Gravito tenas la sateliton en orbito.

the

Breakdown of Gravito tenas la sateliton en orbito.

• en: in
• teni: to hold; keep
• orbito: the orbit

Questions & Answers about Gravito tenas la sateliton en orbito.

Why does sateliton end in -n?

The -n ending marks the direct object in Esperanto.

In this sentence, gravito is the thing doing the action, and la sateliton is the thing being affected by the action. So:

• gravito = subject
• la sateliton = direct object

That -n is one of the main ways Esperanto shows who does what to whom.

How do I know that gravito is the subject?

Because gravito has no -n, while sateliton does.

Esperanto does not rely as heavily on word order as English does. The subject is normally the noun without the accusative ending, and the direct object usually has -n.

So here:

• Gravito = the thing that holds
• la sateliton = the thing being held

What does tenas mean here exactly?

Teni literally means to hold, but in sentences like this it often has the broader sense of keep or maintain.

So tenas la sateliton en orbito means that gravity is holding/keeping the satellite in that state or position.

This is very similar to English expressions like:

• hold something in place
• keep something in orbit

Why is it en orbito and not en la orbito?