La festo komenciĝas post la vespermanĝo.

The party begins after dinner.

Breakdown of La festo komenciĝas post la vespermanĝo.

• la: the
• post: after
• vespermanĝo: the dinner
• komenciĝi: to start
• festo: the party

Questions & Answers about La festo komenciĝas post la vespermanĝo.

Why is la used before both festo and vespermanĝo? Could we leave it out?

La is the definite article in Esperanto, similar to the in English.

• La festo = the party
• la vespermanĝo = the dinner

You use la when you’re talking about a specific, known thing or event, not just any party or any dinner.

In this sentence, we’re talking about one particular party and one particular dinner (for example, the dinner everyone at the event knows about), so la is natural.

If you leave la out:

• Festo komenciĝas post vespermanĝo.

this would sound more like a party begins after dinner (in general) — grammatically possible, but less natural in the context of talking about a specific event.

So in the given meaning (The party begins after dinner), using la both times is the most natural choice.

What exactly does komenciĝas mean, and how is it different from komencas?

The verb root is komenc- = to begin / start.

• komencas is transitive: someone begins something.

  • La instruisto komencas la lecionon.
    = The teacher begins the lesson.

• komenciĝas uses the suffix -iĝ-, which often means to become / to get / to start being; here it makes an intransitive, “starting by itself” form:

  • La festo komenciĝas.
    = The party begins (starts).

So:

• komencas = to begin something (there is an object).
• komenciĝas = to begin, to get underway (no direct object).

In La festo komenciĝas post la vespermanĝo, the party is the thing that starts, so komenciĝas is the correct form.

Why is the present tense komenciĝas used, when in English we say will begin?

Esperanto often uses the present tense for scheduled or planned future events, just as English sometimes does:

• English: The train leaves at six tomorrow.
• Esperanto: La trajno foriras morgaŭ je la sesa.

In your sentence:

• La festo komenciĝas post la vespermanĝo.
  Literally: The party is beginning after the dinner.
  Natural English: The party will begin after dinner.

Because the starting time is clearly in the future (after the dinner), the context makes the future meaning obvious, so the present tense is fine.

If you really want to emphasize the future itself, you can use the future tense:

• La festo komenciĝos post la vespermanĝo.
  = The party will begin after the dinner.

Both are correct; the original is simply more neutral/natural.

What does post mean exactly, and how does it work in a sentence?

Post is a preposition meaning after (in time or in place).

In time expressions:

• post la vespermanĝo = after the dinner
• post du horoj = after two hours
• post kelkaj tagoj = after a few days

Post is followed by a noun phrase in its basic form (with -o, -a, etc.; no special ending just because of post). It does not change the ending of the noun.

In your sentence:

• post la vespermanĝo is a prepositional phrase that tells when the party begins.

Compare with antaŭ, which means before:

• La festo komenciĝas antaŭ la vespermanĝo.
  = The party begins before the dinner.

Why doesn’t vespermanĝo end with -n (accusative)? Shouldn’t time expressions sometimes use -n?

The -n ending (accusative) can indeed mark a time when something happens, e.g.:

• Mi venos morgaŭn vesperon.
  = I will come tomorrow evening.

But in post la vespermanĝo, you already have a preposition (post) that clearly marks the role of vespermanĝo in the sentence. When there is a preposition, you usually do not add -n, unless you’re doing something special like showing motion with al, en, etc.

So:

• ĝusta: post la vespermanĝo
• wrong or at least very odd: post la vespermanĝon

The -n time-marker is used with bare time words, not inside a prepositional phrase with post.

What does the compound word vespermanĝo literally mean, and are there similar words for other meals?

Vespermanĝo is a compound:

• vesper- = evening
• manĝ- = to eat / eating / meal
• -o = noun ending

So vespermanĝo literally is evening meal = dinner / supper.

Other common meal words:

• matenmanĝo = breakfast (morning meal)
• tagmanĝo = lunch (daytime meal)
• vespermanĝo = dinner / supper (evening meal)

All follow the same pattern: [time of day] + manĝ + o.

Could the word order be different, like Post la vespermanĝo la festo komenciĝas? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can change the word order without changing the basic meaning:

• La festo komenciĝas post la vespermanĝo.
• Post la vespermanĝo, la festo komenciĝas.

Both mean The party begins after the dinner.

Esperanto word order is fairly flexible. The standard, neutral order is similar to English (Subject–Verb–Object/other parts), but you can move phrases like post la vespermanĝo to the beginning to emphasize them:

• Post la vespermanĝo (as topic/emphasis), la festo komenciĝas.

It’s still clear because the grammatical roles are mostly shown by endings and prepositions, not just by position.

How do you pronounce komenciĝas, especially the ĝ?

Komenciĝas is pronounced roughly like:

• ko-men-TSI-jas

Syllable breakdown: ko-men-ci-ĝas

Details:

• k as in kite
• o like o in torn, but shorter and pure
• e like e in met
• c in Esperanto is always ts as in cats
• i like ee in see
• ĝ is like j in judge or g in giant (the English sound /dʒ/)
• a like a in father
• s always like s in see, never z

Stress is always on the second-to-last syllable in Esperanto words:

• ko-men-CI-ĝas

What is the difference between festo and other words like festeno or partio?

These words all relate to gatherings, but with nuances:

• festo: the most common general word for party / celebration / festivity.

  • Nokte estos granda festo.
    = There will be a big party at night.

• festeno: more like a banquet, feast, especially with a focus on lots of food, more formal or ceremonial.

  • Ili aranĝis reĝan festenon.
    = They organized a royal feast.

• partio: usually means a political party, not a social party.

  • Li membras en politika partio.
    = He is a member of a political party.

So in La festo komenciĝas post la vespermanĝo, festo is exactly the right word: a social party or celebration.

Could I say La festo komencas post la vespermanĝo, without -iĝ-?

It’s grammatically possible, but it sounds off, because komenci is normally transitive: someone komencas something.

• Natural use:
  • La gastoj komencas la feston.
    = The guests start the party.

If you say:

• La festo komencas post la vespermanĝo.

it sounds like the party begins something after dinner (but the something is missing). Esperanto speakers strongly prefer komenciĝas when the subject is the thing that is getting started by itself.

So the natural form is:

• La festo komenciĝas post la vespermanĝo. ✅
  not
• La festo komencas post la vespermanĝo. ❌ (or at least very odd)