Questions & Answers about La kurso en la universitato komenciĝos la dekduan de marto.
Why is the verb komenciĝos instead of komencos?
Because komenciĝi means to begin / to start in an intransitive sense: the course itself begins.
- komenci = to begin something / to start something
- Example: La instruisto komencos la lecionon. = The teacher will start the lesson.
- komenciĝi = to begin / to start
- Example: La leciono komenciĝos. = The lesson will begin.
So in La kurso ... komenciĝos, the subject is la kurso, and the course is what begins, so komenciĝos is the natural choice.
The suffix -iĝ- often gives the idea of becoming or starting to be in a new state, and here it makes the verb intransitive.
What does the ending -os mean in komenciĝos?
-os is the Esperanto future tense ending.
So:
- komenciĝas = begins / is beginning
- komenciĝis = began
- komenciĝos = will begin
That means La kurso en la universitato komenciĝos... says the beginning is in the future.
Why is it la dekduan and not la dekdua?
The -n ending here marks a time expression. Esperanto often uses the accusative -n for dates and points in time without a preposition.
So:
- la dekdua de marto = the twelfth of March
- la dekduan de marto = on the twelfth of March
In this sentence, la dekduan de marto tells when the course will begin, so the accusative is used.
This is very common in Esperanto:
- Mi venos lundon. = I will come on Monday.
- Li alvenis pasintjare. = He arrived last year.
How do dates work in Esperanto in a sentence like this?
A very common pattern is:
la + ordinal number + de + month
So:
- la unua de januaro = the first of January
- la dekdua de marto = the twelfth of March
When the date is used as a time expression in a sentence, Esperanto often adds -n:
- Mi venos la unuan de januaro. = I will come on the first of January.
- La kurso komenciĝos la dekduan de marto. = The course will begin on the twelfth of March.
So the basic date is la dekdua de marto, but in this sentence it becomes la dekduan de marto because it functions as when.
Could you also say je la dekdua de marto?
Yes, that is also possible.
Esperanto often allows either:
- the accusative of time: la dekduan de marto
- or je for time: je la dekdua de marto
So both can mean on the twelfth of March.
However, the accusative form without a preposition is very common and elegant in Esperanto, so la dekduan de marto is perfectly normal.
Why is it de marto?
In Esperanto, dates are commonly built with de:
- la kvina de majo = the fifth of May
- la dekdua de marto = the twelfth of March
This is simply the standard date pattern. English speakers may want to map it directly to English, but it is best to learn it as an Esperanto structure.
Also, note that month names in Esperanto are normally not capitalized:
- januaro
- februaro
- marto
So de marto is the normal written form.
Does en la universitato mean in the university or at the university?
It can correspond to English in the university or at the university, depending on context.
Esperanto en literally means in, but in many cases English would naturally say at. So:
- en la universitato = in the university / at the university
Here it most likely identifies the place where the course is located: the course at the university or the course in the university.
English and Esperanto do not always divide in/at the same way, so en is often broader than English learners expect.
Why is there la before kurso and universitato?
La is the definite article, meaning the.
- la kurso = the course
- la universitato = the university
It is used because the sentence refers to specific things, not just any course or any university.
If you removed la, the meaning would become more indefinite:
- kurso = a course / course
- universitato = a university / university
In this sentence, the speaker apparently has a particular course and a particular university in mind, so la is appropriate.
Can the word order be changed?
Yes. Esperanto word order is fairly flexible, as long as the sentence stays clear.
For example, these are all possible:
- La kurso en la universitato komenciĝos la dekduan de marto.
- La kurso komenciĝos en la universitato la dekduan de marto.
- La dekduan de marto la kurso en la universitato komenciĝos.
The original version is very natural. It first identifies the course at the university, then gives the verb, then the date.
Esperanto often allows movement of phrases for emphasis, but the original sentence is a straightforward neutral order.
How is dekduan formed?
It comes from the ordinal number dekdua, meaning twelfth.
Here is the breakdown:
- dek du = twelve
- dekdua = twelfth
- dekduan = twelfth + accusative -n
Ordinal numbers in Esperanto usually end in -a, because they behave like adjectives:
- unua = first
- dua = second
- tria = third
- dekdua = twelfth
And because this date expression is used as a time expression, it takes -n:
- la dekduan de marto
Is the course will begin really the same as La kurso ... komenciĝos?
Yes. In Esperanto, it is very natural to say that an event, class, lesson, or course begins by using komenciĝi.
So:
- La kurso komenciĝos. = The course will begin.
This is not strange or overly formal in Esperanto. It is the normal way to express that the course starts at a certain time.
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