# The Esperanto accusative (-n): the complete guide

Source: https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/accusative/
Language: en
Updated: 2026-10-28

> The -n ending marks the object in Esperanto (Mi vidas la katon) and also shows direction, dates and measures. Rules, tables and the most common mistakes.

The Esperanto accusative is the ending *-n*. Its main job is to mark the direct object, the person or thing a verb acts on: *Mi vidas la katon* – "I see the cat". It also shows direction (*en la domon* – "into the house"), dates (*lundon* – "on Monday") and measures (*du horojn* – "for two hours").

Esperanto has only two cases, the basic form and the accusative; every other relation uses a preposition ([rule 2](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/16-rules/)).

PMEG puts it this way: in an Esperanto sentence a preposition or the ending *-n* shows the role of a word, and a noun with neither is usually the subject (or, after *esti*, describes it). So *-n* tells you "this is not the subject" wherever no preposition already does: in *La katon vidas la hundo* – "The dog sees the cat", *la katon* cannot be the subject, wherever it stands.

## The five jobs of -n

| Job | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Direct object | *Mi legas libron.* | "I'm reading a book." |
| Direction (where to) | *Ŝi iras en la parkon.* | "She goes into the park." |
| Point in time (when) | *Ni venos lundon.* | "We'll come on Monday." |
| Measure (how long, how much) | *Ĝi kostas dek eŭrojn.* | "It costs ten euros." |
| Replacing *je* (rare) | *Mi ridas lian naivecon.* | "I laugh at his naivety." |

## Which words take -n

The ending goes on words that name or describe a thing, always after *-j*:

| Word type | Basic form | With -n |
|---|---|---|
| Noun | *kato*, *katoj* | *katon*, *katojn* |
| Adjective | *granda*, *grandaj* | *grandan*, *grandajn* |
| Personal pronoun | *mi*, *li*, *ili* | *min*, *lin*, *ilin* |
| Possessive | *mia* | *mian* |
| Correlative in -u, -a, -o | *kiu*, *tia*, *tio* | *kiun*, *tian*, *tion* |
| Place word (direction only) | *hejme*, *tie*, *kie* | *hejmen*, *tien*, *kien* |

These never take *-n*: verbs, the article *la*, prepositions, conjunctions, numbers like *du* or *tri*, and the correlatives ending in *-el, -am, -om, -al, -es* (*kiel, kiam, kiom, kial, kies*). So *Mi havas du katojn* – "I have two cats", never *dun katojn*.

## 1. The direct object

The object answers the question "whom?" or "what?" after the verb. Because *-n* marks it, the word order can change without changing the meaning; putting *la katon* first only shifts the emphasis. Moving the *-n* to *la hundon* changes who bit whom:

La hundo mordis la katon. | The dog bit the cat.
La katon mordis la hundo. | The dog bit the cat.

La kato mordis la hundon. | The cat bit the dog.

Everything that describes the object takes *-n* too: *Mi aĉetis tiun belan ruĝan aŭton.* – "I bought that beautiful red car." See [nouns and adjectives](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/nouns-adjectives/) and [pronouns](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/pronouns/).

### Objects that cannot take -n

Infinitives, clauses with *ke* – "that" and quotations have no place for an ending. Their role is clear anyway:

- *Mi volas dormi.* – "I want to sleep."
- *Mi scias, ke vi venos.* – "I know that you will come."

### Greetings and thanks

Many everyday phrases end in *-n*: *Saluton!* – "Hello!", *Dankon!* – "Thanks!", *Bonan tagon!* – "Good day!", *Bonvenon!* – "Welcome!". They are objects of an unspoken verb: *(Mi deziras al vi) bonan tagon* – "(I wish you) a good day". More in [greetings](https://esperantopedia.org/phrases/greetings/).

## 2. Direction: where to

After a preposition of place, *-n* changes "where" into "where to":

| Position (no -n) | Movement (with -n) |
|---|---|
| *en la domo* – "in the house" | *en la domon* – "into the house" |
| *sur la tablo* – "on the table" | *sur la tablon* – "onto the table" |
| *trans la rivero* – "on the other side of the river" | *trans la riveron* – "across the river" |
| *antaŭ la domo* – "in front of the house" | *antaŭ la domon* – "(to) in front of the house" |

The difference matters: *La kato saltas sur la tablo* – "The cat is jumping (up and down) on the table", but *La kato saltas sur la tablon* – "The cat jumps onto the table".

La kato saltas sur la tablo. | The cat is jumping (up and down) on the table.
La kato saltas sur la tablon. | The cat jumps onto the table.

Only prepositions that can also mean a place take this *-n*: *en, sur, sub, antaŭ, apud, inter, trans* and others. *Al* "to", *el* "out of", *de* "from" and *ĝis* "as far as" never mean a place, so they never take *-n*: *Mi iras al la urbo* – "I'm going to town", not *al la urbon*. Direction *-n* always means movement towards a place, never away from it (PMEG). The full list is on [prepositions](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/prepositions/).

Place adverbs and place correlatives take *-n* for direction without any preposition: *hejmen* – "home(wards)", *supren* – "upwards", *tien* – "(to) there", *Kien vi iras?* – "Where are you going?". A place name can do the same (*Mi veturos Parizon* – "I'll travel to Paris", from the Fundamento's *Ekzercaro*), but PMEG notes that in practice this bare *-n* is used almost only with names of cities and countries, for going into the place, and that today it is very rare, almost archaic; *al Parizo* is the usual form.

