La kostumo estas apud la rekvizito.

La is the Esperanto definite article, meaning the. It is used before both kostumo and rekvizito because the sentence is talking about a specific costume and a specific prop.

Unlike English, Esperanto has only one definite article: la. It does not change for gender, number, or case in form.

In Esperanto, nouns normally end in -o.

So:

• kostumo = costume
• rekvizito = prop

This -o ending is one of the most basic and regular parts of Esperanto grammar. If you see a word ending in -o, it is very often a noun.

Estas is the present-tense form of esti, which means to be.

So:

• mi estas = I am
• ĝi estas = it is
• la kostumo estas = the costume is

Esperanto verbs do not change according to the subject. So estas works for I am, you are, he is, they are, and so on, as long as the tense is present.

Apud means next to, beside, or nearby, depending on context.

In this sentence, it shows location: the costume is positioned near the prop.

It is a preposition, so it introduces a phrase telling you where something is:

• apud la tablo = next to the table
• apud la pordo = by the door

There is no -n here because la rekvizito is the object of the preposition apud, not a direct object.

In Esperanto, prepositions normally take a noun without -n:

• apud la rekvizito
• sur la tablo
• en la ĉambro

You often see -n on a noun when it is the direct object of a verb, but not normally after a preposition expressing location.

Yes. Esperanto word order is fairly flexible because the grammar is marked clearly.

The most neutral order here is:

• La kostumo estas apud la rekvizito.

But you could also say:

• Apud la rekvizito estas la kostumo.

That version puts more focus on the location. Both are grammatical, though the first is the most straightforward for learners.

Esperanto has no indefinite article like a or an.

So if you want an indefinite meaning, you usually just leave out la:

• Kostumo estas apud rekvizito.

However, in real usage, bare singular nouns can sometimes sound a bit general or context-dependent in ways that differ from English. Very often the surrounding context makes the meaning clear. The key point is that Esperanto has la for the, but no separate word for a/an.

It looks similar, but here rekvizito means a theatrical prop, not something required.

So this is a word learners may want to memorize carefully, because its shape may suggest the wrong English meaning. In this sentence, it refers to an object used in a performance or on a set.

A simple pronunciation guide would be:

la kos-TU-mo ES-tas A-pud la rek-vi-ZI-to

A few helpful points:

• Stress in Esperanto is almost always on the second-to-last syllable.
• Each vowel is pronounced clearly.
• The u in kostumo is like oo in food.
• The e in estas is like e in met.
• The i in rekvizito is like ee in see.

Sometimes, but it changes the meaning a little.

For example:

• ĉe often means at or by, sometimes more generally
• proksime de means close to
• apud specifically suggests beside or next to

So apud is a good choice when you want the idea of something being right next to something else.

No. Apud is a preposition, not a verb.

So you say:

• La kostumo estas apud la rekvizito.

Not something like:

• La kostumo apudas la rekviziton.

If you want to express the idea of being nearby without using a full prepositional phrase, Esperanto also has related forms such as apude, meaning nearby.

You would make the nouns plural with -j:

• La kostumoj estas apud la rekvizito. = The costumes are next to the prop.
• La kostumo estas apud la rekvizitoj. = The costume is next to the props.
• La kostumoj estas apud la rekvizitoj. = The costumes are next to the props.

This is another very regular feature of Esperanto: -j marks the plural.