Okazi means “to happen,” “occur,” or, of a planned event, “take place.” It is regular and intransitive. Its single central participant is the occurrence itself, which functions as the subject—even when that subject follows the verb or is expressed by an entire clause. Okazigi adds a causer and means cause, arrange, or hold an event.
Complete regular paradigm
| Form | Function | Typical meaning |
|---|---|---|
| okazi | infinitive | to happen, to take place |
| okazas | present indicative | happen(s), is taking place |
| okazis | past indicative | happened, took place |
| okazos | future indicative | will happen, will take place |
| okazus | conditional | would happen |
| okazu | volitive | let ... happen |
The stem okaz- never changes, and the ending does not agree with the subject. Okazu is less frequent than the indicative forms, but it is natural in wishes and acceptance of an outcome.
La foiro okazas ĉiuseptembre sur la ĉefa placo.
The fair takes place every September in the main square.
Kio okazus, se ambaŭ serviloj paneus samtempe?
What would happen if both servers failed at the same time?
Kio ajn okazu, ne forlasu la konstruaĵon sen la grupo.
Whatever happens, don't leave the building without the group.
The event is the subject
In akcidento okazis, the accident is not acted upon; it is the occurrence. Esperanto therefore gives it subject form without accusative -n.
Grava ŝanĝo okazis dum la nokto.
An important change happened during the night.
Nenio nekutima okazis dum nia foresto.
Nothing unusual happened during our absence.
English “it happened” can use dummy it, but Esperanto ĝi okazis normally refers back to an identifiable event or proposition. For an unspecified occurrence, use io okazis, nenio okazis, or ask kio okazis?
— Kio okazis al via mano? — Mi falis de la biciklo.
— What happened to your hand? — I fell off my bike.
The person affected by an event commonly appears with al: tio okazis al mi. The person remains an experiencer, not the direct object of okazi.
Why the subject often follows the verb
Esperanto commonly places a new or newsworthy event after okazis/okazas: hieraŭ okazis grava afero. The order presents the setting first and introduces the event afterward. Case, not position, identifies the role.
Post la koncerto okazis mallonga diskuto inter la muzikistoj kaj la publiko.
After the concert, a short discussion took place between the musicians and the audience.
En la norda distrikto okazis tri elektropaneoj ĉi-semajne.
Three power outages occurred in the northern district this week.
Here mallonga diskuto and tri elektropaneoj are postposed subjects. Adding -n would falsely mark them as objects, although okazi cannot take an object. This construction resembles an impersonal announcement in information structure, but it is not grammatically subjectless.
See Postponing the Subject for the information-structure reasons behind this order.
A clause can name the occurrence
Often the event is too complex for a noun phrase. A ke clause can state what happened, while tio may anticipate or summarize it.
Okazis, ke la du teamoj sendis malsamajn versiojn de la sama dokumento.
It happened that the two teams sent different versions of the same document.
Tio okazis, ĉar la malnova sistemo ne konservis la lastan ŝanĝon.
That happened because the old system did not save the final change.
The first construction does not require a dummy pronoun corresponding to English “it.” The ke clause supplies the content of the occurrence. In less narrative prose, speakers often choose a direct clause instead: La du teamoj sendis... This is a stylistic choice, not a grammatical correction.
Scheduled events: “take place”
With meetings, elections, courses, and ceremonies, okazi commonly means take place or be held. Time and place are ordinary adjuncts.
La sekva kunsido okazos rete je la dua posttagmeze.
The next meeting will take place online at two in the afternoon.
La ceremonio ne okazis pro la severa vetero.
The ceremony did not take place because of the severe weather.
Avoid the literal English calque havi lokon for “take place.” In Esperanto havi lokon literally concerns possessing or having a place; okazi is the conventional event verb.
Adding a causer: okazigi
The productive suffix -ig- adds a participant that causes the event. Okazigi konferencon can mean arrange, convene, or hold a conference. The caused event becomes a direct object.
La loka klubo okazigos senpagan lingvokurson en la biblioteko.
The local club will hold a free language course in the library.
