Language/Esperanto/Grammar/Adjectives

Esperanto Grammar - Adjectives

Hi Esperanto learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will be learning about adjectives in Esperanto. Adjectives are words that describe or modify a noun. They can tell us the size, color, shape, and many more characteristics of a noun.

After mastering this lesson, these related pages might interest you: Gender, Future Tense, PREPOSITIONS & Past Participle in Esperanto.

Overview

Adjectives in Esperanto are invariable, meaning they do not change form for gender, case, or number. They always follow the noun they modify, and they agree with the noun in terms of the suffix used.

For example:

Esperanto	Pronunciation	English
la granda domo	la ˈɡrand.a ˈdo.mo	the big house
la grandaj domoj	la ɡran.ˈdaj ˈdo.moj	the big houses

In the example above, the adjective "granda" (big) remains the same in both sentences, and only the suffix "-a" and "-aj" change to match the gender and number of the noun.

La Koloroj (Colors)

Colors are a great place to start when learning about adjectives in Esperanto. They are simple, yet important, and there are some fun ones to learn!

Esperanto	Pronunciation	English
blanka	ˈblaŋ.ka	white
blua	ˈblu.a	blue
flava	ˈfla.va	yellow
griza	ˈɡri.za	gray
kafea	ka.ˈfe.a	brown
malvarma	mal.ˈvar.ma	cold
purpura	pur.ˈpu.ra	purple
ruĝa	ˈru.d͡ʒa	red
verdaj folioj	ver.ˈdaj ˈfo.li.ɔj	green leaves

For example:

• Mia domo estas blanka. (My house is white.)
• La floroj estas ruĝaj. (The flowers are red.)

Now, let's practice! 🎓 Try translating these sentences from English to Esperanto:

1. The sky is blue.

2. The snow is white.

3. My eyes are brown.

4. The grass is green.

5. The rain is cold.

Answers

1. La ĉielo estas blua. 2. La neĝo estas blanka. 3. Miaj okuloj estas kafeaj. 4. La herbo estas verda. 5. La pluvo estas malvarma.

Remember, practice is key when learning a new language! Don't be afraid to make mistakes and ask for help. You can also use the Polyglot Club website to Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

La Nombroj (Numbers)

Numbers are always useful, no matter what language you are learning. Here are some basic numbers in Esperanto:

Esperanto	Pronunciation	English
nul	nul	zero
unu	ˈu.nu	one
du	du	two
tri	tri	three
kvar	ˈkvar	four
kvin	kvin	five
ses	ses	six
sep	sep	seven
ok	ok	eight
naŭ	ˈna.u	nine
dek	ˈdek	ten

For example:

• Mi havas tri hundojn. (I have three dogs.)
• La boteloj estas kvar. (The bottles are four.)
• La klaso havas kvindek studentojn. (The class has fifty students.)

Now, let's have a dialogue to practice numbers:

• Person 1: Kial vi ridas? (Why are you laughing?)
• Person 2: Ĉar mi havas kvindek hundojn! (Because I have fifty dogs!)
• Person 1: Tio estas multe da hundoj. (That's a lot of dogs.)
• Person 2: Jes, sed mi amas ilin ĉiujn. (Yes, but I love them all.)

La Substantivaj Komplezoj (Noun Complexes)

Noun complexes are a group of two or more nouns that act as one, and they can function as the subject or object of the sentence. In Esperanto, the first noun takes an -o ending, and the second noun takes an -a ending to indicate that it is modifying the first noun.

For example:

• La ŝoforo de la aŭtobuso estas amiko de mia patro. (The bus driver is a friend of my father.)
• La ludo de la kato estas tre amuza. (The cat's game is very amusing.)

Now, let's have a dialogue to practice noun complexes:

• Person 1: Kio estas la nomo de tiu griza afero? (What is the name of that gray thing?)
• Person 2: Tio estas la biciklo de mia fratino. (That is my sister's bicycle.)
• Person 1: Ĉu vi ŝatas la muzikon de la orkestro? (Do you like the music of the orchestra?)
• Person 2: Jes, mi ŝatas la sonon de la violonoj. (Yes, I like the sound of the violins.)

La Finaj Frazpartoj (Final Sentence Parts)

Final sentence parts are words that come at the end of a sentence, and they often indicate the speaker's attitude or point of view. Here are some common final sentence parts in Esperanto:

Esperanto	Pronunciation	English
ĉu ne?	ˈtʃu ne	isn't it?
ja	ja	of course
do	do	so
ktp.	ktp.	etc.
tamen	ta.men	however
eĉ	etʃ	even

For example:

• La vetero estas varma, ĉu ne? (The weather is warm, isn't it?)
• Li estas tre inteligenta, ja? (He is very intelligent, isn't he?)
• Ni devus iri, tamen, estas tre malfrue. (We should go, however, it is very late.)

Now, let's practice translating sentences that include final sentence parts:

1. The food is delicious, even the vegetables. 2. You can't come, so don't bother asking. 3. It's going to rain, isn't it?

__Answer key:__ 1. La manĝo estas bongusta, eĉ la legomoj. 2. Vi ne povas veni, do ne ĝenu demandi. 3. Pluvos, ĉu ne?

Conclusion

Congratulations on completing this lesson on adjectives in Esperanto. We covered a lot of material, including colors, numbers, noun complexes, and final sentence parts. To improve your Esperanto Grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

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➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Having concluded this lesson, consider checking out these related pages: Negation, Prepositions, THE NEGATIVE & Suffixes —ET and —EG.

Other Lessons

• THE CORRELATIVES
• Possessive Case in Esperanto
• COMPARATIVES
• Interrogation
• PREFIXES
• Verbs
• Adverb
• Future Tense
• Pronouns
• Plurals

Sources

• Esperanto grammar - Wikipedia
• Esperanto: A Complete and Comprehensive Grammar/Adjectives ...
• Esperanto Grammar