Ch 11 · Lesson 5Esperanto · Chapter 11 · Lesson 5 · Grammar primer
More proverbs: pli ... ol, participles and sia
, : comparison, a participle, mal- and , each carried by a you will remember.
The short version
, .
Why?Hide
After (more), than is always : , better than. compares equals, in ... (as ... as). Zamenhof's about bread and freedom carries the rule in one line, and , the most, is the whole superlative: there is no -est to learn.
Comparison: pli ... ol and plej
| # | Proverb | Literally |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | , . | Better bread without butter than sweet cake without freedom. |
| 9 | . | Repetition is the best learning. |
| 10 | . | After ugly weather shines the sun most bright. |
(more) wants (than), never . (most) is the whole superlative: there is no -est to learn, as comparisons shows.
Post vetero malbela lumas suno plej hela: after ugly weather (2, the rain) the sun shines brightest (1).
Line 10 also shows free order: the verb comes before its subject , and both adjectives follow their nouns, here for the rhyme.
Participles, affixes and compounds
| # | Proverb | Literally |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | . | Not everything shining is a diamond. |
| 12 | . | Even a small fly is not without a mouth. |
Look back at lines 3 and 9 too. The pieces:
| Word | Pieces | What it adds |
|---|---|---|
| -- | shining, right now |
| - + | the opposite: small |
| -- | repeating as a habit |
| | lightning-thunder |
says everything that shines in two words: that is what participles are for. In the last root is the thing and the first describes it, as in Esperanto compounds generally.
sia, and lines with no verb
| # | Proverb | Literally |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | . | Everyone has their own taste. |
| 14 | , . | First came, first took. |
| 15 | . | A friend in joy and in tears. |
- Line 13:
is the reflexive possessive, the subject's own. It takes-nto agree with. - Line 14 uses the adjective
(first) as the subject, with no noun: first come, first served. - Line 15 has no verb at all: proverbs often leave the verb out.
Mistakes learners make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| | no -n after |
| | |
... | ... | after |
| | |
Going further: Where the proverbs come from and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
Practise this lesson
7-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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