La burĝono estas malgranda.

to be

Breakdown of La burĝono estas malgranda.

• la: the
• malgranda: small
• burĝono: the bud

Questions & Answers about La burĝono estas malgranda.

Why is there la at the beginning?

La is the definite article in Esperanto, meaning the.

So:

• la burĝono = the bud
• burĝono = a bud / bud depending on context

Esperanto has only one article, la, and it does not change for gender, number, or case except that it may appear as la before plural or accusative nouns too.

Why does burĝono end in -o?

In Esperanto, nouns normally end in -o.

So burĝono is clearly a noun because of the -o ending. This is one of the most regular features of Esperanto:

• -o = noun
• -a = adjective
• -e = adverb
• -i = infinitive verb

That means a learner can often tell a word’s role just by its ending.

What does estas mean, and why is it used here?

Estas is the present-tense form of esti, which means to be.

So estas means is / am / are depending on the subject. Esperanto does not change the verb for different persons:

• mi estas = I am
• vi estas = you are
• li estas = he is