Direction can also be figurative, for a change of state: *La sorĉisto ŝanĝis la princon en ranon.* – "The wizard turned the prince into a frog."

## 3. Time: when

A time expression with *-n* and no preposition says when something happens:

- *lundon* – "on Monday"
- *la 5-an de Majo* – "on 5 May"
- *ĉiun tagon* – "every day"
- *unu tagon* – "one day"

The same meaning is possible with a preposition: *en la sama tago* = *la saman tagon* – "on the same day". For clock times use *je*: *je la deka* – "at ten o'clock", while *la dekan* means "on the tenth" (of the month).

## 4. Measure: how long, how far, how much

*-n* also gives duration, distance, price, weight and age:

- *Mi dormis ok horojn.* – "I slept for eight hours."
- *Ni marŝis dek kilometrojn.* – "We walked ten kilometres."
- *La libro kostas dek eŭrojn.* – "The book costs ten euros."
- *Li estas dudek jarojn aĝa.* – "He is twenty years old."

For duration, *dum* – "during" also works: *dum ok horoj*.

## 5. Instead of je

Rule 14 allows *-n* in place of the meaningless preposition *je*: *Mi ridas je lia naiveco* = *Mi ridas lian naivecon*. PMEG notes this is quite rare today, and speakers prefer a clear preposition.

## When not to use -n

Most mistakes happen here. Leave out *-n* in these cases:

1. **After *esti*, *iĝi* and *ŝajni*.** The word after them describes the subject; it is not an object. *Mi estas instruisto.* – "I am a teacher." *Ŝi iĝis kuracisto.* – "She became a doctor."
2. **When the subject comes after the verb.** *Hieraŭ okazis grava afero.* – "Something important happened yesterday." With *okazi* – "happen", *manki* – "be missing", *resti* – "remain" and *aperi* – "appear", the subject often comes last.
3. **After most prepositions.** *kun mia amiko* – "with my friend", *pri la libro* – "about the book". Only direction after a place preposition adds *-n*.
4. **For a result or description of the object.** *Mi farbis la pordon verda.* – "I painted the door green." Compare *Mi farbis la verdan pordon.* – "I painted the green door."
5. **For the indirect object.** Use *al*: *Mi donis libron al ŝi.* – "I gave her a book."

## Common mistakes

| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
| *Mi vidas la kato.* | *Mi vidas la katon.* | The object needs *-n*. |
| *Mi vidas bela katon.* | *Mi vidas belan katon.* | Adjectives copy the *-n*. |
| *Mi havas du katonj.* | *Mi havas du katojn.* | *-j* comes before *-n*. |
| *Mi iras al la urbon.* | *Mi iras al la urbo.* | *Al* already means "to". |
| *Mi estas en la domon.* | *Mi estas en la domo.* | No movement, so no *-n*. |
| *Okazis akcidenton.* | *Okazis akcidento.* | It is the subject, not the object. |
| *Mi donis ŝin libron.* | *Mi donis al ŝi libron.* | The receiver takes *al*. |

## The accusative and word order

Because the object carries *-n*, all six orders of subject, verb and object are grammatical: *Petro amas Marian*, *Marian amas Petro*, *Amas Petro Marian* and so on. The neutral order is subject–verb–object, as in English.

Putting the object first adds emphasis: *Kafon mi ne trinkas, sed teon mi ŝatas.* – "Coffee I don't drink, but tea I like." If an object cannot take *-n*, such as a foreign name, keep the neutral order. More on [word order](https://esperantopedia.org/grammar/word-order/).

## Quick check: -n or not

1. Movement towards a place after *en*, *sur*, *sub* and similar? Add *-n*.
2. Object of the verb (not after *esti*, *iĝi*, *ŝajni*)? Add *-n* to it and to every word describing it.
3. A date or measure without a preposition? Add *-n*.
4. Anything else after a preposition? No *-n*.

## Common questions

### What is the accusative in Esperanto?
It is the ending *-n*, added to nouns, adjectives, pronouns and some correlatives. It marks the direct object, and also direction, dates and measures.

### Why do Esperanto greetings end in -n?
They are shortened sentences. *Bonan tagon!* stands for *(Mi deziras al vi) bonan tagon* – "(I wish you) a good day", so the greeting is the object of an unspoken verb.

### Do you use -n after prepositions?
Normally not: *kun mi* – "with me", *al la urbo* – "to town". The exception is direction after a place preposition such as *en*, *sur* or *sub*: *en la domon* – "into the house".

### Does the adjective take -n too?
Yes. Every adjective, possessive and correlative describing the object takes *-n*: *Mi perdis mian novan telefonon.* – "I lost my new phone."

## Sources

- [Fundamento de Esperanto, rules 2, 8, 13 and 14 (English)](https://www.akademio-de-esperanto.org/fundamento/gramatiko_angla.html) – Akademio de Esperanto
- PMEG, chapter on the N ending: [overview](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/rolmontriloj/n/index.html), [basic rules](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/rolmontriloj/n/bazaj_reguloj.html), [object](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/rolmontriloj/n/objekto.html), [direction](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/rolmontriloj/n/direkto.html), [point in time](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/rolmontriloj/n/tempopunkto.html), [measure](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/rolmontriloj/n/mezuro.html), [instead of je](https://bertilow.com/pmeg/gramatiko/rolmontriloj/n/n_anstatau_je.html)
- [Esperanto grammar](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Esperanto_grammar) – Wikipedia
- ["Bonan matenon" and the unspoken verb](https://bulteno.esperanto-usa.org/a/2022/06/corner/) – Usona Esperantisto, 2022