No Word for A

Level 1

When English says a or an, Esperanto says nothing.

How It Works

English needs a or an before a single thing. Esperanto does not have such a word, so the noun stands alone.

Esperanto	Meaning
Mi havas katon.	I have a cat.
Mi havas la katon.	I have the cat.
Ana legas libron.	Ana is reading a book.
Wei estas studento.	Wei is a student.

Leave the article out when you name a kind of thing, a job or a thing you have not mentioned before. Use la when the listener already knows which one you mean. To count, use unu (one): unu kato is one cat.

Examples (4)

Mi havas katon.
I have a cat.
No word is needed for a: the noun kato stands alone.
Ana legas libron.
Ana reads a book.
Libron has no article, and it means a book.
Jen domo.
Here is a house.
After jen the noun stands alone.
Wei estas studento.
Wei is a student.
A job or role stands without an article.

Common Mistakes

Adding a word for a.
Ana legas un libron.
Ana legas libron.
Esperanto has no word for a or an, so an article from another language does not belong in the sentence. Leave it out. La does not stand in for a: Ana legas la libron means the book that you both know.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

No Word for ALevel 1

Learn This First

Esperanto has only the article la, so a or an needs no word at all.

laThe Word La
Know la, because la is the only article: la libro is the book, and libro alone is a book.
Level 1

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