The active past participle -int- presents the doer of an action after that action is complete. “Past” here means earlier than a reference point, not necessarily earlier than the moment of speaking: someone can be leginta now, have been leginta at a past moment, or be leginta by a future deadline.
Completion Relative to a Reference Point
All three active participles describe the person or thing that performs the action. They differ in how that action relates to the relevant time.
| Form | State of the action | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ant- | underway | la manĝanta gasto — the guest eating |
| -int- | completed | la manĝinta gasto — the guest who has eaten |
| -ont- | not yet begun | la manĝonta gasto — the guest about to eat |
La manĝinta gasto mendis kafon.
The guest who had eaten ordered coffee.
Ĉu la jam pagintaj klientoj povas foriri?
Can the customers who have already paid leave?
In the first sentence, the eating is complete before the ordering. In the second, paying is complete before the question is asked. -Int- thus expresses anteriority—one action is earlier than the relevant state or event.
This is not merely the Esperanto equivalent of an English past tense. English may translate -int- with “who did,” “who has done,” or “who had done,” depending on context. Esperanto encodes the relationship between events more directly.
La kurinta knabo nun ripozas sur la benko.
The boy who was running has now finished and is resting on the bench.
La kuranta knabo ankoraŭ provas kapti la buson.
The boy who is running is still trying to catch the bus.
The minimal contrast is completion: kurinta places the boy after the run, whereas kuranta presents him during it.
Building -INT- Forms
Attach -int- to the verb root, then add the ending needed for the form's grammatical role.
| Ending | Form from legi | Function |
|---|---|---|
| -a | leginta | adjective: having read |
| -e | leginte | adverb: after/by having read |
| -o | leginto | noun: one who has read |
Like other adjectives, -inta forms agree in number and case. Like other nouns, -into forms can take -j and -n.
Adjectival -INTA
An adjectival -inta form describes an active participant by a completed action. It can take its own complements, so quite detailed information can fit inside the noun phrase.
Ni dankis la kuracistojn savintajn lian vivon.
We thanked the doctors who had saved his life.
La trajno ĵus alveninta el Varsovio staras ĉe la tria kajo.
The train that has just arrived from Warsaw is at platform three.
In savintajn, both -j and -n agree with la kuracistojn. The train is also an active participant because it is the thing that arrives; active does not mean “human” or “deliberate.” It means that the modified noun occupies the subject role of the underlying verb.
Adverbial -INTE
An adverbial -inte clause means that the subject completes one action before performing or undergoing the main event. Its understood subject must match the subject of the main clause.
Fininte la raporton, Amina sendis ĝin al la tuta teamo.
After finishing the report, Amina sent it to the whole team.
Ne trovinte liberan tablon, ni prenis la manĝaĵon hejmen.
Not having found a free table, we took the food home.
Negation precedes the participle: ne trovinte. English speakers often translate this construction with “after doing” or “having done,” but a full clause is equally possible: Post kiam Amina finis la raporton, ŝi sendis ĝin... The participial version is compact and common in written narrative; the full clause is often easier in spontaneous conversation.
— Kial vi revenis? — Rimarkinte mian eraron, mi decidis tuj pardonpeti.
— Why did you come back? — Having noticed my mistake, I decided to apologize immediately.
The person who noticed is also the person who decided. If the subjects differ, use a full clause. Fininte la kunvenon, la buso jam foriris wrongly makes the bus the finisher of the meeting. Say Kiam ni finis la kunvenon, la buso jam foriris.
Nominal -INTO
The nominal form names the active participant after a completed action: gajninto “winner,” partopreninto “former participant/someone who participated,” mortinto “a deceased person.” These nouns normally denote people, and no extra -ul- is needed.
La gajninto de la konkurso estos anoncita vendrede.
The winner of the competition will be announced on Friday.
Ni intervjuis du partoprenintojn pri iliaj spertoj.
We interviewed two former participants about their experiences.
The lexical meaning may become conventional. A gajninto is identified by having won, even long after the moment of victory. Context decides whether partopreninto means someone who has just participated or someone associated with an earlier event.
