Ch 4 · Lesson 12Esperanto · Chapter 4 · Lesson 12 · Grammar primer
Three ways to make a person: -ul-, -ist-, -an-
What they are like, what they do, what they belong to: , , o. Choosing between the three is a question with an answer, not a matter of style.
The short version
-ul-, -ist- and -an- answer three different questions
, o
Why?Hide
All three build a person out of a root and they are not interchangeable. -ul- asks what someone is like: , o, . -ist- asks what they do for a living or as a settled practice: , , . -an- asks what they belong to: o, komitatano, o. Test yourself on the sea. A is a sailor by trade; a ŝipano is whoever happens to be on that ship's crew.
Three ways to make a person
Three suffixes turn a root into a human being, and they are not interchangeable. Each answers its own question:
| Question | Suffix | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Like what? | -- | |
| Doing what? | -- | |
| Belonging to what? | -- | |
-ul-: what they are like
-- takes a quality and gives you someone who has it. It mostly sits on adjectives:
| Root | Person | English |
|---|---|---|
| , young | | a young person |
| , old | | an old person |
| , foreign | | a stranger |
| , rich | | a rich person |
| , wise | | a wise person |
.- The old person is sitting by the door.
It is not limited to adjectives: , a companion, is (with) plus --, a with-person.
-ist-: what they do
-- marks a job, a profession, or a practice kept up long enough to define someone:
| Root | Person | English |
|---|---|---|
| , to teach | | teacher |
| , to treat | | doctor |
| , sea | | sailor |
| , to cook | | cook |
|
Kuracistino, a doctor (a woman); instruisto, a teacher; kuiristo, a cook.
-- is not the participle --. is whoever is teaching at this moment; is a teacher by trade:
.- My father is a teacher.
-an-: what they belong to
-- means a member, an inhabitant, a participant. It sits on places, groups and causes:
| Root | Person | English |
|---|---|---|
| , town | | townsperson |
| , village | | villager |
| , family | | family member |
| , congress | | congress-goer |
.- She is a villager.
Alone it is , a member. And , the word Esperantists use for each other, is sam- (same) + - (idea) + --: a member of the same idea.
Going further: The volume knob: -et- and -eg- and the rest of the guide, when you want them. This lesson does not need them.
Practice
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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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