Breakdown of La roverso estas el kotono.
esti
to be
la
the
el
of
roverso
the lapel; turned-back garment edge
Questions & Answers about La roverso estas el kotono.
Why is la used here?
La means the. It shows that the speaker is talking about a specific roverso, not just any one.
Esperanto has only one definite article, la, and it does not change for gender or number.
What does estas mean?
Estas is the present-tense form of esti, meaning to be.
A useful point for English speakers: Esperanto verbs do not change according to the subject. So you say:
- mi estas = I am
- vi estas = you are
- li estas = he is
- ili estas = they are
So estas always stays the same in the present tense.
Why do roverso and kotono both end in -o?
Because -o is the normal noun ending in Esperanto.
So:
- roverso is a noun
- kotono is also a noun
This is one of the most regular features of Esperanto: the ending tells you the word class.
Why is it el kotono?