La dormanta infano kuŝas sur la lito.

Dormanta means sleeping.

It comes from the verb dormi (to sleep) and uses the present active participle ending -ant-. So:

• dormi = to sleep
• dormanta = sleeping

In this sentence, la dormanta infano means the sleeping child.

Because dormanta is being used like an adjective.

In Esperanto, adjectives end in -a. Since dormanta describes infano, it takes the adjective ending:

• infano = child
• dormanta infano = sleeping child

So even though dormanta comes from a verb, here it behaves grammatically like an adjective.

The most normal word order is to put the describing adjective before the noun:

• la dormanta infano = the sleeping child

You can sometimes place adjectives after the noun in Esperanto, but before the noun is more common and neutral.

So for a learner, la dormanta infano is the standard pattern to use.

Because there are two separate noun phrases:

• la dormanta infano = the sleeping child
• la lito = the bed

In Esperanto, la is the definite article, meaning the. It does not change for gender, number, or case.

So:

• la infano = the child
• la lito = the bed

Using la twice is completely normal, just as in English: The sleeping child is lying on the bed.

They describe two different things:

• dormanta = sleeping
• kuŝas = is lying / is lying down

So the sentence is not just saying that the child is sleeping. It is also saying that the child is in a lying position on the bed.

This is natural because someone can:

• dormi without emphasizing position
• kuŝi without sleeping
• do both at the same time

So the sentence means something like: The sleeping child is lying on the bed.

Because kuŝas is more specific.

• estas sur la lito = is on the bed
• kuŝas sur la lito = is lying on the bed

The verb esti only says that something is there.
The verb kuŝi tells you the physical position.

So kuŝas sur la lito gives a clearer picture.

Kuŝas is in the present tense.

In Esperanto:

• -as = present
• -is = past
• -os = future

So:

• kuŝas = is lying
• kuŝis = was lying
• kuŝos = will be lying

Here, kuŝas means the child is lying on the bed now.

Because this sentence describes location, not movement toward something.

• sur la lito = on the bed
• sur la liton = onto the bed

In Esperanto, the -n ending can show direction toward a place. But if something is simply located there, you do not use -n.

So:

• La infano kuŝas sur la lito. = The child is lying on the bed.
• La infano saltas sur la liton. = The child jumps onto the bed.

Because infano is the subject of the sentence, not the direct object.

In Esperanto, the -n ending usually marks the direct object.

Here:

• La dormanta infano = the subject
• kuŝas = the verb
• sur la lito = a prepositional phrase

Since the child is the one doing the action of lying, infano stays without -n.

Yes. Adjectives in Esperanto agree with the nouns they describe in number and case.

Here:

• infano is singular
• it is not accusative

So the adjective is also singular and not accusative:

• dormanta infano

If the noun changed, the adjective would change too:

• la dormantaj infanoj = the sleeping children
• mi vidas la dormantan infanon = I see the sleeping child

So yes, dormanta matches infano.

Yes, and that would also be a correct Esperanto sentence.

• La infano dormas sur la lito. = The child is sleeping on the bed.
• La dormanta infano kuŝas sur la lito. = The sleeping child is lying on the bed.

The second version has a slightly different structure:

• dormanta describes the child
• kuŝas is the main verb

The first version focuses directly on the action sleeping.
The second version paints the child as sleeping, while the main statement is that the child lies on the bed.

It normally means the child is sleeping at that time.

The present active participle -ant- usually shows an action that is ongoing or in progress:

• dormanta = sleeping
• kuranta = running
• parolanta = speaking

So la dormanta infano is understood as the child who is sleeping, not merely a child who tends to sleep a lot.

Yes.

These are very close in meaning:

• la dormanta infano = the sleeping child
• la infano, kiu dormas = the child who is sleeping

The participle form is shorter and more compact.
The kiu dormas form is more like a relative clause.

Both are correct, but participles are very common in Esperanto for this kind of description.