Vi estas amiko.

to be

Breakdown of Vi estas amiko.

• vi: you
• amiko: the friend

Questions & Answers about Vi estas amiko.

Why doesn’t the sentence use an indefinite article (like “a”) before amiko?

Esperanto does not have an indefinite article at all. You just say amiko without adding anything in front of it.

Why does vi mean both singular and plural “you”?

Modern Esperanto uses vi for both a single person and more than one person, just like modern English uses “you” in both situations.

Why is the verb always estas regardless of who the subject is?

In Esperanto, verbs in the present tense always end in -as, no matter the subject. So for “I am,” “you are,” or “they are,” you simply use estas.

How can I tell it’s a present-tense statement?

The ending -as on the verb estas indicates that it is present tense. Past tense would have -is (e.g., estis) and future tense would have -os (e.g., estos).

Does word order matter as much as in English?

Generally, Esperanto uses a subject-verb-object order, just like English. However, because of Esperanto’s flexible structure, you can sometimes change the order for emphasis without changing the basic meaning.