Breakdown of Hejme mia patro diris, ke li konas tiun poeton pli bone ol la aŭtorinon de la romano.
li
he
la
the
bone
well
de
of
Questions & Answers about Hejme mia patro diris, ke li konas tiun poeton pli bone ol la aŭtorinon de la romano.
What does hejme mean here, and why is it not something like en la hejmo?
Hejme means at home.
Esperanto often uses a plain adverb in -e for locations that English expresses with a preposition:
- hejme = at home
- lerneje = at school
- urbe = in the city
So Hejme mia patro diris... is a very natural way to say At home, my father said...
En la hejmo would be more literally in the home/household, which is possible but less idiomatic here.
Why is there no la before mia patro?
Because possessives like mia, via, lia, ŝia, nia already make the noun definite.
So:
- mia patro = my father
- not usually la mia patro
In Esperanto, possessives normally replace the need for the definite article.
Why is there a comma before ke?
In Esperanto, a subordinate clause introduced by ke is typically separated by a comma.
So:
- mia patro diris, ke... = my father said that...
This comma is standard Esperanto punctuation.
What does ke do in this sentence?