Ch 3 · Lesson 13Esperanto · Chapter 3 · Lesson 13 · Grammar primer
Small and big: -et- and -eg-
is a cottage, o a mansion, gorgeous. One suffix turns any root down, the other turns it up, whatever its part of speech.
The short version
-et- and -eg- work on any part of speech
, ; ,
Why?Hide
The size dial is not just for nouns. gives and o, a cottage and a mansion. is to laugh and is to smile. is to ask and is to beg. Both suffixes also stand alone as ordinary words, for tiny and for extremely, which is why you have already met them without noticing they were affixes at all.
The volume knob: -- and --
-- turns the root down: smaller, milder, gentler. -- turns it up: bigger, stronger, fiercer.
- hundeto
Hundeto, a little dog; hundo, a dog; hundego, a huge dog.
| Root | With -- | With -- |
|---|---|---|
| , house | | |
| , door | pordeto small door | |
| , wind | venteto breeze | |
| , rain | pluveto drizzle | |
.- They live in a cottage.
Not just nouns
The root can be any part of speech. On a verb or adjective the dial still turns:
| Root | With -- | With -- |
|---|---|---|
| , to laugh | | |
| , warm | | |
| , beautiful | | |
.- She smiled at me..- The coffee is lukewarm.
They stand alone too
Give either suffix an ending and it is a word of its own:
- tiny:- extremely:
Going further: Three ways to make a person and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
Practise this lesson
9-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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