Mi finos la raporton antaŭ la kunveno.

Finos is the future tense of the verb fini (to finish).

• fini = to finish
• finas = finish / am finishing
• finis = finished
• finos = will finish

So Mi finos means I will finish.

The -n ending marks the direct object in Esperanto.

In this sentence, la raporton is the thing being finished, so it gets -n:

• raporto = report
• raporton = the report, as the direct object

A native English speaker often notices that English usually relies on word order, but Esperanto often marks the object directly with -n.

La is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• raporton = a report / report, depending on context
• la raporton = the report

Esperanto has only one article, la, and it does not change for gender, number, or case. Even when the noun gets -n, the article stays la.

Because kunveno is the object of the preposition antaŭ, not the direct object of the verb.

In Esperanto, nouns after prepositions normally do not take -n unless there is a special reason, such as indicating movement in some expressions.

Here:

• antaŭ la kunveno = before the meeting

So kunveno stays without -n.

Antaŭ usually means before or in front of, depending on context.

In this sentence, it clearly refers to time:

• antaŭ la kunveno = before the meeting

So the sentence means the report will be finished earlier than the meeting.

Yes. In normal usage, antaŭ la kunveno usually means before the meeting in a general time sense.

Depending on context, that could mean:

• before the meeting begins
• before the meeting takes place
• sometime earlier than the meeting

If someone wanted to be more precise, they could add extra words, but the basic sentence is completely natural as it is.

Esperanto words are often built from roots plus endings.

Here:

• kunven- = the root related to gathering or meeting
• -o = noun ending

So kunveno is a noun meaning a meeting or a gathering.

Many Esperanto nouns work this way: root + -o.

Yes, Esperanto word order is more flexible than English because the grammar endings show each word’s role.

The most neutral order is:

Mi finos la raporton antaŭ la kunveno.

But variations are possible, for example:

• La raporton mi finos antaŭ la kunveno.
• Antaŭ la kunveno mi finos la raporton.

These all mean roughly the same thing, though the emphasis changes. The original version is the most straightforward and natural for a learner.

Usually yes. Mi finos is the normal future form and is often translated as I will finish.

English has several future-like forms, such as:

• I will finish
• I’m going to finish
• I’m finishing later

Esperanto often just uses the future ending -os for this idea. So Mi finos is a simple and standard way to express future completion.

Because Esperanto usually expresses tense with verb endings instead of helper words.

In English:

• I will finish

In Esperanto:

• Mi finos

The future meaning is already built into finos through -os, so no extra word like will is needed.

Antaŭ is pronounced approximately ahn-TAU.

A few helpful points:

• Esperanto stress usually falls on the second-to-last syllable
• So the stress is on ta: an-TAŬ
• The letter ŭ is a short w-like sound, often heard in combinations like aŭ

So antaŭ sounds somewhat like ahn-tow, but with a very short final glide.

Here is the structure:

• Mi = subject (I)
• finos = verb in future tense (will finish)
• la raporton = direct object (the report)
• antaŭ la kunveno = prepositional phrase showing time (before the meeting)

So the sentence pattern is:

subject + verb + object + time phrase

That is a very common and natural Esperanto sentence structure.