Questions & Answers about Tiu eldono estas malnova.
What does tiu do in this sentence?
Tiu is a demonstrative word, used for that or that one. Here it points to a specific edition: that edition.
In Esperanto, tiu can stand by itself or come before a noun:
- tiu = that one
- tiu eldono = that edition
It does not change for gender, and in the basic form here it is singular.
Why is it eldono and not some shorter root?
Esperanto often builds words very transparently from roots and endings.
- eldon- = the root related to publishing / issuing
- -o = noun ending
So eldono is a noun meaning edition, publication, or issue, depending on context.
This is a very normal Esperanto pattern: root + part-of-speech ending.
Why does malnova end in -a?
The ending -a marks an adjective in Esperanto.
So:
- malnova = old
- nova = new
Because it describes the noun eldono, it has to be in adjective form. In Esperanto, adjectives normally end in -a.