Breakdown of La ŝparkonto pagas interezon.
la
the
pagi
to pay
interezo
the interest on borrowed or saved money
ŝparkonto
the savings account
Questions & Answers about La ŝparkonto pagas interezon.
What does ŝparkonto literally mean, and how is it built?
Ŝparkonto is a compound word:
- ŝpar- = from ŝpari, to save
- konto = account
So ŝparkonto literally means saving-account, i.e. savings account.
This kind of compound is very common in Esperanto. The main idea usually comes at the end, so a ŝparkonto is a kind of konto.
Why is there la at the beginning?
La is the Esperanto definite article, meaning the.
So:
- la ŝparkonto = the savings account
A few useful things about la:
- it never changes form
- it does not agree with gender
- it does not change for singular or plural
So unlike in some languages, you always just use la.
Why does pagas end in -as?