Learn Hardcore Esperanto: Nia najbaro foje faras bruon vespere, sed ofte li ridetas kaj salutas nin. - Our neighbor sometimes makes noise in the evening, but often he smiles and greets us.

There is a separate use where la nia can stand alone and mean “ours” (as a pronoun), but that’s a different structure (and not what’s happening here).

Why does najbaro end in -o?

In Esperanto:

-o is the ending for singular nouns.
najbaro = neighbor (one person)
najbaroj = neighbors (more than one)

So najbaro has -o because it is a singular noun. If you wanted to say “our neighbors,” you would say:

Niaj najbaroj = our neighbors
(niaj is the plural form of nia to agree with najbaroj)

What is the difference between foje and ofte?

Both are frequency adverbs, but they are not the same:

foje = sometimes, once (on an occasion)
It suggests something that happens from time to time, not frequently.
ofte = often, frequently
It suggests something that happens many times, quite regularly.

In the sentence:

foje faras bruon = sometimes makes noise
ofte li ridetas kaj salutas nin = he often smiles and greets us

So the sentence contrasts “sometimes noisy” with “often friendly.”

Why is it faras bruon instead of something like estas brua?

Both are possible, but they are slightly different:

fari bruon = literally “to make noise”
- fari = to do, to make
- bruo = noise (noun)
- bruon = noise (direct object, accusative -n)
esti brua = to be noisy
- esti = to be
- brua = noisy (adjective)

In practice:

Nia najbaro foje faras bruon = Our neighbor sometimes makes (creates) noise.
Nia najbaro foje estas brua = Our neighbor is sometimes noisy.

Both are correct; fari bruon is just a very common idiomatic way to say “make noise” in Esperanto.

Why does bruon have an -n at the end?

The -n ending marks the accusative case, usually the direct object of the verb.

bruo = noise (basic form)
bruon = noise as a direct object (something you make, do, see, etc.)

In the sentence:

li faras bruon
- li = subject
- faras = verb (does/makes)
- bruon = direct object (what he makes)

Without -n, the sentence would be grammatically wrong here, because bruo is not the subject; it is the thing being made.

What does vespere mean, and why does it end in -e?

The base noun is vespero = evening.
The adverb form is vespere = in the evening / during the evening.

In Esperanto, -e often marks an adverb, including adverbs of time made from nouns:

mateno → matene = in the morning
tagmezo → tagmeze = at noon
nokto → nokte = at night
vespero → vespere = in the evening

So vespere tells you when the action happens: “in the evening.”

Can foje and vespere be placed in other positions in the sentence?

Yes. Esperanto word order is fairly flexible, especially for adverbs like foje (sometimes) and vespere (in the evening).

You could say, for example:

Foje nia najbaro faras bruon vespere.
Vespere nia najbaro foje faras bruon.
Nia najbaro vespere foje faras bruon.

All of these are grammatically correct; the differences are mostly about emphasis and style. The original order is very natural and neutral, but rearranging is allowed as long as the grammar (endings) stays correct.

Why does the second part begin with sed ofte li… instead of just ofte li…?

sed = but

The sentence contrasts two different aspects of the neighbor:

First part: sometimes he makes noise.
Second part: but he often smiles and greets us.

So sed introduces a contrast, similar to English “but”. Without sed, it would just be listing another fact, not clearly contrasting it:

…vespere, li ofte ridetas kaj salutas nin.
→ and in the evening, he often smiles and greets us (no strong contrast)

With sed, it’s “but often he smiles…”, which softens the negative impression of the noise.

Why is li used for “neighbor”? What if the neighbor is a woman?

Traditionally in Esperanto:

li = he (3rd person singular masculine)
ŝi = she (3rd person singular feminine)

In this sentence, li refers back to Nia najbaro (our neighbor), and the speaker is assuming the neighbor is male.

If the neighbor is a woman, you would simply use ŝi:

Nia najbarino foje faras bruon vespere, sed ofte ŝi ridetas kaj salutas nin.

Here:

najbarino = female neighbor (-in- makes it specifically female)
ŝi = she

Some speakers also use gender‑neutral alternatives (like ri) for any person, but standard textbook Esperanto still mainly teaches li/ŝi.

What does ridetas mean exactly, and how does -et- work?

The root verb is:

ridi = to laugh

The suffix -et- is a diminutive: it makes something smaller, weaker, or gentler. Applied to verbs, it often means to do the action a little, lightly, or in a softer way.

rideti = to smile (literally: to “laugh a little / lightly”)
ridetas = (he) smiles / is smiling

So li ridetas is best translated as “he smiles” rather than “he laughs a little,” because in Esperanto rideti specifically corresponds to the idea of smiling.

What does salutas mean, and how does salutas nin work?

saluti = to greet (someone), to say hello to (someone)
salutas = (he) greets / is greeting

In salutas nin:

salutas = greets
nin = us (accusative of ni = we)

So li salutas nin = he greets us.

Important point:

saluti iun = to greet someone
The person you greet is the direct object, in the accusative:
- Mi salutas vin. = I greet you.
- Ili salutis lin. = They greeted him.

Why is it nin and not ni after salutas?

Esperanto adds -n to show the accusative case, especially for direct objects of a verb.

ni = we (subject form)
nin = us (object form)

Compare:

Ni salutas lin. = We greet him.
- ni = subject (we)
- lin = direct object (him)
Li salutas nin. = He greets us.
- li = subject (he)
- nin = direct object (us)

In the sentence, nin clearly marks “us” as the ones being greeted.

Why is there a comma before sed in this sentence?

The comma marks a pause between two independent clauses:

Nia najbaro foje faras bruon vespere
sed ofte li ridetas kaj salutas nin

In Esperanto, it’s common (and stylistically good) to separate such clauses with a comma, especially when they are joined by sed, kaj, aŭ, etc., and each has its own subject and verb.

You might sometimes see it written without the comma in informal texts, but the version with the comma is clearer and follows normal writing practice.