Compound Forms with ESTI
With esti, the tense ending on esti establishes the reference time. -Int- places the active subject's action before it.
| Form | Time relationship |
|---|---|
| estas leginta | the reading is complete by now |
| estis leginta | the reading was already complete at a past point |
| estos leginta | the reading will be complete by a future point |
Mi estas leginta la raporton, sed mi ankoraŭ ne respondis.
I have read the report, but I have not replied yet.
Kiam ni alvenis, la infanoj jam estis endormiĝintaj.
When we arrived, the children had already fallen asleep.
Ĝis vendredo ŝi estos fininta ĉiujn intervjuojn.
By Friday she will have finished all the interviews.
These forms can resemble the English perfect, but the match is not automatic. Esperanto often prefers a simple tense plus an adverb when the sequence is already clear: Mi jam legis la raporton is usually more natural in conversation than Mi estas leginta la raporton. Likewise, Kiam ni alvenis, la infanoj jam endormiĝis may suffice if no special “already in the resulting state” perspective is needed.
Compound -int- forms are useful when the completed-before relationship matters enough to foreground. They should not be stacked mechanically wherever English uses “have” or “had.” See compound active tenses for a systematic comparison.
Active -INT- versus Passive -IT-
The similar-looking suffixes encode opposite participant roles. -Int- describes the doer after completing the action; -it- describes the affected object after the action is completed or as its result.
La aŭtoro verkinta la romanon loĝas en Gento.
The author who wrote the novel lives in Ghent.
La romano verkita de tiu aŭtoro ricevis premion.
The novel written by that author won a prize.
The author did the writing, so verkinta is active. The novel received the action, so verkita is passive. With an intransitive verb there is no passive object, but an active -int- form is perfectly possible: la alveninta trajno, la mortinta arbo, la falinta glaso.
Common Mistakes
Treating -INT- as simple past regardless of completion
❌ Mi vidis la kurintan hundon dum ĝi ankoraŭ kuris.
Incorrect for the intended meaning — -int- says the running was complete.
✅ Mi vidis la kurantan hundon dum ĝi kuris trans la placon.
I saw the dog running while it crossed the square.
Using the active form for an affected object
❌ Jen la letero skribinta hieraŭ.
Incorrect — this says the letter did the writing.
✅ Jen la letero skribita hieraŭ.
Here is the letter written yesterday.
Letting -INTE dangle
❌ Fininte la vespermanĝon, la telefono sonoris.
Incorrect — the telephone did not finish dinner.
✅ Fininte la vespermanĝon, ni aŭdis la telefonon sonori.
Having finished dinner, we heard the telephone ring.
Forgetting agreement on -INTA
❌ Ŝi gratulis la teamojn atinginta la finalon.
Incorrect — the participle must agree with the plural accusative noun.
✅ Ŝi gratulis la teamojn atingintajn la finalon.
She congratulated the teams that had reached the final.
Overbuilding an English perfect
❌ Mi estas jam aĉetinta la biletojn hieraŭ.
Grammatical pieces combined unnaturally — a simple dated past is clearer.
✅ Mi jam aĉetis la biletojn hieraŭ.
I already bought the tickets yesterday.
Key Takeaways
- -int- describes the active participant after completing an action relative to a reference point.
- -inta, -inte, and -into are respectively adjectival, adverbial, and nominal.
- estis leginta means the reading was complete by a past point; estos leginta means it will be complete by a future point.
- -inte clauses must share their subject with the main clause.
- Use -int- for the doer and passive -it- for the affected participant; use simple tenses when no explicit anterior viewpoint is needed.
Related Topics
- The Six Participles: A System MapB1 — Map Esperanto's six participles by voice and relative time, then use them as adjectives, adverbs, nouns, and compound verb forms.
- Active Present Participle -ANT-B1 — Learn how -ant- presents the doer of an action while that action is in progress or regularly repeated.
- Active Future Participle -ONT-B2 — Use -ont- for the active participant before an intended, expected, or imminent action begins.
- Relative Time in ParticiplesC2 — Interpret participial time relative to the described situation, separating ongoing, completed, and prospective action from calendar tense.
- Adverbial Participles in -EB1 — Use invariable -e participles to add simultaneous, prior, or prospective circumstances while keeping their subject tied to the main clause.
- Compound Active TensesB1 — Combine esti with active participles to express ongoing, completed, or prospective action relative to a chosen reference point.