La ŝuldanto ricevis prunton.

La is the definite article in Esperanto, like the in English. It shows that the speaker means a specific debtor, or one already known from the context.

Esperanto has only one article of this kind: la. It does not change for gender, number, or case.

Ŝuldanto is built from:

• ŝuldi = to owe
• -ant- = active present participle, meaning someone doing the action
• -o = noun ending

So ŝuldanto literally means someone who owes, which is why it is translated as debtor.

In Esperanto, -is marks the past tense.

So:

• ricevas = receives / is receiving
• ricevis = received
• ricevos = will receive

That is why ricevis shows that the action happened in the past.

Yes. Esperanto verbs do not change according to person or number.

So you get:

• mi ricevis = I received
• li ricevis = he received
• ili ricevis = they received

The verb form stays the same.

The -n marks the direct object, called the accusative.

Here, prunton is the thing that was received, so it is the direct object of ricevis.

Compare:

• La ŝuldanto ricevis prunton.
• subject: la ŝuldanto
• verb: ricevis
• direct object: prunton

Without the -n, the sentence would be ungrammatical in normal Esperanto.

Because Esperanto has no indefinite article like a or an.

A bare noun such as prunto can mean a loan or just loan depending on context. After adding the accusative ending, it becomes prunton.

So:

• prunton = a loan
• la prunton = the loan

In this sentence, the idea is simply a loan, not a specific previously identified loan.

Yes, more easily than in English, because the -n on prunton clearly marks it as the object.

The normal order is:

• La ŝuldanto ricevis prunton.

But other orders are possible, for example:

• Prunton ricevis la ŝuldanto.

That still means the debtor received a loan, though it gives a different emphasis. The first version is the most neutral and natural for learners.

Ŝ is pronounced like sh in ship.

So ŝuldanto begins with a sh sound, not an ordinary English s sound.

A rough pronunciation guide for the whole sentence is:

• la shool-DAN-toh ree-TSEE-vis PROON-ton

Also remember that Esperanto usually stresses the second-to-last syllable:

• ŝulDANto
• riCEvis
• prunTON

No. It is a perfectly good way to express the idea, especially when focusing on obtaining a loan.

A related verb is pruntepreni, which means to borrow. So a similar sentence could be:

• La ŝuldanto prunteprenis monon.

That would mean the debtor borrowed money. The version with ricevis prunton specifically uses the noun prunto and expresses the idea as received a loan.

Usually it refers to a person or organization that owes something. In many contexts, English would translate it as debtor.

Because Esperanto noun forms are flexible, it can refer to any entity that owes a debt, not only an individual human being. The exact interpretation depends on context.