La ekrano restas sen lumo, eĉ kiam mi premas la butonon du fojojn.

La is the definite article, meaning the. Esperanto uses la when the speaker has a specific thing in mind, just like English often uses the.

So la ekrano means the screen, not just a screen or screen in a general sense.

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about a particular screen, so la is natural.

Resti means to remain or to stay.
So La ekrano restas sen lumo means the screen remains without light, or stays dark/unlit.

If you used estas, that would simply say the screen is without light.
Using restas adds the idea that this condition continues, even after trying something.

Sen means without, and lumo means light. So sen lumo literally means without light.

There is no la here because this is a general idea, not a specific light. The sentence is not talking about the light as one particular object; it just says the screen is lacking light.

Also, after sen, nouns normally do not take -n, because sen is a preposition and prepositions usually take the basic form of the noun.

Eĉ means even, and kiam means when. Together, eĉ kiam means even when.

It introduces a clause that makes the situation more surprising:

• La ekrano restas sen lumo = The screen stays dark
• eĉ kiam mi premas la butonon du fojojn = even when I press the button twice

So the second part shows that the expected action does not change the result.

Premas is present tense. Esperanto often uses the present tense in cases where English might also use present tense:

• kiam mi premas = when I press

This describes what happens whenever the speaker does that action. It can feel a bit like a general, current situation.

If you said mi premis, that would mean I pressed, referring to a completed past action.

The -n ending marks the direct object in Esperanto.

Here, mi premas la butonon means I press the button.
The thing being pressed is la butono, so it becomes la butonon as the direct object.

This is one of the most important uses of -n in Esperanto.

This is a very common point of confusion.

In du fojojn, the -n is not marking a direct object. It is an adverbial accusative, used to show things like:

• time
• duration
• number of times
• measure

So du fojojn means twice or literally two times.

Compare:

• Mi premas la butonon. = I press the button.
  
  • la butonon is the direct object
• Mi premas la butonon du fojojn. = I press the button twice.
  
  • du fojojn tells how many times the action happens

Yes. Dufoje is a very natural alternative and also means twice.

So these are both correct:

• mi premas la butonon du fojojn
• mi premas la butonon dufoje

The version with dufoje is often a little more compact.
The version with du fojojn is very clear and may feel more literal to learners.

The comma separates the main clause from the subordinate clause.

Main clause:

• La ekrano restas sen lumo

Subordinate clause:

• eĉ kiam mi premas la butonon du fojojn

Esperanto commonly uses commas to mark clause boundaries like this, often a bit more regularly than English does.

Yes, Esperanto word order is fairly flexible, but not all versions sound equally natural.

The original sentence is very natural:

• La ekrano restas sen lumo, eĉ kiam mi premas la butonon du fojojn.

You could also move the subordinate clause:

• Eĉ kiam mi premas la butonon du fojojn, la ekrano restas sen lumo.

That version puts more focus on the even when part first.

Because Esperanto marks grammar clearly with endings like -n, word order is freer than in English, but the most neutral order is still usually the easiest to understand.

Ekrano can mean a screen in several senses, depending on context:

• a computer screen
• a phone screen
• a display
• a projection screen

In this sentence, it most likely means some kind of display screen, because it stays without light and there is a button being pressed.

So the exact type of screen comes from context, not from the word itself.

Because the sentence describes the visible result: the screen has no light. That suggests it is dark, unlit, or not turning on visibly.

Lumo focuses on what the speaker sees.
It does not necessarily explain the technical cause. The problem could be:

• no power
• a broken display
• a dead battery
• some other hardware issue

So sen lumo is a natural way to describe the symptom rather than diagnose the problem.