Breakdown of Se la vetero estos bela venontan semajnfinon, ni denove promenos en la arbaron kun la infanoj.
Questions & Answers about Se la vetero estos bela venontan semajnfinon, ni denove promenos en la arbaron kun la infanoj.
In Esperanto, the tense in a se (if) clause normally matches the actual time being talked about, not the tense pattern of English.
- Se la vetero estos bela… = If the weather *will be nice…* (talking about the future)
- …ni denove promenos… = …we will walk again… (also future)
So both verbs are in the future because both events are in the future.
In English you must not say “If the weather will be nice…”, but in Esperanto that construction is completely normal and correct. You could also say:
- Se la vetero estos bela morgaŭ, ni promenos.
- Se la vetero estas bela hodiaŭ, ni promenas.
The general rule: use estas / estis / estos according to real time, even in se-clauses. Don’t copy English tense rules here.
Esperanto uses the accusative -n not only for direct objects, but also:
- For direction (movement towards something).
- For time expressions indicating when something happens.
Here it is the second use. Venontan semajnfinon tells us when the weather will be nice and when we will walk:
- Se la vetero estos bela venontan semajnfinon…
If the weather will be nice *next weekend…*
So:
- venonta semajnfino = a next weekend (just a noun phrase)
- venontan semajnfinon = next weekend (when?) – adverbial use, so it takes -n.
Other similar examples:
- Hieraŭ vespere – yesterday evening (no -n, more like a set phrase)
- Lundon mi laboros hejme. – On Monday I’ll work at home.
(Lundon gets -n because it answers “When?”)
With time expressions like venontan semajnfinon, Esperanto often behaves like English: we usually say “next weekend”, not “the next weekend”, unless we’re contrasting it with another one.
So:
- venontan semajnfinon ≈ next weekend (general, the upcoming one)
- la venontan semajnfinon ≈ the next weekend (that specific coming weekend, e.g. in a sequence)
In this sentence, we simply mean the upcoming weekend in a normal, general way, so no la is needed.
On the other hand:
- la vetero – the weather (general concept, treated as definite)
- en la arbaron – into the forest (a specific forest known from context)
- kun la infanoj – with the children (specific children: probably our kids, or some group already known in the conversation)
So: articles are about definiteness, not about case. The -n on venontan semajnfinon is for time, not for “the”.
Grammatically:
venontan semajnfinon – accusative of time, no article:
- Used as an adverbial: when? → next weekend.
- Fits best here: Se la vetero estos bela venontan semajnfinon…
la venonta semajnfino – nominative, with la:
- A full noun phrase, subject or object: the next weekend.
- E.g. La venonta semajnfino estos tre okupata.
The next weekend will be very busy.
In your sentence, we want a time expression, not a subject, so venontan semajnfinon is the more natural choice.
You could say:
- Se la venonta semajnfino estos bela, ni denove promenos…
That would be understood, but it slightly shifts the focus to “that coming weekend” as an entity, rather than simply saying “next weekend (time)”.
Venonta is the future active participle of veni (to come).
- Root: ven- (come)
- Future active participle suffix: -ont-
- Adjective ending: -a
So: ven-ont-a → venonta = “(that which is) going to come / about to come / coming (in the future).”
Some patterns:
- faronta – about to do, going to do
- legonta – going to read
- estonta – future, to-be
Venonta semajnfino literally: the weekend that is going to come → next weekend.
En can indicate:
Location (in, inside):
- en la arbaro – in the forest (no movement → no -n)
Direction toward a place (into):
- en la arbaron – into the forest (movement → accusative of direction)
In your sentence:
- ni denove promenos en la arbaron kun la infanoj
is most naturally understood as:
- we will (go) walking into the forest again with the children
(there is movement toward the forest).
If you say:
- ni denove promenos en la arbaro kun la infanoj
that usually means:
- we will (stroll) in the forest again with the children
(already inside; location, not direction).
Both are grammatical, but -n with en signals movement into the place.
Promeni is intransitive: it means “to stroll, to walk (for pleasure)” and does not take a direct object.
So in:
- ni denove promenos en la arbaron
the structure is:
- ni – subject (we)
- promenos – intransitive verb (will stroll / walk)
- en la arbaron – prepositional phrase showing direction (where to)
The accusative -n here belongs to the preposition en (direction), not to the verb. It’s not an object; it’s “into the forest”.
You could rephrase:
- Ni denove iros en la arbaron por promeni kun la infanoj.
We’ll go into the forest again to take a walk with the children.
en la arbaron – into the forest: movement to the inside:
- Ni promenos en la arbaron. – We’ll walk (go) into the forest.
tra la arbaron – through the forest: movement across it from one side to the other:
- Ni promenos tra la arbaron. – We’ll walk through the forest.
So:
- en focuses on entering or being inside.
- tra focuses on going through from one side to the other.
Yes, both are possible:
- ni denove promenos…
- ni promenos denove…
In Esperanto, adverbs like denove (again) have flexible position, but:
Putting it before the verb is very common and neutral:
- ni denove promenos – we will again walk.
Putting it after the verb can sound slightly more emphatic on the “again”, depending on intonation:
- ni promenos denove – we’ll walk, again.
There’s no big grammatical difference here; both are correct. Context and rhythm of the sentence usually decide the choice. Many people naturally put short adverbs before the main verb.
The neutral, most common word order in Esperanto is:
- Subject – Verb – Rest
→ La vetero estos bela.
Other orders are possible, because Esperanto word order is relatively free, but they usually carry some emphasis or sound a bit marked:
Estos bela vetero.
Puts more stress on estos or bela vetero; more like: There will be nice weather. Acceptable, but not as neutral as La vetero estos bela.La vetero bela estos.
Possible, but feels poetic or unusual in everyday speech.
For learners, it’s safest and most natural to stick to:
- La vetero estos bela.
- Ni denove promenos en la arbaro.
and only later to experiment with more flexible orders for emphasis.
All three are possible, but they have slightly different nuances:
- kun la infanoj – with the children (some specific children already known from context – often “our” children, or a known group).
- kun infanoj – with children (some children in general, not a specific known group).
- kun niaj infanoj – with our children (explicitly says they are “our” children).
Esperanto often uses la where English uses a possessive, when the owner is obvious:
- Parents talking: Ni promenos kun la infanoj.
Understood as “our children” unless context says otherwise.
If you really need to stress whose children, use niaj infanoj. In a neutral family context, la infanoj is natural and idiomatic.
Yes, you can say:
- Se estos bela vetero venontan semajnfinon, ni denove promenos…
This means essentially the same thing: If there will be nice weather next weekend…
Difference in nuance:
Se la vetero estos bela…
Talks about the weather as a known thing (today’s weather, general weather situation).Se estos bela vetero…
More like: If there will be (some) nice weather… – impersonal, similar to English “if the weather is nice” vs “if there will be good weather”.
Both are correct. The version with la vetero is very standard and perhaps more common, but the impersonal estos bela vetero is also idiomatic.