Grammar
Esperanto adverbs: -e, direction -en and basic adverbs
One ending, -e, turns almost any root into an adverb; a few dozen short words do the rest.
Most Esperanto adverbs are made by adding -e to a root: rapida "quick" → rapide "quickly" (rule 7 of the Fundamento). Adding -n to an adverb of place shows direction: hejme "at home" → hejmen "(to) home". A closed set of about thirty short words – ankaŭ, jam, nun, tre, tro and others – work as adverbs without any ending.
Adverbs with -e
The ending -e works with roots of every kind, not only with adjectives.
| Root | Other form | Adverb with -e |
|---|---|---|
| rapid- | rapida "quick" | rapide "quickly" |
| bon- | bona "good" | bone "well" |
| hejm- | hejmo "home" | hejme "at home" |
| maten- | mateno "morning" | matene "in the morning" |
| vintr- | vintro "winter" | vintre "in winter" |
| ekzempl- | ekzemplo "example" | ekzemple "for example" |
| unu | unua "first" | unue "firstly" |
| antaŭ | preposition "before" | antaŭe "previously" |
| post | preposition "after" | poste "afterwards" |
| kun | preposition "with" | kune "together" |
| kompreni + -ebl- | komprenebla "understandable" | kompreneble "of course" |
An adverb can describe a verb, an adjective, another adverb or the whole sentence (PMEG):
- La policano kuras rapide. – "The police officer runs fast."
- Ŝi sidas hejme. – "She is sitting at home."
- Ĝi estas sufiĉe granda. – "It is big enough."
- Kompreneble mi iros. – "Of course I'll go."
Adverbs in sentences without a subject
When a sentence has no real subject, Esperanto uses the adverb, not the adjective (PMEG). English "it" has no equivalent here.
- Estas mallume. – "It is dark."
- Estas varme hodiaŭ. – "It is warm today."
- Estas bone, ke vi venas. – "It is good that you are coming."
- Kritiki estas facile. – "Criticising is easy."
Comparison
Adverbs compare like adjectives: pli rapide "faster", plej rapide "fastest", malpli rapide "less fast". Li kuras pli rapide ol mi – "He runs faster than I do". "As … as" is tiel … kiel: tiel rapide kiel vi – "as fast as you".
Direction with -en
Rule 13 of the Fundamento: an adverb of place takes -n to show movement towards a place. This is the same -n as in the accusative.
location (where?)
Mi restas hejme.
I'm staying at home.
direction (where to?)
Mi iras hejmen.
I'm going home.
| Where? | Where to? |
|---|---|
| hejme "at home" | hejmen "home(wards)" |
| supre "above, upstairs" | supren "up, upwards" |
| malsupre "below" | malsupren "down" |
| antaŭe "in front" | antaŭen "forward" |
| dekstre "on the right" | dekstren "to the right" |
| ekstere "outside" | eksteren "out" |
| tie "there" | tien "(to) there" |
| kie "where" | kien "where to" |
- Mi iras hejmen. – "I'm going home."
- Rigardu supren! – "Look up!"
- Kien vi iras? – "Where are you going?"
Tie, kie and the other place words ending in -e belong to the correlatives, together with time words like tiam "then" and kiam "when".
Basic adverbs without an ending
These short words are official and have no ending. PMEG groups them by meaning; the list below covers the common ones.
| Word | Meaning | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ankoraŭ | still, yet | Li ankoraŭ dormas. | "He is still asleep." |
| baldaŭ | soon | Ĝis baldaŭ! | "See you soon!" |
| hieraŭ | yesterday | Hieraŭ pluvis. | "It rained yesterday." |
| hodiaŭ | today | Hodiaŭ estas lundo. | "Today is Monday." |
| morgaŭ | tomorrow | Ĝis morgaŭ! | "See you tomorrow!" |
| jam | already | Mi jam manĝis. | "I have already eaten." |
| ĵus | just (now) | Li ĵus venis. | "He has just arrived." |
| nun | now | Kie vi estas nun? | "Where are you now?" |
| plu | further, any more | Mi ne plu fumas. | "I don't smoke any more." |
| tuj | immediately | Venu tuj! | "Come at once!" |
| for | away | Iru for! | "Go away!" |
| tre | very | tre bona | "very good" |
| tro | too | tro varma | "too hot" |
| pli | more | pli granda | "bigger" |
| plej | most | la plej bona | "the best" |
| preskaŭ | almost | preskaŭ ĉiuj | "almost everyone" |
| apenaŭ | hardly, barely | apenaŭ videbla | "barely visible" |
| almenaŭ | at least | almenaŭ unu | "at least one" |
| nur | only | nur unu | "only one" |
| eĉ | even | eĉ infano | "even a child" |
| ankaŭ | also, too | Ankaŭ mi. | "Me too." |
| ja | indeed (emphasis) | Mi ja diris tion! | "I did say that!" |
| jen | here is, look | Jen la libro. | "Here is the book." |
| do | so, then | Venu do! | "Come on, then!" |
| tamen | however, still | Tamen mi iros. | "I'll go anyway." |
| kvazaŭ | as if, as it were | kvazaŭ infano | "like a child" |
| mem | (one)self | mi mem | "I myself" |
| ju … des | the … the | ju pli, des pli bone | "the more, the better" |
| ne, jes | not, no; yes | Mi ne scias. | "I don't know." |
Many of these take endings too: hodiaŭa "today's", nuna "current", tuja "immediate", baldaŭa "upcoming". Ne and jes are covered under questions and negation.
Position matters
Words like nur, eĉ, ankaŭ and tre normally stand right before the word they refer to (PMEG). Moving them can change the meaning:
- Nur mi vidis lin. – "Only I saw him."
- Mi vidis nur lin. – "I saw only him."
Examples in sentences
- Ŝi kantas bele. – "She sings beautifully."
- Li respondis tute ĝuste. – "He answered quite correctly."
- Matene mi trinkas teon. – "In the morning I drink tea."
- Ni vojaĝis buse al Krakovo. – "We travelled to Kraków by bus."
- Estas malvarme ekstere. – "It's cold outside."
- Ni iru eksteren! – "Let's go outside!"
- Li ofte forgesas sian telefonon. – "He often forgets his phone."
- Mi preskaŭ falis. – "I almost fell."
- Ŝi parolas Esperanton pli flue ol mi. – "She speaks Esperanto more fluently than I do."
Common questions
How do you form adverbs in Esperanto?
Add -e to a root: rapida → rapide "quickly", mateno → matene "in the morning". A short list of basic adverbs, such as jam and tre, has no ending.
Why is it "Estas varme" and not "Estas varma"?
In a sentence with no real subject, Esperanto uses the adverb. Estas varme means "it is warm"; varma needs a noun to describe, as in La teo estas varma "The tea is warm".
What is the difference between hejme and hejmen?
Hejme means "at home" (location); hejmen means "to home" (direction). Mi estas hejme – "I am at home"; Mi iras hejmen – "I am going home".
How do you say "not yet" and "no longer"?
"Not yet" is ankoraŭ ne: Li ankoraŭ ne venis – "He hasn't come yet". "No longer" is ne plu: Mi ne plu fumas – "I no longer smoke".
Can basic adverbs like hodiaŭ take endings?
Yes. Hodiaŭa means "today's", nuna "current" and tuja "immediate".
Sources
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