Ni ne veturis ĝis la bremso funkciis.

Ĝis means until or up to the time when.

So Ni ne veturis ĝis la bremso funkciis has the same basic pattern as English We didn’t drive until the brake worked. The first action, not driving, continued up to the point when the brake worked.

In Esperanto, ĝis can introduce a time clause by itself, so ĝis la bremso funkciis is normal.

You can also sometimes see ĝis kiam, but it is often unnecessary. Esperanto usually prefers the simpler form when the meaning is already clear.

So:

• ĝis la bremso funkciis = normal and natural
• ĝis kiam la bremso funkciis = possible, but not required

Ne normally goes before the word or part of the sentence that it negates.

Here it negates the verb phrase veturis, so:

• Ni ne veturis = We did not travel/drive

This is the standard placement for sentence negation in Esperanto.

Veturi means to travel/go by vehicle, so veturis means traveled/went by vehicle in the past.

Depending on context, English may translate it as:

• drove
• rode
• traveled by car/bus/train

It is a broader word than English drive. It does not always focus on being the person controlling the vehicle.

If you specifically want to drive a vehicle as the driver, Esperanto often uses stiri for to steer/drive.

Because both situations are being described as past events.

Esperanto usually uses the tense that matches the actual time of each event:

• veturis = we traveled/drove
• funkciis = the brake worked / was functioning

The clause after ĝis is also in the past because the brake functioning is part of the same past-time situation.

La means the. It shows that this is a specific, known brake: the relevant brake in the situation.

So la bremso means:

• the brake
• not just a brake in general

In context, this would usually mean the brake of the vehicle being discussed.

Esperanto uses the singular here because it can refer to:

• one specific brake, or
• the braking mechanism as a single system

English often says the brakes for a car, but Esperanto may use la bremso when thinking of the brake system as one thing.

If you wanted to talk about multiple brakes individually, you could say la bremsoj.

By itself, funkciis means worked or was functioning.

It does not specifically emphasize the beginning of the action. If you want to stress started working or began to function, Esperanto often uses ekfunkciis.

So:

• la bremso funkciis = the brake worked / was functioning
• la bremso ekfunkciis = the brake started working

In your sentence, funkciis is enough if the important idea is simply that the brake was finally in working condition.

Not necessarily the driver. Ni veturis can simply mean we went by vehicle.

So the sentence could refer to:

• driving ourselves, or
• riding in a vehicle

The exact role depends on context. If you want to make it clear that we were driving the vehicle, Esperanto can use a more specific verb such as stiris.