Breakdown of Kiam li respondos al mia demando, mi povos porti la novajn vestojn.
mi
I
li
he
la
the
al
to
nova
new
povi
can
kiam
when
porti
to wear
respondi
to answer
mia
my
demando
the question
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Questions & Answers about Kiam li respondos al mia demando, mi povos porti la novajn vestojn.
What does Kiam mean in this sentence?
Kiam translates to when in English. It introduces a time clause, indicating the moment the condition will be met.
How can I tell that respondos and povos are in the future tense?
In Esperanto, verbs ending in -os express the future tense. Here, respondos means will answer and povos means will be able to, clearly indicating actions that have yet to occur.
What role does al mia demando play in the sentence?
The phrase al mia demando means to my question. The preposition al shows direction or the target of the action (the answer). In this context, it tells us that his answer is directed toward the speaker’s question.
Why is the noun in la novajn vestojn written with the ending -ojn and what does this tell us about its form?
In Esperanto, -ojn marks both the plural form and the accusative case of a noun. Vestojn is the plural of vesta (clothes) and its accusative ending shows that it is the direct object of the verb porti. Additionally, the adjective novajn comes before the noun and agrees with it in both number and case.
How does the sentence structure reflect a condition for the action that follows?
The sentence is divided into two parts: a subordinate clause and a main clause. The subordinate clause, Kiam li respondos al mia demando, sets the condition (when he answers my question). The main clause, mi povos porti la novajn vestojn, states what will occur once that condition is met. This structure is typical for expressing conditional future scenarios in Esperanto.