La ludpecoj staras sur la ludtabulo.

Because -j marks the plural in Esperanto.

• ludpeco = game piece
• ludpecoj = game pieces

In this sentence, there is more than one game piece, so -j is needed.

The ending -as shows the present tense.

So:

• staras = stands / are standing

Esperanto verbs do not change for person or number, so the same form is used with singular and plural subjects:

• la ludpeco staras = the game piece stands
• la ludpecoj staras = the game pieces stand / are standing

Esti means to be, while stari means to stand.

In Esperanto, stari is often used for something that is in an upright standing position, including objects. So La ludpecoj staras sur la ludtabulo is more specific than just saying they are on the board.

Compare:

• La ludpecoj estas sur la ludtabulo. = The game pieces are on the board.
• La ludpecoj staras sur la ludtabulo. = The game pieces are standing on the board.

The second version suggests their physical position more clearly.

Sur means on or on top of.

So:

• sur la ludtabulo = on the game board

It shows location. Since there is no movement involved, it stays just sur, not sur la ludtabulon.

La is the definite article, meaning the.

Esperanto uses only one definite article: la. It does not change for singular, plural, gender, or case in basic use.

So:

• la ludpecoj = the game pieces
• la ludtabulo = the game board

It appears twice because both nouns are definite.

It is a compound word:

• lud- = game
• peco = piece
• -j = plural

So ludpecoj literally means game-pieces.

Compound words are very common in Esperanto, and the last part is the main word. Here, the main noun is peco.

It is also a compound:

• lud- = game
• tabulo = board

So ludtabulo means game board.

Again, the last element is the main noun, so this is a kind of tabulo.

The -n ending usually marks the direct object, and it can also mark direction toward somewhere.

In this sentence:

• la ludpecoj is the subject, not the object
• sur la ludtabulo shows location, not motion toward the board

So no -n is needed.

Compare:

• La ludpecoj staras sur la ludtabulo. = The pieces are on the board.
• Mi metas la ludpecojn sur la ludtabulon. = I put the pieces onto the board.

In the second sentence, -n appears because ludpecojn is the object and ludtabulon shows motion onto the board.

The basic word order is straightforward:

• La ludpecoj = subject
• staras = verb
• sur la ludtabulo = prepositional phrase

So it follows a common subject–verb–location pattern.

Esperanto word order is fairly flexible, but this is the most natural neutral order. Because there is no -n marking on the subject, this normal order helps make the sentence immediately clear.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

lah lood-PEH-tsoy STAR-ahs soor lah lood-tah-BOO-lo

A few helpful pronunciation notes:

• j sounds like English y
• c sounds like ts
• stress is always on the second-to-last syllable:
  • ludPEcoj
  • STAras
  • ludtaBUlo

Usually, yes, or at least that they are in a standing position.

For board-game pieces, this is a very natural verb if the pieces stand on the board. Esperanto often uses position verbs more specifically than English does.

Common position verbs include:

• stari = stand
• sidi = sit
• kuŝi = lie

So Esperanto may describe the physical orientation of objects more directly than English often does.