El presents something as coming from within a source. Its concrete core is movement from an interior to the outside—eliri el la ĉambro—and that source logic extends to origin, material, components, quotations, and selecting members from a group. Because el already marks movement away from a source, its complement does not take directional -n.
Movement from an interior
Use el when someone or something emerges from a container, room, building, vehicle, area, or other space treated as having an inside.
Ŝi eliris el la oficejo kaj ŝlosis la pordon.
She left the office and locked the door.
Mi prenis la lakton el la fridujo.
I took the milk out of the refrigerator.
Ĉu vi jam eliris el la trajno? — Ne, ĝi ankoraŭ ne haltis.
Have you gotten off the train yet? — No, it has not stopped yet.
The repeated el in eliris el is not redundant. The prefix in eliri builds the general meaning “go out”; the prepositional phrase names the specific source.
El versus de
Both el and de can correspond to English “from,” but they profile different source relations.
| Phrase | Core viewpoint |
|---|---|
| veni el la banko | emerge from inside the bank building |
| veni de la banko | come from the bank as a place, institution, or previous stop |
| preni libron el la sako | remove it from inside the bag |
| ricevi libron de Ana | Ana is the giver/source |
Mi revenas de la kuracisto, sed survoje mi prenis la recepton el mia sako.
I’m coming back from the doctor, but on the way I took the prescription out of my bag.
A doctor is not a container; de la kuracisto names the person or visit one comes from. Countries, cities, and institutions can be imagined either as areas with an interior or as points of origin. Mi venas el Brazilo is the normal clear choice for geographic origin within a country.
For de and disde can clarify separation from a person or possession. Avoid the heavy hybrid el de in ordinary usage.
Origin, source, and textual extraction
The same interior-source image works for languages, documents, memories, and bodies of information.
La romano estis tradukita el la japana en Esperanton.
The novel was translated from Japanese into Esperanto.
Ŝi laŭtlegis mallongan fragmenton el sia nova libro.
She read aloud a short passage from her new book.
Mi konas tiun rakonton el mia infanaĝo.
I know that story from my childhood.
The source language contains the original text; the book contains the passage; childhood is treated as the experiential source of the memory. These are established extensions of the same core relation, not arbitrary equivalents of every English “from.”
Because the contained-source relation is conventional and precise, je is not a substitute for el. Say fragmento el la libro, not fragmento je la libro.
Material: what something is made from
Use el for material that constitutes an object or from which it was made.
La tablo estas farita el reciklita ligno.
The table is made of recycled wood.
Ŝi faris malgrandan bovlon el argilo.
She made a small bowl out of clay.
Compare three very different noun relations:
| Phrase | Meaning |
|---|---|
| glaso el vitro | a glass made of glass |
| glaso da akvo | a glassful of water |
| la glaso de Maria | Maria’s glass |
English “of” hides all three relations. Esperanto requires the learner to identify material, quantity, or association. See de, el, or da for the full decision guide.
Selecting from a group
El can figuratively extract one or more members from a defined group.
Unu el miaj kolegoj loĝas proksime kaj povas helpi.
One of my colleagues lives nearby and can help.
Kiun el tiuj du jakoj vi preferas?
Which of those two jackets do you prefer?
Tio estis la plej malfacila el la kvin taskoj.
That was the most difficult of the five tasks.
The group after el is definite or bounded, and the selected element belongs to it. Inter instead presents position or choice among alternatives: elekti inter du jakoj “choose between two jackets.” The result can overlap, but the viewpoint differs.
Do not use the heavier el inter when simple el suffices: unu el ili, not normally unu el inter ili.
Components and konsisti el
Use konsisti el when concrete parts or members make up a whole.
La komitato konsistas el ses membroj el kvar landoj.
The committee consists of six members from four countries.
La matenmanĝo konsistis el pano, fruktoj kaj forta kafo.
Breakfast consisted of bread, fruit, and strong coffee.
With the essential nature of an abstract matter, konsisti en is often more appropriate: La problemo konsistas en manko de tempo “The problem consists in a lack of time.” Concrete components are extracted from the conceptual whole; abstract essence is treated as a domain in which the matter lies.
Cause and motive
El can present an emotion or inner state as the source of an action: el amo, el timo, el scivolemo. This use often suggests motive arising from within.
Li ne interrompis ŝin el respekto, ne pro timo.
He did not interrupt her out of respect, not because of fear.
Pro is the general preposition for cause. El is more expressive when the cause is conceived as an inner source or motive. The distinction is semantic, not a register ban.
Compounds and derived verbs
El- productively adds an outward, extracting, or resultative idea:
| Word | Meaning |
|---|---|
| eliri | go out |
| elpreni | take out, extract |
| eligi | cause to come out, emit |
| eliĝi | come out, emerge |
Do not force a separate el phrase when a compound already makes the source obvious, but add one when readers need to know it: Ŝi elprenis la telefonon el sia poŝo.
Norm and register
El is foundational and neutral across all these core uses. Movement from inside, geographic or textual source, material, group selection, and konsisti el are standard in speech and writing. Cause with el is also established but more semantically colored than neutral pro.
Common Mistakes
Adding accusative after el
❌ Ŝi eliris el la ĉambron.
Incorrect — el already marks movement away from the source.
✅ Ŝi eliris el la ĉambro.
She went out of the room.
Using de for material
❌ La statuo estas farita de bronzo.
Incorrect for material — de would suggest association or an agent.
✅ La statuo estas farita el bronzo.
The statue is made of bronze.
Using el for a person as giver
❌ Mi ricevis mesaĝon el Ana.
Incorrect — Ana is the sender/source person, not an interior.
✅ Mi ricevis mesaĝon de Ana.
I received a message from Ana.
Confusing material with quantity
❌ Bonvolu alporti glason el akvo.
Incorrect for a glassful — this would treat water as the material of the glass.
✅ Bonvolu alporti glason da akvo.
Please bring a glass of water.
Using el for position between people
❌ La infano staris el siaj gepatroj.
Incorrect — el marks source or selection, not a position with people on both sides.
✅ La infano staris inter siaj gepatroj.
The child stood between their parents.
Key Takeaways
Use el for movement or origin from an interior, for material, for sources such as languages and texts, and for selecting members or components from a group. Its complement never takes directional -n. Keep it distinct from associative/source-person de, quantity da, and relational inter.
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
- EnB1 — Use en for location within a place, period, or state, and add directional -n when something enters a new interior or result.
- DeA2 — Use de for movement or development away from a source and for relationships such as possession, authorship, composition, time, and passive agency.
- DaA2 — Use da to connect a quantity or measure to the indefinite substance, people, or things that make up that quantity.
- EksterA2 — Use ekster for a position outside a boundary, with directional -n only when movement ends outside it.
- InterB1 — Use inter for position, movement, choice, or relationships between two or among several entities.
- De, El, or Da?B1 — Choose de for broad source and relation, el for emergence or selection from a whole, and da for an unbounded measured quantity.