Nouns, the Article, Adjectives, and the Present Tense

Nouns

10.Words which are the names of persons or things are called nouns. The ending — that is, the final letter — of every Esperanto noun is -o. Nothing else marks a noun, and nothing but a noun is so marked, so that the part of speech of a word is legible from the word itself.

knabo

boy

ĉevalo

horse

tablo

table

pomo

apple

The Article

11.The definite article is la, the. There is no indefinite article — none for the singular and none for the plural. Consequently knabo means at once "boy" and "a boy", and only la knabo is "the boy". An English speaker's instinct to supply "a" must simply be given up.

la knabo

the boy

knabo

a boy, boy

la tablo

the table

pomo

an apple

Adjectives

12.A word used with a noun to express a quality or characteristic is called an adjective. The ending of every Esperanto adjective is -a. Since the noun ends in -o and the adjective in -a, an adjective may be made from any noun, and a noun from any adjective, by changing one letter — a device on which the whole word-building of the language rests.

bela

beautiful

flava

yellow

granda

large

forta

strong

Attributive Adjectives

13.An adjective is said to modify the noun whose quality it expresses. When it directly precedes or follows that noun it is called an attributive adjective. Either order is correct and neither changes the meaning: the ending, not the position, shows which word is the adjective.

la granda ĉevalo

the large horse

bela birdo

a beautiful bird

floro flava

a yellow flower — the adjective following its noun — equally correct

forta knabo

a strong boy

The Present Tense

14.Words which express action or condition are called verbs. A verb representing an act or condition as a fact in present time is said to be in the present tense, and the ending of every Esperanto verb in that tense is -as. The ending does not change for person or for number: one form serves I, you, he, we and they alike.

kuras

runs, is running

brilas

shines, is shining

flugas

flies, is flying

dormas

sleeps, is sleeping

• [1] One Esperanto present renders both English presents: la knabo kantas is "the boy sings" and "the boy is singing" indifferently.

The Subject

15.The person or thing whose action or condition the verb expresses is called the subject of the verb. Since the verb ending tells nothing about person or number, it is the subject that supplies them.

La suno brilas.

The sun shines, the sun is shining. — subject: suno

Knabo kuras.

A boy runs. — subject: knabo

La bela birdo kantas.

The beautiful bird is singing.