Fotobudo estas apud la ambasado.

A photo booth is next to the embassy.

Breakdown of Fotobudo estas apud la ambasado.

• esti: to be
• la: the
• apud: next to
• ambasado: the embassy

Questions & Answers about Fotobudo estas apud la ambasado.

Why is fotobudo one word? Is it a compound?

Yes. Fotobudo is a compound noun made from foto + budo.

• foto = photo
• budo = booth, stall, kiosk

Esperanto very often combines roots into a single word instead of using a longer phrase. The last part is usually the main idea, so a fotobudo is a kind of budo connected with fotoj.

This kind of word-building is extremely common in Esperanto.

Why is there no word for a before fotobudo?

Esperanto has no indefinite article. So a bare noun like fotobudo can mean:

• a photo booth
• photo booths in some contexts
• a noun in a general sense, depending on context

So Fotobudo estas apud la ambasado can naturally mean A photo booth is next to the embassy.

Esperanto only has one article: la, which means the.

Why does the sentence use estas?

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

So:

• mi estas = I am
• vi estas = you are
• li estas = he is
• ĝi estas = it is

Unlike English, Esperanto uses the same present-tense form estas for every subject. It does not change depending on whether the subject is singular or plural, first person or third person.