La tigo estas alta.

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.

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.

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.

Adjectives in Esperanto end in -a.

So alta is an adjective meaning tall or high, depending on context.

In this sentence, alta describes tigo, so it must be in adjective form.

The -n ending marks the direct object in Esperanto.

But in La tigo estas alta, there is no direct object. This is a linking sentence:

• la tigo = subject
• estas = linking verb
• alta = predicate adjective

Because alta is not a direct object, it does not take -n.

Yes. In Esperanto, adjectives agree with the nouns they describe in number and case.

Here:

• tigo is singular
• it is not accusative
• so the adjective stays alta

If the noun were plural, you would say:

• La tigoj estas altaj = The stems are tall.

If it were accusative in a different kind of sentence, the adjective would match that too.

This is the most neutral and common word order:

• La tigo = subject
• estas = verb
• alta = complement

So the basic pattern is subject + verb + adjective.

Esperanto word order is fairly flexible, but this order is the clearest and most natural for beginners.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

lah TEE-goh ESS-tahs AHL-tah

A few helpful points:

• g is always hard, like in go
• ti is pronounced as tee, not like English sh
• stress is usually on the second-to-last syllable:
  • TI-go
  • ES-tas
  • AL-ta

It can mean either, depending on context.

For a stem, English might translate it as tall or high, depending on what sounds most natural in the situation. Esperanto often uses one adjective where English might choose between two related words.

Yes, sometimes, but that changes the meaning.

• La tigo estas alta = The stem is tall
• Tigo estas alta would sound more like A stem is tall or stem is tall, which is usually less natural unless the context clearly allows it.

So if you mean a specific stem, la is the right choice.