Vi havas hundon.

You have a dog.

Breakdown of Vi havas hundon.

• vi: you
• havi: to have

Questions & Answers about Vi havas hundon.

Why does hundon end with -on?

In Esperanto, the -n ending marks the direct object of the verb. Since the dog is what you have, hundon needs that -n to show it’s receiving the action.

Why do we use havas instead of havi?

In Esperanto, the infinitive form of the verb is havi (meaning to have), while havas indicates present tense (meaning have/has in English).

Why is there no article for hundon?

Esperanto doesn't use an indefinite article like a in English. If you need a definite article, you would use la, but for an indefinite sense (just a dog), no article is needed.

Does vi refer only to one person?

Vi is used for both singular and plural. Esperanto has a single form for you, unlike English which uses you for singular and plural or older forms like thou.

Can the sentence be reordered?

Yes, Esperanto has flexible word order, but Vi havas hundon is the most straightforward. You could say, for example, Havas vi hundon, but it’s less common in everyday speech.