Questions tagged [verbs]
verboj: Vortoj kun finaĵoj -i, -is, -as, -os, -us aŭ -u.
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How does one express "to share" in Esperanto?
There seems to be several words in Esperanto that all correspond to the English verb "to share". Right now I can think of dividi, diskonigi and kunhavi. I'd love to see a collection of them all, and ...
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Double negatives in Esperanto
In languages such as Spanish, words associated with a negative verb also take a negative form, e.g. No sé nada (Lit. I don’t know nothing). On the other hand, in English this use of double ...
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Verbs of buttons on websites
On websites there are often buttons with verbs on them.
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Should these be written in the imperative or infinitive form? For example, should I use Memoru min or ...
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Do aspekti and ŝajni go with adjectives or adverbs?
There are a couple of verbs after which I always hesitate which word to use. For example:
La domo aspektas bela. / La domo aspektas bele.
La viro ŝajnas afabla. / La viro ŝajnas afable.
Now that I ...
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Are the compound verb tenses ever really used in Esperanto?
I found this link which lists 12 compound tenses like future perfect, along with some other outlandish forms like perfect imperative (brr), further to the normal as–is–os. Are they used in anything ...
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Does Esperanto have any rules about the transitivity of verbs?
I am analyzing the transitivity of verbs in Esperanto, and I don't seem to find any coherence. For that reason, when I write a text, I constantly feel the need to search in a dictionary for the direct ...
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"Dankon POR via respondo" or "Dankon PRO via respondo"?
Both can be translated to "Thanks for your answer". Which one is correct, and if both are, when?
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How can I say "to turn on/off"?
How can I say "to turn on/off" in these contexts:
I have to turn on my computer first.
Do you know how to turn off the autocorrect-function?
Please turn off your phones before entering!
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Which word should I use for "to drive (a car)"?
I've seen several verbs: konduki, stiri, veturigi. I've thought of aŭti too, and I just saw that ReVo actually suggests it.
Which one is the best? Do they fit in different situations?
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Does Esperanto have gerunds?
I know how the infinitive form of a verb is used in Esperanto.
Mi ŝatas danci. (I like to dance.)
Does Esperanto have a parallel to English gerunds?
I like dancing.
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What is the object of "instrui"?
How does one construct a sentence containing "to teach someone something"? Can I have two objects in the accusative or do I need a preposition?
Ŝi instruas lin la francan.
Ŝi instruas al li la ...
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Can I use "iri" with other verbs?
For some reason, it feels natural for me to put forms of iri in front of other verbs that are in the infinitive. This is probably some influence from other languages I have. Here are some examples:
...
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Kio estas la diferenco inter bezoni kaj necesi?
Mi komprenas ke bezoni alvenis de la franca kaj necesi estas latina vorto. Ĉu gravas la diferenco inter la du vortoj?
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Ĉu oni "ludas" kiam oni alklakas la butonon?
En la angla oni diras "play" pri la butono kun triangulo(▶️). Ankaŭ la verbo estas "to play" kiam oni alklakas ĝin kaj ekigas la filmon aŭ kanton. Kiun verbon mi uzu esperante? Sentus al mi strange ...
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What can I say instead of "zorgi"?
As I understand it, zorgi corresponds to all of these:
to care
Mi ne zorgas.
Ĉu li eĉ zorgas pri ĉi tiaj aferoj?
to take care of
zorgi pri ĝardeno
zorgi pri infano
to worry
...
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Can infinitives be used back-to-back in Esperanto?
For example, I just read an English sentence similar to:
What you need to know to be able to grow potatoes...
If I, at my early stage, try to translate this into Esperanto, I end up with three ...
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Should I use "komencas" or "komenciĝas" when talking about which letter a word begins with?
Should I use "komencas" or "komenciĝas" when talking about which letter a word begins with?
For example: Lia nomo _ per A.
I am aware of the difference between the two verbs in other situations ...
