Mi levas la selon.

The -n ending marks the direct object in Esperanto.

In Mi levas la selon, the thing being lifted is the saddle, so selo becomes selon.

• Mi = I
• levas = lift / am lifting
• la selon = the saddle

This -n is called the accusative ending. It often shows what receives the action.

Compare:

• Mi levas la selon. = I lift the saddle.
• La selo estas peza. = The saddle is heavy.

In the second sentence, selo is not a direct object, so there is no -n.

In Esperanto, verbs have very regular endings.

• -i = infinitive, like to lift
• -as = present tense
• -is = past tense
• -os = future tense
• -us = conditional
• -u = command / wish

So:

• levi = to lift
• levas = lift / am lifting
• levis = lifted
• levos = will lift

That is why the sentence uses levas: it is a present-tense statement.

Esperanto verbs do not change according to the subject.

That means the verb ending stays the same no matter who does the action:

• Mi levas = I lift
• Vi levas = you lift
• Li levas = he lifts
• Ŝi levas = she lifts
• Ili levas = they lift

This is much simpler than English. You do not need a special form like English lifts for he/she/it.

La is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• la selo = the saddle
• selo = a saddle / saddle in general

Esperanto has no indefinite article. There is no separate word for a or an.

So:

• Mi levas selon. could mean I lift a saddle or just I lift saddle(s) depending on context.
• Mi levas la selon. means I lift the saddle, a specific saddle.

Yes, Esperanto word order is fairly flexible, largely because the -n ending shows the direct object.

The most neutral order is:

• Mi levas la selon.

But these are also possible:

• La selon mi levas.
• Levas mi la selon. (less neutral, more stylistic)

Because selon has -n, you can still tell that it is the object.

Even so, learners should usually start with the normal pattern:

subject + verb + object

So Mi levas la selon is the best basic form to learn first.

In Esperanto, mi is the pronoun for I. Esperanto does not change personal pronouns the same way English does in this situation.

The role of nouns is often shown by endings like -n, but the subject pronoun remains mi:

• Mi levas... = I lift...

If you want to say me as a direct object, you add -n:

• Li vidas min. = He sees me.

So:

• mi = I
• min = me

Yes. In Esperanto, nouns normally end in -o.

So:

• selo = saddle
• hundo = dog
• domo = house

If the noun is a direct object, you add -n:

• selo → selon

This regular noun system is one of the main patterns in Esperanto:

• -o = noun
• -a = adjective
• -e = adverb

A simple approximate pronunciation is:

mee LEH-vahs lah SEH-lon

A few helpful points:

• mi sounds like mee
• e is like e in bed, but often a bit clearer and tenser
• selo has stress on the second-to-last syllable: SE-lo
• selon also keeps the stress on the second-to-last syllable: SE-lon
• levas is stressed LE-vas

In Esperanto, the stress is almost always on the next-to-last syllable.

Yes, it can be grammatically correct.

• Mi levas selon. = I lift a saddle / I lift saddle(s), depending on context
• Mi levas la selon. = I lift the saddle

The difference is that la makes the noun specific.

So if both speaker and listener know which saddle is meant, la is natural.

Yes.

Esperanto -as covers the general present tense, so it can correspond to several English forms depending on context:

• I lift
• I am lifting
• sometimes even I do lift

So Mi levas la selon can mean either:

• I lift the saddle
• I am lifting the saddle

Context tells you which English translation fits best.

Usually, levi means to lift/raise something, so it is commonly used transitively, with a direct object:

• Mi levas la skatolon. = I lift the box.
• Ŝi levas la manon. = She raises her hand.

If you want the idea of rising or getting up without directly acting on an object, Esperanto often uses a different form or a different verb, depending on the meaning.

So in Mi levas la selon, the structure is very normal: subject + transitive verb + direct object.