La konsulo defendas la petanton.

The -n marks the direct object in Esperanto.

• La konsulo = the consul → the one doing the action
• la petanton = the petitioner/applicant → the one receiving the action

So in La konsulo defendas la petanton, the consul is defending the petitioner.

If you changed it to La konsulon defendas la petanto, then the meaning would switch: The petitioner defends the consul.

La is the Esperanto definite article, meaning the.

So:

• la konsulo = the consul
• la petanton = the petitioner/applicant

Esperanto uses the same article la for all nouns:

• no change for gender
• no change for number
• no change for case

Even when a noun takes -n, the article stays la, not something else.

-as is the Esperanto ending for the present tense.

So:

• defendi = to defend
• defendas = defends / is defending

Esperanto verb endings are very regular:

• -as = present
• -is = past
• -os = future
• -us = conditional
• -u = command / jussive
• -i = infinitive

So defendas tells you the action is happening in the present.

No. Esperanto verbs do not change for person or number.

So you get:

• mi defendas = I defend
• vi defendas = you defend
• li defendas = he defends
• ili defendas = they defend

The verb form stays defendas every time.

That is much simpler than English, where we say I defend but he defends.

-o is the standard noun ending in Esperanto.

So:

• konsulo = consul
• petanto = petitioner/applicant

Almost every basic noun ends in -o. If you see a word ending in -o, it is very likely a noun.

Related endings include:

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

Petanto can be broken down into parts:

• pet- = the root, related to asking/requesting/seeking
• -ant- = active present participle idea, meaning someone who is doing the action
• -o = noun ending

So petanto literally means something like a person who is asking/requesting.

Depending on context, that may be translated as:

• petitioner
• applicant
• requester

This is a good example of how Esperanto builds words very systematically.

Yes, to some extent.

Because la petanton has the -n ending, you can still tell it is the object even if the order changes. For example:

• La konsulo defendas la petanton.
• La petanton defendas la konsulo.

Both mean the same thing: The consul defends the petitioner.

However, the first version is the most neutral and easiest for beginners: subject + verb + object.

Esperanto usually expresses tense directly in the verb ending, so no extra helping word is needed here.

English can say:

• The consul defends the petitioner
• The consul is defending the petitioner
• The consul does defend the petitioner

Esperanto uses defendas for the basic present-tense idea. If you want extra emphasis, context or additional words can provide it, but the simple sentence does not need anything like English does.

Look for the noun without the accusative -n.

In this sentence:

• La konsulo → no -n → subject
• la petanton → has -n → direct object

That is one of the most useful reading strategies in Esperanto. The -n ending often lets you understand the sentence structure very quickly.

Yes, but the meaning would become less definite.

Compare:

• La konsulo defendas la petanton. = The consul defends the petitioner.
• Konsulo defendas petanton. = A consul defends a petitioner or consuls defend petitioners, depending on context

Esperanto has only one article, la, for definiteness. There is no separate word for English a/an. Indefinite meaning is usually left unmarked.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

lah kon-SOO-lo deh-FEN-dahs lah peh-TAHN-ton

A few useful points:

• a sounds like ah
• e sounds like eh
• o sounds like oh
• stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable

So:

• konsulo → kon-SU-lo
• defendas → de-FEN-das
• petanton → pe-TAN-ton

Esperanto spelling and pronunciation are very regular, so once you learn the sounds, reading becomes much easier.