La anonco okazigis viglan debaton inter la membroj.
The announcement caused a lively debate among the members.
The first is deliberate organization; the second is causation. Organizi focuses on planning and practical preparation, whereas okazigi focuses on making the event occur. A group may organizi a conference over many months and then okazigi it in June.
Participles: an active-only core
The event itself is the subject, so okazi has useful active participles:
| Relation to reference time | Form | Typical interpretation |
|---|---|---|
| in progress/repeated | okazanta | happening, taking place |
| already completed | okazinta | having happened, past |
| still prospective | okazonta | forthcoming, about to happen |
La morgaŭ okazonta voĉdono estos elsendata rekte.
The vote taking place tomorrow will be broadcast live.
La esploristoj rekonstruis la sinsekvon de la jam okazintaj eventoj el la disponeblaj datumoj.
The researchers reconstructed the sequence of events that had already occurred from the available data.
The conventional noun okazaĵo is usually clearer for “event” or “incident” than a mechanically built participial noun. The adjective okazintaj remains useful when the completed status of particular events matters.
Passive forms okazata, okazita, okazota are not part of standard okazi, because there is no object to promote into a passive subject. Do not confuse them with the legitimate passive participles of transitive okazigi: okazigita konferenco is a conference that someone caused or arranged to take place.
Frequent family members and register
- okazo — occasion, case, or opportunity, according to context;
- okazaĵo — event, occurrence, incident;
- okaze de — on the occasion of, in connection with;
- ĉiuokaze — in any case;
- eventuale is not a derivative and means possibly, if necessary, or as a possible outcome—not English “eventually.”
Okaze de la datreveno, la muzeo restos malfermita ĝis noktomezo.
On the occasion of the anniversary, the museum will remain open until midnight.
Okazi is highly frequent and neutral in conversation, reporting, and (formal) administrative prose. Its root is Fundamental. The postposed-subject pattern and okazi al iu are foundational, well-attested usages. Okazigi is standard and productive; it is not an improvised substitute for every verb meaning “organize.”
Common Mistakes
Marking a postposed subject as an object
❌ Pasintsemajne okazis gravan akcidenton apud la stacidomo.
Incorrect — the accident is the subject of the intransitive verb.
✅ Pasintsemajne okazis grava akcidento apud la stacidomo.
A serious accident happened near the station last week.
Using a dummy pronoun for an unspecified event
❌ Ĝi okazis io stranga ĉe la stacio.
Incorrect — ĝi cannot be a dummy subject while io names the event.
✅ Io stranga okazis ĉe la stacio.
Something strange happened at the station.
Translating “take place” word for word
❌ La konferenco prenos lokon en Bruselo.
Incorrect — scheduled events use okazi, not preni lokon.
✅ La konferenco okazos en Bruselo.
The conference will take place in Brussels.
Using okazi where a causer is expressed
❌ La asocio okazos internacian seminarion en Majo.
Incorrect — the association causes or holds the seminar.
✅ La asocio okazigos internacian seminarion en Majo.
The association will hold an international seminar in May.
Key Takeaways
- Okazi is intransitive; the occurrence is its subject and never its direct object.
- New event subjects often follow the verb: okazis grava afero.
- Use al for an affected experiencer and ordinary time/place phrases for circumstances.
- Okazigi adds a causer; only that transitive derivative has ordinary passive participles.
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
- Impersonal VerbsB1 — Build subjectless Esperanto clauses for weather, ambient conditions, necessity, and topics without inserting English dummy it or there.
- Transitive and Intransitive VerbsA2 — Learn which verbs license a direct object, which require another construction, and how Esperanto systematically changes valency.
- Postponing the SubjectB1 — Place a subject after the verb to present a new participant, preserve a scene-setting opening, or give the subject late focus.
- Direct ObjectsA1 — Learn which Esperanto verb complements are direct objects, how -n marks them, and how object marking remains stable when word order changes.
- -ig-: CausationB2 — Use -ig- to make something acquire a quality, enter a state, or perform an action, while tracking how causation changes verb valency.
- 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.