Breakdown of Post la laboro mi promenas laŭ alia strato al la biblioteko.
Questions & Answers about Post la laboro mi promenas laŭ alia strato al la biblioteko.
In Esperanto, nouns after a preposition normally stay in the basic form (no -n). The preposition already shows the relationship, so the accusative -n is not used.
- Correct: post la laboro, post laboro
- Incorrect (in normal Esperanto): post laboron, post la laboron
You can add possessives:
- post mia laboro = after my work / my job
- post la laboro often means after work in general, usually my work, understood from context.
So the sentence uses the normal pattern: post + noun (optionally with la), no -n.
post is a preposition; it needs a noun or pronoun after it:
- post la laboro – after the work / after work
- post la kurso – after the class
poste is an adverb; it means later, afterwards:
- Mi laboras; poste mi promenas. – I work; afterwards I walk.
You cannot say Poste la laboro in standard Esperanto, because poste is not a preposition. In your sentence you must use:
- Post la laboro mi promenas…
Esperanto present tense (-as) can express:
An action happening now:
- Mi promenas. – I am walking (right now).
A habitual action (like English I walk, I go):
- Post la laboro mi promenas… – After work I (usually) walk…
In your sentence, the most natural reading is habitual: it describes your regular routine. If you wanted to talk specifically about the future today, you would use:
- Post la laboro mi promenos laŭ alia strato al la biblioteko. – After work I will walk…
All three involve movement, but with different focuses:
iri – to go (very general; any mode of transport)
- Mi iras al la biblioteko. – I go / am going to the library.
promeni – to walk, to stroll (on foot, often with a hint of leisure)
- Mi promenas en la parko. – I am walking / taking a walk in the park.
marŝi – to march, to walk with firm/regular steps (military, purposeful)
- La soldatoj marŝas. – The soldiers march.
In everyday speech, promeni is the usual verb for walking (on foot) as a way of moving around, especially if it’s a bit relaxed. Your sentence suggests you go to the library on foot, probably as a normal, somewhat relaxed walk.
In this context:
laŭ means along, following the course or line of.
- Mi promenas laŭ la rivero. – I walk along the river.
- Mi promenas laŭ alia strato. – I walk along a different street / via a different street.
sur means on, on top of.
- Mi staras sur la strato. – I am (standing) on the street.
- La aŭtoj veturas sur la strato. – Cars drive on the street.
With promeni, if you want to emphasise the route you follow, laŭ is ideal. sur la strato is possible (you are physically on the street surface), but laŭ la strato more clearly expresses along that street as your route.
alia is very flexible; context decides whether it’s other, another, or different.
- alia strato – another/different street (unspecified which one)
- la alia strato – the other street (a specific alternative already known from context)
- malsama strato – a street that is not the same (explicitly different)
In your sentence:
- laŭ alia strato ≈ along a different street / along another street (no specific one implied).
If, for example, you have two known options and mean the other one, you could say:
- laŭ la alia strato – along the other (known) street.
Esperanto has two different ways to show direction:
Using a preposition like al:
- Mi iras al la biblioteko. – I go to the library.
Here, after al, the noun stays without -n (nominative form).
Using the directional accusative -n without a preposition:
- Mi iras la bibliotekon. – I go (toward) the library.
You generally do one or the other, not both. So:
- Correct: al la biblioteko or la bibliotekon
- Normally incorrect: al la bibliotekon (double marking)
Your sentence correctly uses al la biblioteko.
Esperanto word order is relatively flexible. All of these are grammatically correct:
- Post la laboro mi promenas laŭ alia strato al la biblioteko.
- Mi promenas post la laboro laŭ alia strato al la biblioteko.
- Mi promenas laŭ alia strato al la biblioteko post la laboro.
- Mi promenas al la biblioteko laŭ alia strato post la laboro.
Differences are mostly about emphasis:
- Starting with Post la laboro emphasizes the time.
- Putting al la biblioteko earlier emphasizes the destination.
- Putting laŭ alia strato earlier emphasizes the route.
The endings (and prepositions) keep the roles clear, so you can move phrases quite freely.
la = the.
- la laboro – the work (typically “my job / today’s work” from context)
- la biblioteko – the library (a particular, known library)
You can omit la, but the meaning shifts:
- post laboro – after work (more generic; after working in general)
- al biblioteko – to a library (some library, not necessarily a specific, known one)
In practice:
- Post la laboro often corresponds to English After work (your normal workday).
- al la biblioteko usually feels like to the library you habitually go to.
Your original sentence suggests a familiar routine: after my usual work, I go to the usual library.
In standard Esperanto, you normally do not drop subject pronouns. Unlike Spanish or Italian, Esperanto verbs don’t show the person, so mi, vi, li, etc., are necessary for clarity.
- Mi promenas. – I walk.
- Li promenas. – He walks.
Without mi, promenas lacks a clear subject, and the sentence sounds incomplete or poetic at best. So:
- Post la laboro mi promenas laŭ alia strato al la biblioteko. – good, normal prose.
- Post la laboro promenas laŭ alia strato al la biblioteko. – feels wrong or at least very marked/poetic.
Stick with mi in normal usage.
By default, with the present tense -as and no extra adverbs, it most naturally expresses a general habit or routine:
- Post la laboro mi promenas laŭ alia strato al la biblioteko. → After work I (normally) walk along a different street to the library.
To clearly talk about a single specific future occasion, you would usually use promenos (will walk), or add time markers like hodiaŭ (today):
- Hodiaŭ, post la laboro, mi promenos laŭ alia strato al la biblioteko.
Esperanto pronunciation is very regular:
laŭ
- la as in la of lava
- ŭ is a short w sound.
Together: [laŭ], roughly like lahw in one syllable.
biblioteko
Syllables: bi-bli-o-te-ko- i like ee in see
- o like o in more (without the English r)
- e like e in bet
Stress is always on the next-to-last syllable: bi-blio-TE-ko → bibliotéko.