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En januaro mi kutime pensas pri miaj celoj por la nova jaro.

En januaro mi kutime pensas pri miaj celoj por la nova jaro.
In January I usually think about my goals for the new year.
FromLesson 26inHardcore Esperanto

Breakdown of En januaro mi kutime pensas pri miaj celoj por la nova jaro.

mi
I
la
the
en
in
por
for
nova
new
pri
about
mia
my
jaro
the year
kutime
usually
pensi
to think
celo
the goal
januaro
January

Questions & Answers about En januaro mi kutime pensas pri miaj celoj por la nova jaro.

Why is it En januaro?
With month names, Esperanto commonly uses en to mean in. So En januaro means in January. This is the normal, straightforward way to express the time here.
Why is januaro lowercase? In English, months are capitalized.
In Esperanto, the names of months are normally written with lowercase letters: januaro, februaro, marto, and so on. They are only capitalized at the beginning of a sentence or in a title.
What does kutime mean, and why is it placed before pensas?
Kutime means usually. It is an adverb, so it modifies the verb pensas. The order mi kutime pensas is the most neutral and natural way to say I usually think. Esperanto word order is flexible, but this placement is very common.
Why is it pensas pri instead of just pensas?

Pensi pri means to think about. The preposition pri shows what the thought is about. So pensas pri miaj celoj means think about my goals.

Compare:

  • Mi pensas pri tio = I am thinking about that.
  • Mi pensas, ke... = I think that...

So in this sentence, pri is needed.

Why doesn’t miaj celoj have an -n ending?

Because miaj celoj is not the direct object of the verb. It comes after the preposition pri, and nouns after prepositions normally do not take -n. So:

  • Mi vidas miajn celojn = I see my goals.
  • Mi pensas pri miaj celoj = I think about my goals.

The -n would be wrong here.

Why do both miaj and celoj end in -j?

Because adjectives and possessive words in Esperanto agree with the noun they describe. Celoj is plural, so miaj must also be plural.

  • mia celo = my goal
  • miaj celoj = my goals

This matching is a basic Esperanto rule.

Why is there no la before miaj celoj?

In Esperanto, a possessive like mia, via, lia, ŝia, nia, ilia already makes the noun definite, so la is usually not used with it. Miaj celoj already clearly means my goals.

So Esperanto normally says:

  • miaj celoj

not:

  • la miaj celoj
Why is it por la nova jaro and not de la nova jaro?

Por means for, which fits the idea of goals intended for the new year. De usually means of or from, so celoj de la nova jaro would suggest goals belonging to the new year, which is not the meaning here.

So:

  • celoj por la nova jaro = goals for the new year

is the natural choice.

Why does la nova jaro have la?

Because this refers to a specific new year that both speaker and listener can identify from context, just like English the new year. The article la marks it as definite.

Without la, it would sound more general or less natural in this context.

Could I say mi kutimas pensi instead of mi kutime pensas?

Yes, you could, but the nuance is slightly different.

  • Mi kutime pensas... = I usually think...
  • Mi kutimas pensi... = I am accustomed to thinking... / I have the habit of thinking...

The sentence with kutime is simpler and more neutral. It is probably the best choice for a learner.

Can the word order be changed?

Yes. Esperanto has fairly flexible word order. For example, you could also say:

Mi kutime pensas en januaro pri miaj celoj por la nova jaro.

That is still understandable. But starting with En januaro is very natural because it sets the time frame right away: In January, ...

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