Po distributes a repeated quantity: one share for each member, event, place, or unit in a context. In La infanoj ricevis po du pomojn, the repeated share is two apples and the recipients supply the multiplier. If there are five children, ten apples are distributed in total. English each, apiece, and per overlap with this meaning, but their word order cannot simply be copied.
The multiplication test
A genuine po expression contains two conceptual parts:
- a repeated quantity, immediately introduced by po;
- a set of recipients, occasions, places, or units over which that quantity repeats.
La ses partoprenantoj ricevis po du biletojn.
The six participants received two tickets each.
Six participants × two tickets = twelve tickets. That possible multiplication is the clearest test for distributive po.
Ni plantis po unu arbon antaŭ ĉiu domo.
We planted one tree in front of each house.
— Kiom da fotoj mi sendu al ĉiu kandidato? — Po tri sufiĉos.
— How many photos should I send to each candidate? — Three each will be enough.
The distribution set is often expressed by a plural subject or object, by ĉiu, or by a rate phrase. It can also remain implicit when everyone knows the participants.
Prenu po unu kaj lasu la reston por la aliaj.
Take one each and leave the rest for the others.
Po stands before the quantity that repeats
The most important word-order rule is simple: put po directly before the number or other quantity being multiplied.
La ŝtofo kostas po dek eŭrojn por metro.
The fabric costs ten euros per meter.
Ten euros is the repeated price; the number of meters is the multiplier. English puts per before the unit meter, but Esperanto puts po before the repeating amount dek eŭrojn and uses por, laŭ, or an adverb for the unit.
For the non-distributive case marking of prices and dimensions, compare Measures and Price.
La hotelo pagigas po naŭdek eŭrojn por nokto.
The hotel charges ninety euros per night.
La maŝino produktas po kvindek botelojn minute.
The machine produces fifty bottles per minute.
In the last example, minute is a compact adverbial equivalent of por ĉiu minuto or “per minute.” This separation is especially important in price and rate expressions.
Compare the scope difference:
La aŭto veturis po dek kilometrojn en kvin horoj.
The car traveled ten kilometers in each of five hours, fifty kilometers in total.
La aŭto veturis dek kilometrojn en po kvin horoj.
The car traveled ten one-kilometer portions, each taking five hours, fifty hours in total.
The second situation is unusual, but it reveals the grammar: po always scopes over the quantity immediately after it. Moving po changes what gets repeated.
What can follow po
Although a numeral is most common, any genuinely quantitative expression can follow:
| Pattern | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| po + numeral | po kvin | five each |
| po + quantity word | po iom | a little each |
| po + quantity noun | po duono | half each |
| po + quantified phrase | po egalaj partoj | in equal parts |
Verŝu po iom da saŭco sur ĉiun porcion.
Pour a little sauce onto each portion.
La du fratoj heredis po duonon de la bieno.
The two brothers each inherited half of the estate.
Po cannot introduce an ordinary nonquantitative noun just because English uses per: not po metro for “per meter.” It must attach to the share or rate being repeated.
The case question: po du pomoj or po du pomojn?
Both patterns are accepted, and a good reference must explain why. Traditionally, po is classified as a preposition. Under that analysis, its complement has no -n, just like the complement of per or por:
La infanoj ricevis po du pomoj.
The children received two apples each. (traditional prepositional analysis)
Many speakers instead treat po as an adverb-like quantity particle. Then po adds distribution without erasing the phrase's ordinary sentence role. A direct object therefore keeps its accusative:
La infanoj ricevis po du pomojn.
The children received two apples each. (role-transparent analysis)
PMEG explicitly judges both uses correct. This is genuine grammatical variation, not a contrast in meaning or register. The second pattern often makes syntax more visible: pomojn is clearly what the children received. The traditional no-n pattern remains fully standard and is especially familiar from older grammar teaching.
When the phrase would not otherwise take accusative, neither analysis adds one:
Sur ĉiu tablo kuŝis po tri broŝuroj.
Three brochures lay on each table.
Here tri broŝuroj is the subject of kuŝis, so -n would be wrong even under the adverb-like analysis.
With a measure or duration, -n may mark that independent role:
La kurso daŭras po du horojn ĉiun vendredon.
The course lasts two hours each Friday.
