Ŝi havis la kuraĝon konfesi la veron al sia patrino.

to have

Breakdown of Ŝi havis la kuraĝon konfesi la veron al sia patrino.

• al: to
• patrino: the mother
• ŝi: she

Questions & Answers about Ŝi havis la kuraĝon konfesi la veron al sia patrino.

Why does kuraĝon end in -n?

Because kuraĝon is the direct object of havis. The sentence says that she had something: the courage. In Esperanto, a direct object normally takes -n.

So:

• havis = had
• la kuraĝon = the courage

This is a very common pattern: havi la kuraĝon fari ion = to have the courage to do something.

Why is konfesi in the infinitive form?

Because it works like English to confess in the courage to confess. After la kuraĝon, Esperanto often uses an infinitive to show what action required courage.

So:

• la kuraĝon konfesi = the courage to confess

The infinitive ending in Esperanto is -i, so konfesi is the basic dictionary form of the verb.

Why does veron also have -n?

Because veron is the direct object of konfesi.

There are two different verb ideas in the sentence:

• havis → its object is la kuraĝon
• konfesi → its object is la veron

So both nouns take -n, but for different reasons. This is completely normal in Esperanto.

Why is it al sia patrino and not sian patrinon?