Breakdown of Mi metas la novan kameraon sur la tablon kaj rigardas kelkajn malnovajn fotojn.
mi
I
la
the
sur
on
tablo
the table
Questions & Answers about Mi metas la novan kameraon sur la tablon kaj rigardas kelkajn malnovajn fotojn.
Why do so many words end in -n: kameraon, tablon, novan, kelkajn, malnovajn, fotojn?
The -n ending marks the accusative case in Esperanto. In this sentence it is used for:
- Direct objects of verbs:
- kameraon is what I put → direct object of metas.
- fotojn is what I look at → direct object of rigardas.
- Direction of movement after a preposition:
- sur la tablon = onto the table (movement toward a place).
Adjectives that describe these nouns (novan, kelkajn, malnovajn) also take -n to match the noun in case.
Why is it sur la tablon and not sur la tablo?
Esperanto uses the accusative -n after some prepositions to show movement toward something.
- sur la tablo = on the table (location, no movement).
- sur la tablon = onto the table (you move/put something so it ends up on the table).
Because meti (to put) involves movement to a final position, we say sur la tablon here.
Why do the adjectives also have -n: novan, kelkajn, malnovajn?