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How to say "I don't feel like it" in Esperanto
I've had trouble finding a phrase in Esperanto that can be used the same as "I don't feel like it." I've considered "emas", but I think that would describe my personality and not a temporary state. I ...
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What is the difference between "ĵaluzi" and "envii"?
I have been using ĵaluzi and envii interchangeably, but recently I saw some comments in a chat goup about it. One person corrected another, saying it should be ĵaluzi and not envii. I now suppose ...
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Compound Tenses
Researching the in-depth usages of Esperanto verbs, I came across this Wikipedia entry.
In short, the entry claims that for compound tenses such as "mi estas kuranta" (present tense progressive, "I ...
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Does “priskribi” only relate to a written description?
My dictionary gives priskribi as a translation of “describe”. However, looking at the word one would think it means to write about something. Presumably the English word “describe” has a similar ...
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Can you write "Mi baldaŭ foriras" instead of "Mi baldaŭ foriros"?
According to ReVo, baldaŭ means post mallonga tempo.
Since the idea of posterity is already expressed by the adverb, is it possible to use the -as tense with a verb associated to this adverb?
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Does Esperanto offer as many synonyms as English?
For example, when searching up how to say to scoff in Esperanto, Neta Vortaro told me that it was moki, but I know that to mock is also moki. This troubles me, since in my mind, I associated scoffing ...
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Seeking a translation for a specific use of the English word "claim"
tl;dr: Is "pretendi" an appropriate translation of the English "to claim" in the sense of an insurance claim?
According to ReVo, "to claim" is simply "pretendi". However, the definitions (there and ...
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When should "por" be used before an infinitive (i-verbo)?
There are some cases where I'm not sure if I'm supposed to say the word por before an infinitive. What are the rules for this?
Here is an example of a situation where I'm not exactly sure what to do:
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Creating new verbs with -um and nouns
Some of my friends connect -umi to nouns like in the examples below. In brackets are the meanings I caught through context.
varsoviumi (talk about Varsovio, look at pictures of the city and/or walk ...
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Ĉu "pluvi" povas havi subjekton aŭ objekton?
Mi pensas, ke oni ofte oni simple uzas "pluvas" sole, eble kun aldona adverbo. Sed ĉu eblus meti subjekton aŭ objekton al tiu verbo?
Por subjekto, ĉu eblus diri ekzemple "la ĉielo pluvas" aŭ "la ...
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Kion signifas "Mi traktas min..."?
Mi legis el la profilo de flua esperantisto: Mi traktas min profesia esperantisto, ĉar...
Nu, mi neniam vidis la verbon trakti uzita por min kaj pensis, ĉu gramatike tio estas ĝusta kaj signifas Mi ...
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What is the difference between "veki" and "vekiĝi"?
According to my Esperanto dictionary on my Android phone, both mean wake up. Which verb is transitive, and which one isn't? How do you use each in a sentence? Thanks!
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How to translate "I took two pictures"?
On Tatoeba I found these translations for "Please don't take pictures here":
Bonvolu ne fotografi ĉi tie.
Bonvolu ne foti ĉi tie.
Bonvolu ne fari fotojn ĉi tie.
Bonvolu ne preni fotojn.
...
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What is "phone call" in Esperanto?
I know that "to call someone on the phone" is "telefoni iun/al iu" but there is also the more general "alvoki". I'm having trouble making a noun out of the first verb, and I think I've heard "alvoko". ...
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Verb form in Esperanto Cooking Recipes
How are cooking recipes written in Esperanto?
Cooking recipes are a very special genre with respect to verb form, in German (my mother tongue) the infinitive is used as a substitute for the ...
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How free is word order in a sentence with infinitives
Infinitives do not have case markers. "Mi ŝatas lerni" is the typical order, and so is "egzameni asisti la detektivon".
But could "lerni ŝatas mi" work, noting that "mi" is not in accusative and is ...
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Using "tiel" and "tiom" before adjectives, adverbs and verbs
Should I use tiel or tiom before an adjective, adverb or verb?
