Breakdown of Mi havis ideon, do hodiaŭ mi elektas lerni en la biblioteko anstataŭ en mia ĉambro.
mi
I
havi
to have
la
the
en
in
Questions & Answers about Mi havis ideon, do hodiaŭ mi elektas lerni en la biblioteko anstataŭ en mia ĉambro.
Why does ideon end in -n instead of just ideo?
In Esperanto, -n marks the accusative case, usually the direct object of the verb.
- Mi havis ideon.
- mi = I (subject)
- havis = had (verb)
- ideon = idea (direct object → gets -n)
Without -n, ideo could be interpreted as a subject in some other role. With normal word order it would probably still be understood, but it would be grammatically wrong. So you always mark the direct object with -n:
- Mi vidas hundon. – I see a dog.
- Li skribas leteron. – He writes a letter.
Why is it Mi havis ideon (past tense) but mi elektas (present tense) in the same sentence?
The tenses show two different time frames:
- Mi havis ideon – I had an idea (earlier in time, at some point before now).
- do hodiaŭ mi elektas lerni… – so today I choose to study… (now, today).
The structure is:
- First, at some earlier moment: I had an idea.
- As a result, today I am choosing to do something differently.
If you said Mi elektis lerni…, it would mean you already made the choice in the past, not that you are making it today as a consequence of the idea.
What exactly does do mean here, and how is it used?