Do not mix the analyses halfway inside an agreeing noun phrase. If you choose the accusative pattern, adjective and noun both agree: po du grandajn pomojn. If you choose the traditional pattern: po du grandaj pomoj.
Po and ĉiu
Ĉiu selects individual members; po specifies the share repeated for them. Either can sometimes make distribution clear by itself, and together they can remove doubt.
Ĉiu gasto ricevis du kuponojn.
Each guest received two coupons.
La gastoj ricevis po du kuponojn.
The guests received two coupons each.
Ni metis po du kuponojn en ĉiun koverton.
We put two coupons in each envelope.
The first sentence names each recipient. The second starts from the plural group and distributes shares. The third explicitly states both the share and the receiving units. That is not ungrammatical redundancy; it is useful when the distribution set might otherwise be unclear.
Por ĉiu can paraphrase the receiving side: du kuponoj por ĉiu gasto. But por by itself marks intended allocation or benefit, whereas po marks repetition of the amount.
That beneficiary and intended-use meaning is developed on the Por page.
Repeated events and changing groups
The multiplier need not be people. A quantity can repeat over days, visits, containers, or locations.
La flegistino vizitis la pacienton po du fojojn tage.
The nurse visited the patient twice a day.
Ni rezervis po unu ĉambron en ĉiu urbo de la itinero.
We booked one room in each city on the itinerary.
La instruisto ne donis al ĉiuj la saman libron; li elektis po unu laŭ ilia nivelo.
The teacher did not give everyone the same book; he selected one for each person according to their level.
The last example shows that po unu guarantees one item per recipient, not identical items. Distribution concerns quantity, not identity.
Compounds and adverbial formations
The distributive idea also appears in compact adverbs such as poiome “little by little,” popece “piece by piece/by the piece,” and popaŝe “step by step.” These are single words without a following complement: they present an action as proceeding through repeated small amounts or units.
La kuracisto malpliigis la dozon poiome dum tri semajnoj.
The doctor reduced the dose little by little over three weeks.
La biletoj estas vendataj popece aŭ en pakaĵoj de dek.
The tickets are sold individually or in packs of ten.
Such forms are productive, but clarity still matters. Prefer a full phrase such as po unu ĉiun tagon when a compact compound would hide what is being distributed.
Common Mistakes
1. Copying English per + unit word order
❌ La pomoj kostas tri eŭrojn po kilogramo.
Incorrect in standard po syntax — po has been placed before the unit rather than the repeated price.
✅ La pomoj kostas po tri eŭrojn por kilogramo.
The apples cost three euros per kilogram.
2. Using po without a quantity
❌ Mi donis libron po la studentoj.
Incorrect — po must introduce a repeated quantity, not the recipients.
✅ Mi donis po unu libron al la studentoj.
I gave the students one book each.
3. Treating one case pattern as the only grammatical one
❌ Nur ‘po du pomoj’ estas ĝusta; ‘po du pomojn’ estas eraro.
Incorrect claim — both the traditional prepositional pattern and the role-transparent accusative pattern are accepted.
✅ Oni povas diri kaj ‘po du pomoj’ kaj ‘po du pomojn’.
One can say both ‘po du pomoj’ and ‘po du pomojn.’
4. Forgetting agreement when choosing accusative
❌ La infanoj ricevis po du grandaj pomojn.
Incorrect — adjective and noun must carry the same case ending.
✅ La infanoj ricevis po du grandajn pomojn.
The children received two large apples each.
Key Takeaways
- Po comes immediately before the quantity that repeats.
- Find the repeated share and its multiplier; multiplying them gives the conceptual total.
- In rates, Esperanto commonly uses po + amount + por/laŭ/adverbial unit, not English per + unit order.
- Both po du pomoj and po du pomojn are standard: they reflect prepositional and adverb-like analyses of po.
- Ĉiu identifies individual members; po distributes a quantity across them.
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Start learning Esperanto →Related Topics
- PorB2 — Use por for an intended beneficiary, purpose, use, result, exchange, or the goal toward which an action is directed.
- Multipliers and RepetitionsA2 — Distinguish multiplication with -obl- from repeated occasions with fojo, and form each pattern productively.
- Money and PricesB1 — State prices, values, payments, ranges, discounts, and per-unit rates with correct currency nouns, case, and verb frames.
- Measures and PriceA2 — Mark bare measures of weight, size, value, and price with -n while distinguishing them from objects and prepositional phrases.
- 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.