Tools and Actions
Esperanto Word-Building
Chapter 6 · Tools and Actions
🔧 Tools and Actions — Iloj kaj agoj
The suffixes in this chapter work on verbs and on the states of things. -il- names the tool for an action, -ad- stretches or repeats it, -ig- makes something happen to someone, and -iĝ- says that something happens to itself. The last pair, -ig- and -iĝ-, is the most powerful device in Esperanto word-building.
-il-: the tool
ReVo defines -il- as the tool, instrument or device used for the action of the root, and it also marks a means or method when no object is obvious:
| Word | Parts | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| hakilo | hak + il + o | a tool for chopping (haki), an axe |
| pesilo | pes + il + o | an instrument for weighing |
| viŝilo | viŝ + il + o | something to wipe with |
| kuracilo | kurac + il + o | a remedy, a means of cure (kuraci) |
| transportilo | transport + il + o | a means of transport |
The bare word ilo means a tool, instrument or machine, and ilaro a set of tools (il + ar + o, using -ar- from Chapter 3).
-ad-: continued or repeated action
The suffix -ad- makes an action last or recur. On a noun it gives the activity itself; on a verb it shows the action unfolding over time or repeated. ReVo compares it with the Romance imperfect and the Slavic imperfective:
| Word | Meaning | Note |
|---|---|---|
| pafado | shooting (the activity) | La pafado daŭris tre longe. The shooting lasted a very long time. |
| kantado | singing | can also mean the art or skill of singing |
| brosado | brushing | action done with a tool (broso) |
| vizitadi | to visit repeatedly | Ili vizitadis ŝin ĉiun nokton. They visited her every night. |
ReVo gives a useful warning about tool verbs: the noun martelado (hammering) is formed with -ad-, but the verb is simply marteli, not marteladi. Add -ad- to a verb only when you want to stress the duration or the repetition.
-ig-: to make, to cause
ReVo says -ig- can attach to any root and means that someone or something causes the action or state, without saying how: by request, order, force or necessity.
| From | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| adjective akra | akrigi | to make sharp, to sharpen |
| numeral du | duigi | to double |
| noun flamo | flamigi | to set on fire |
| intransitive verb dormi | dormigi | to make (someone) sleep |
| intransitive verb morti | mortigi | to kill, to cause to die |
| transitive verb scii | sciigi | to inform |
On an intransitive verb, -ig- makes it transitive: dormi (I sleep) becomes dormigi (I put someone to sleep). The adverb and preposition forms from Chapter 2 work the same way: forigi (to remove) is for + -ig-.
-iĝ-: to become
The suffix -iĝ- means to enter a state, without saying whether an outside force or the thing itself brings it about. It makes verbs that need no object:
| From | Word | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| adjective akra | akriĝi | to become sharp |
| noun paco | paciĝi | to become peaceful |
| noun amaso | amasiĝi | to form a heap or crowd |
| verb sidi | sidiĝi | to sit down |
| verb ĉesi | ĉesiĝi | to stop |
| transitive rompi | rompiĝi | to break (of itself) |
| mallumo | mallumiĝi | to lose its light, to grow dark |
Note the pair rompi (to break something) and rompiĝi (to break, by itself). Where English uses one verb for both, Esperanto separates them. The related verb iĝi means "become" in general; unlike fariĝi, it does not suggest an outside cause.
The key pair
| Root | -ig- (make it so) | -iĝ- (it becomes so) |
|---|---|---|
| akra sharp | akrigi to sharpen | akriĝi to become sharp |
| dormi to sleep | dormigi to put to sleep | (the verb is already intransitive) |
| rompi to break | (already transitive) | rompiĝi to break by itself |
📖 A Short Text — Mallonga teksto
Find the suffixes and say what each one adds.
Vespero
Show a translation
Mum put the baby to sleep and sat down by the window. For a long time she read a book, and the room gradually grew dark.
✏️ Try It Yourself — Ekzercoj
Say the answer first, then click to check.
1. What is the tool for haki, pesi and viŝi?
Show answer
hakilo, pesilo, viŝilo.
2. Why is manĝilo unclear?
Show answer
It could mean a plate, spoon, knife or fork. A specific word is clearer.
3. What is the verb for hammering, and why not marteladi?
Show answer
marteli. -ad- is needed only for the noun martelado (the activity) or when you stress duration.
4. Say "They visited her every night" using the suffix that shows repetition.
Show answer
Ili vizitadis ŝin ĉiun nokton.
5. Make verbs meaning "to make sharp" and "to become sharp".
Show answer
akrigi and akriĝi.
6. Which is right: Li sidigis or Li sidiĝis for "He sat down"?
Show answer
Li sidiĝis. (Li sidigis la infanon would mean "he sat the child down".)
7. What is the difference between rompi and rompiĝi?
Show answer
rompi takes an object: Mi rompis la glason (I broke the glass). rompiĝi does not: La glaso rompiĝis (the glass broke).
8. Why does ReVo call elektigi an error?
Show answer
Because elekti is already transitive, and -ig- adds nothing. Use -ig- only to add "cause to".
9. Take apart mortigo and forigi.
Show answer
mort + ig + o (a killing); for + ig + i (to remove).
10. Write two sentences about a room at night, using -iĝ- in one and any other word from the chapter in the other.
Show answer
One possibility: La ĉambro mallumiĝis. Mi ŝaltis la lampon. (The room grew dark. I switched on the lamp.) The second sentence uses ŝalti, a separate root, because "switch on" has its own word.
Words used in this chapter
hakilo axe · pesilo scale · ilaro set of tools · kantado singing · akrigi sharpen · dormigi put to sleep · mortigi kill · sciigi inform · sidiĝi sit down · rompiĝi break · mallumiĝi grow dark · bebo baby · fenestro window · iom post iom gradually