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Questions & Answers about Ni lernas vorton.
Why does 'vorton' end with '-n'?
In Esperanto, nouns receive an '-n' ending to indicate the direct object (accusative). 'Vorto' is the noun 'word', and 'vorton' shows that it is the object of the verb 'lernas'.
Why is there no article before 'vorton'?
Esperanto does not use an indefinite article like 'a' in English. If you wanted to use a definite article, you would use 'la' (the). However, in this sentence, we simply say 'vorton' without any article.
Can I change the word order?
Yes. Because the accusative '-n' shows the direct object, you can say 'Ni lernas vorton' or 'Vorton ni lernas' without changing the meaning. However, 'Ni lernas vorton' is the most common and straightforward word order.
Why do we use 'lernas' instead of 'lerni'?
'Lernas' is the present-tense form, meaning 'we are learning'. 'Lerni' is the infinitive form, meaning 'to learn'. In Esperanto, we always conjugate the verb's ending to indicate the tense when creating a sentence.