Transitivity is a verb's ability to take a direct object. Esperanto marks that object with -n, but the ending cannot decide by itself whether a verb licenses one: you must know the Esperanto verb's meaning and pattern. The hardest cases arise when English uses one unchanged verb for both “something changes” and “someone changes something,” while Esperanto distinguishes the two.
All core forms here are neutral standard Esperanto. Attested alternative frames are labeled as variation; English-based case loss is not treated as an informal variety.
Start with the verb's Esperanto frame
A transitive verb selects a direct object. Vidi ion, preni ion, bezoni ion, and ripari ion therefore use -n when the object is expressed. An intransitive verb such as dormi, kuri, or okazi does not license a direct object.
Mi riparis la malnovan kafmaŝinon hieraŭ.
I repaired the old coffee machine yesterday.
La akcidento okazis pro glitiga vojo.
The accident happened because of a slippery road.
The phrase after a verb is not automatically an object. Grava akcidento okazis and Okazis grava akcidento have the same subject; postverbal position does not turn grava akcidento into gravan akcidenton.
Dum la nokto okazis du malgrandaj tertremoj.
Two small earthquakes occurred during the night.
English translations help with meaning but not always with valency. Learn verbs with a miniature frame: atendi iun/ion, paroli pri io, helpi iun aŭ al iu, okazi. A good dictionary shows the pattern through definitions and examples.
An unspoken object does not make the verb intransitive
Transitive verbs can appear without an expressed object when context makes it obvious or when the activity matters more than its participant. This is called absolute or objectless use. The verb's underlying pattern has not changed.
Ĉu vi jam manĝis? — Ne, mi ankoraŭ kuiras.
Have you eaten yet? — No, I'm still cooking.
Manĝi and kuiri can take objects—manĝi supon, kuiri vespermanĝon—but neither object needs to be spoken in this exchange. There is consequently no word to receive -n.
Ŝi legas antaŭ ol endormiĝi ĉiun vesperon.
She reads before falling asleep every evening.
The activity use of legas leaves the reading material unspecified. If it is added, it is accusative: Ŝi legas romanon. Do not infer that a verb is intransitive merely because one sentence lacks an object.
Mi jam pagis, sed mi forgesis peti kvitancon.
I've already paid, but I forgot to ask for a receipt.
Here the amount or bill paid is recoverable from context. Pagi can still take an object in Mi pagis la fakturon.
English labile verbs: use -iĝi for spontaneous change
English often uses the same verb in “I opened the door” and “The door opened.” Standard Esperanto normally distinguishes a caused action from a change undergone by the subject. With many roots, -iĝi marks becoming or entering a state.
Mi malfermis la fenestron.
I opened the window.
La fenestro malfermiĝis pro la vento.
The window opened because of the wind.
In the first sentence, an agent causes a change in la fenestron, the object. In the second, la fenestro itself undergoes the change and is the subject; there is no object.
The same contrast is productive:
| Caused, transitive event | Intransitive change |
|---|---|
| rompi la glason — break the glass | la glaso rompiĝas — the glass breaks |
| ŝanĝi la planon — change the plan | la plano ŝanĝiĝas — the plan changes |
| komenci la kunvenon — start the meeting | la kunveno komenciĝas — the meeting starts |
| fini la laboron — finish the work | la laboro finiĝas — the work comes to an end |
La prezidanto komencis la kunvenon je la naŭa.
The chair started the meeting at nine.
La kunveno komenciĝis dek minutojn malfrue.
The meeting started ten minutes late.
English speakers often omit -iĝ- because English start, finish, change, and break alternate freely. In Esperanto, that omission can leave a transitive verb with what looks like an unmarked object or give the subject an unintended causing role.
When -igi supplies the transitive partner
Some Esperanto roots are inherently intransitive. To add a causer and turn the original subject into an object, use -ig-. Boli means “be boiling”; boligi means “cause to boil.” Bruli means “burn/be on fire”; bruligi means “set or keep something burning.”
La akvo jam bolas; vi povas fari teon.
The water is already boiling; you can make tea.
Mi boligis akvon por la teo.
I boiled water for the tea.
La kandelo ankoraŭ brulas, sed ne bruligu la tablotukon.
The candle is still burning, but don't burn the tablecloth.
English again uses the same surface verb on both sides. Esperanto's derivation makes the participant structure explicit. There is no universal rule telling you whether the shorter root is transitive (rompi) or intransitive (boli); that lexical fact must be learned. This is one genuinely arbitrary part of vocabulary learning.
The pair sonori/sonorigi follows the same model: a bell sonoras, while a person sonorigas la sonorilon. Saying mi sonoris la sonorilon by direct English transfer is nonstandard.
Iu sonorigis la pordan sonorilon dum mi duŝis min.
Someone rang the doorbell while I was taking a shower.