Vi estas tiom/tiel afabla.
Helpi min estis tiom/tiel afable de vi.
Vi tiom/tiel afablas.
In English, people say "so" in this ...
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Converting verbs to nouns
Suppose I have a verb, for example kunfandiĝi (hopefully something like to merge), but I want a noun describing a process of that word (in this case, to merge would in English become merging).
Is ...
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Exceedingly Complex Tenses
I would like to know how to correctly compose very complicated verb tenses (more complex than esti+participle). Because their usage is so rare, this is a curiosity question rather than a practical one....
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Ĉu oni povas plani renkonti iun?
Instruisto diris al mi ke:
"renkonti iun" estas hazarde
"renkontiĝi kun iu" estas planita
Ĉu tio estas vera?
Pri okazo dum kiu pluraj personoj iras al la sama loko kun celo interagi kun unu la ...
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Kiel funkcias -iĝ kun verbaj radikoj?
Mi vidis ekzemplojn kiel "sidiĝi" kaj "decidiĝi". Sed en mia kapo tio ŝajnas nelogike. Ĉu vere eblas iĝi verbo? Laŭ PIV sidiĝi signifas "iĝi sidanta" kaj same decidiĝi signifas "iĝi decidanta".
...
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Can I use the word "trovi" for opinions?
In some languages, the verb "to find" is used figuratively to express opinions.
I find this house beatiful.
Back then, I found it impossible to succeed.
How do you find this design?
Is this ...
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Kio estas la objekto de "enskribi"?
Kio estas la objekto de "enskribi"?
Ĉu la afero en kiu oni skribas?
- Mi enskribas kajeron.
Aŭ la afero kiun oni skribas?
- Mi enskribas mian nomon.
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The “essence” of -as, -is, -os, -us alone
This is a very primitive question but I don't know where else to look for an answer. I tried ESPDIC and Tekstaro with some queries but without success. I wonder if Esperanto has some neutral verb or ...
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What would be the meaning of "adi"?
PMEG does not provide a theorical meaning for adi. What would be the most probable meaning of adi based on how other affixes are transformed into verbs?
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Verb form used for sounds in Comics
What Esperanto verb form is used for sounds in comics when the sound cannot be described easily by spelling it out? An example is English sigh, German seufz (note the pure verb stem being used here, a ...
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Why doesn't the infinitive take the -n suffix?
(This question springs from this one.)
In Esperanto, the -n suffix ending is usually used to mark the accusative.
Ŝi ŝatas fiŝojn.
Ŝi ŝatas la Italan.
Ŝi ŝatas ilin.
Ŝi ŝatas manĝi.
Why isn’t it Ŝi ...
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How do I say "to pass/fail a test"?
How can I say I passed the test or I failed the test? Using our grading system, failing would mean getting an F, while an E or higher is what is required to "pass." I've seen sukcesi and malsukcesi in ...
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Is "mi estas irinta vespermanĝi" correct?
Is "mi estas irinta vespermanĝi" correct, or is there a better way of forming the "vespermanĝi" part?
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What is the difference between "volus"+infinitive and conditional mood?
E.g. the sentences
mi volus salti.
mi saltus.
both mean something related to wanting to jump. What is the difference between these two forms?
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Where is the object in the example sentences for definition #2 of the verb "atendi" in PIV?
http://vortaro.net/?w=atendi#atendi
PIV notes that the verb "atendi" is transitive. However, definition 2 ("Prokrasti ian agon ĝis okazos alia ago") has example sentences that do not have anything ...
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Can I use the Present Tense for events regarded at the present as immutably fixed?
In Italian, and American English, I could use the Present Tense for something happening in the future.
Domani inizio il mio nuovo lavoro. (Tomorrow I start my new job.)
As said in the answer to ...
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What is the assumed subject of -u form verbs
Something that came up in an answer to my previous question was, what is the assumed subject of a u-form verb, which I incorrectly assumed to always be vi. When I say Kuru!, or Sidiĝu! I really mean ...
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