The passive future participle -ot- describes the object of an action while that action is still ahead: legota raporto is a report that someone will or intends to read. “Future” here is relative to a reference point, not necessarily to the moment of speaking. That is why la raporto estis legota can describe a prospect that existed in the past.
Form and place in the six-participle system
Attach -ot- to a verb root, then add the ending required by the participle’s function:
| Form | Function | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -ota | adjectival description | publikigota raporto |
| -ote | adverbial description | publikigote |
| -oto | nominal participant, normally a person | juĝoto |
The o in -ot- corresponds to the prospective row of a coherent system:
| Time relation | Active: semantic subject | Passive: semantic object |
|---|---|---|
| action ongoing | -ant- | -at- |
| action completed | -int- | -it- |
| action still ahead | -ont- | -ot- |
La prelegonto sendis al la interpretisto la tradukotan tekston.
The future lecturer sent the interpreter the text to be translated.
Prelegonto identifies the future doer of the lecture; tradukotan tekston identifies the object affected by the forthcoming translation. Voice and time are separate choices: -ont- is active and prospective, whereas -ot- is passive and prospective.
The central meaning: before the passive event
An -ot- form presents its referent before the relevant action begins. It often suggests a plan, arrangement, expectation, or imminent event, but the suffix itself does not promise that the event actually occurs.
Sur mia skribotablo kuŝas tri ankoraŭ respondotaj leteroj.
Three letters still to be answered are lying on my desk.
La morgaŭ diskutota propono jam vekis fortan opozicion.
The proposal to be discussed tomorrow has already provoked strong opposition.
La ponto estis malkonstruota, sed la urbo lastmomente ŝanĝis la planon.
The bridge was going to be demolished, but the city changed the plan at the last moment.
The final sentence shows why “will be demolished” is not a complete rule for malkonstruota. The demolition lay in the future from the plan’s past reference point, yet it never happened.
-OT- is not the same as -END- or -EBL-
English “to be done” can express several meanings that Esperanto keeps apart:
| Form | Core claim | Typical interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| farota | the doing is prospectively ahead | going to be done |
| farenda | the doing is required | must be done |
| farebla | the doing is possible | can be done |
| farinda | the doing is worthwhile | worth doing |
La hodiaŭ farotaj taskoj ne ĉiuj estas urĝe farendaj.
The tasks scheduled to be done today do not all urgently have to be done.
La riparo estas farebla, sed ĝi estas farota nur venontmonate.
The repair is possible, but it is not going to be carried out until next month.
-Ot- supplies prospect, not necessity. A list headed farotaj aferoj is a list of things expected or planned to be done; farendaj aferoj are things that ought or need to be done. See the dedicated page on the suffix -end-.
Adjectival -ota and agreement
As an adjective, an -ot- participle takes plural -j and accusative -n like any other -a word. It may stand before or after its noun or serve as the complement of esti.
Mi markis la kontrolotajn dosierojn per ruĝa etikedo.
I marked the files to be checked with a red label.
Ĉu tiuj pakaĵoj estas sendotaj hodiaŭ aŭ morgaŭ?
Are those packages going to be sent today or tomorrow?
In kontrolotajn dosierojn, both words carry -j-n because the entire plural noun phrase is a direct object. In la pakaĵoj estas sendotaj, sendotaj agrees in number with the subject but has no accusative ending.
Analytic passive forms with esti
Combining esti with an -ot- adjective fixes a reference time through the tense of esti. The action named by -ot- remains later than that reference time.
| Form | Reference point | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| estas sendota | now | is going to be sent |
| estis sendota | then in the past | was going to be sent |
| estos sendota | then in the future | will then still be awaiting dispatch |
| estus sendota | hypothetical point | would be going to be sent |
La invito estis sendota vendrede, sed ni ankoraŭ ne havis ĉiujn adresojn.
The invitation was going to be sent on Friday, but we still did not have all the addresses.
Ĉu la kontrakto estas jam subskribita? — Ne, ĝi estas subskribota morgaŭ matene.
Has the contract already been signed? — No, it is going to be signed tomorrow morning.
Je la fino de la monato la raporto estos ankoraŭ reviziota de ekstera fakulo.
At the end of the month the report will still be due for review by an outside specialist.
