Questions & Answers about Mi pagis kvin dolarojn.
Why is pagis ending in -is?
In Esperanto, -is marks the past tense. So pagis means paid.
A few basic tense endings are:
- -as = present: pagas = pay / is paying
- -is = past: pagis = paid
- -os = future: pagos = will pay
So Mi pagis means I paid.
What is the base form of pagis?
The dictionary form is pagi, which means to pay.
Esperanto verbs are very regular:
- pagi = to pay
- mi pagas = I pay / I am paying
- mi pagis = I paid
- mi pagos = I will pay
So pagis is just the past-tense form of pagi.
Why does dolarojn end in -ojn?
Because it has two endings added to the noun dolaro:
- -j = plural
- -n = accusative
So:
- dolaro = dollar
- dolaroj = dollars
- dolarojn = dollars as the direct object
In Mi pagis kvin dolarojn, the thing being paid is five dollars, so Esperanto marks that noun phrase as the direct object with -n.