Tempo gravas por ni.

for

Breakdown of Tempo gravas por ni.

• tempo: the time
• gravi: to matter
• ni: us

Questions & Answers about Tempo gravas por ni.

What does tempo mean in this sentence?

Tempo means time. In Esperanto, most nouns end with -o, so when you see tempo, you know it’s a noun referring to time.

How is gravas formed, and what does it mean?

Gravas means is important or matters. It comes from the root grava (an adjective meaning important or serious) combined with the present tense ending -as. The ending shows that the action is happening now.

What role does the preposition por play in this sentence?

Por translates to for in English. In this sentence, it introduces the beneficiary of the statement, indicating that the importance of time applies for us.

Why isn’t there an explicit linking verb like “is” before important?

In Esperanto, certain ideas that require a linking verb in English can be expressed directly with one word. The verb gravas itself means is important or matters, so there’s no need for a separate linking verb like estas (“to be”).

How does Esperanto mark the parts of speech in this sentence?

Esperanto uses consistent endings to clearly mark each part of speech. Nouns, like tempo, end with -o; verbs, such as gravas, have the -as ending in the present tense; and prepositions like por are used as is. Pronouns like ni remain unchanged when used after a preposition.

Is the word order in Tempo gravas por ni similar to that in English?

Yes, it is quite similar. The sentence follows a logical order: tempo (subject) comes first, gravas (predicate/verb) follows, and then por ni (a prepositional phrase indicating for whom the time matters). Although Esperanto allows some flexibility in word order, the uniform endings help maintain clarity regardless of arrangement.