Mi legas leteron de mia amiko.

I

Breakdown of Mi legas leteron de mia amiko.

• la amiko: the friend
• de: from
• letero: the letter

Questions & Answers about Mi legas leteron de mia amiko.

What does the word Mi mean, and why is it placed at the beginning of the sentence?

Mi means I in English. In Esperanto, the subject typically comes at the beginning of the sentence, so placing Mi first clearly shows who is performing the action.

Why does leteron end with -n, and what role does this suffix play?

In Esperanto, adding -n to a noun marks it as the direct object of the sentence. Leteron comes from the base word letero (meaning letter), and the -n indicates that it is receiving the action of the verb legas.

How is the present tense of the verb shown in legas?

The verb legas ends in -as, which is the standard ending for the present tense in Esperanto. This simple and regular conjugation pattern makes it easy to know that the action is happening now.

What does the phrase de mia amiko mean, and how is it structured?

De mia amiko translates to from my friend. The preposition de means from (or denotes possession), mia is the possessive adjective meaning my, and amiko is friend. Together, they indicate that the letter belongs to the speaker’s friend.