Mi volas diri ion al vi.

I

Breakdown of Mi volas diri ion al vi.

• vi: you
• al: to
• voli: to want

Questions & Answers about Mi volas diri ion al vi.

What does each word in Mi volas diri ion al vi do?

Here is the breakdown:

• Mi = I
• volas = want
• diri = to say
• ion = something
• al = to
• vi = you

So the structure is very close to English: I want to say something to you.

Why is it volas diri and not volas diras?

After a verb like voli (to want), the next verb stays in the infinitive form, which ends in -i.

So:

• volas = the main, conjugated verb: want
• diri = infinitive: to say

This works like English want to say.

Examples:

• Mi volas iri. = I want to go.
• Ŝi volas manĝi. = She wants to eat.

You do not say volas diras, because Esperanto does not use two fully conjugated verbs there.

Why does ion end in -n?

The -n marks the direct object.