Mia avino diras, ke bona salato ne bezonas boli.

Mia means my, and avino means grandmother.

A few useful pieces are happening here:

• mi = I
• mia = my
  Esperanto often makes possessives by adding -a.
• avino = grandmother

Also, avino can be broken down like this:

• av- = grandparent-related root
• -in- = female
• -o = noun ending

So avino is specifically a female grandparent: grandmother.

In Esperanto:

• -o marks a noun
• -a marks an adjective

So:

• salato = salad or a salad
• bona = good

Because bona describes salato, it takes the adjective ending -a.

This is one of the most regular parts of Esperanto grammar:

• noun: domo = house
• adjective: granda = big
• together: granda domo = big house

So bona salato simply means good salad.

Because salato is the subject of the clause bona salato ne bezonas boli.

In Esperanto, -n usually marks the direct object, but here salato is the thing doing the needing:

• bona salato = the good salad
• ne bezonas = does not need
• boli = to boil

So the salad is the subject, not the object.

Compare:

• La salato bolas. = The salad is boiling.
• Mi manĝas la salaton. = I eat the salad.

In the second example, salaton gets -n because it is the object of manĝas.

Ke means that and introduces a subordinate clause.

So:

• Mia avino diras = My grandmother says
• ke bona salato ne bezonas boli = that a good salad does not need to boil

English often allows us to omit that:

• My grandmother says a good salad doesn't need to boil.

Esperanto usually keeps ke when introducing this kind of clause.

It is very common after verbs like:

• diri = to say
• scii = to know
• pensi = to think
• kredi = to believe

Example:

• Mi pensas, ke li venos. = I think that he will come.

Because ke introduces a subordinate clause, and Esperanto normally separates that clause with a comma.

So:

• Mia avino diras, ke ...

This is standard Esperanto punctuation.

You will often see the same pattern with other clause-introducing words too.

Example:

• Mi scias, ke vi pravas. = I know that you are right.

Diras is the present tense form of diri.

In Esperanto verb endings are very regular:

• -i = infinitive → diri = to say
• -as = present → diras = says / is saying
• -is = past → diris = said
• -os = future → diros = will say

So Mia avino diras means My grandmother says.

Not dirasi because Esperanto finite verbs do not take -i.
The infinitive is diri, but the conjugated present form is diras.

Because boli is an infinitive, meaning to boil.

After bezonas (needs), Esperanto often uses an infinitive directly:

• bezonas boli = needs to boil

So in this sentence:

• bona salato ne bezonas boli
  = a good salad does not need to boil

If you said bolas, that would be a finite verb:

• La salato bolas. = The salad is boiling.

But here the meaning is does not need to boil, so the infinitive boli is the correct form.

Bezoni means to need, and it can be followed by an infinitive.

So:

• Mi bezonas dormi. = I need to sleep.
• Ŝi bezonas labori. = She needs to work.
• Bona salato ne bezonas boli. = A good salad doesn’t need to boil.

This is similar to English need to + verb.

A native English speaker may expect a separate word for to, but in Esperanto the infinitive ending -i already does that job here.

So boli by itself means to boil.

Esperanto has la for the, but it has no separate word for a/an.

So:

• salato can mean salad or a salad
• la salato means the salad

That means bona salato can naturally mean:

• good salad
• a good salad

Whether it feels definite or indefinite depends on context.

So the sentence does not need an article before bona salato.

The normal word order is straightforward and natural:

• Mia avino diras, ke bona salato ne bezonas boli.

Esperanto word order is somewhat flexible, but this sentence uses the most ordinary pattern:

• subject: Mia avino
• verb: diras
• subordinate clause: ke ...

Inside the subordinate clause:

• subject: bona salato
• verb: ne bezonas
• infinitive complement: boli

You could move things around in some contexts for emphasis, but this version is the most neutral and easiest for learners.

Ne negates bezonas, so it means does not need.

• bezonas = needs
• ne bezonas = does not need

So:

• bona salato ne bezonas boli
  = a good salad does not need to boil

The negation is about necessity, not about the action itself in isolation.

Compare:

• La akvo ne bolas. = The water is not boiling.
  Here ne negates bolas.
• La akvo ne bezonas boli. = The water does not need to boil.
  Here ne negates bezonas.

Yes, and this is one of the nice things about Esperanto word-building.

Avino is built regularly:

• av- = grandparent-related root
• -in- = female
• -o = noun

So if you know the system, you can often recognize related words. For example:

• avo = grandfather
• avino = grandmother

This makes Esperanto vocabulary more predictable than English in many cases.

In Esperanto, stress normally falls on the second-to-last syllable.

So:

• MI-a
• a-VI-no
• DI-ras
• BO-na
• sa-LA-to
• be-ZO-nas
• BO-li

This rule is very regular, so pronunciation is much easier than in English.