Mi havas tri librojn.

I

Breakdown of Mi havas tri librojn.

• havi: to have
• libro: the book
• tri: three

Questions & Answers about Mi havas tri librojn.

Why does librojn end with -n instead of just libroj?

The final -n marks the accusative case, which in Esperanto is mainly used for the direct object of a verb.

• Mi = I (subject, no -n)
• havas = have (verb)
• tri librojn = three books (direct object, so accusative -n)

So:

• libro = book
• libroj = books (plural)
• librojn = books as a direct object (plural + accusative)

Formally: libro + j + n = librojn.

Because havi (to have) takes a direct object, you normally must use -n here in standard Esperanto prose.

Why is it librojn and not just libro after tri?

In Esperanto, a noun after a specific number is still marked as plural.

So you say:

• unu libro = one book
• du libroj = two books
• tri libroj = three books

When it’s the direct object, you add -n on top of that:

• Mi havas du librojn. = I have two books.
• Mi havas tri librojn. = I have three books.

Using tri libro without -j would be considered wrong in standard Esperanto.