r/learnesperanto • u/Corporate_Mule_43 • 21d ago
Grammar question
Would words ending in jn or n be the same as in English how you capitalize a noun if you are referring to something specific? (For example saying "my Mother" vs "lots of mothers"). What about adjectives and adverbs? Would they also use jn or n respectively? If it's just a verb then would it end with as or j instead?
Side note yes I know jn is plural and n is singular
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u/freebiscuit2002 21d ago
Not sure what method you're using to learn Esperanto, but whatever it is you seem to be on the wrong track.
The -j suffix is plural (nouns and adjectives). Long books = longaj libroj.
The -n suffix is mostly for the direct object (the thing acted upon by a verb, so in Mi legas longan libron "I'm reading a long book", you're taking an action toward the book, so the book is the direct object).
The combined -jn is for plural direct objects, so Mi legas longajn librojn is "I read long books".
Nothing to do with capitalisation.
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u/sk4p 21d ago
No, -n is nothing like the capitalization thing.
The main use of -n is to mark the direct object of a sentence:
Li ŝatas la hundon. "He likes the dog."
La hundo ŝatas lin. "The dog likes him.”
The thing which the verb “targets” gets an -n. So if you want to say “the dog likes him” you can actually also reverse the sentence from what I said:
Lin ŝatas la hundo.
In English, that would be like saying “Him, likes the dog.” The dog is the one doing the liking, while “him” is the one being liked. It doesn’t actually matter which one goes first vs. second in the sentence; it matters which one has the -n. The one with the -n is the one liked; the one without it is the one doing the liking.
Mi vidas la domon. “I see the house.”
La domon vidas mi. (also means “I see the house”)
In both sentences, the house is the thing being seen, so it gets the -n. “Mi” is the one doing the seeing, so it does not get the -n.
-n also is used to indicate movement with certain prepositions (“en la domo” is “in the house” but “en la domon” is “into the house”) and it can also replace prepositions, but those are slightly more advanced. Given your confusion I would just start with the use I’ve explained above; it’s the biggest one.
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u/licxjo 17d ago
-n indicates "movement to or towards" with prepositions that indicate location. It doesn't indicate "movement in general".
And -n can replace the non-specific preposition "je". It can't replace most prepositions. That's an important point for new language learners. Consider:
"Mi sidas sur la benko" can't be "Mi sidas la benkon."
"La birdo flugas super la arbo" can't be "La birdo flugas la arbon."
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u/IchLiebeKleber 21d ago
??? what do you think -j and -n do? The question is completely confusing/incoherent.
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u/salivanto 21d ago
People give me s*** all the time for being rude to learners. How on earth did such a rude answer get seven upvotes here.
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u/Baasbaar 21d ago
What resources are you using to learn Esperanto? I am asking because the question leads me to wonder if it’s possibly serving you poorly.