Mi portas kompason en la tornistro.

I

Breakdown of Mi portas kompason en la tornistro.

• la: the
• en: in
• porti: to carry

Questions & Answers about Mi portas kompason en la tornistro.

Why does kompason end in -n?

The -n marks the direct object in Esperanto.

In Mi portas kompason en la tornistro:

• Mi = the subject, the person doing the action
• portas = carries / is carrying
• kompason = the thing being carried

So kompaso becomes kompason because it is what the verb acts on.

A very literal breakdown is:

• Mi = I
• portas = carry
• kompason = a compass

This -n ending is one of the most important grammar markers in Esperanto.

Why doesn’t tornistro also have -n?

Because en la tornistro is a prepositional phrase, not the direct object.

Here:

• kompason is the direct object, so it gets -n
• en la tornistro means in the backpack, and en already shows the relationship

So tornistro stays in its basic form.

A useful rule for beginners is:

• nouns as direct objects often take -n
• nouns after prepositions usually do not

In this sentence, the backpack is the place where the compass is.