One spelling can have more than one frame
Some verbs have related meanings with different participant structures. Fumi can describe emitting smoke (la kamentubo fumas) or a person's activity, with an optional tobacco object (li fumas cigaredon / li fumas). The context and intended lexical meaning determine the frame.
La malnova forno fumas kiam la vento blovas de nordo.
The old stove smokes when the wind blows from the north.
Li ne plu fumas cigaredojn, sed li ankoraŭ uzas pipon.
He no longer smokes cigarettes, but he still uses a pipe.
This is true lexical polysemy, not free alternation of case. In the second sentence, cigaredojn is an object and must have -n. In the first, la malnova forno is the smoke-emitting subject.
Other verbs permit conventional alternative frames. Helpi can take a direct object or an al complement in standard usage: helpi ŝin and helpi al ŝi. The meaning is normally the same, but the chosen frame determines the form.
Ĉu vi povas helpi min pri ĉi tiu formularo?
Can you help me with this form?
La volontuloj helpis al la novaj loĝantoj trovi kuraciston.
The volunteers helped the new residents find a doctor.
This accepted variation does not mean -n is generally optional. It belongs to particular verbs and constructions. For a new verb, check attested examples or a reliable dictionary rather than alternating -n and a preposition by intuition.
An -n phrase is not always an object
Direction, duration, distance, price, and time points can also carry -n. Their presence does not make an intransitive verb transitive.
Ni promenis kvin kilometrojn kaj poste iris hejmen.
We walked five kilometres and then went home.
Kvin kilometrojn is a measure and hejmen is a direction. Neither is a direct object of promenis or iris. A useful diagnostic is passive formation: a genuine object can normally become a passive subject—Ili riparis la vojon → La vojo estis riparita—but a distance cannot become the thing “walked” in the same construction.
Predicative complements can also follow an object without taking -n: Mi trovis la vojon danĝera means “I found the road dangerous.” The case pattern is object + unmarked description, not inconsistent transitivity. See predicative complements and the accusative.
A practical decision process
- Identify the Esperanto verb and its intended meaning.
- Ask whether the phrase is a participant directly selected by that meaning or a prepositional, measure, directional, or predicative complement.
- If a change happens to the subject, check whether Esperanto requires -iĝi; if the subject causes an intransitive event, check for -igi.
- Mark an expressed direct object with -n and carry agreement through its noun phrase.
- When two frames are genuinely conventional, choose one complete frame rather than mixing them.
Common Mistakes
Copying English labile “open”
❌ La pordo malfermis subite.
Incorrect — malfermi is transitive here; the door underwent the change.
✅ La pordo malfermiĝis subite.
The door opened suddenly.
Using an intransitive root with a direct object
❌ Mi bolis la akvon por kafo.
Incorrect — boli means to be boiling; add -ig- for a causer.
✅ Mi boligis la akvon por kafo.
I boiled the water for coffee.
Treating a postverbal subject as an object
❌ Hieraŭ okazis gravan akcidenton.
Incorrect — the accident is the subject of okazis.
✅ Hieraŭ okazis grava akcidento.
A serious accident happened yesterday.
Omitting -n from an expressed object because it can be omitted entirely
❌ Mi jam manĝis la supo.
Incorrect — the expressed direct object requires -n.
✅ Mi jam manĝis la supon.
I've already eaten the soup.
Mixing two accepted frames
❌ Ĉu vi povas helpi al min?
Incorrect — choose either direct-object min or the al-complement al mi.
✅ Ĉu vi povas helpi min?
Can you help me?
Key Takeaways
- Transitivity belongs to a verb's Esperanto meaning and frame, not to its English translation.
- A transitive verb may omit a recoverable object; when the object is expressed, it still takes -n.
- English labile verbs often correspond to a transitive form versus an Esperanto -iĝi form.
- Inherently intransitive roots may use -ig- to add a causer and object.
- Measure and directional -n do not make a verb transitive, and genuine alternative frames must be learned verb by verb.
Now practice Esperanto
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Esperanto →Related Topics
- Direct ObjectsA1 — Learn which Esperanto verb complements are direct objects, how -n marks them, and how object marking remains stable when word order changes.
- Predicative Complements and the AccusativeB1 — Distinguish Esperanto predicative complements from accusative objects and attributive modifiers, especially in clauses that describe an object.
- Accusative or Preposition?A2 — Choose between an accusative object and a prepositional complement by identifying the Esperanto verb frame and each participant's semantic role.
- Transitive and Intransitive VerbsA2 — Learn which verbs license a direct object, which require another construction, and how Esperanto systematically changes valency.
- Valency-Changing DerivationB1 — Use -ig- and -iĝ- to add a causer, remove a causer, and build precise causative and change-of-state verbs in Esperanto.
- -ig-: CausationB2 — Use -ig- to make something acquire a quality, enter a state, or perform an action, while tracking how causation changes verb valency.