Ni marŝas laŭ la pado.

Ni means we.

In Esperanto, verb endings do not change for different persons, so marŝas could mean I walk, you walk, we walk, they walk, etc. Because of that, the subject pronoun is usually included when needed for clarity.

So in Ni marŝas laŭ la pado, Ni is important because it tells you that the subject is we.

In Esperanto, -as is the ending for the present tense.

So:

• marŝi = to walk, to march
• marŝas = walk / are walking
• marŝis = walked
• marŝos = will walk

That means Ni marŝas literally means we walk or we are walking, depending on context. Esperanto uses the same present-tense form for both ideas.

Usually, yes in a sentence like this. Marŝi means to walk or sometimes to march.

In Ni marŝas laŭ la pado, the natural meaning is simply we are walking. The exact English translation depends on context, but marŝi clearly refers to moving on foot.

Laŭ means something like along, following the line of, or in the direction of the length of.

So:

• laŭ la pado = along the path

It is used when movement follows something, such as a road, river, wall, coast, or path.

Examples:

• Ni marŝas laŭ la rivero. = We walk along the river.
• Li kuris laŭ la strato. = He ran along the street.

They mean different things.

• laŭ la pado = along the path
• sur la pado = on the path

If you want to emphasize that the movement follows the path, laŭ is the right choice.

If you only want to say where someone is physically located, sur may be more natural.

So:

• Ni marŝas laŭ la pado = We are walking along the path.
• Ni staras sur la pado = We are standing on the path.

Sometimes both can be possible, but the focus is different.

Because pado is not the direct object here.

The -n ending is commonly used for:

1. a direct object
2. motion toward something in some expressions

In this sentence, laŭ la pado is a prepositional phrase, and laŭ already shows the relationship. So normally there is no -n after it.

That is why we get:

• la pado
  not
• la padon

Pado means path, trail, or footpath.

It usually suggests a smaller walking route rather than a large road.

Related words:

• vojo = way, road, route
• strato = street
• pado = path, trail

So la pado is specifically the path.

La is the Esperanto definite article, meaning the.

So:

• pado = a path / path
• la pado = the path

Esperanto has only one article, la, and it does not change for gender, number, or case in this sentence.

A few pronunciation points are especially useful here:

• ŝ is pronounced like English sh
• ŭ is a very short w-like sound, usually in diphthongs such as aŭ

So:

• marŝas sounds roughly like MAR-shas
• laŭ sounds roughly like low (rhyming with English cow only in spelling? no—better: like la-oo blended quickly, closer to lau in loud without the final d)

Also remember that Esperanto stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable:

• MAR-ŝas
• PA-do

Yes, Esperanto word order is fairly flexible, though some orders sound more natural than others.

The normal order here is:

• Ni marŝas laŭ la pado.

You could also say:

• Laŭ la pado ni marŝas.

That puts more focus on along the path.

Because Esperanto marks grammar clearly with endings and prepositions, word order can move around more than in English. Still, the basic subject + verb + rest order is the most neutral and common.

It can mean either.

Esperanto does not normally distinguish between the simple present and the present progressive the way English does.

So:

• Ni marŝas = we walk or we are walking

Context tells you which English translation sounds best. In a sentence like this, we are walking along the path is often the most natural translation.

Yes. Besides the physical sense of along, laŭ can also mean according to.

For example:

• Laŭ mi, tio estas bona ideo. = According to me / In my opinion, that is a good idea.
• Laŭ la mapo, la vilaĝo estas proksime. = According to the map, the village is near.

So laŭ has both a spatial meaning and a more abstract according to meaning. In Ni marŝas laŭ la pado, it is clearly the spatial one.