In English the sense often depends entirely on the order of the words, e.g., the sentence “John saw George” would mean something quite different if reversed—“George saw John.” But in Esperanto, thanks to the accusative n, the endings a and e for participles, and the pronoun si, the order of words may be varied without altering the sense. “Georgon vidis Johano” means exactly the same as “Johano vidis Georgon.”
But though the meaning can in most cases be understood whatever the order of the words, it is best to adopt the simplest arrangement, and to follow the natural course of thought, which is, first, that about which we think, then that which we think about it. English students may frame their sentences exactly as they would in their own language. In Esperanto, as in English, the arrangement is sometimes altered, either for emphasis, as Laŭdata estu Dio! Praised be God!; or to please the ear, as Oni min admiras, instead of Oni admiras min, People admire me.
Note.—Care must be taken in placing the word “ne.” Its usual place is before the verb, when it negatives the whole sentence. Study the effect of placing ne in different positions in the sentence Mi deziras vidi Johanon kaj lian fraton, I wish to see John and his brother:—
(i.). Mi ne deziras vidi Johanon kaj lian fraton, I do not wish to see John and his brother.
(ii.). Mi deziras ne vidi Johanon kaj lian fraton, I wish not to see John and his brother, i.e., I wish to avoid seeing them.
(iii.). Mi deziras vidi ne Johanon, sed lian fraton, I wish to see not John, but his brother.
(iv.). Mi deziras vidi Johanon kaj ne lian fraton, I wish to see John and not his brother.
Ne tute means “not quite,” while tute ne means “not at all.”
Jam ne means “no longer.” “Not yet” is ankoraŭ ne.
Words which are already international, such as microscope, telephone, automobile, etc., are adopted unchanged, except as to the spelling and termination, as mikroskopo, telefono, aŭtomobilo.
As already said, when an adjective or participle (or a noun) is added to the object simply as a describing word, it takes n like the object, as Li perdis sian novan libron (aŭ, sian libron novan), He lost his new book. Ŝi trankviligis la kriegantan infanon (aŭ, la infanon kriegantan), She pacified the screaming child. Li vizitis sian fraton Johanon, He visited his brother John. (“John” shows which brother).
But if the adjective, participle, or noun is used not merely to describe, but indirectly to tell something about the object, it does not take n. A comparison of the following sentences will make this clear:—
| 1. | Li trovis la pomojn maturajn. He found the ripe apples. |
| Li trovis la pomojn maturaj. He found (that) the apples (were) ripe. | |
| 2. | Li trovis la kruĉon rompitan. He found the broken jug. |
| Li trovis la kruĉon rompita. He found (that) the jug (was) broken. | |
| 3. | Li kolorigis la drapon ruĝan. He dyed the red cloth. |
| Li kolorigis la drapon ruĝa. He dyed the cloth red. | |
| 4. | Li tranĉis (aŭ faris) la veston tro mallongan. He cut (or made) the too-short coat (the coat that was too short). |
| Li tranĉis la veston tro mallonga. He cut the coat (so that it was) too short. | |
| 5. | Li nomis la knabon mensogisto. He called the boy a liar. |
Compare this use of words with the following:—
He made his father angry (or, be angered). Li kolerigis sian patron, or, li igis sian patron kolera.
The loss drove him mad. La perdo frenezigis lin, or, igis lin freneza.
It rendered the gun useless. Ĝi senutiligis la pafilon, or, igis la pafilon senutila.
Aa, Bb, Cc, Ĉĉ, Dd, Ee, Ff, Gg, Ĝĝ, Hh, Ĥĥ, Ii, Jj, Ĵĵ, Kk, Ll, Mm, Nn, Oo, Pp, Rr, Ss, Ŝŝ, Tt, Uu, Ŭŭ, Vv, Zz [Footnote: Names of the letters: a, bo, co, ĉo, do, e, fo, go, ĝo, ho, ĥo, i, jo, ĵo, ko, lo, mo, no, o, po, ro, so, ŝo, to, u, ŭo, vo, zo.]
Remark.—Presses which do not possess the accented letters can use instead of them ch, gh, hh, jh, sh, u.
Remark.—The use of the article is the same as in the other languages. People who find a difficulty in the use of the article need not at first use it at all.