Breakdown of La bestkuracisto kontrolis la hundidon.
la
the
kontroli
to check
hundido
the puppy
bestkuracisto
the veterinarian
Questions & Answers about La bestkuracisto kontrolis la hundidon.
Why does the sentence start with la?
La is the Esperanto definite article, equivalent to English the.
So La bestkuracisto means the veterinarian / the vet, not just a veterinarian.
A few useful points:
- la does not change for gender, number, or case
- it is always just la
- Esperanto has no indefinite article, so bestkuracisto by itself could mean a veterinarian or just veterinarian depending on context
What does bestkuracisto mean literally, and why is it one word?
Bestkuracisto is a compound word:
- besto = animal
- kuraci = to treat medically
- -ist- = a person professionally associated with something
- -o = noun ending
So:
- besto + kurac + ist + o
- literally: animal-treatment professional
- natural English meaning: veterinarian / vet
Esperanto very commonly builds words this way, and compounds are usually written as one word.
What does the ending -is in kontrolis mean?