Ch 9 · Lesson 10Esperanto · Chapter 9 · Lesson 10 · Grammar primer
-ata or -ita, and when to skip the passive
is the letter was written, the itist reading this course follows. And , or -iĝ-, says it better.
The short version
: the letter was written
.
Why?Hide
In the past, two readings of the passive have long argued. On the itist reading, which the Esperanto recommended in 1967 and which we follow, carries the time and the participle the stage of the action: is the letter was written, and is it was being written. Both camps write grammatical Esperanto.
beats the passive
.
Why?Hide
Good Esperanto uses the passive less than English does. says someone did it without naming them: . The suffix -iĝ- says it happened by itself: . Keep plus a participle for when the thing acted on belongs at the front of the sentence.
-ata or -ita?
In the present everyone agrees: is going up, is finished. In the past, two readings have argued for generations:
___ 1900. | Itist reading | Atist reading |
|---|---|---|
| was being built | was built |
| was built | had been built |
The camps are called itismo and atismo. Itists give the time and the participle the stage of the action, so is the plain past passive. Atists read the participle's vowel as time relative to , so is a past before the past. The quarrel peaked in the 1960s; in 1967 the Akademio de Esperanto declared, by 26 of the 31 votes cast, that only the itist reading matches Zamenhof's traditional usage and that any other reading is unofficial; a later resolution goes further and calls ignoring that decision a linguistic error. Itist usage is now far the commoner, and atist texts still turn up and are understood.
The reason: it is what the decided in 1967, and the usage you will meet most. If you read an older text where plainly means was built, you have met an atist.
Often better: oni or -iĝ-
Good Esperanto uses the passive less than English does. Two tools say the same thing with no participle:
- La pordo estis malfermita de Petro.passive, with the doer
- Oni malfermis la pordon.someone opened it
- La pordo malfermiĝis.it opened (by itself)
| Tool | Esperanto | English |
|---|---|---|
| passive | . | The door was opened. |
| . | Someone opened the door. |
-- | . | The door opened. |
Use when the doer is unknown or does not matter, -- when it simply happened, and plus a participle when the thing acted on deserves the front of the sentence.
Mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| | the book is not reading: -- |
| | after a passive, the doer takes |
| | |
| | it agrees: -j and -n |
Going further: Three more participles, same three vowels 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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