Esperanto/School
Complex Tenses
[edit | edit source]So far, we have covered how to form infinitives, the three simple tenses, commands, and conditionals. We will now cover how to use participles to create more complex tenses.
By combining a participle with a form of the verb "esti" ("to be"), you can create a verb combining two tenses. Look at the chart below.
| estas | estis | estos | esti | estus | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| -anta still ongoing[1] |
estas bakanta is baking (right now) |
estis bakanta was baking[2] |
estos bakanta will be baking |
esti bakanta to be baking |
estus bakanta would be baking |
| -inta completed |
estas bakinta has baked |
estis bakinta had baked |
estos bakinta will have baked, will be done baking |
esti bakinta to have baked |
estus bakinta would have baked |
| -onta to begin later (possibly soon) |
estas bakonta is going to bake, about to bake |
estis bakonta was going to bake |
estos bakonta will be going to bake |
esti bakonta to be going to bake |
estus bakonta would be going to bake |
| -ata "...being..." |
estas bakata is being baked |
estis bakata was being baked |
estos bakata will be baked, will be being baked |
esti bakata to be (being) baked |
estus bakata would be (being) baked |
| -ita "having been..." |
estas bakita has been baked |
estis bakita had been baked |
estos bakita will have been baked, will already be baked |
esti bakita to have been baked |
estus bakita would have been baked |
| -ota "...about/going to be..." |
estas bakota is going to be baked |
estis bakota was going to be baked |
estos bakota will be going to be baked |
esti bakota to be going to be baked |
estus bakota would be going to be baked |
- ↑ All of these have almost the same meaning as bakas, bakis, bakos, baki, and bakus (respectively), the difference being that the participles always translate "(is/was/will be) baking", as opposed to "bakes", "baked", "will bake", etc.
- ↑ This carries the implication that the person was baking, but did not necessarily finish.
You will notice that many of these combinations have awkward English translations. Though all of these combinations are acceptable Esperanto, a rewording would be appropriate when translating them into English.
Remember that the three simple tenses should be used whenever possible. These combinations should only be used when the alternative would cause ambiguity.
Lernejo (School)
[edit | edit source]| Show Translation |
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Finding a Teacher / Trovi Instruiston
- Niĉjo: Saluton, kie estas Sinjoro Mikelo? Li estas mia instruisto hodiaŭ.
- Petro: Li estas en la Orienta Alo. Vi devas hasti!
- Niĉjo: Bone. Kion instruas Sinjoro Mikelo?
- Petro: Li instruas sciencon. Li estas agrabla, vi ŝatos lin.
- Niĉjo: Dankon… ĝis!
| Esperanto | English |
|---|---|
| kie | where |
| Sinjoro | Mr., sir, etc. |
| instruisto | teacher |
| hodiaŭ | today |
| Orienta | East |
| Alo | Wing (of airplane, building, army, etc.) |
| devi | should, ought (to) |
| hasti | to hurry |
| Kio | what |
| instrui | to teach |
| scienco | science |
| agrabla | nice, agreeable |
| ŝati | to like, appreciate |
| ĝis | see you later |
The suffix -isto
[edit | edit source]The suffix -isto, as in instruisto, denotes profession. To teach is instrui, a teacher is instruisto. Dento is a tooth, dentisto is a dentist.