La satelito orbitas la planedon.

the

Breakdown of La satelito orbitas la planedon.

• planedo: the planet
• satelito: the satellite
• orbiti: to orbit

Questions & Answers about La satelito orbitas la planedon.

Why does satelito end in -o?

In Esperanto, -o marks a noun. So satelito means satellite as a noun.

This is one of the most basic patterns in Esperanto:

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

So:

• satelito = a satellite
• planedo = a planet

Why does planedon have an extra -n at the end?

The -n marks the direct object. In this sentence, the satellite is doing the action, and the planet is receiving it, so la planedon is the direct object.

• La satelito = the subject
• orbitas = orbits
• la planedon = the direct object

Without the -n, la planedo would sound like another subject, not the thing being orbited.

If English already uses word order to show the object, why does Esperanto also use -n?

Because Esperanto uses the accusative ending to show grammatical role clearly. English mostly depends on word order, but Esperanto can mark the object directly with -n.

That gives Esperanto more flexibility. For example, these mean the same thing:

• La satelito orbitas la planedon.
• La planedon orbitas la satelito.

The -n tells you that la planedon is still the object, even if it comes first.