Ni pasas preter la biblioteko, kaj poste ni vidas vendejon kontraŭ la muzeo.

Because vendejon is the direct object of vidas.

• ni vidas vendejon = we see a shop
• The thing being seen gets the accusative ending -n

But:

• preter la biblioteko is a prepositional phrase
• kontraŭ la muzeo is also a prepositional phrase

After normal prepositions in Esperanto, nouns usually do not take -n unless there is a special motion-toward meaning. Here, la biblioteko and la muzeo are simply objects of the prepositions preter and kontraŭ, so they stay without -n.

Preter means past, by, or alongside and beyond.

So Ni pasas preter la biblioteko means something like:

• We pass by the library
• We go past the library

It is a very common preposition when talking about moving past a place.

Because pasi preter specifically expresses passing by something.

Compare:

• Ni iras al la biblioteko = we are going to the library
• Ni pasas preter la biblioteko = we pass by the library

So pasas preter gives a more precise idea: the library is not the destination; it is just something you go past.

Literally, kontraŭ often means against or opposite. In this sentence, it clearly means opposite or across from.

So:

• vendejo kontraŭ la muzeo = a shop opposite/across from the museum

Esperanto often uses the same preposition in several related senses, and context tells you which one is meant.

Poste is an adverb meaning afterward, then, or later.

The ending -e shows that it is an adverb.

So:

• kaj poste = and then
• poste ni vidas... = then we see...

It connects the two actions in time:

1. first we pass the library
2. then we see a shop

Because Esperanto often states the subject again in a new clause, just as English often does:

• Ni pasas preter la biblioteko, kaj poste ni vidas vendejon...

This is perfectly natural. You could think of it as:

• We pass the library, and then we see a shop...

Repeating ni makes the sentence clear and balanced. In coordinated clauses, Esperanto commonly keeps the subject explicit.

The ending -as marks the present tense in Esperanto.

So:

• pasas = pass / are passing
• vidas = see / are seeing

Esperanto verbs do not change according to the subject:

• mi vidas
• vi vidas
• li vidas
• ni vidas

The verb form stays the same; only the pronoun changes.

Yes. Esperanto word endings are very regular:

• ni = we
• pas-as = pass, present tense verb
• preter = past/by
• la = the
• bibliotek-o = library, noun
• kaj = and
• post-e = afterward, adverb
• ni = we
• vid-as = see, present tense verb
• vendej-o-n = shop, noun + accusative -n
• kontraŭ = opposite/against
• la
• muze-o = museum, noun

This is one of the most helpful things about Esperanto: endings clearly show a word’s job.

The comma is there because the sentence joins two full clauses:

• Ni pasas preter la biblioteko
• kaj poste ni vidas vendejon kontraŭ la muzeo

In Esperanto, commas are often used a bit more freely than in English, especially to make sentence structure clearer. So the comma here is normal and helpful, though punctuation style can vary somewhat.

Yes, to some extent. Esperanto word order is fairly flexible because endings show grammatical roles.

For example, these are still understandable:

• Ni pasas preter la biblioteko, kaj ni poste vidas vendejon kontraŭ la muzeo.
• Poste ni vidas vendejon kontraŭ la muzeo.

But the original order is the most natural and smooth here:

• kaj poste ni vidas...

It keeps the time sequence clear and sounds idiomatic.

In this sentence, kontraŭ la muzeo describes the shop’s location, not movement toward the museum.

• vidas vendejon kontraŭ la muzeo = we see a shop that is opposite the museum

So la muzeo is just the reference point in a location phrase.

Esperanto can sometimes use -n after a preposition to show movement toward something, but that is not what is happening here.

A few helpful pronunciation notes:

• biblioteko: bib-li-o-TE-ko
• vendejon: ven-DEY-on
• kontraŭ: KON-traŭ
• muzeo: mu-ZE-o
• preter: PRE-ter

A few key points:

• Every vowel is pronounced clearly
• Stress is always on the second-to-last syllable
• ej in vendejo sounds like ey in they
• aŭ sounds like ow in cow

So vendejon is not one syllable at the end; it is ven-DEY-on.

Vendejo is a general word for a place where things are sold, so shop or store are both good translations.

It comes from:

• vend- = sell
• -ej- = place
• -o = noun

So literally it is something like selling-place.

This is a good example of Esperanto word-building.