Breakdown of Mia amiko volas foti la arbaron dimanĉe.
Questions & Answers about Mia amiko volas foti la arbaron dimanĉe.
- mia = my
- amiko = friend
- volas = wants (present tense of voli, to want)
- foti = to photograph / to take a photo (infinitive)
- la = the
- arbaron = forest (with -n, marking it as the direct object)
- dimanĉe = on Sunday
So the whole sentence is literally: My friend wants to photograph the forest on Sunday.
Mia amiko is the subject of the sentence, so it stays in the basic form (no -n).
You only add -n (the accusative ending) to show a direct object or some special functions, not to the subject.
If you said mian amikon, you would be marking my friend as an object, which would be wrong here because my friend is the one doing the wanting.
In foti la arbaron, the forest is what gets photographed, so la arbaron is the direct object of foti. Direct objects in Esperanto take -n, so we get arbaron.
Mia amiko is the subject of volas (the one who wants), so it does not take -n.
Subject: mia amiko.
Direct object: la arbaron.
La is the definite article, like the in English, so la arbaron = the forest.
If you say foti arbaron, it sounds more like photograph (some) forest or a forest, not a specific one.
Both are grammatically correct, but la arbaron suggests a particular forest that the speakers already have in mind.
- foti = to photograph / to take a photo; short, very common everyday verb.
- fotografi = to photograph; a bit more formal or technical, but also correct.
- preni foton (de io) = to take a photo (of something).
In this sentence, volas foti la arbaron is perfectly natural and idiomatic.
You could also say volas fotografi la arbaron or volas preni foton de la arbaro, but the original is simpler.
After verbs like voli (to want), the next verb stays in the infinitive form ending in -i: volas foti, volas legi, volas manĝi, etc.
Fotas would be a separate finite verb (is photographing), which you don’t use after volas.
Also, infinitives never take -n, so fotin is always wrong.
Correct pattern: volas + infinitive → volas foti.
Dimanĉe is an adverb meaning on Sunday. Using the -e ending is a very common way to talk about time in Esperanto.
You can also say:
- dimanĉon (accusative of time) – often more clearly “(on) that specific Sunday”.
- je dimanĉo – grammatically possible, but sounds heavier and is much less usual in simple sentences like this.
In everyday speech, dimanĉe is the most natural choice here.
Yes. Common options include:
- Mia amiko volas foti la arbaron dimanĉe.
- Dimanĉe mia amiko volas foti la arbaron.
- Mia amiko dimanĉe volas foti la arbaron.
All are grammatically correct.
Placing dimanĉe at the beginning can emphasize on Sunday a bit more.
By default, amiko is gender-neutral: it just means friend.
If you want to show gender explicitly, you can say:
- amiko (often understood as male in traditional usage)
- amikino (female friend, using the -in- feminine suffix)
But grammatically, amiko itself does not have to express gender.
Just change the ending of voli:
- Present (now): Mia amiko volas foti la arbaron dimanĉe.
- Past: Mia amiko volis foti la arbaron dimanĉe. = My friend wanted to photograph the forest on Sunday.
- Future: Mia amiko volos foti la arbaron dimanĉe. = My friend will want to photograph the forest on Sunday.
The infinitive foti and the noun arbaron stay the same.
You make both the possessive and the noun plural:
- Miaj amikoj volas foti la arbaron dimanĉe.
Changes:
- mia → miaj (plural adjective)
- amiko → amikoj (plural noun)
The rest of the sentence stays the same.
You can, but it sounds strange, like saying Friend wants to photograph the forest on Sunday without a or my in English.
Normally you use a determiner:
- Mia amiko… = My friend…
- Iu amiko… = Some friend…
- La amiko… = The friend…
So Mia amiko volas foti la arbaron dimanĉe is the natural version.