La gipso restas sub la kaheloj.

In Esperanto, -o is the basic noun ending. So gipso is a noun meaning gypsum or plaster.

A native English speaker often has to get used to the fact that Esperanto marks parts of speech very consistently:

• -o = noun
• -a = adjective
• -e = adverb
• -i = infinitive verb

So gipso is clearly a thing or substance.

La is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• la gipso = the plaster
• la kaheloj = the tiles

Esperanto uses la much like English uses the, but with one big difference: it never changes form. There is no separate word for a or an in ordinary Esperanto.

It appears twice because both nouns are definite in the sentence.

Restas comes from the verb resti, which means to remain, to stay, or to be left.

So restas is the present-tense form:

• resti = to remain
• restas = remains / stays / is left

In this sentence, it gives the idea that the plaster is still there, under the tiles.

In Esperanto, all present-tense verbs end in -as.

For example:

• mi restas = I remain
• ĝi restas = it remains
• ili restas = they remain

Unlike English, the verb does not change depending on the subject. So you do not need separate forms like remain and remains. Restas works for every person and number.

The ending -j marks the plural in Esperanto.

So:

• kahelo = tile
• kaheloj = tiles

That means la kaheloj means the tiles.

This is one of the most regular parts of Esperanto grammar: add -j to make something plural.

Because this sentence describes location, not movement.

• sub la kaheloj = under the tiles
• sub la kahelojn would suggest motion to a position under the tiles

Esperanto often uses -n to show direction or motion toward a place. Without -n, it usually just shows where something is.

So here:

• La gipso restas sub la kaheloj. = The plaster remains under the tiles.

But if something moved there, you might say:

• Oni metis ĝin sub la kahelojn. = Someone put it under the tiles.

Yes, sub is a preposition, and it usually means under or below.

In many cases it works very much like English under:

• sub la tablo = under the table
• sub la tero = under the ground

The main thing to remember is the Esperanto pattern with motion:

• sub + noun = under, in a fixed location
• sub + noun + -n = to under, movement to that position

That distinction is often more explicit than in English.

Both can be possible in some contexts, but they are not exactly the same.

• estas = is
• restas = remains / stays

Restas adds the idea of continuing in that state or location. It suggests that the plaster is still there, perhaps after something else changed or was removed.

Compare:

• La gipso estas sub la kaheloj. = The plaster is under the tiles.
• La gipso restas sub la kaheloj. = The plaster remains under the tiles.

So restas is a bit more specific and expressive.

Here it is being used as a material or substance noun, like plaster in English.

That means it refers to the material in general, not to one separate item. Esperanto can use nouns this way very naturally.

So la gipso here means something like the plaster material rather than a plaster as a single object.

Yes, Esperanto word order is fairly flexible, although the most neutral order is:

La gipso restas sub la kaheloj.

You could also say:

• Sub la kaheloj restas la gipso.

That might sound more like Under the tiles remains the plaster, with extra emphasis on the location.

Because Esperanto marks grammar clearly with endings and prepositions, word order can be changed more freely than in English. Still, the basic subject-verb-prepositional phrase order is usually the easiest and most natural for learners.

A rough pronunciation is:

lah GEEP-soh RES-tahs soob lah kah-HEH-loy

A few helpful points:

• g is always hard, like in go
• i sounds like ee
• e sounds like e in bet
• a sounds like ah
• oj sounds roughly like oy
• stress is always on the second-to-last syllable

So:

• gipso → GIP-so
• restas → RES-tas
• kaheloj → ka-HE-loj

There is no adjective in this sentence, but it is useful to know the rule.

In Esperanto:

• verbs do not agree with the subject in person or number
• adjectives do agree with the noun in number and accusative case

So the verb stays restas no matter what:

• la gipso restas
• la kaheloj restas

If there were an adjective with kaheloj, it would need the plural ending -j:

• la blankaj kaheloj = the white tiles

That agreement system is regular, but the verb itself never changes to match the subject.