Breakdown of Kvankam la labortempo estas longa, ŝi volas plentempan postenon, ne partatempan.
esti
to be
la
the
voli
to want
ne
not
Questions & Answers about Kvankam la labortempo estas longa, ŝi volas plentempan postenon, ne partatempan.
What does kvankam do in this sentence?
Kvankam introduces a concessive clause, like although or even though in English.
So:
- Kvankam la labortempo estas longa = although the working time is long
A useful point: kvankam does not force any special verb form. Esperanto just uses the normal tense you need. Here it is estas because the statement is in the present.
Why is there a comma after longa?
The comma separates the kvankam clause from the main clause.
- Kvankam la labortempo estas longa, = subordinate clause
- ŝi volas plentempan postenon... = main clause
This is very similar to English punctuation in a sentence like Although the hours are long, she wants a full-time position.
Is labortempo one word? How is it built?
Yes. Labortempo is a compound word:
- labor- = work
- tempo = time
So labortempo literally means work-time, that is, working time, work hours, or hours of work, depending on context.
Compound words are extremely common in Esperanto, and the last part is usually the main idea. Here the main idea is tempo, a kind of time.
Why is it la labortempo and not just ?