-ota

-ota: To Be Done

Level 4

-ota means the action is still ahead and falls on this noun.

How It Works

VerbParticipleMeaning
farifarotato be done
skribiskribotato be written
legilegotato be read

The pair is -onta and -ota: la skribonta knabo is the boy who is about to write, and la skribota letero is the letter that waits to be written.

A common example is legotaj leteroj, letters that wait for reading. Here the plan is clear: someone means to read them. For plans, oni skribos la leteron is easier to say. Like the others, it agrees with its noun: la farotaj taskoj, la farotan laboron. Both -ata and -ota need a verb that can have an object.

Examples (4)

  1. La farota laboro estas granda.

    The work that is to be done is big.

    Farota describes the work that is still ahead.

  2. La skribota letero estos longa.

    The letter that will be written will be long.

    Skribota describes the letter before it is written.

  3. Sur la tablo kuŝas la legotaj libroj.

    The books that are waiting to be read are lying on the table.

    Legotaj describes books that someone will read.

  4. Ni parolas pri la farotaj taskoj de morgaŭ.

    We are talking about tomorrow's tasks that are still to be done.

    Farotaj has -j because taskoj is plural.

How It Connects

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

-otaLevel 4-ota: To Be Done

Learn This First

-ota changes only the tense of -ata.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.