correlatives in lesson 5:

tio = that thing
tiu = that (one, person)    
tie = there, that place

ĉi tio = this thing
ĉi tiu = this one, person
ĉi tie = this place, here

kiom = how much, how many
kiom da = how many (of) something

Kiom da amikoj vi havas?
How many friends do you have?

Kiom ĝi kostas?
How much does it cost?

kies = whose
Kies plumo ĝi estas?
Whose pen is it?

answer:
Ĝi estas la plumo de Johano.
(No shorter way of saying "John's pen")

januaro
februaro
marto
aprilo
majo
junio
julio
aŭgusto
septembro  
oktobro
novembro
decembro

January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September      
October
November
December

dimanĉo
lundo
mardo
merkredo  
ĵaŭdo
vendredo
sabato

Sunday
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday


La Lingvo Por Ni
(Tune: My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean)

Sur montoj kaj step' indianoj,
Ĉasadas kun ruĝ-famili',
Kaj se vi postulas parolon,
el kanjon' eliras la kri':

ES-PER-AN-TO estas la lingvo por ni, por ni!
ES PER AN TO estas la lingvo por ni!

En densa afrika ĝangalo,
la bonaj amikoj de ni
Jam solvis la lingvan problemon,
Per tamtam' eliras la kri':

ES-PER-AN-TO estas la lingvo por ni, por ni!
ES PER AN TO estas la lingvo por ni!

Ĉe norda poluso eskimoj,
loĝadas en neĝo, glaci';
Se ili bezonas parolon,
aŭdiĝas la tutsama kri';

ES-PER-AN-TO estas la lingvo por ni, por ni!
ES PER AN TO estas la lingvo por ni!

Sur tuta la vasta terglobo,
en urboj el ĉiu naci'
Troviĝas sam-ide-an-aro,
de buboj elsonas la kri':

ES-PER-AN-TO estas la lingvo por ni, por ni!
ES PER AN TO estas la lingvo por ni!

Indianoj, nigruloj, eskimoj;
urbanoj kaj buboj kaj mi
Jam uzas la Zamenhof-lingvon,
Do, vivu, prosperu la kri':

ES-PER-AN-TO estas la lingvo por ni, por ni!
ES PER AN TO estas la lingvo por ni!

Note:   An apostrophe denotes an "o" which as been left out for poetic or musical reasons. Do not do this in prose.

HEY, IT'S ME, YOUR KOREKTANTO!
I want to add something here. The replacement of the final "o" in a noun without the -j or -n endings by an apostrophe, or of the "a" in "la" by an apostrophe when there's a vowel either to before or after the "la" (lest it be unpronouncable) is allowed, though used almost exclusively in poetry. This is called elision (elizio). Look at Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in Esperanto:

Brilu, brilu eta stel',
Diamanto de l' ĉiel'.
Tiel alta super Ter',
Kio estas vi, en ver'?
Brilu, brilu eta stel',
Diamanto de l' ĉiel'.

Stelo = star     diamanto = diamond
ĉielo = sky     tero = earth, land, ground
Sorry to take your time. Back to the lesson...

With this lesson you will find the final set of exercises. Complete the 50 sentences and send them back to your tutor. After correction, he will send them back to you, and by separate mail you will receive an atestilo (Certificate of Completion).

We would be very happy to receive from you any comments you may have about the course and a note about your plans for Esperanto - traveling, reading, corresponding, etc. Send them to the central address (the one in the monthly posting).

There are many good books for beginning reading. Write to the book service of your national Esperanto association. They will be glad to send you a book list and suggest suitable reading material. You can also try the book service of the Universala Esperanto-Asocio, which claims to have the biggest Esperanto-bookstore. For addresses, see lesson 1.

Note that in Canada, the address is:
Esperanto-Libroservo
6358-A, rue de Bordeaŭ
Montreal, Quebec, H2G 2R8

+1 514 272 0151.

We strongly recommend that you join your local Esperanto club or society and participate in the activities. Or if there isn't a club in your region, start one up!

For those who live in the USA:
ELNA provides a list of local groups, if you send them a self-addressed stamped envelope.

Vi jam finis vian unuan kurson de Esperanto.
Ni deziras por vi plej bonan sukceson!

Ĝis la revido!

____________ extract from here ____________

Ekzercoj, Leciono Dek

Translate into Esperanto.
Close as possible with comments in bracket to clarify the English. Multiple translations are possible. Think in Esperanto. Trying to translate word-for-word may not help!

1. The boy.
2. A good boy.
3. And a girl.
4. The girl is bad.
5. She has a beer.
6. Real men drink beer. [real = vera]
7. Good girls don't smoke.
8. But they quickly learn.
9. The pupils are young. [pupil = "one who is learning"]
10. They have a new school.
11. The teacher is old.
12. What's that?
13. Why do you keep on talking?
14. Start working quietly.
15. Whose book is that?
16. How did you do so much?
17. Do everything again.
18. We went to the club at Houston.
19. We will go in the minibus from Calgary.
20. With beer under the seats.
21. For drinking while we travel. [make "drinking" an extended activity]
22. On the freeway as far as the sea.
23. We all run onto the beach.
24. And someone swims in the sea.
25. Would you like to go?
26. He caught the ball.
27. Shoot! You'll score something.
28. He has caught the ball.
29. He is shooting.
30. He is going to score.
31. He had gone.
32. The goal has been scored.
33. The game was going to be won.
34. Do you know a blonde? [a female blonde]
35. Who knows how to cook?
36. I must meet her.
37. I'd love such a wife.
38. Sharpen my knife.
39. I like my food.
40. My parents are shopping.
41. I want a tiny dog. ["tiny dog" is one word]
42. If I had a puppy...
43. It would become bigger.
44. I can imagine it there.
45. There it is, with a huge bone.
46. Why not go to Paris?
47. Our club members went there.
48. Drink some of their wine.
49. We have sweet wines here.
50. What time is it?

ball
blonde
freeway
game
Paris
sea
sweet
to eat
to score
to shoot  

pilko
blonda      
ŝoseo
ludo
Parizo
maro
dolĉa
manĝi
trafi
pafi

beach
Calgary
gain (win)
goal
quiet
seat
to imagine  
to cut
to swim

plaĝo
Kalgario
gajno
golo
silenta
seĝo
imagi
tranĉi
naĝi


Lesson 1     Lesson 6    Vocabulary    Return

Enrique Ellemberg
Fremont, CA, Usono

August 24a, 2005
Hejmpaĝo
Vokita fojoj.

Paĝo finis