Grammar Words in Esperanto
Grammar books in Esperanto use words such as substantivo, finaĵo and radiko.
How It Works
| Word | Meaning | PMEG's plainer term |
|---|---|---|
| substantivo | noun | O-vorto |
| adjektivo | adjective | A-vorto |
| adverbo | adverb | E-vorto |
| akuzativo | accusative | N-finaĵo |
| verbo, finaĵo, radiko | verb, ending, root | the same words |
| prefikso, sufikso | prefix, suffix | the same words |
| tabelvorto | table word | the same word |
The Esperanto text of the sixteen rules that PMEG prints uses the traditional words substantivo, adjektivo and akuzativo. (The Fundamento itself gives the rules in French, English, German, Russian and Polish.) Many textbooks and forums use the same words.
PMEG, the large modern grammar, chose plainer words on purpose, such as O-vorto, A-vorto, E-vorto and N-finaĵo, and it explains why in a special chapter. It also uses rolmontrilo for a word or ending that shows a role, and vorteto for a little word that needs no ending.
You will meet both sets, so know the pairs in the table. They name the same things.
Examples (5)
- La finaĵo de substantivo estas -o.
The ending of a noun is -o.
Substantivo and finaĵo are two grammar words.
- Adjektivo priskribas substantivon.
An adjective describes a noun.
Substantivon has -n because it is the object.
- Ana klarigas al Hiro, ke la akuzativo havas la finaĵon -n.
Ana explains to Hiro that the accusative has the ending -n.
Akuzativo is the traditional word for the case of the object.
- Prefikso staras antaŭ la radiko, kaj sufikso staras post ĝi.
A prefix stands before the root, and a suffix stands after it.
Radiko, prefikso and sufikso are the word-building terms.
- Kio, kiu kaj kie estas tabelvortoj.
Kio, kiu and kie are table words.
Tabelvorto names the words of the correlative table.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Grammar words name the parts of the grammar you have already met.
Related Patterns
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