Kiam la kuiristo kantas en la kuirejo, la legomoj odoras pli bone.

When the cook sings in the kitchen, the vegetables smell better.

Breakdown of Kiam la kuiristo kantas en la kuirejo, la legomoj odoras pli bone.

• la: the
• en: in
• bone: well
• kiam: when
• pli: more
• legomo: the vegetable
• kuiristo: the cook
• kanti: to sing
• kuirejo: the kitchen
• odori: to smell

Questions & Answers about Kiam la kuiristo kantas en la kuirejo, la legomoj odoras pli bone.

What does “Kiam” mean in this sentence, and what role does it play?

“Kiam” translates to when in English. It introduces the subordinate (temporal) clause that explains at what time the main clause occurs.

What do the suffixes -isto in “kuiristo” and -ejo in “kuirejo” indicate?

In Esperanto, the suffix -isto denotes a person engaged in an activity or profession (so kuiristo means “cook”), while -ejo designates a place associated with an activity (thus kuirejo means “kitchen” – literally, a place for cooking).

How is the plural formed in the word “legomoj”?

Nouns in Esperanto end with -o in the singular. To form the plural, the letter -j is added. Therefore, legomo (vegetable) becomes legomoj (vegetables).

Why is the phrase “pli bone” used instead of “pli bona” to describe how the vegetables smell?

In Esperanto, adjectives (ending in -a, as in bona) modify nouns, while adverbs (ending in -e, as in bone) modify verbs. Since the verb odoras (“smells”) is being modified, the adverb bone is correctly used. The word pli means “more,” so pli bone translates to “better.”

How is this sentence structured in terms of clauses and punctuation?

The sentence is a complex sentence. It starts with a temporal subordinate clause (“Kiam la kuiristo kantas en la kuirejo”) which is separated from the main clause (“la legomoj odoras pli bone”) by a comma. This clear division mirrors the way similar sentences are constructed in English.