Ni kune inspektis la apartamenton.

In Esperanto, -is marks the past tense.

So:

• inspekti = to inspect
• inspektas = inspects / is inspecting
• inspektis = inspected
• inspektos = will inspect

So Ni kune inspektis la apartamenton tells you the action happened in the past.

The -n ending marks the direct object in Esperanto.

Here, we are doing the action, and the apartment is the thing being inspected. That makes la apartamenton the direct object.

Breakdown:

• apartamento = apartment
• apartamenton = apartment + direct object ending

This is one of the most important features of Esperanto grammar. The -n often answers the question what?

• Ni inspektis kion? → la apartamenton

La is the Esperanto definite article, meaning the.

So:

• apartamenton = an apartment / apartment (depending on context)
• la apartamenton = the apartment

Esperanto has only one article, la, and it does not change for gender, number, or case. Even when the noun takes -n, the article stays the same:

• la apartamento
• la apartamenton

Kune means together.

In this sentence, it tells you that we inspected the apartment together, not separately.

It comes from the idea of being with one another / jointly. You will often see it in sentences like:

• Ni manĝis kune. = We ate together.
• Ili laboris kune. = They worked together.

Usually, no. In Esperanto, you normally do include the subject pronoun.

That is because verb endings show tense, but not person clearly enough to leave the subject out in normal usage.

For example:

• inspektis just means inspected
• by itself, it does not tell you whether it was I, you, we, they, etc.

So Esperanto usually says:

• Mi inspektis = I inspected
• Ni inspektis = We inspected
• Ili inspektis = They inspected

Yes. Esperanto word order is fairly flexible, especially because the -n ending helps show what is the object.

So all of these are possible:

• Ni kune inspektis la apartamenton.
• Ni inspektis la apartamenton kune.
• La apartamenton ni kune inspektis.

They all mean roughly the same thing, though the emphasis can change.

The most neutral word order is usually the original one: subject + adverb + verb + object

Yes, its position is natural. Kune can often move around in the sentence.

For example:

• Ni kune inspektis la apartamenton.
• Ni inspektis kune la apartamenton.
• Ni inspektis la apartamenton kune.

All are understandable. The first one sounds very natural and clearly connects kune with the whole action.

It has three parts:

• apartament- = the root
• -o = noun ending
• -n = direct object ending

So:

• apartamento = apartment
• apartamenton = apartment as the direct object

This kind of layering is very common in Esperanto, and it is helpful to get used to spotting endings separately.

It is a normal Esperanto verb, but it is also clearly an international-style word, similar to English inspect.

That is very common in Esperanto. Many roots are recognizable to speakers of European languages.

Here:

• inspekti = to inspect
• inspektis = inspected

Depending on context, Esperanto speakers might also use other verbs like ekzameni (to examine) or kontroli (to check), but inspekti is perfectly fine.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• Ni ≈ nee
• kune ≈ KOO-neh
• inspektis ≈ in-SPEK-tees
• la ≈ lah
• apartamenton ≈ ah-par-tah-MEN-ton

A few useful pronunciation points:

• Esperanto vowels are consistent:
  • a = ah
  • e = eh
  • i = ee
  • o = oh
  • u = oo
• Stress is usually on the second-to-last syllable:
  • ku-ne
  • in-spek-tis
  • a-par-ta-men-ton

So the stressed syllables are:

• kuNE
• inspekTIS
• apartaMENton

No. The grammar points clearly to the apartment as the thing being inspected.

That is because la apartamenton has the -n direct object ending, so it is the object of inspektis.

If the sentence were about inspecting one another, it would need different wording, such as something with unu la alian (one another).

So the sentence straightforwardly means that we jointly inspected the apartment.