-ate, -ite, -ote
Being, Having Been, About to Be
The passive -e participle adds an action done to the subject.
How It Works
| Form | The action done to the subject | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ate | during the main action | Rigardate de la gastoj, ŝi kantis. (While the guests watched her, she sang.) |
| -ite | before the main action | Invitite de Ana, Omar venis. (Having been invited by Ana, Omar came.) |
| -ote | about to happen | Kaptote de la polico, la ŝtelisto forkuris. (About to be caught by the police, the thief ran away.) |
The one who does the action follows de, as in a passive sentence: invitite de Ana. The active forms describe a subject that acts, and the passive forms describe a subject that is acted on. Omar came because somebody invited him, so the word is invitite, not invitante.
As with the active forms, the participle describes the subject of the main verb and has no subject of its own.
Examples (5)
- La infanoj ludis rigardate de siaj gepatroj.
The children played while their parents watched them.
Rigardate describes the children: they were being watched.
- Invitite de Ana, Omar venis al la festo.
Invited by Ana, Omar came to the party.
Invitite happened before the coming, and Omar is the one who was invited.
- Kaptote de la polico, la ŝtelisto forkuris.
About to be caught by the police, the thief ran away.
Kaptote means that the catching was about to happen to the thief.
- Kofi venis al ni tute ne atendite.
Kofi came to us quite unexpectedly.
Ne atendite means that nobody was expecting Kofi.
- Gvidate de sia amiko, Yuki trovis la vojon al la kongreso.
Guided by her friend, Yuki found the way to the congress.
Gvidate is passive: Yuki is the one who was being guided.
Common Mistakes
Using the active form for the one who is acted on.
Invitante de Ana, Omar venis al la festo.Invitite de Ana, Omar venis al la festo.Invitante would mean that Omar was inviting. Omar is the one who was invited, so the passive -ite is right.
Describing a person who is not the subject.
Invitite de Ana, la festo estis bona.Invitite de Ana, Omar ĝuis la feston.The participle must describe the subject of the main verb. A party is not invited, but Omar is, so Omar must be the subject.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Participle adverbs also exist for the receiver of the action.
Related Patterns
Practice -ate, -ite, -ote in Bubblegum
Poppy, your AI tutor, writes Esperanto lessons at your level. Tap any grammar point in a lesson to see its full explanation.
