Questions & Answers about Ni vidas arbon apud la domo.
Why does arbo become arbon in this sentence?
In Esperanto, when a noun is the direct object of a verb, it takes an -n ending. Since arbon is what is being seen (the direct object of vidas), it needs that -n.
Why do we use la before domo but not before arbo?
La is the definite article in Esperanto, similar to the in English. It’s used here to specify the house: something already known or specific. Arbo remains indefinite, simply referring to a tree. If you wanted to specify the tree, you could say la arbo (and in the accusative, la arbon).
What does ni mean?
Ni means we in English. It indicates that the speaker is talking about themselves along with at least one other person.
Why is the verb vidas used here? Isn’t Esperanto supposed to use a special marker for tense?
Actually, yes! Esperanto verbs typically end in -as for the present tense, -is for the past tense, and -os for the future tense. Here, vidas is the present tense and means see or are seeing.
What does apud mean?
Apud translates to near or beside. It places la domo in close proximity to the tree being seen, so the sentence literally means We see a tree near (or beside) the house.
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