Participles
Esperanto Reading 1
Chapter 4 · Participles in Real Text
🧩 Participles in Real Text — Participoj en vera teksto
In the first three chapters you met endings like -ita (fermita) and -ante (atendante) and were told to wait. This chapter explains them. Participles pack a whole clause into a word, and a reader who recognises them can unpack long sentences quickly.
The six participles
| Marker | Voice and time | With legi (to read) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ant- | active, during | la leganta viro | the man who is reading |
| -int- | active, before | la leginta viro | the man who has read |
| -ont- | active, after | la legonta viro | the man who is about to read |
| -at- | passive, during | la legata libro | the book that is being read |
| -it- | passive, before | la legita libro | the book that has been read |
| -ot- | passive, after | la legota libro | the book that will be read |
The pattern is regular. Take the root, add the marker and add the ending. The same marker also helps you read the sentence from Chapter 2: Fermita on a door means "closed", that is, something that has been closed.
The three uses: -a, -e, -o
| Ending | Job | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -a | adjective: describes a noun | la dormanta infano the sleeping child |
| -e | adverb: describes the verb | Malfermante ĝin, mi trovis fotojn. (While) opening it, I found photos. |
| -o | noun: the person who does it | paroli → parolanto a speaker legi → leganto a reader |
An -anto is the person doing the action, an -into is the one who did it, and an -ato is the one it is being done to. Zamenhof's own pen-name, Doktoro Esperanto, is "Doctor Hopeful" (esper- hope + -anto): the language was named after it.
Compound tenses
Together with esti, a participle makes a compound tense. The time of esti and the time of the participle combine:
| Esperanto | English |
|---|---|
| La letero estas skribita. | The letter is written (done). |
| La letero estis skribita de Maria. | The letter was written by Maria. |
| La domo estas konstruata. | The house is being built. |
| Mi estis lerninta Esperanton. | I had learned Esperanto. |
| La pordo estas fermita. | The door is closed. |
The simple tenses cover almost every situation, so the compound tenses are used when the writer wants to stress the time or the stage of the action. When you read them, treat estas as a signpost and the participle as the real content.
Reading a long sentence
Long sentences are usually a main clause with extra information attached. Use the endings to separate them:
Du manieroj
- Find the main verb: estas, the only verb not inside a participle or a kiu clause.
- Find its subject: La viro, and its complement: mia instruisto.
- Everything between them is extra information about the man: where he sits and what he reads.
The two versions mean the same. Sentence ① uses a relative clause with kiu and ordinary verbs. Sentence ② replaces it with participles, which is shorter. You will see both in real texts.
📖 A Short Text — Mallonga teksto
La letero
| Esperanto | English | Esperanto | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| trovi | to find | poŝtkesto | letterbox |
| foto | photo | ĉirkaŭ | around |
| homo | person | ridi | to laugh |
| senti | to feel | ke | that (conjunction) |
Show a translation
Yesterday I found a letter in the letterbox. The letter, written by my friend Petro, was still closed. Opening it, I found a photo of a small castle. The people around the castle were laughing and talking. Reading the letter, I felt that Petro is very happy.
✏️ Try It Yourself — Ekzercoj
Say the answer first, then click to check.
1. Make the active present participle (adjective) of dormi (to sleep) and use it with infano.
Show answer
la dormanta infano, the sleeping child.
2. What is the difference between skribinta and skribita?
Show answer
skribinta is active: the person who has written. skribita is passive: the thing that has been written.
3. Make a noun for "a person who listens" from aŭskulti.
Show answer
aŭskultanto, a listener.
4. Translate "The book that will be read" using a participle.
Show answer
la legota libro.
5. Explain the difference between La pordo estas fermita and La pordo estas fermata.
Show answer
The first says the door is shut (a state). The second says the door is being closed right now (an action).
6. In La viro, kiu sidas apud la fenestro kaj legas la gazeton, estas mia instruisto, find the main verb.
Show answer
estas. The other verbs, sidas and legas, belong to the kiu clause.
7. Rewrite that sentence with participles instead of the kiu clause.
Show answer
La viro sidanta apud la fenestro kaj leganta la gazeton estas mia instruisto.
8. In the text, what was the state of the letter when the writer found it, and which word tells you?
Show answer
It was still closed. The word is fermita.
9. What did the writer find inside the letter, and what did he or she feel while reading it?
Show answer
A photo of a small castle. The writer felt that Petro is very happy.
10. What does Doktoro Esperanto mean, and which participle ending does Esperanto contain?
Show answer
"Doctor Hopeful". It contains -anto (esper- + -anto), the person who hopes.
Words used in this chapter
legi read · dormi sleep · paroli speak · aŭskulti listen · skribi write · konstrui build · fermi close · malfermi open · sidi sit · fenestro window · gazeto newspaper · instruisto teacher · trovi find · poŝtkesto letterbox · foto photo · ĉirkaŭ around · homo person · ridi laugh · senti feel · ke that · esperi hope · kiu who, which