Grammar
The Esperanto article la: when to use it
One word that never changes, used much like English "the" – with a few differences worth knowing.
Esperanto has a single article, la, meaning "the". It never changes for gender, number or case: la domo – "the house", la domoj – "the houses", la domojn – "the houses" (as object). There is no indefinite article: domo means "a house" or simply "house".
Rule 1 of the 16 rules sets this out, and it even lets beginners leave la out at first. In practice every fluent speaker uses it, and its use is close to English "the".
When to use la
Use la when the listener knows which thing you mean. PMEG sums up its meaning as "you know which one I mean".
| Situation | Example | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Mentioned before | Mi vidis hundon. La hundo estis nigra. | "I saw a dog. The dog was black." |
| Clear from the situation | Mi luis aŭton, sed la radio ne funkciis. | "I rented a car, but the radio didn't work." |
| Defined in the sentence | la ĉapelo de mia patro | "my father's hat" |
| Only one exists | la suno, la ĉielo | "the sun, the sky" |
| Superlatives | la plej alta monto | "the highest mountain" |
| Languages named with -a | la angla, la pola | "English, Polish" |
| Names made of ordinary words | la Nigra Maro, la Alpoj | "the Black Sea, the Alps" |
Language names like la angla are short for la angla lingvo – "the English language". That is why they need la, unlike English.
When not to use la
- Something new or unknown. Hundo bojas. – "A dog is barking."
- With other determiners. Mia, tiu, ĉiu and similar words already make the noun definite: mia libro – "my book", tiu domo – "that house". Never la mia libro or la tiu domo.
- Most proper names. Petro, Londono, Japanio – and Esperanto itself: Mi lernas Esperanton. – "I am learning Esperanto."
- Things in general. Mi trinkas kafon. – "I drink coffee." Compare La kafo estas varma. – "The coffee is hot" (this particular coffee).
A possessive with la can stand alone, meaning "mine", "yours" and so on: Via aŭto estas ruĝa, la mia estas blua. – "Your car is red, mine is blue." See pronouns.
Talking about a whole kind
To speak about a species or type, Esperanto has three options:
- Ĉevalo estas besto. – "A horse is an animal."
- Ĉevaloj estas bestoj. – "Horses are animals."
- La ĉevalo estas utila besto. – "The horse is a useful animal."
According to PMEG, the form without la is the most common, while la presents the whole species as one known individual and sounds more formal.
Special uses
- Body parts and clothing. When the owner is obvious, la replaces the possessive: Li levis la manon. – "He raised his hand."
- "All" of a known group. La gastoj eksidis. – "The guests sat down" (all of them).
- Royal names. La comes after the name: Karolo la Granda – "Charles the Great".
The short form l'
Rule 16 allows l' instead of la. PMEG recommends it only after a preposition ending in a vowel, such as de, pri, tra or je: de l' mondo – "of the world", pri l' amo – "about love".
It is written as a separate word but pronounced together with the preposition, as one unit. Outside poetry and songs l' is rare, and in speech it hardly occurs.
La compared with English "the"
| Point | English | Esperanto |
|---|---|---|
| Indefinite article | "a, an" | none: libro – "a book" |
| Language names | "English" | la angla |
| Body parts | "his hand" | la mano is common |
| Country names | "the Netherlands" | Nederlando, no article |
| Changes with case or number | no | no: la domojn |
When you need to stress "one" or "a certain", use unu or iu: Iu viro telefonis. – "Some man phoned." See correlatives.
Examples in sentences
- La suno brilas. – "The sun is shining."
- Mi aĉetis libron. La libro estas tre interesa. – "I bought a book. The book is very interesting."
- Ĉu vi vidis la ŝlosilojn? – "Have you seen the keys?"
- Hundoj estas fidelaj bestoj. – "Dogs are loyal animals."
- La hundo estas fidela besto. – "The dog is a loyal animal."
- Mi ŝatas muzikon. – "I like music."
- Esperanto estas facila lingvo. – "Esperanto is an easy language."
- La esperanta lingvo naskiĝis en 1887. – "The Esperanto language was born in 1887."
- Mi loĝas en la ĉefurbo de Pollando. – "I live in the capital of Poland."
Common questions
Is there a word for "a" or "an" in Esperanto?
No. A noun without la is indefinite: libro – "a book". To stress "one" or "a certain", use unu or iu.
Does la change in the plural or in the accusative?
No. La never takes -j or -n: la grandajn domojn – "the big houses" (as object). Only the noun and its adjectives change, as explained on nouns and adjectives.
What does l' mean in Esperanto?
It is a shortened la, allowed by rule 16. It appears mostly in poetry and songs, after prepositions like de or pri: de l' mondo – "of the world".
Do you say "la Esperanto"?
No. Esperanto is a proper name: Mi parolas Esperanton. – "I speak Esperanto." Language names formed with -a take the article: la angla – "English".
Sources
- Fundamento de Esperanto, rules 1 and 16 (English) – Akademio de Esperanto
- PMEG on la: basic rules, individuals, known things, kinds, special uses, proper names
- Apostrofo: normal use – PMEG
- Esperanto grammar – Wikipedia
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