English learners often translate a verb correctly and then carry its English preposition into Esperanto: listen to, wait for, depend on. This fails because the preposition is not an independent label with one stable equivalent. Each Esperanto verb, adjective, or noun selects a frame: an object, a particular prepositional complement, an infinitive, or a clause.
The reliable question is not “How do I translate to?” but “What role does this participant have in the Esperanto expression?” The systematic treatment is on verb–preposition frames; this page diagnoses English transfer.
Some English prepositional complements become objects
Esperanto often marks the thing perceived, awaited, sought, or attended to as a direct object with -n. English happens to insert a preposition, but Esperanto does not inherit it.
| English frame | Esperanto frame | Example |
|---|---|---|
| listen to something | aŭskulti ion | aŭskulti la podkaston |
| wait for something | atendi ion | atendi la buson |
| look for something | serĉi ion | serĉi la ŝlosilojn |
| ask for something | peti ion | peti helpon |
Mi aŭskultis la tutan epizodon dum la trajna vojaĝo.
I listened to the whole episode during the train journey.
Ni atendis la buson dudek minutojn, sed ĝi ne venis.
We waited for the bus for twenty minutes, but it did not come.
Ĉu vi ankoraŭ serĉas viajn okulvitrojn? Ili estas sur la tablo.
Are you still looking for your glasses? They are on the table.
The accusative belongs to the Esperanto verb's frame. Merely deleting English to or for without adding -n leaves the repair incomplete.
Other meanings require a specific Esperanto preposition
Some relationships are prepositional in both languages, but the words do not align mechanically.
La dato dependas de la disponeblo de la salono.
The date depends on the availability of the room.
English uses on; Esperanto uses de, presenting the decision as dependent from a determining factor. The frame is dependi de io.
Mi ankoraŭ pensas pri nia interparolo de hieraŭ.
I am still thinking about our conversation yesterday.
Bonvolu respondi al mia mesaĝo antaŭ vendredo.
Please reply to my message before Friday.
Here pri marks the topic of thought, while al marks the recipient or target of a response. The fact that English uses about and to is only a translation fact.
One English verb may split into different Esperanto frames. English ask corresponds at least to demandi for requesting information and peti for requesting a thing or action.
Mi demandis la akceptiston pri la forira horo.
I asked the receptionist about the departure time.
Mi petis la akceptiston mendi taksion.
I asked the receptionist to order a taxi.
The first frame is demandi iun pri io: a person receives a question, and pri introduces its topic. The second is peti iun fari ion: a person receives a request, and the infinitive states the requested action. Choosing the right Esperanto verb is part of choosing the frame.
The reverse problem also occurs: one English preposition hides several semantic roles. English on in “on the table,” “on Monday,” “work on the report,” and “depend on the weather” does not express one relation. Esperanto distinguishes sur la tablo, lunde, labori pri la raporto, and dependi de la vetero. Memorizing “on = sur” therefore works only for the spatial scene from which it was learned.
Ni laboris pri la raporto lunde, ĉar la decido dependis de ĝiaj rezultoj.
We worked on the report on Monday because the decision depended on its results.
Three English uses of on require three different Esperanto solutions: pri, an adverbial day form, and de. The intended relationship, not the repeated English spelling, controls the frame.
Separate lexical frames from free circumstances
A verb-selected participant is not the same as a freely added place, time, means, or cause. Compare the object of atendi with the location of waiting:
Mi atendis la kuraciston.
I waited for the doctor.
Mi atendis ĉe la apoteko.
I waited at the pharmacy.
In the first sentence, la kuraciston is what the waiting is directed toward. In the second, ĉe la apoteko gives the location; the sentence does not say what or whom I awaited. Both can occur together:
Mi atendis la kuraciston ĉe la apoteko, ĉar la kliniko estis fermita.
I waited for the doctor at the pharmacy because the clinic was closed.
This distinction is productive. First build the participants required by the verb's meaning. Then add optional circumstances with ordinary spatial, temporal, causal, or instrumental expressions.
English at, in, and on do not name one relation each
Spatial prepositions require a scene, not a dictionary swap. Esperanto en locates something inside an area or container, sur places it on a surface, and ĉe places it at or near a reference point. English at can correspond to any of these depending on the intended scene.
Ni renkontiĝu ĉe la ĉefa enirejo je la oka.
Let us meet at the main entrance at eight.
