Free Esperanto Course

Leciono Dek

Regular word building: Applicable to all animal families:

oxcowcalfherdbovobovinobovidobovaro
sheepewelambflockŝafoŝafinoŝafidoŝafaro
dogbitchpuppypackhundohundinohundidohundaro
horsemarefoalherdĉevalo.........
rabbitrabbit----kuniklo.........

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
gepatroj
parents
gesinjoroj
ladies and gentlemen
geknaboj
boys and girls
-an
member of
klubano
club member
vilaĝano
villager
nov-jorkano
New Yorker
-eg
enormous
pluvego
downpour
ridego
hearty laugh
bonega
excellent
-ej
place for
klubejo
club house
trinkejo
pub
necesejo
restroom (WC)
-et
tiny
libreto
booklet
manĝeto
snack
monteto
hill
-ul
person
junulo
youth
blindulo
blind person
belulino
a beauty
bo-
in-law
bofrato
brother-in-law
bopatrino
mother-in-law

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).

dormiinfinitiveto sleep
dormispast time(yesterday)
dormaspresent time(now)
dormosfuture time(tomorrow)
dormusconditional Se mi estus riĉa, mi estus kontenta.
If I were rich, I would be content.
(describes situation that aren't true.)
dormu!imperative(A command!)
Aŭ silentu, aŭ foriru.
Either be quiet or go away.

Common verb affixes:

re-
ek-
verb root -iĝ-
-ad-
-ig-
re: repeat of action; again
ek: sudden start or short duration
ad: continual action
iĝ: to become
ig: to make (something happen)

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

Ŝi estismanĝinta sian matenmanĝon.
Ŝi estasleganta sian ĵurnalon.
Ŝi estosskribonta 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:

activeLi estas leganta la ĵurnalon.
He is reading the newspaper.
passiveLa ĵurnalo estas legata de li.
The paper is being-read by him.

Compare with lesson 8:

La matenmanĝo
La ĵurnalo
La letero
estis
estas
estos
manĝita de ŝi.
legata de ŝi.
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
amantois
amontowill-be
passive amito was loved
amatois
amotowill-be

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:

instruantoone who teaches (not professionally)
instruistoa teacher (professional)

A little more about the correlatives in lesson 5:

tio = that thingĉi tio = this thing
tiu = that (one, person)ĉi tiu = this one, person
tie = there, that placeĉi 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")

SundayMondayTuesdayWednesdayThursdayFridaySaturday
dimanĉolundomardomerkredoĵaŭdovendredosabato

JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJune
januarofebruaromartoaprilomajojunio
JulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
julioaŭgustoseptembrooktobronovembrodecembro

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':
#

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

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

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

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

Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in Esperanto:

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

(The article "la" can become "l'" in poetry.)

Stelo = star, diamanto = diamond, ^cielo = 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.

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!

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 pilko
beach plaĝo
blonde blonda
Calgary Kalgario
freeway ŝoseo
gain (win) gajno
game ludo
goal golo
Paris Parizo
quiet silenta
sea maro
seat seĝo
sweet dolĉa
to imagine imagi
to eat manĝi
to cut tranĉi
to score trafi
to swim naĝi
to shoot pafi

Don't forget to mail these exercises to your tutor, with subject: 'FEC ekz 10'.