Ch 19 · Lesson 18Esperanto · Chapter 19 · Lesson 18 · Grammar primer
Language names: la angla, la anglan, angle
A language is an adjective with : . It takes -n as an object ( ), angle means in English, and Esperanto is a name.
The short version
The language is an adjective with
Francio .
Why?Hide
shortens to , and the article has to stay, because the adjective is standing in for a noun that has been dropped: , . In the usual style the capital goes on the country only, so one short sentence gets three different treatments where English would capitalise all three. Esperanto itself is the exception, its name being a noun: .
Angle means in English
.
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The adverb in -e says what language something is done in: , write in English. It is the one to use when the verb already has an object: ? ( says the same.) With , both and are fine.
Esperanto is a name, not an adjective
.
Why?Hide
Other languages are adjectives with ( ), but Esperanto is named after the pen name on the first textbook, so it is used as a noun: , Esperanto . The adverb is , and the adjective means of Esperanto: .
An Esperanto language name is the people's adjective with : is English, short for . As the object of a verb it takes -n; to say something is done in a language, use the adverb in -e. Esperanto itself is a name.
| Use | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| the language | | English |
| as the subject | . | English is hard. |
| as the object | . | I am learning English. |
| in a language | . | Write it in English. |
. | I speak . |
The adjective is the language
Take the word for the people, give it the adjective ending -a, and put in front. is understood, so it is usually left off:
| Language | English |
|---|---|
| French |
| German |
| Spanish |
| Italian |
| Russian |
| Chinese |
| Japanese |
| Arabic |
The stays, because the adjective is standing in for a noun. And the phrase takes -n like any object:
| Role | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| subject | . | Italian is a lovely language. |
| object | . | I am learning Spanish. |
| object | . | She understands French. |
A nationality adjective is not automatically a language. Brazilians speak Portuguese, so brazila is not a language:
Brazilo .- In Brazil people speak Portuguese.
angle: in English
The adverb in -e says what language something is done in. It is the form to use when the verb already has an object ( , with a preposition, says the same):
.- She wrote the letter in English.?- How do you say that in English?.- He answered me in French.
Esperanto is a name
Esperanto is not built from a people. Its name is a noun, from the pen name on the first textbook in 1887, Esperanto, so it is used as a name, with no :
| Form | Example | English |
|---|---|---|
| the name | . | is easy. |
| object | . | I speak . |
| adverb | . | We spoke in . |
| adjective | | the movement |
Going further: Capital letters and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
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