A verb's valency is the set of roles it licenses: who acts or experiences, what is affected, and which other participants complete the meaning. A direct object is one such role and normally takes accusative -n. Other complements use prepositions, adverbs, infinitives, clauses, or unmarked predicative forms. English translation alone cannot tell you which structure an Esperanto verb requires.
Direct objects: the -n pattern
A direct object is the participant presented as directly affected, perceived, possessed, created, sought, or otherwise selected by a transitive verb.
La mekanikisto riparis mian biciklon.
The mechanic repaired my bicycle.
Ni aŭdis strangan bruon en la koridoro.
We heard a strange noise in the hallway.
Ĉu vi jam trovis viajn ŝlosilojn?
Have you found your keys yet?
The object meaning differs with the verb: the bicycle is changed, the noise is perceived, and the keys are searched for and found. There is no single physical “receiving the action” test that covers every object. The dependable facts are lexical: ripari ion, aŭdi ion, trovi ion.
Accusative marking appears on the noun and its agreeing adjective or determiner:
La mekanikisto mendis du novajn pneŭojn.
The mechanic ordered two new tires.
For the complete system, see Direct Objects.
Objects keep their role when order changes
The neutral order places the object after the verb:
La redaktoro korektis la unuan alineon.
The editor corrected the first paragraph.
Accusative marking permits fronting without reversing the event:
La unuan alineon la redaktoro jam korektis; la ceteraj ankoraŭ atendas.
The first paragraph the editor has already corrected; the others are still waiting.
The fronted object is now the discourse topic or contrast. -n preserves its grammatical role. Without a reason for that emphasis, SVO remains clearer.
— Kiun parton ŝi korektis? — Ŝi korektis nur la konkludon.
— Which part did she correct? — She corrected only the conclusion.
The question word kiun and the answer la konkludon bear -n because both fill the same object slot.
Prepositional complements
Many verbs select a participant through a particular preposition rather than as a direct object.
Ni parolis pri la nova horaro.
We talked about the new schedule.
La infanoj zorgas pri la rezulto kaj atendas ĝin kun granda ekscito.
The children care about the result and are awaiting it with great excitement.
The same referent appears in two different frames: zorgi pri io selects a pri complement, while atendi ion selects a direct object. English happens to use about with care and no preposition with await, but those translations are not the reason for the Esperanto pattern; the lexical frames are.
Mi sendis la formularon al la sekretario per retpoŝto.
I sent the form to the secretary by email.
This predicate contains three distinct roles:
| Expression | Role | Marker |
|---|---|---|
| la formularon | thing transferred; direct object | -n |
| al la sekretario | recipient | al |
| per retpoŝto | means/channel | per |
An ordinary prepositional complement does not also take object -n. Its preposition already marks its role. Spatial prepositions can combine with directional -n under a separate rule, but that -n marks destination, not a direct object.
Required complements versus optional adjuncts
“Complement” is used in more than one way in grammar. Here it includes role-bearing phrases connected to the predicate. Within that broad class, some are selected closely by the verb, while others are optional scene-setting adjuncts.
Ŝi metis la tason sur la supran breton.
She put the cup on the upper shelf.
With meti, an endpoint is normally needed: saying only Ŝi metis la tason leaves the listener waiting to hear where. Sur la supran breton is therefore a selected directional complement.
Ŝi legis la raporton sur la balkono post la tagmanĝo.
She read the report on the balcony after lunch.
Legi la raporton is already complete. The place and time are optional adjuncts. The boundary is partly semantic rather than purely formal; both kinds can be prepositional phrases.
La propono dependas de la fina kosto.
The proposal depends on the final cost.
Dependi conventionally selects de. Replacing it with a literal English-inspired preposition produces a nonstandard frame. The relevant preposition should be learned with the verb.
Adverbial complements
An adverb or adverbial phrase can complete a predicate without a preposition.
La gastoj kondutis tre ĝentile.
The guests behaved very politely.
La vendejo troviĝas proksime.
The shop is located nearby.
La kunveno daŭris du horojn.
The meeting lasted two hours.
In the final example, du horojn is an accusative measure of duration, not a direct object. The meeting does not act on “two hours.” Esperanto uses -n for several adverbial roles—time, measure, distance, direction—so the ending by itself does not prove objecthood.
