La butiko proponis kompenson pro la malfrua livero.

Because kompenson is the direct object of proponis.

In Esperanto, the thing directly affected by the verb usually takes the accusative ending -n.

• proponis = offered / proposed
• kompenso = compensation
• kompenson = compensation (as the direct object)

So in La butiko proponis kompenson, the shop is doing the offering, and compensation is what was offered.

-is is the Esperanto ending for the past tense.

• proponas = offers / is offering
• proponis = offered
• proponos = will offer

So La butiko proponis kompenson means the offering happened in the past.

Pro means because of, due to, or on account of.

So:

• pro la malfrua livero = because of the late delivery

It explains the reason for the compensation.

Be careful not to confuse pro with English for in every context. Esperanto pro specifically expresses cause or reason.

La is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• la malfrua livero = the late delivery
• malfrua livero = a late delivery / late delivery in a more general sense

Esperanto has only one article, la, and it does not change for gender, number, or case.

In this sentence, la suggests a specific delayed delivery that both speaker and listener can identify.

Malfrua comes from:

• frua = early
• mal- = opposite

So:

• frua = early
• malfrua = late

This is a very common Esperanto pattern. The prefix mal- creates the opposite idea.

Examples:

• bona = good → malbona = bad
• granda = big → malgranda = small
• fermi = to close → malfermi = to open

So malfrua livero literally means a not-early delivery, i.e. a late delivery.

Because malfrua is an adjective, and Esperanto adjectives end in -a.

Here it describes livero:

• malfrua = late
• livero = delivery

Since it modifies a noun, it must be in adjective form.

Also, adjectives in Esperanto agree with the nouns they describe in number and case. Here:

• la malfrua livero = singular, no accusative
• so malfrua stays -a

If the noun changed, the adjective would change too:

• la malfruaj liveroj = the late deliveries
• la malfruan liveron = the late delivery (as a direct object)

Livero is the noun delivery, and it is related to the verb liveri = to deliver.

This is a very regular Esperanto pattern:

• liveri = to deliver
• livero = delivery

The ending changes the word class:

• -i = verb infinitive
• -o = noun

Many Esperanto words work like this:

• pagi = to pay → pago = payment
• aĉeti = to buy → aĉeto = purchase
• helpi = to help → helpo = help, assistance

Because livero is not the direct object of the main verb.

In this sentence:

• La butiko = the subject
• proponis = the verb
• kompenson = the direct object

The phrase pro la malfrua livero is a prepositional phrase introduced by pro. In Esperanto, prepositions normally govern the basic form, not the accusative.

So:

• pro la malfrua livero = because of the late delivery

No -n is needed on livero here.

Yes, Esperanto word order is fairly flexible because endings show the grammatical roles.

The neutral order is:

• La butiko proponis kompenson pro la malfrua livero.

But other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:

• Pro la malfrua livero, la butiko proponis kompenson.

This puts more focus on the reason first: Because of the late delivery, the shop offered compensation.

Even with some flexibility, the standard subject–verb–object order is the easiest and most natural for learners.

Proponi often means to propose or to offer in the sense of putting something forward.

So proponis kompenson means the shop offered compensation.

A learner might also wonder about oferti:

• proponi = to propose, suggest, offer
• oferti = to offer

In many contexts, both can work, but proponi kompenson feels like proposing compensation as a solution, while oferti kompenson can sound a bit more like simply offering compensation.

So the sentence is perfectly natural, but La butiko ofertis kompenson... could also be possible depending on nuance.

Butiko usually means shop or store, especially a retail business.

It often suggests a business selling goods, sometimes a smaller or more specific kind of store than a large general vendejo.

In this sentence, La butiko is simply the business that offered the compensation.

Depending on context, Esperanto might also use:

• vendejo = shop, sales place
• firmao = company
• komercisto = merchant / trader

But butiko is a normal and clear word here.

Malfrua livero most naturally means late delivery or delayed delivery, not necessarily slow delivery in the sense of taking a long time in transit.

It focuses on being later than expected.

If you wanted to emphasize slowness rather than lateness, you might choose a different wording depending on context. But as written, a learner should understand malfrua here as late/delayed.

Yes, very regularly:

• -o = noun
• -a = adjective
• -e = adverb
• -i = infinitive verb

In this sentence:

• butiko = noun
• kompenso = noun
• livero = noun
• malfrua = adjective
• proponis = verb in past tense

This regularity is one of Esperanto’s biggest advantages for learners. Once you know the endings, it becomes much easier to recognize each word’s role in the sentence.