La semo ĝermas; poste ni nutras la planton.

The -n marks the direct object in Esperanto.

In ni nutras la planton, ni is the subject doing the action, nutras is the verb, and la planton is what receives the action. So the plant gets -n.

A quick comparison:

• La semo ĝermas = the seed is the subject, so no -n
• Ni nutras la planton = the plant is the object, so it gets -n

Because semo is the subject of ĝermas, not the object.

In La semo ĝermas, the seed is the thing that sprouts. It is doing the action in the grammatical sense, so it stays semo, not semon.

Esperanto uses -n mainly for direct objects and for some expressions of direction.

Because Esperanto verbs do not change according to the subject.

The ending -as simply means present tense. It works for all persons:

• mi nutras = I feed/nourish
• vi nutras = you feed/nourish
• li/ŝi/ĝi nutras = he/she/it feeds/nourishes
• ni nutras = we feed/nourish
• ili nutras = they feed/nourish

So:

• ĝermas = is sprouting / sprouts
• nutras = nourish / are nourishing

La is Esperanto’s word for the.

It is used before both nouns:

• la semo
• la planton

A very important point for English speakers: Esperanto has no separate word for a or an. If you want an indefinite noun, you usually just leave out the article.

So:

• semo = a seed / seed
• la semo = the seed

In this sentence, la suggests that the seed and the plant are being referred to as definite or known in context.

Poste is an adverb meaning afterward, later, or then.

In this sentence it links the two actions in sequence:

• first, the seed sprouts
• poste, we nourish the plant

So it helps show the order of events.

Yes. Esperanto word order is fairly flexible, especially with adverbs like poste.

These are all possible, with slightly different emphasis:

• La semo ĝermas; poste ni nutras la planton.
• La semo ĝermas; ni poste nutras la planton.
• Poste ni nutras la planton.

The version in your sentence is very natural and clear.

To some extent, yes. Esperanto allows more flexibility than English because the -n ending helps show what is the object.

For example, these mean the same thing:

• Ni nutras la planton.
• La planton ni nutras.

Both mean we nourish the plant, because planton has -n.

However, the normal, most neutral order is still subject + verb + object, so ni nutras la planton is the most straightforward form for learners.

The semicolon links two closely related clauses:

• La semo ĝermas
• poste ni nutras la planton

It shows that the ideas are separate but strongly connected in a sequence.

A period would also be possible:

• La semo ĝermas. Poste ni nutras la planton.

A comma would usually be less ideal here, because these are two full clauses.

Ĝ is pronounced like the j in judge.

So ĝermas starts with a sound like jer-.

Roughly:

• ĝermas ≈ JER-mas

This letter is different from plain g, which is always a hard g as in go.

Not exactly. Nutri means to nourish, to feed, or to provide nutrients to.

So ni nutras la planton is closer to:

• we nourish the plant
• we feed the plant

If you specifically want water the plant, the usual verb is akvumi:

• Ni akvumas la planton = we water the plant

So nutri is broader than just watering.

Usually no. Ĝermi is normally intransitive: the seed itself sprouts.

So:

• La semo ĝermas = correct

You normally do not say that the seed ĝermas something. That is why there is no object after ĝermas.

This contrasts nicely with nutri, which is transitive:

• Ni nutras la planton
  Here the verb naturally takes an object, so la planton appears with -n.