Ch 10 · Lesson 17Esperanto · Chapter 10 · Lesson 17 · Grammar primer
Ne, nur and ankaŭ: the word after
denies the seeing; denies that it was me. , , and point at the word after them, and one negative per clause is enough.
The short version
.
Why?Hide
English lets also drift around the sentence and leaves stress to fix the meaning; careful Esperanto puts the meaning in the position. says I read it too, alongside other people. says I read the book as well as other things. Park the word directly in front of the thing you are including.
.
Why?Hide
before the verb and you deny the whole clause: , I did not see him. Put it before another word and you deny only that word: , it was not me who saw him. English needs a cleft sentence or a stressed syllable for this; Esperanto moves one small word.
Where ne sits
denies the word right after it. Before the verb, that is the whole clause:
| Denied | Sentence | English |
|---|---|---|
| the seeing | . | I did not see him. |
| that it was me | . | It was not me who saw him. |
| that it was him | , . | I saw not him, but her. |
| the coming | . | I asked him not to come. |
takes like any other verb:
.- He is not my brother.
One negative per clause
Careful Esperanto keeps one negative word per clause. With two, a reader may take them as cancelling each other:
| Esperanto | English | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
. | I saw nothing. | one negative |
. | I did not see anything. | one negative |
. | I did not see nothing? | avoid |
The same goes for (nobody) and (never):
.- Nobody came..- She never says anything.
Spanish, Russian and Polish stack negatives as a rule, so their speakers find this the hardest habit to drop. Drop it: the single negative reads the same to everyone.
ankaŭ, nur and eĉ: the word after
These words point forwards, at what follows them. In careful usage you put them directly before the word you mean:
| Points at | Sentence | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| . | Others love her, and so do I. |
| . | I love her as well as others. |
| . | Nobody but me read it. |
| . | I read nothing else. |
| . | Even the child understood. |
English drops also and only in the middle and lets the voice sort it out. In Esperanto the position carries the meaning, so before you move on, look at the word to the right and check it is the one you are pointing at.
Mistakes English speakers make
| Avoid | Better | English |
|---|---|---|
. | . | I saw nothing. |
. | . | I, too, love her. |
. | . | Only I read it. |
. | . | I read a book. |
Going further: The neutral order is SVO and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
Practise this lesson
8-question session
One question at a time, mixed across the exercises in this lesson. Miss one and it comes back round before the end.
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