La etikedo por resendo estas en la skatolo.

to be

Breakdown of La etikedo por resendo estas en la skatolo.

• la: the
• en: in
• por: for

Questions & Answers about La etikedo por resendo estas en la skatolo.

Why is there la before both etikedo and skatolo?

La is the definite article in Esperanto, meaning the.

• la etikedo = the label
• la skatolo = the box

Esperanto has only one definite article, la, and it does not change for gender, number, or case in normal use. In this sentence, both things are understood to be specific: a particular label and a particular box.

What part of the sentence is the subject?

The subject is La etikedo por resendo.

That whole noun phrase means the return label or more literally the label for returning/sending back. It is the thing being described as being somewhere.

So the structure is:

• La etikedo por resendo = subject
• estas = is
• en la skatolo = location phrase, in the box

Why is estas used here?

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

So:

• estas = is / are / am, depending on context

In this sentence, it links the subject to its location:

• La etikedo ... estas en la skatolo = The label ... is in the box

Esperanto uses esti very regularly, much like English to be.