Ŝi tranĉas fromaĝon per malgranda tranĉilo kaj metas ĝin sur la pladon.

-as is the present-tense verb ending in Esperanto.

So:

• tranĉas = cuts / is cutting
• metas = puts / is putting

A useful point for English speakers: Esperanto verbs do not change according to the subject.

• mi tranĉas = I cut
• ŝi tranĉas = she cuts
• ili tranĉas = they cut

The ending stays -as every time.

The -n marks the direct object.

In this sentence, the cheese is the thing being cut, so it gets the accusative ending:

• fromaĝo = cheese
• fromaĝon = cheese as the direct object

This is one of the most important features of Esperanto grammar. The direct object usually takes -n, even when English does not show anything special.

Esperanto has no indefinite article.

So where English says:

• a small knife
• some cheese
• a plate

Esperanto often just uses the noun without a word like a/an.

That is why you get:

• malgranda tranĉilo = a small knife
• fromaĝo / fromaĝon = cheese / some cheese

Esperanto does have la, which means the.

So:

• la pladon = the plate / platter, with accusative -n

There are two useful grammar points here.

1. Adjectives end in -a

• malgranda = small

2. Nouns end in -o

• tranĉilo = knife

So the phrase is built normally as:

• malgranda tranĉilo = small knife

Also, adjectives in Esperanto agree with the noun in number and case. Since tranĉilo here is singular and does not have -n, the adjective also stays plain:

• malgranda tranĉilo

If the noun were accusative, the adjective would match:

• malgrandan tranĉilon

This is a classic Esperanto word-building pattern.

• granda = big
• mal- = the opposite of

So:

• malgranda = opposite of big = small

The prefix mal- is very common in Esperanto. It lets you form opposites very efficiently.

Examples:

• bona = good → malbona = bad
• fermi = to close → malfermi = to open
• alta = high/tall → malalta = low/short

Per means by means of, using, or with in the sense of an instrument or tool.

So:

• per malgranda tranĉilo = using a small knife / with a small knife

This is different from English with, which can have several meanings. In Esperanto, per is often used very clearly for the means by which something is done.

Also notice that after per, the noun does not take -n here, because it is not the direct object.

Ĝin is the accusative form of ĝi.

• ĝi = it
• ĝin = it, as a direct object

In this sentence, ĝin refers back to fromaĝon.

So the structure is:

• she cuts the cheese
• and puts it onto the plate

Because ĝin is the thing being put, it is the direct object of metas, so it takes -n.

This is a very important Esperanto pattern.

With many prepositions of place, Esperanto uses -n to show direction toward a place, not just location.

So:

• sur la plado = on the plate
• sur la pladon = onto the plate

In this sentence, the cheese is being moved onto the plate, so plado becomes pladon.

A useful contrast:

• La fromaĝo estas sur la plado. = The cheese is on the plate.
• Ŝi metas la fromaĝon sur la pladon. = She puts the cheese onto the plate.

Also, la pladon is not the direct object of metas. The direct object is ĝin.
Sur la pladon is a directional prepositional phrase.

Because both verbs have the same subject.

In Esperanto, just like in English, when two verbs are joined by kaj and have the same subject, you usually do not repeat the subject:

• Ŝi tranĉas ... kaj metas ...

This means:

• She cuts ... and puts ...

You could repeat it:

• Ŝi tranĉas ... kaj ŝi metas ...

That is grammatical too, but it is usually unnecessary unless you want extra emphasis or clarity.

Yes. This is another very common Esperanto word-building pattern.

• tranĉi = to cut
• -il- = tool or instrument suffix

So:

• tranĉilo = cutting tool = knife

This suffix appears in many words:

• skribi = to write → skribilo = writing tool
• tondi = to shear/cut → tondilo = scissors
• manĝi = to eat → manĝilo = eating utensil

Learning these building blocks makes Esperanto vocabulary much easier.

To some extent, yes.

Esperanto word order is more flexible than English because endings like -n show grammatical function. The normal, neutral order here is:

• Ŝi tranĉas fromaĝon per malgranda tranĉilo kaj metas ĝin sur la pladon.

But other orders can still be grammatical, especially for emphasis:

• Per malgranda tranĉilo ŝi tranĉas fromaĝon.
• Sur la pladon ŝi metas ĝin.

Even so, beginners should usually stick to the normal order until they are comfortable with the grammar. It is clearer and more natural in most situations.