Questions & Answers about La tigo estas alta.
Why is la used here?
La is the Esperanto definite article, meaning the.
So la tigo means the stem. Unlike English, Esperanto has only one article: la. It does not change for gender, number, or case.
Why does tigo end in -o?
In Esperanto, nouns normally end in -o.
So:
- tigo = a noun
- alta = an adjective
This makes word classes very easy to recognize. When you see -o, you can usually expect a noun.
Why is it estas?
Estas is the present-tense form of the verb esti, meaning to be.
Esperanto verbs do not change depending on the subject, so:
- mi estas = I am
- vi estas = you are
- li estas = he is
- la tigo estas = the stem is
That is much simpler than English, where am / is / are all differ.
Why does alta end in -a?