Ch 8 · Lesson 8Esperanto · Chapter 8 · Lesson 8 · Grammar primer
Five suffixes: the test and the look-alikes
, ŝipano, kuraĝulo: three people on one ship and three different questions. And is a rule, not a ruler.
The short version
.
Why?Hide
Some words look built from a root and a suffix and are not. is one root meaning a rule; someone who rules is . , and are plain roots with no -an- in them. The test: strip the supposed suffix, and check that the root plus the suffix really gives the meaning.
Two of these suffixes turn a dial and three make a person. -- makes a root smaller, -- bigger. --, -- and -- each turn a root into someone, and each answers a different question.
| Suffix | Job | Example |
|---|---|---|
-- | smaller, gentler | |
-- | bigger, stronger | |
-- | someone who is like that | |
-- | someone who does it as work | |
-- | someone who belongs to it | |
The test, on one subject
Three people on the same ship, three different questions:
| Word | It says | English |
|---|---|---|
| the sea is their job | a sailor |
ŝipano | they belong to that ship | a crew member |
kuraĝulo | that is what they are like | a brave person |
Ask which question the English is really asking, and the suffix picks itself.
Words that look built and are not
| Word | Looks like | Really |
|---|---|---|
| someone who rules | a rule ( |
| Rom- + -- | usually a novel, one root |
| - + -- | a German: one plain root |
| a plain root | a tool: the suffix -- alone |
The test is mechanical: strip the supposed suffix, and check that the root plus the suffix really gives the meaning.
Mistakes English speakers make
| You mean | Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| a young person | o | | young is a quality: -- |
| a teacher by e | | | |
| a ruler | | | |
| a huge house | | o | -- can |
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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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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