Learn Hardcore Esperanto: Li portos malpezan jakon, kaj mi portos pezan mantelon en la malvarma vetero. - He will wear a lightweight jacket, and I will wear a heavy coat in the cold weather.

Portos is the future tense form of porti. In Esperanto, the ending -os indicates that the action will take place in the future, so portos means “will carry” (or “will wear”) in this context.

Why do the adjectives malpezan and pezan end in -an instead of the usual -a form?

In Esperanto, adjectives agree with the noun they modify in case. Since both jakon (“jacket”) and mantelon (“cloak”) are direct objects, they are in the accusative case. Their adjectives must also take the accusative ending, which is why malpeza and peza become malpezan and pezan.

How does the prefix mal- work in the adjectives used within the sentence?

The prefix mal- is used in Esperanto to create the opposite of a quality. In this sentence, malpeza means “not heavy” (or “lightweight”), which is the opposite of peza (“heavy”). Likewise, malvarma indicates “cold,” being the opposite of varma (“warm”).

What is the role of the preposition en in the phrase en la malvarma vetero?

The preposition en means “in” and introduces the adverbial phrase en la malvarma vetero, which describes the circumstances under which the actions occur—namely, “in the cold weather.”

Why does the noun vetero not take the accusative ending in this sentence?

Since vetero is part of the prepositional phrase en la malvarma vetero describing a circumstance (the weather) and is not a direct object of the verb, it remains in the nominative form without the accusative -n ending.

How are the subjects indicated in this sentence, and what do Li and mi mean?

The subjects are clearly marked by the pronouns at the beginning of each clause. Li means “he” and mi means “I,” making it explicit who is performing the action in each part of the sentence.