Questions & Answers about La hundo estas obeema.
What does la do in this sentence?
La is the definite article, so it means the.
- la hundo = the dog
- Esperanto uses just one form, la, for all nouns.
- It does not change for gender, number, or case.
So La hundo means the dog, not a dog.
Why does hundo end in -o?
In Esperanto, nouns end in -o.
So:
- hund- = the idea/root related to dog
- hundo = dog
This -o ending is one of the most basic grammar patterns in Esperanto, and it makes parts of speech very easy to recognize.
What kind of word is estas?
Estas is the present-tense form of esti, which means to be.
So:
- mi estas = I am
- vi estas = you are
- li/ŝi/ĝi estas = he/she/it is
In this sentence, estas links the subject la hundo with the description obeema.