Konsulo kontrolas fingrospuron kaj pasportfoton.

and

Breakdown of Konsulo kontrolas fingrospuron kaj pasportfoton.

• kontroli: to check
• konsulo: the consul
• fingrospuro: the fingerprint

Questions & Answers about Konsulo kontrolas fingrospuron kaj pasportfoton.

Why do fingrospuron and pasportfoton end in -n?

Because they are the direct objects of the verb kontrolas. In Esperanto, the direct object usually takes the accusative ending -n.

So in this sentence:

• konsulo = the subject, the one doing the action
• kontrolas = checks / is checking
• fingrospuron and pasportfoton = the things being checked

A useful pattern is:

• konsulo kontrolas = a consul checks
• konsulo kontrolas fingrospuron = a consul checks a fingerprint

Since both nouns after kaj are objects, both get -n.

What does -as in kontrolas mean?

-as is the present-tense verb ending in Esperanto.

So kontrolas means checks or is checking, depending on context.

Esperanto verbs do not change for person or number, so:

• mi kontrolas = I check
• vi kontrolas = you check
• li kontrolas = he checks
• ili kontrolas = they check

The verb form stays kontrolas every time.

Why is there no word for a or the in the sentence?