Ĉe gives the meeting point; je introduces clock time. Translating both occurrences of English at with the same Esperanto preposition would erase the difference.
La infanoj estas en la lernejo, sed iliaj bicikloj staras ĉe la pordego.
The children are at school, but their bicycles are by the gate.
English uses at for the institution; Esperanto naturally chooses en for being inside or engaged at the school and ĉe for proximity to the gate.
Direction is another layer. After a spatial preposition, -n can mark movement toward a destination, but ordinary prepositional objects do not take -n merely because English has an object after the preposition.
Ŝi eniris en la oficejon kaj tuj parolis kun la direktoro.
She went into the office and immediately spoke with the director.
En la oficejon has directional -n; kun la direktoro has no accusative because kun already marks the role.
A repair procedure that changes the analysis
When you notice an English-looking preposition, do more than substitute another short word:
- Identify the head word: which verb, adjective, or noun licenses the complement?
- Name the participant's meaning: object perceived, topic, source, recipient, beneficiary, location, or direction.
- Recall or verify the Esperanto frame for that sense of the head.
- Add -n if the frame uses a direct object; otherwise use the Esperanto preposition without ordinary accusative marking.
- Read the whole sentence again, because changing the frame can require a different verb.
— Pri kio vi parolis kun Eva? — Pri la nova projekto; poste mi petis helpon de ŝi.
— What did you talk about with Eva? — About the new project; then I asked her for help.
The exchange contains distinct roles: kun Eva is the conversational partner, pri la projekto the topic, helpon the requested thing, and de ŝi its requested source. Esperanto makes these relations explicit instead of copying the English prepositions with, about, and for.
Variation is real but bounded
Some verbs permit more than one established frame. Helpi iun and helpi al iu are both foundationally supported and accepted; the object construction is compact, while al presents the helped person as a beneficiary. This does not license free substitution after every verb.
Ĉu vi povas helpi min pri la fina kontrolo?
Can you help me with the final check?
La najbaroj helpis al ni dum la translokiĝo.
The neighbors helped us during the move.
Good dictionaries and detailed grammar establish available frames; corpus evidence can show which alternatives dominate in a period or register. One attested learner-like calque does not create an accepted frame. Pedagogically, learn the most neutral productive pattern first and label genuine alternatives explicitly.
The same verb can also change frames when its meaning changes. Record examples together with the sense you intend, not as a single preposition permanently attached to the spelling. A dictionary example is more informative than an English gloss because it exposes which participant is an object and which is introduced by a preposition.
Common Mistakes
Keeping English to after aŭskulti
❌ Mi aŭskultas al la nova albumo.
Incorrect in the neutral frame — English ‘listen to’ has been copied.
✅ Mi aŭskultas la novan albumon.
I am listening to the new album.
Deleting for but forgetting the object ending
❌ Ni atendas la trajno sur la dua kajo.
Incorrect — la trajno is the object of atendi and needs -n.
✅ Ni atendas la trajnon sur la dua kajo.
We are waiting for the train on platform two.
Translating depend on with sur
❌ La prezo dependas sur la sezono.
Incorrect — dependi selects de, not the spatial calque sur.
✅ La prezo dependas de la sezono.
The price depends on the season.
Repairing only the preposition when the verb is wrong
❌ Mi demandis por glaso da akvo.
Incorrect — demandi requests information, not an object.
✅ Mi petis glason da akvo.
I asked for a glass of water.
Key Takeaways
English prepositions belong to English constructions. Build the Esperanto sentence from its head word and semantic roles: aŭskulti ion, atendi ion, dependi de io, pensi pri io, respondi al iu. A complete repair may change the preposition, add an accusative object, or select a different verb altogether.
Related Topics
- Verb-Preposition FramesB1 — Learn which Esperanto verbs take direct objects and which select al, pri, de, kun, or je—and how the frame changes meaning.
- 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.
- AlA2 — Use al for movement toward a goal, recipients, orientation, and abstract targets without adding an unnecessary accusative ending.
- DeA2 — Use de for movement or development away from a source and for relationships such as possession, authorship, composition, time, and passive agency.
- PriB2 — Use pri to mark a topic, concern, or matter that an action, text, thought, or relationship is about.
- No Accusative after Ordinary PrepositionsA1 — Learn why ordinary Esperanto prepositions take unmarked complements and how to distinguish them from directional and exceptional combinations with -n.