The second form is grammatically precise but heavy. In ordinary prose, Ekstera fakulo revizios la raporton post la fino de la monato is usually clearer. Esperanto permits the full analytic system; good style does not require using every possible cell of it.
Passive voice requires an object relation
Because -ot- is passive, its base verb must be capable of taking the described participant as a direct object. La legota libro corresponds to iu legos la libron. There is no regular okazota afero meaning “an event that will happen,” because okazi does not take that event as an object. Use okazonta afero, since the affair itself is the semantic subject of okazi.
Ni prepariĝas por la okazonta kunveno kaj la tie prezentotaj rezultoj.
We are preparing for the upcoming meeting and the results to be presented there.
Here the meeting okazos, so it is okazonta; someone prezentos la rezultojn, so the results are prezentotaj. This minimal contrast exposes the active–passive distinction directly.
Adverbial and nominal uses
The -ote form is invariable and relates to the subject or situation of its clause. It is less common than adjectival -ota and often sounds compressed in speech.
Kaptote de la sekurgardisto, la ŝtelisto forĵetis la sakon kaj ekkuris.
About to be caught by the security guard, the thief dropped the bag and ran.
The thief is the person about to be caught and also the subject of forĵetis. An -e participle cannot introduce an unrelated subject of its own.
Nominal -oto normally denotes a person who is to undergo the action: juĝoto “person to be tried,” arestoto “person about to be arrested.” For an impersonal thing, an adjectival phrase is usually clearer.
La juĝoto demandis, ĉu li rajtas telefoni al sia advokato.
The defendant awaiting trial asked whether he was allowed to call his lawyer.
Foundational status and modern usage
-Ot-, together with -at- and -it-, belongs to the foundational participle system; it is not a modern innovation. Contemporary usage freely employs forms such as farota, okazonta, venonta, and analytic estis farota. What varies is style: dense chains of esti + participle are grammatical but often avoidable. Experimental -ut- forms intended to express a conditional passive are not part of standard Esperanto and are poorly suited to clear international prose.
Common Mistakes
Choosing active -ont- for the affected object
❌ La morgaŭ publikigonta artikolo jam estas preta.
Incorrect — the article will be published; it is not the publisher.
✅ La morgaŭ publikigota artikolo jam estas preta.
The article to be published tomorrow is already ready.
Choosing passive -ot- for the semantic subject
❌ Ni nuligis la okazotan kunvenon.
Incorrect — the meeting itself would occur, so active -ont- is required.
✅ Ni nuligis la okazontan kunvenon.
We canceled the upcoming meeting.
Treating -ot- as obligation
❌ Ĉiuj leĝe plenumotaj postuloj estas devigaj.
Wrong suffix for requirements that must be fulfilled — prospect alone does not express duty.
✅ Ĉiuj leĝe plenumendaj postuloj estas devigaj.
All requirements that must legally be fulfilled are mandatory.
Anchoring -ot- only to the present
❌ La kontrakto estis subskribota, do ĝi ne povas rilati al pasinta plano.
Incorrect reasoning — -ot- is future relative to the tense of estis.
✅ La kontrakto estis subskribota, sed la intertraktado fiaskis.
The contract was going to be signed, but the negotiation failed.
Overbuilding an analytic chain
❌ La propono estos estonta ekzamenota de la komisiono.
Incorrect and overbuilt — estonta is redundant inside the passive chain.
✅ La komisiono ekzamenos la proponon.
The committee will examine the proposal.
Key Takeaways
-Ot- is passive and prospective: it describes an object before an anticipated action affects it. Its time is relative to a reference point, so estis sendota is entirely regular. Keep it distinct from active -ont-, obligatory -end-, possible -ebl-, and worthwhile -ind-. The complete analytic system is grammatical, but a simple active clause is often the clearest choice.
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 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.
- Compound Passive TensesB2 — Combine esti with passive participles to present an affected subject during, after, or before an action.
- Adjectival Participles in -AB1 — Build active and passive participles as agreeing adjectives that compress relative clauses without losing voice or relative time.
- -end-: Obligation Requiring An ActionB1 — Use -end- to describe something that must undergo a required action, and distinguish necessity from possibility and worthiness.