Breakdown of La substrato sorbas akvon rapide.
akvo
the water
rapide
quickly
la
the
substrato
the substrate; growing medium
Questions & Answers about La substrato sorbas akvon rapide.
Why does sorbas end in -as?
In Esperanto, -as marks the present tense. So sorbas means absorbs / is absorbing.
The verb here is built like this:
- sorb- = the root, meaning absorb
- -as = present tense
Some related forms are:
- sorbas = absorbs
- sorbis = absorbed
- sorbos = will absorb
- sorbi = to absorb
Why is it akvon and not just akvo?
The -n ending marks the direct object in Esperanto.
In this sentence:
- La substrato = the subject, the thing doing the action
- sorbas = absorbs
- akvon = the thing being absorbed
So akvon has -n because it receives the action of the verb.
This is one of the most important features of Esperanto grammar. English mostly uses word order to show this, but Esperanto often uses the accusative ending -n.
Why is it rapide instead of rapida?