La planto povas vivi sen multe da akvo.

La is the definite article, meaning the. Esperanto uses la when you mean a specific thing or when you are talking about something in a general, class-like way that English might also express with the.

So la planto means the plant.

If you said just planto, that would mean a plant or simply plant in a more indefinite sense.

Povas means can / is able to, and vivi means to live.

This is a very common Esperanto pattern:

• conjugated verb: povas = can
• infinitive: vivi = to live

So povas vivi = can live.

Esperanto modal verbs work simply this way:

• mi povas iri = I can go
• ĝi volas manĝi = it wants to eat

There is no special change to vivi after povas.

Because after povas, Esperanto uses the infinitive form of the second verb.

• vivas = lives / is living
• vivi = to live

So:

• La planto vivas = The plant lives
• La planto povas vivi = The plant can live

The first has one main verb. The second has a modal verb plus an infinitive.

Sen means without.

So:

• sen akvo = without water
• sen multe da akvo = without much water

It is a preposition, and in Esperanto prepositions normally take the plain noun form, not the accusative, unless motion or another special rule is involved.

This is a very common learner question.

Multe da akvo means much water in the sense of a large amount of water.

Here is the key idea:

• multa is an adjective
• multe is an adverb or quantity word
• da is used for amounts of something

So:

• multa akvo = much water / plentiful water
• multe da akvo = a lot of water / much water

Both can be possible in Esperanto, but multe da akvo is often the more natural way to express quantity.

You can think of multe da akvo as literally something like much of water or better a lot of water.

Da is specifically used for quantity expressions.

So after words like multe, iom, kilogramo, glaso, and so on, Esperanto often uses da:

• multe da akvo = much water / a lot of water
• iom da pano = some bread
• glaso da lakto = a glass of milk

By contrast, de usually shows possession, origin, or a more general of relationship:

• la koloro de la planto = the color of the plant
• libro de Maria = Maria’s book / a book of Maria

So in this sentence, da is the correct choice because it is about amount.

Because akvo is not the direct object of the sentence.

The main structure is:

• La planto = subject
• povas vivi = verb phrase
• sen multe da akvo = prepositional phrase

Since akvo comes after the preposition sen, it normally stays in the basic -o form, not the accusative -n form.

You usually add -n for a direct object:

• La planto bezonas akvon = The plant needs water

But here:

• La planto povas vivi sen multe da akvo = The plant can live without much water

So no -n is needed.

Because multe here is part of the quantity expression multe da akvo, and it is not acting as a direct object.

Also, multe ends in -e, which is the adverb ending. In this phrase it functions as a quantity word, not as a noun receiving the accusative.

So:

• multe da akvo = much water / a lot of water

There is no need for -n here.

Yes, Esperanto word order is fairly flexible, but the normal order here is very natural:

La planto povas vivi sen multe da akvo.

You could move parts around for emphasis, for example:

• Sen multe da akvo la planto povas vivi.

This still means the same thing, but it emphasizes without much water more strongly.

For learners, the original word order is the safest and most neutral choice.

Yes, planto means plant, and the -o ending shows that it is a noun.

Esperanto endings are very regular:

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

So in this sentence:

• planto = noun
• multe = adverb/quantity word
• vivi = infinitive verb

This regularity is one of the most helpful parts of Esperanto grammar.