Learn Hardcore Esperanto: Mi lernas Esperanton dum mi trinkas varman teon.

Mi lernas Esperanton.
- Mi = I (subject)
- lernas = learn (verb)
- Esperanton = Esperanto (direct object → adds -n)
mi trinkas varman teon.
- mi = I (subject)
- trinkas = drink (verb)
- varman teon = hot tea (direct object → noun teo gets -n)

English mostly uses word order to show who does what to whom. Esperanto uses the -n ending instead. Any direct object, whether it’s a person, a thing, or a language, normally gets -n.

Other examples:

Mi vidas la hundon. – I see the dog.
Ŝi amas vin. – She loves you. (here the object is the pronoun vin, the accusative of vi)

Why does varma also get -n (varman teon)?

In Esperanto, adjectives agree with the nouns they describe in:

Number: singular/plural
Case: nominative/accusative

The basic forms are:

Singular, no -n: varma teo (warm/hot tea – as subject)
Singular, with -n: varman teon (warm/hot tea – as object)
Plural, no -n: varmaj teoj (warm/hot teas – as subject)
Plural, with -n: varmajn teojn (warm/hot teas – as object)

In the sentence, varman teon is the direct object of trinkas, so both the noun teo and its adjective varma take -n:

mi trinkas varman teon – I drink hot tea.

Why is there no word for “the” or “a” in the sentence?

Esperanto has:

one definite article: la = “the”
no indefinite article: there is no word for “a / an / some”

In the sentence:

Esperanton = “Esperanto (the language, in general)”, not “the Esperanto”
varman teon ≈ “(some) hot tea”

You would add la only if you mean specific things already known from context:

Mi trinkas la varman teon. – I am drinking the hot tea (the one we both know about).
Mi lernas la Esperanton de Zamenhof. – I am learning the Esperanto of Zamenhof (a very specific, slightly odd example, but grammatically possible).

In normal sentences about languages and non-specific objects, you often omit la.

Why isn’t it “Mi estas lernanta Esperanton” for “I am learning Esperanto”?

Esperanto does not need a special continuous/progressive tense like English does.

Mi lernas Esperanton.
Can mean:
- “I learn Esperanto.”
- “I am learning Esperanto.” (right now or in general, depending on context)

You can form a progressive with esti + -ant-:

Mi estas lernanta Esperanton.

This is grammatically correct but usually:

sounds more marked / emphatic, like “I’m in the middle of learning Esperanto (at this moment)”
is not the default way to express the English “I am doing X”

In everyday Esperanto, Mi lernas Esperanton normally covers both “I learn” and “I am learning”. Context gives the nuance.

What exactly does dum mean here, and how is it used?

In the sentence, dum means “while”:

Mi lernas Esperanton dum mi trinkas varman teon.
= I learn Esperanto while I drink hot tea.

dum has two common uses:

As a conjunction (while), followed by a clause:
- Dum mi trinkas teon, mi legas. – While I drink tea, I read.
  Emphasizes that the actions overlap in time.
As a preposition (during / for a duration), followed by a noun or time expression:
- Mi lernis dum du horoj. – I studied for two hours / during two hours.
- dum la vespero – during the evening.

Compare with kiam (“when”):

Kiam mi trinkas teon, mi lernas Esperanton. – When I drink tea, I learn Esperanto.
(More neutral “when”; dum highlights simultaneity a bit more.)

Can I change the word order, like “Dum mi trinkas varman teon, mi lernas Esperanton”?

Yes. Esperanto word order is fairly flexible, especially because the -n ending shows who is the object.

These versions are all fine and natural:

Mi lernas Esperanton dum mi trinkas varman teon.
Dum mi trinkas varman teon, mi lernas Esperanton.
Mi, dum mi trinkas varman teon, lernas Esperanton. (more stylistic)

What you normally don’t do is split the verb and its object in strange ways:

✗ Mi lernas, dum mi trinkas varman teon, Esperanton. – very awkward.

So: moving the whole clause (dum mi trinkas varman teon) to the front is fine, but try to keep each verb with its object as a unit.

Can I drop the second mi and say “Mi lernas Esperanton dum trinkas varman teon”?

Normally, no. In Esperanto, every finite verb in a clause is expected to have a subject, and subject pronouns are not usually dropped (unlike in Spanish or Italian).

So:

Mi lernas Esperanton dum mi trinkas varman teon. ✅
Mi lernas Esperanton dum trinkas varman teon. ✗ (feels incomplete/wrong)

If you want to avoid repeating mi, a more advanced alternative is to use a participle phrase:

Mi lernas Esperanton, trinkante varman teon.
– Literally: “I learn Esperanto, (while) drinking hot tea.”

But in the beginner-friendly structure with dum, you should repeat mi.

Is there a difference between lerni and studi? Could I say “Mi studas Esperanton”?

Yes, there is a nuance:

lerni = to learn, to acquire the ability/knowledge you don’t yet have
- Mi lernas Esperanton. – I’m learning Esperanto (acquiring the language).
studi = to study (often in a more systematic, academic, or detailed way)
- Mi studas Esperanton. – I study Esperanto (e.g., as a subject, maybe in depth).

Both Mi lernas Esperanton and Mi studas Esperanton are correct; they just highlight slightly different aspects:

lerni focuses on gaining the language.
studi focuses on systematically working on the language (reading grammar books, analyzing, etc.).

Why is Esperanto capitalized, but mi and teo are not?

In Esperanto, capitalization is simpler than in English:

Proper names are capitalized:
- Esperanto, Johano, Kanado, Eŭropo.
Pronouns are not capitalized:
- mi, vi, li, ŝi, ili, etc.
  (There is no special capital “I” like in English.)
Ordinary common nouns are lowercase:
- teo, libro, hundo, etc.

So:

Esperanto is a proper name of a language → capitalized.
mi (I) and teo (tea) are ordinary words → lowercase.

Can the adjective come after the noun, like “teon varman” instead of “varman teon”?

Yes, in Esperanto the adjective can go before or after the noun:

varman teon – hot tea
teon varman – hot tea (more unusual / stylistic)

Both forms must still agree in case and number:

Mi trinkas varman teon.
Mi trinkas teon varman.

The most neutral and common order is adjective + noun (varma teo). Putting the adjective after the noun can sound:

more poetic,
more emphatic,
or just unusual in everyday speech.

Does there need to be a comma before dum in this sentence?

No, a comma is not required here, and:

Mi lernas Esperanton dum mi trinkas varman teon.
is perfectly fine as written.

General tendencies in Esperanto:

When a subordinate clause (with dum, kiam, ĉar, etc.) comes first, a comma before the main clause is very common:
- Dum mi trinkas varman teon, mi lernas Esperanton.
When the main clause comes first and the subordinate clause follows immediately, the comma is often omitted, especially in short, clear sentences:
- Mi lernas Esperanton dum mi trinkas varman teon.

So in this particular sentence, using or omitting the comma before dum is mostly a matter of style, not strict correctness.

Does varma teo mean “warm tea” or “hot tea”? How strong is varma?

The basic meaning of varma is “warm” (above normal temperature), and in many contexts it simply means “hot” as well, especially for drinks.

varma teo – warm/hot tea
varma akvo – warm/hot water

If you want to be very clear that something is really hot, Esperanto often uses degree markers:

varmega teo – very hot tea (literally “heat-great tea”)
varmeta teo – lukewarm tea (a bit warm)

So your sentence can easily be understood as the natural “I learn Esperanto while I drink hot tea,” because tea is typically drunk hot and varma teo fits that idea.