Malkonektu la modemon antaŭ ol vi foriras.

The ending -u is the Esperanto form for commands, requests, wishes, or instructions.

So:

• malkonekti = to disconnect
• malkonektu = disconnect! / please disconnect

In this sentence, it gives an instruction. It can sound like a direct command or a polite instruction depending on context.

mal- makes a word into its opposite.

So here:

• konekti = connect
• malkonekti = disconnect

This is a very common Esperanto pattern. For example:

• bona = good
• malbona = bad

So malkonektu is built very logically: do the opposite of connecting.

The -n marks the direct object.

That means la modemon is the thing being disconnected.

In English, word order usually tells you this. In Esperanto, the -n ending makes it clear.

So:

• modemo = modem
• modemon = modem as the direct object

Because the action is being done to the modem, it gets -n.

la is Esperanto’s definite article, meaning the.

Here, la modemon means the modem — probably a specific modem that both speaker and listener already know about.

That sounds natural in a sentence like this, because it usually refers to the modem in the room, house, office, etc.

That is a very common question.

Yes, ol often means than, as in comparisons. But it also appears in a few set expressions, including antaŭ ol, which means before when followed by a full clause.

So:

• antaŭ la vespermanĝo = before dinner
• antaŭ ol vi foriras = before you leave

In other words, antaŭ ol is a fixed pattern you should learn as a unit.

Use antaŭ by itself before a noun or noun phrase.

Use antaŭ ol before a clause with a verb.

Examples:

• antaŭ la leciono = before the lesson
• antaŭ via foriro = before your departure
• antaŭ ol vi foriras = before you leave

So in this sentence, antaŭ ol is needed because vi foriras is a full clause.

iri means to go.

foriri means to go away, to leave, or to depart.

The prefix for- adds the idea of movement away.

So:

• iri = go
• foriri = go away / leave

That is why vi foriras is not just you go, but more specifically you leave.

Yes, foriros is possible if you want to mark the leaving more explicitly as future.

However, foriras is also very natural here. In instructions and time clauses, Esperanto often uses the present tense when the future meaning is already clear from context.

Here, the command and antaŭ ol already make the time relationship clear:

1. first disconnect the modem
2. then leave

So foriras does not sound strange.

In Esperanto, commands to you usually leave out the subject, just like in English.

Compare:

• English: Disconnect the modem
• Esperanto: Malkonektu la modemon

You can say Vi malkonektu la modemon if you want emphasis, but that is not the normal neutral way.

So the missing subject is simply understood.

Both.

Esperanto vi can mean:

• you singular
• you plural

It is also used for both informal and formal situations. Esperanto does not normally make a tu/vous-type distinction.

So the sentence could be addressed to one person or to several people, depending on context.

The basic word order is natural and straightforward:

• Malkonektu = disconnect
• la modemon = the modem
• antaŭ ol vi foriras = before you leave

Because Esperanto uses endings like -n, word order is somewhat flexible, but this order is the most ordinary and easiest to understand.

So this sentence sounds standard and idiomatic.

In Esperanto, the stress is always on the second-to-last syllable of each word.

So this sentence is stressed like this:

• mal-ko-NEK-tu
• la
• mo-DE-mon
• an-TAŬ
• ol
• vi
• fo-RI-ras

A rough pronunciation guide:

• malkonektu ≈ mahl-ko-NEK-too
• modemon ≈ মো-deh-mon? Better in English-style spelling: mo-DEH-mon
• antaŭ ≈ an-TOW
• foriras ≈ fo-REE-ras

The most important thing to remember is the regular stress pattern.