Compare two accusatives in one clause:
Mi atendis la kuraciston du horojn.
I waited for the doctor for two hours.
La kuraciston is selected as the person awaited; du horojn measures the duration. Meaning and verb frame separate the roles.
Infinitive and clausal complements
Some objects or complement-like contents cannot display -n.
Ni volas foriri antaŭ la sesa.
We want to leave before six.
Ŝi promesis, ke ŝi revenos vendrede.
She promised that she would return on Friday.
Mi ne scias, ĉu la muzeo estas malfermita.
I don't know whether the museum is open.
The infinitive foriri, the ke-clause, and the embedded ĉu question provide the content selected by the verb. None can simply take an accusative suffix. Because morphology cannot mark their role, conventional order and the selecting verb become especially important.
Do not insert a vague preposition merely to imitate English about/of/to. Esperanto has its own established patterns: voli fari, promesi ke, scii ĉu.
Predicative complements are not objects
A predicative complement describes or identifies a subject or an object through a verb. It is unmarked by accusative even when it describes an accusative object.
La komitato elektis ŝin prezidanto.
The committee elected her president.
Ŝin is the object—the person elected. Prezidanto names the role she acquired and is a predicative complement, so it has no -n.
Ni trovis la pordon malfermita.
We found the door open.
La longa promeno faris la infanojn dormemaj.
The long walk made the children sleepy.
The adjective agrees in number with what it describes (infanojn → dormemaj) but does not copy accusative -n. Adding -n would wrongly present the description as another object-like phrase. The dedicated page Predicative Complements and the Accusative treats harder cases.
Order and attachment
Keep an object's predicative description close enough to the object, and keep selected prepositional complements close to their verb. Otherwise a grammatical sentence can become temporarily ambiguous.
Ni trovis la ĉambron tute malplena post la festo.
We found the room completely empty after the party.
The sequence la ĉambron tute malplena makes the descriptive relationship easy to recover. In long predicates, place broad time and setting expressions at the edge:
Post la festo ni trovis la ĉambron tute malplena.
After the party, we found the room completely empty.
Both orders are clear. By contrast, inserting post la festo between ĉambron and malplena would force the listener to reconnect separated elements.
Common Mistakes
1. Omitting -n from a direct object in neutral position
❌ La raportisto intervjuis la ministro.
Incorrect — the person interviewed is the direct object.
✅ La raportisto intervjuis la ministron.
The reporter interviewed the minister.
2. Adding -n after an ordinary preposition
❌ Ni diskutis pri la novan planon.
Incorrect — pri already marks the topic complement.
✅ Ni diskutis pri la nova plano.
We discussed the new plan.
3. Treating every accusative as a direct object
❌ En ‘La kunveno daŭris tri horojn’, tri horojn estas objekto.
Incorrect analysis — the phrase measures duration; nothing acts on the hours.
✅ La kunveno daŭris tri horojn.
The meeting lasted three hours. (accusative measure)
4. Giving a predicative complement accusative case
❌ Ili nomumis ŝin direktorinon.
Incorrect — ŝin is the object, but the role assigned to her is an unmarked predicative complement.
✅ Ili nomumis ŝin direktorino.
They appointed her director.
Key Takeaways
- Direct objects normally take -n, but their exact semantic role depends on the verb.
- Prepositions mark recipients, topics, sources, instruments, and many other complements without object -n.
- Some -n phrases are measures, times, or directions rather than objects.
- Infinitives and clauses can supply selected content even though they cannot carry -n.
- Predicative complements describe a subject or object and remain non-accusative.
Now practice Esperanto
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Start learning Esperanto →Related Topics
- Direct ObjectsA1 — Learn which Esperanto verb complements are direct objects, how -n marks them, and how object marking remains stable when word order changes.
- Two Objects and ValencyA2 — How Esperanto distributes recipients, things transferred, and other participants between the accusative and prepositional phrases.
- Predicative Complements and the AccusativeB1 — Distinguish Esperanto predicative complements from accusative objects and attributive modifiers, especially in clauses that describe an object.
- Transitive and Intransitive VerbsA2 — Learn which verbs license a direct object, which require another construction, and how Esperanto systematically changes valency.
- 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.
- Copular ClausesB1 — Use esti and related linking verbs to connect a subject with an unmarked description, identity, location, origin, or other predicative expression.