La budo kun manĝaĵo estas apud la scenejo.

Esperanto often uses a simple noun plus a prepositional phrase where English prefers a noun-noun compound.

So:

budo kun manĝaĵo
literally = booth with food

In natural English, that often becomes food stall. Esperanto can also make compounds, so manĝbudo would be understandable, but budo kun manĝaĵo is very clear and natural.

This is a very useful word-formation point.

• manĝi = to eat
• manĝo = a meal, or the act of eating
• manĝaĵo = food, something edible

The suffix -aĵ- often means a concrete thing made from, related to, or resulting from the root.

So here manĝaĵo is better than manĝo, because the sentence is talking about food items, not about the act of eating or a meal as an event.

Because la is the definite article, like English the.

Esperanto uses the same article la for all nouns. It does not change for gender, number, or case.

So:

• la budo = the booth
• la scenejo = the stage

If both things are definite, both can take la.

Kun means with.

In this sentence, kun manĝaĵo describes the booth: it is a booth with food. In other words, the phrase tells you what kind of booth it is.

This is very common Esperanto structure:

• viro kun ĉapelo = man with a hat
• domo kun ĝardeno = house with a garden
• budo kun manĝaĵo = booth with food

Apud means next to, beside, or by the side of. It suggests physical closeness, often right nearby.

So apud la scenejo means the booth is beside the stage or next to the stage.

This is a bit more specific than ĉe, which often just means at, by, or with, and can be more general.

• apud la scenejo = next to the stage
• ĉe la scenejo = at the stage / by the stage

If you want to emphasize that the booth is right beside it, apud is a good choice.

Because scenejo is the object of the preposition apud, and after a preposition, nouns normally do not take -n.

So:

• apud la scenejo = beside the stage

Also, this sentence describes a location, not movement toward a place. That is another reason there is no directional -n here.

And la budo does not take -n either, because it is the subject of the sentence.

Scenejo is a great example of Esperanto word-building:

• scen- = scene / stage-related root
• -ej- = place for something
• -o = noun ending

So scenejo literally means something like place for scenes or performances, which gives the meaning stage.

The suffix -ej- is very common:

• lernejo = school, place for learning
• kuirejo = kitchen, place for cooking
• dormejo = dormitory / sleeping place

Because of its position and the natural grouping of the sentence.

La budo kun manĝaĵo forms one noun phrase: the booth with food.

Then comes:

estas apud la scenejo = is beside the stage

So the structure is:

[La budo kun manĝaĵo] [estas apud la scenejo].

In other words, kun manĝaĵo is attached to budo, not to scenejo.

Estas is the present-tense form of esti, which means to be.

So:

• mi estas = I am
• vi estas = you are
• li/ŝi estas = he/she is
• ili estas = they are

Esperanto verbs do not change form for different persons. Estas always means present tense, no matter who the subject is.

Yes, to some extent.

The neutral word order here is:

La budo kun manĝaĵo estas apud la scenejo.

But Esperanto allows some flexibility, especially for style or emphasis. For example:

Apud la scenejo estas la budo kun manĝaĵo.

That would still be correct, but it emphasizes the location first.

Still, for learners, the original order is the clearest and most standard.

A few sounds here are especially important:

• ĝ sounds like the j in judge
• ĵ sounds like the s in measure
• c sounds like ts
• j sounds like English y

So roughly:

• manĝaĵo ≈ mahn-JAH-zho
• scenejo ≈ stseh-NEH-yo

Also remember that Esperanto stress normally falls on the second-to-last syllable:

• manĜAĵo
• sceNEjo