Uzi: To Use | Esperanto Grammar

Uzi is the regular transitive verb “to use, employ, make use of.” The tool, method, resource, language, or opportunity used is its direct object: uzi martelon, uzi programon, uzi Esperanton. This differs from an ordinary instrument phrase with per: you uzas tranĉilon, but you tranĉas per tranĉilo.

The complete paradigm

The short stem uz- takes all six verb endings without alteration. Finite forms do not agree with person or number.

Form	Core value	Typical translation
uzi	infinitive	to use
uzas	present	use, uses
uzis	past	used
uzos	future	will use
uzus	conditional	would use
uzu	volitive	use!, let … use

Mi uzas tiun aplikaĵon por organizi miajn taskojn.

I use that app to organize my tasks.

Kiun enirejon ni uzu? — La flankan; la ĉefa estas fermita.

Which entrance should we use? — The side one; the main entrance is closed.

Uzis is the past tense; uzus is conditional, not past. The volitive uzu is extremely frequent in instructions, recommendations, and interface text.

Mi uzus la trajnon, se ĝi veturus pli malfrue vespere.

I would use the train if it ran later in the evening.

Ne uzu la saman pasvorton por pluraj kontoj.

Don’t use the same password for several accounts.

The thing used is a direct object

With uzi, the instrument or resource is not introduced by per. It directly receives accusative -n.

La teknikisto uzis specialan ŝlosilon por malfermi la panelon.

The technician used a special wrench to open the panel.

Ni uzas Esperanton en niaj internaciaj kunvenoj.

We use Esperanto in our international meetings.

The por + infinitive phrase states the purpose for which the object is used. Uzi ion por fari ion is one of the most productive frames:

Ĉu mi povas uzi vian telefonon por voki taksion?

Can I use your phone to call a taxi?

English sometimes uses “with” after “use,” especially in awkward learner formulations. Esperanto separates two structures:

Mi uzas krajono is wrong because the object needs -n.
Mi uzas krajonon means “I use a pencil.”
Mi skribas per krajono means “I write with/by means of a pencil.”

The preposition per marks an instrument of another action; uzi itself already expresses the using relationship.

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Do not combine two instrument strategies. Say either uzi ilon or fari ion per ilo, according to which action you want as the main verb.

Using something as something else

Use kiel to name the function assigned to an object. In this construction the complement normally matches the object role and therefore takes -n.

Ni uzis malnovan pordon kiel provizoran tablon.

We used an old door as a temporary table.

La esploristoj uzis la vilaĝon kiel bazon por la ekspedicio.

The researchers used the village as a base for the expedition.

The first accusative phrase identifies the thing used; the kiel phrase identifies its temporary function. This is different from kiel introducing the subject’s capacity: Kiel instruisto, mi uzas multajn bildojn means “As a teacher, I use many pictures.” Case helps signal which participant the comparison describes.

Uzi ion por io can also assign purpose with a noun: uzi ĉambron por kunvenoj. Kiel answers “in what role?”; por answers “for what purpose?” The meanings overlap in some practical situations but are not identical.

Utila, uzebla, uzata, and uzita

These four adjectives are easy to confuse, but they make different claims.

Form	Meaning	Question answered
utila	useful, beneficial	Does it provide value?
uzebla	usable, fit/available for use	Can it be used?
uzata	being used; in current or habitual use	Is someone using it?
uzita	used previously; second-hand	Has someone used it?

La mapo estas malnova sed ankoraŭ uzebla.

The map is old but still usable.

La plej uzata enirejo nun estas fermita.

The most frequently used entrance is now closed.

Mi aĉetis uzitan biciklon kontraŭ cent eŭroj.

I bought a used bicycle for one hundred euros.

Via konsilo estis simpla kaj tre utila.

Your advice was simple and very useful.

Utila is not built from uz- + -il- + -a. Esperanto has a separate root util-, meaning benefit or usefulness. Uzebla, by contrast, transparently combines uz- with -ebl-, “capable of being used.” Something can be usable but useless, or useful in principle but not currently usable.

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Uzebla describes possibility; utila describes value; uzata describes ongoing/habitual use; uzita looks back on completed use.

Participles and aspect

Because uzi is transitive, it has active uzanta, uzinta, uzonta and passive uzata, uzita, uzota. The active forms describe the user relative to a reference time; the passive forms describe the thing used.

Uzante publikan reton, ne sendu sentemajn datumojn sen ĉifrado.

When using a public network, don’t send sensitive data without encryption.

La morgaŭ uzota salono devas esti purigita hodiaŭ.

The room to be used tomorrow must be cleaned today.

Uzata and uzita often function as ordinary adjectives, but their -at-/-it- contrast remains meaningful. The broader system is explained under choosing -at- versus -it-.

Compounds and derivatives

The uz- family is productive:

Form	Meaning
uzo	use, act or manner of using
uzado	use as a sustained or repeated activity
uzanto	user
uzebla	usable
reuzebla	reusable
misuzi	misuse, abuse
eluzi	wear out through use
ekuzi	begin using, put into use

La biblioteko ekuzos novan pruntsistemon venontmonate.

The library will begin using a new lending system next month.

Ofta lavado povas eluzi la ŝtofon.

Frequent washing can wear out the fabric.

The separate util- family includes utilo “benefit/usefulness,” utiligi “put to use, make useful use of,” senutila “useless,” and malutila “harmful.” Utiligi okazon often overlaps with uzi okazon, but the former foregrounds obtaining benefit from it.

Ni utiligis la paŭzon por kontroli la ekipaĵon.

We made use of the break to check the equipment.

Frequency and register

Uzi is neutral and extremely frequent in daily, technical, and (academic) language. Uzanto, uzebla, reuzebla, and misuzi are conventional modern formations. Utiligi can sound slightly more deliberate or (formal) than plain uzi, especially in administrative prose, but it also occurs naturally in conversation. Heavy participial compounds are grammatical but often clearer as relative clauses.

Common Mistakes

Adding per before the used tool

❌ Mi uzas per tiu programo ĉiutage.

Incorrect — the program used is a direct object.

✅ Mi uzas tiun programon ĉiutage.

I use that program every day.

Forgetting accusative agreement

❌ Ni uzos la nova sistemo.

Incorrect — the used resource is accusative.

✅ Ni uzos la novan sistemon.

We will use the new system.

Confusing usable with useful

❌ Ĉu ĉi tiu seĝo estas utila, aŭ ĉu ĝi estas rompita?

Incorrect for asking whether the chair can be used — utila asks whether it is beneficial.

✅ Ĉu ĉi tiu seĝo estas uzebla, aŭ ĉu ĝi estas rompita?

Is this chair usable, or is it broken?

Confusing ongoing and completed use

❌ Mi aĉetis uzatan aŭton de antaŭa posedanto.

Wrong for an already used, second-hand car — uzata foregrounds current/habitual use.

✅ Mi aĉetis uzitan aŭton de antaŭa posedanto.

I bought a used car from a previous owner.

Omitting case on a kiel function

❌ Ni uzis la keston kiel tablo.

Incorrect — the assigned function corresponds to the object role.

✅ Ni uzis la keston kiel tablon.

We used the box as a table.

Key Takeaways

Use uzi + accusative object for the instrument or resource itself, but per + instrument with another action verb. Add por for purpose and kiel for an assigned function. Keep utila “valuable,” uzebla “capable of use,” uzata “in use,” and uzita “previously used” distinct. The compounds reuzebla, misuzi, eluzi, ekuzi are regular and conventional.

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