Questions & Answers about Ni trinkas akvon ĉe la fonto.
Why is trinkas used here, and what does -as mean?
The ending -as marks the present tense in Esperanto.
So trinki = to drink, and trinkas = drink / are drinking.
In Esperanto, the verb ending already shows the tense, so you do not need an extra word like do, is, or are.
That means Ni trinkas can mean:
- We drink
- We are drinking
The exact meaning depends on context.
Why does akvon end in -n?
The -n ending marks the direct object. That is the thing directly affected by the verb.
In this sentence:
- Ni = the subject, the ones doing the action
- trinkas = the action
- akvon = the thing being drunk
So akvo means water, but akvon means water as the direct object.
This is called the accusative ending.
Why is there no la before akvon?