Ch 21 · Lesson 8Esperanto · Chapter 21 · Lesson 8 · Grammar primer
Ho, nu, ve: the little words that carry the feeling
Interjections take no ending and sit outside the sentence: ho is oh, is ouch, is alas, is well, and aims at a person with .
The short version
, !
Why?Hide
Interjections such as ho, , and take no ending: no -o, no -j, no -n. They sit outside the sentence, so deleting one never breaks it. The classic pair is , alas or oh dear, and aims at a person with : , woe is me.
, .
Why?Hide
opens a turn and buys a second while you think, exactly like English well. , is well, let us begin; , ! is go on, then! It is a real dictionary word, not a mumble, so use it.
An interjection takes no ending and sits outside the sentence: , ! is oh, how lovely! Give one an ending, though, and it becomes an ordinary word: the noise boj gives , to bark.
| Word | Feeling | Example |
|---|---|---|
| surprise, sorrow, or calling out | , ! |
| sudden and sharp; doubled, a laugh | ! |
| wistful: longing, regret | , ! |
aj | pain: ouch | Aj! ! |
| woe, aimed with | ! |
| alas, oh dear | , . |
| well, so, come on | , . |
| disgust, shame | ! |
hura | a cheer | Hura! ! |
hej | hey: getting attention | , ! |
The glosses: how lovely!; ha ha!; if only I knew!; ouch, my foot!; woe is me!; oh dear, it is too late; well, let us begin; shame on you!; hooray, we won!; hey, you there!
- hura
- ho
- aĥ
- ho ve
- ve al mi
is by far the commonest. In the frequency list this course uses it sits at rank 85, among the pronouns; is at 382, at 589, at 862.
Outside the sentence
An interjection has no job in the grammar. Delete it and the sentence is still whole:
, .- Oh, I did not know that..- I did not know that.
So it never takes -j, -n or any other ending: is whatever surrounds it. A comma or an exclamation mark sets it off, and an exclamation mark raises the :
Aj! .- Ouch! That hurts.
Unlike Spanish, Esperanto has no opening mark: !, never ¡!. And one per turn is plenty. is a fixed pair; , , , is a breakdown.
Ho ve: alas
brings the surprise, the misery, and together they are the standard alas, or a milder oh dear:
, !- Oh dear, I forgot the key!, .- Alas, the time has gone.
Alone, is heavier and older-sounding. It is not a verb, so it cannot take an object; it aims at a person with :
!- Woe is me!!- Woe to the defeated!
is what an English speaker writes by analogy with woe is me, and it is wrong for that reason: there is no verb for to be the object of.
Nu: well, and now
is the nudge: well, so, right, come on. It opens a turn, moves a story on, and buys a second while you think:
, .- Well, let us begin., .- Well, It know., !- Go on, then!
In a chain of reasoning it can also mean now, bringing in the next step, much as English now does:
. , Sokrato .- All men die. Now, Socrates is a man.
Outside an argument like that one, read it as well. Its partner in conversation is , so, then, which closes a thought where opens one; both are in spoken Esperanto.
Going further: Fi, and the fi- prefix and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
Practise this lesson
10-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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