La pedalo turnas la ĉenon.

In Esperanto, -o is the noun ending.

So:

• pedalo = pedal
• ĉeno = chain

Almost all basic nouns end in -o. This makes it easy to recognize what kind of word you are looking at.

Notice that ĉenon still has the noun ending -o; it just also has an extra -n after it for another grammatical reason.

The -n marks the direct object of the verb — the thing being acted on.

In La pedalo turnas la ĉenon:

• la pedalo = the pedal → the thing doing the action
• la ĉenon = the chain → the thing being turned

So ĉenon has -n because the chain is receiving the action.

This is called the accusative ending.

Esperanto verbs always use fixed endings for tense, no matter who the subject is.

• -as = present tense
• -is = past tense
• -os = future tense
• -us = conditional
• -u = command/jussive
• -i = infinitive

So:

• turni = to turn
• turnas = turns / is turning / does turn

Unlike English, Esperanto does not change the verb for I/you/he/she/it/they. The same form is used for all subjects.

La is the Esperanto word for the.

So:

• la pedalo = the pedal
• la ĉeno = the chain

A few useful points:

• la never changes form
• there is no separate word for a/an
• Esperanto often leaves the article out when English would use a/an

So pedalo could mean a pedal or simply pedal, depending on context, but la pedalo specifically means the pedal.

Yes, more easily than in English, because the -n shows which noun is the object.

So these both mean essentially the same thing:

• La pedalo turnas la ĉenon.
• La ĉenon turnas la pedalo.

In both sentences, ĉenon is still the object because it has -n.

That said, the normal and most natural order is usually:

subject + verb + object

So La pedalo turnas la ĉenon is the most straightforward version.

Ĉ is pronounced like ch in church.

So ĉeno sounds roughly like CHEH-no.

A few pronunciation notes for this sentence:

• ĉ = ch
• e = like e in met
• stress in Esperanto usually falls on the second-to-last syllable

So:

• pedalo → pe-DA-lo
• turnas → TUR-nas
• ĉenon → ĈE-non

Yes. In this sentence, turnas is being used transitively, meaning it takes a direct object.

• La pedalo turnas la ĉenon = the pedal turns the chain

That is why la ĉenon appears as the direct object.

A useful contrast:

• La pedalo turniĝas. = The pedal is turning / turns itself.
• La pedalo turnas la ĉenon. = The pedal turns the chain.

So turniĝi often expresses the intransitive idea more clearly.

Because Esperanto verbs do not agree with the subject in number or person.

English has:

• I turn
• he turns
• they turn

Esperanto uses the same present-tense form for all of them:

• mi turnas
• li turnas
• ili turnas

So turnas stays the same whether the subject is singular or plural.

To make a noun plural in Esperanto, add -j.

• pedalo = pedal

• pedaloj = pedals

• ĉeno = chain
• ĉenoj = chains

If a plural noun is also a direct object, it gets both endings:

• ĉenojn = chains (as a direct object)

For example:

• La pedaloj turnas la ĉenon. = The pedals turn the chain.
• La pedalo turnas la ĉenojn. = The pedal turns the chains.

Because Esperanto is designed to make sentence structure very clear and flexible.

The -n ending helps show immediately which noun is the object, even if the word order changes. This can make sentences easier to understand and allows speakers to move words for emphasis without creating confusion.

In your sentence:

• pedalo = subject
• ĉenon = object

The -n tells you that ĉenon is the thing being turned.