Ch 11 · Lesson 4Esperanto · Chapter 11 · Lesson 4 · Grammar primer
The Proverbaro: kiu ... tiu and the -n
, ; : Zamenhof's proverbs, each line carrying a correlative pair or the accusative.
The short version
Zamenhof's proverbs are grammar in rhyme
, - who does , that does gain
Why?Hide
The o is the closest thing Esperanto has to folk wisdom, and every line drills a structure: , is the correlative pair doing its work; , the same trick with quality. Learn ten and you have both the idiom and the grammar it rides on.
: the -n frees the order
.
Why?Hide
In this the object comes before the verb. In English that order would make bread the subject; in Esperanto the -n on says bread is what is given, wherever it sits. After there is no object, so no -n: .
Zamenhof's o (1910) holds about 2,600 proverbs, and each one is a grammar point you will not forget. Here are fifteen, grouped by what they teach, each with its literal English.
| Grammar point | Proverb |
|---|---|
... | , . |
... | , . |
the object -n | . |
... | , . |
| o o. |
| a participle | . |
the -u command | . |
Where the proverbs come from
Markus Zamenhof, a language teacher, collected equivalent proverbs across Russian, Polish, French and German. His son, L. L. Zamenhof, had built a language, and rendered the collection into it:
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| published | 1910 |
| size | about 2,600 proverbs |
| source | Markus Zamenhof's four-language collection |
| copyright | none: Zamenhof died in 1917 |
The catch: nobody spent centuries polishing these in Esperanto. They are European proverbs, translated by one man. Speakers have used them for over a century since, which is how any becomes idiomatic.
Correlative pairs: kiu ... tiu
Many proverbs in the collection open with (who) and answer with (that one): the same row of the correlative table, first letter changed.
| # | Proverb | Literally |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | , . | Who does not risk, that one does not win. |
| 2 | , . | Who jumps too fast, that one soon stops. |
| 3 | , . | Who sows wind will reap a thunderstorm. |
| 4 | , . | What kind of mother, that kind of daughter. |
Line 3 drops : when the subject is obvious, it can go. In line 4, asks what kind and answers it, with no verb at all: like mother, like daughter.
Kia patrino, tia filino: the mother (3) and her daughter (6). Like mother, like daughter.
The accusative at work
| # | Proverb | Literally |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | . | Hope does not give bread. |
| 6 | . | Do not shove your nose into a strange vase. |
| 7 | . | Time is money. |
- Line 5 puts the object before the verb. The
-nshows that bread is what is given, so the order is free for rhythm. - Line 6 uses
-ntwice:is the object, and-nafterbecause the nose moves into the vase. It means mind your own business, and it rhymes. - Line 7 has no
-n: after,is whatis, not an object.is the poetic short form of(see poetic Esperanto).
Going further: Comparison: pli ... ol and plej 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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