Esperanto lesson 12: participles, reading and next steps

In this last lesson you read a whole letter in Esperanto – about 200 words – and check your understanding. You also meet the six participles, the forms behind everyday words like komencanto "beginner" and venonta "next, coming". Finally, you will find out what to do next: where to look up words, review grammar and practise with real people.

Reading text

A week after the congress, Ana writes to Tomo. Read the letter once without the translation, then check the words you didn't know.

San-Paŭlo, la 6-an de Aŭgusto

Kara Tomo,

Antaŭ unu semajno ni ankoraŭ estis kune ĉe la kongreso, kaj nun mi estas denove en San-Paŭlo. Reveninte hejmen, mi dormis dek du horojn!

Ĉu vi memoras la unuan tagon? Mi estis tre nervoza. Mi pensis: "Mi estas nur komencanto, mi komprenos nenion." Sed post unu horo mi jam babilis kun homoj el dek landoj. Neniu ridis pri miaj eraroj, kaj ĉiuj helpis min.

Mi ŝatis ĉion: la prelegojn, la ekskurson tra la malnova urbo, la koncertojn kaj la longajn vesperojn en la kafejo. Mi ankoraŭ vidas antaŭ mi la dancantajn kongresanojn dum la Internacia Vespero.

Hieraŭ mia frato Pedro demandis min: "Kion vi lernis tie?" Mi respondis: "Mi lernis, ke lingvo ne estas nur gramatiko. Lingvo estas homoj."

Nun mi havas novajn planojn. La romano aĉetita ĉe la libroservo atendas sur mia tablo, kaj mi legos ĝin ĝis la fino de la monato. Mi ankaŭ volas paroli kun vi ĉiusemajne, kiel antaŭe – sed nun pri ĉio, ne nur pri la vetero!

Ne forgesu nian planon por la venonta kongreso! Mi jam ŝparas monon. Bonvolu saluti vian avinon de mi (kaj ŝian fungan supon)!

Kore,
Ana

P.S. Kafo dormas sur la romano. Ŝajne ankaŭ ĝi volas lerni Esperanton.

English translation

São Paulo, 6 August

Dear Tomo,

A week ago we were still together at the congress, and now I'm back in São Paulo. When I got home, I slept for twelve hours!

Do you remember the first day? I was very nervous. I thought: "I'm only a beginner, I won't understand anything." But an hour later I was already chatting with people from ten countries. Nobody laughed at my mistakes, and everyone helped me.

I liked everything: the lectures, the excursion through the old town, the concerts and the long evenings in the café. I can still see the dancing congress participants at the International Evening.

Yesterday my brother Pedro asked me: "What did you learn there?" I answered: "I learned that a language isn't just grammar. A language is people."

Now I have new plans. The novel I bought at the bookshop is waiting on my table, and I'll read it by the end of the month. I also want to talk with you every week, like before – but now about everything, not just the weather!

Don't forget our plan for the next congress! I'm already saving money. Please give my regards to your grandmother (and to her mushroom soup)!

Warmly,
Ana

P.S. Kafo is sleeping on the novel. It seems it wants to learn Esperanto too.

New words

Esperanto	English	Notes
kara	dear	in letters: Kara Tomo
denove	again
antaŭe	before, earlier	kiel antaŭe "like before"
reveni	to come back	re- "again, back" + veni
memori	to remember
pensi	to think
kompreni	to understand
legi	to read	leganto "reader"
nenio	nothing	correlative (Lesson 11)
neniu	nobody
babili	to chat
lando	country
ridi	to laugh	ridi pri "to laugh at"
eraro	mistake
prelego	lecture, talk
ekskurso	excursion, trip
danci	to dance	dancanta "dancing"
respondi	to answer
ke	that (conjunction)	Mi lernis, ke… "I learned that…"
forgesi	to forget
ŝpari	to save (money, time)
mono	money
ĉiusemajne	every week	ĉiu + semajno + -e
ŝajne	apparently, it seems
kore	warmly, cordially	letter ending; koro "heart"

Grammar

Six participles

A participle is a verb used as an adjective: "a dancing person", "a bought book". Esperanto has six, built from three active and three passive suffixes. The vowels a, i, o match the tenses -as, -is, -os. The full chapter is on the participles page.

	Present (a)	Past (i)	Future (o)
Active – doing	leganta – reading	leginta – having read	legonta – about to read
Passive – being done	legata – being read	legita – read, already read	legota – to be read

icompletedaongoingoabout to

Examples from Ana's letter:

Esperanto	English
la dancantaj kongresanoj	the dancing congress participants
la romano aĉetita ĉe la libroservo	the novel bought at the bookshop
la venonta kongreso	the coming (next) congress

Participles as nouns: -anto, -into, -onto

With -o, a participle names a person: komenc·ant·o "someone who is beginning, a beginner", lern·ant·o "learner, pupil", parol·ant·o "speaker". You have used komencanto since Lesson 1. Don't confuse -ant- with the suffix -an- from Lesson 10: kongres·an·o is a member of a congress, not someone "congressing".

Participles as adverbs: -e

With -e, a participle describes the circumstances of the main action. Reveninte hejmen, mi dormis means "Having come home, I slept". Ridante, ŝi respondis means "Laughing, she answered".

You can wait for the rest

Participles also combine with esti to make compound forms. You will often meet passive ones like La libro estas legita – "The book has been read"; active ones like Mi estas leginta la libron – "I have read the book" – are rare. For now, the simple tenses -as, -is, -os are enough for almost everything you want to say.

Practice

Culture corner

Ana's week follows the usual World Esperanto Congress programme. It usually lasts eight days and includes an opening ceremony (Inaŭguro), lectures of the International Congress University, concerts, a national evening, an international evening and an excursion day. Young people also have their own International Youth Congress, first held in 1938 and now run by the youth organisation TEJO. The next World Congress is planned for Melbourne, Australia, on 3–10 July 2027 – see the World Esperanto Congress page.

What to do next

You now know the core of Esperanto grammar. These steps will turn it into real skill:

Review. Come back to the course overview and redo the exercises of any lesson where you got less than 80% right. Use the grammar section when a rule is unclear.
Grow your vocabulary. Learn the 100 most common words, practise the 1,000 most common with our flashcards, and look up new ones in the dictionary, which shows how each word is built.
Read and listen every day. Pick a graded reader, a podcast or a second course from our list of free resources.
Talk to people. Join an online conversation group, a local club or an event. Our guide on how to learn Esperanto explains where to find them.

Common questions

Do I need participles to speak Esperanto?

Not at first. The simple tenses cover almost everything. But words built with -ant-, like komencanto and lernanto, are everyday vocabulary, so it helps to recognise them.

What level will I have after this course?

The course is designed to take you from zero to level A1 of the Common European Framework, with the first part of A2 in Lessons 10–12. Regular reading and conversation will take you further.

How can I practise speaking if no one near me speaks Esperanto?

Use online conversation groups and video meetings, or apps that connect learners. Later, a week at an event or with a Pasporta Servo host gives you many hours of real conversation.

#Reading text

#New words

#Grammar

#Six participles

#Participles as nouns: -anto, -into, -onto

#Participles as adverbs: -e

#You can wait for the rest

#Practice

#Culture corner

#What to do next

#Common questions

#Do I need participles to speak Esperanto?

#What level will I have after this course?

#How can I practise speaking if no one near me speaks Esperanto?

#Sources