Breakdown of La longa vico de veturiloj igis la policistinon paroli pli laŭte ol kutime.
de
of
pli
more
paroli
to speak
longa
long
Questions & Answers about La longa vico de veturiloj igis la policistinon paroli pli laŭte ol kutime.
What is the basic grammar pattern of this sentence?
The sentence follows this pattern:
subject + igi + object + infinitive
So here:
- La longa vico de veturiloj = the subject
- igis = the main verb
- la policistinon = the object
- paroli pli laŭte ol kutime = the action she was caused to do
A very common Esperanto pattern is:
X igas Y fari ion = X makes/causes Y do something
So this sentence is built in a very regular way.
What does igis mean, and how does igi work?
Igi means to make, to cause, or to bring about.
In this sentence, igis is the past tense form, so it means made or caused.
Esperanto often uses igi to show causation:
- ridigi = to make someone laugh
- sidigi = to make someone sit
- trankviligi = to calm, to make calm
But igi can also appear as its own verb, as it does here:
- La bruo igis min foriri. = The noise made me leave.
- La novaĵo igis ŝin plori. = The news made her cry.
So igis la policistinon paroli means made the policewoman speak.
Why does policistinon end in -n?