A Complete Grammar of Esperanto | Page 9

the branch, and the apples fall. 3. They are ripe and sweet. 4. Robert, do you wish to stand beneath the tree? 5. No, I do not wish to stand under it, but near it. 6. I wish to give both the peaches and the apples to the woman. 7. She is sitting in the house, near the window. 8. Mary is sitting in (on) a chair near her. 9. Both Mary and the woman are sewing. 10. They prefer to sew, and do not wish to walk in the garden to-day. 11. They are happy because they like to sew. 12. They do not wish to gather flowers, or walk, or see the birds. 13. They have neither apples nor peaches, but they do not wish to eat. 14. They give the fruit to the boys and girls.

LESSON VII.
THE PAST TENSE.
35. The past tense of the verb expresses an action which took place in past time, or a condition which existed in past time. The ending of this tense is "-is", as "kuris", ran, "flugis", flew, "brilis", shone. The conjugation of "esti" and also of "vidi" in the past tense is as follows:
mi estis = I was. mi vidis = I saw. vi estis = you were. vi vidis = you saw. li (sxi, gxi) estis = li (sxi, gxi) vidis : he (she, it) was. he (she, it) saw. ni estis = we were. ni vidis = we saw. vi estis = you (plural) were. vi vidis = you (plural) saw. ili estis = they were. ili vidis = they saw.
PREPOSITIONS.
36. A preposition is a word like "in," "on," placed before a noun or pronoun to indicate some relation between this and another word. The preposition is said to "govern" the noun or pronoun, which is called its "complement". In English, the complement of a preposition seems to be put in the accusative case if it is a pronoun, but to remain unchanged in form if it is a noun. In Esperanto the preposition does not affect the form of the word governed, which remains in the nominative case:
La arbo estas en la gxardeno, the tree is in the garden. Bonaj pomoj estas sur gxi, good apples are on it. Mi donis cxerizojn al li, I gave cherries to him. La knabo estas apud mi, the boy is near me. Sub la arbo staris cxevalo, under the tree stood a horse.
ACCUSATIVE CASE OF PERSONAL PRONOUNS.
37. For use as the object of a verb, any pronoun may be put in the accusative case by addition of the accusative ending "-n" (23):
La viro vidis vin kaj min, the man saw you and me. Li vidis ilin kaj nin, he saw them and us. Mi vidis nek lin nek sxin, I saw neither him nor her. Ni volas havi gxin, we wish to have it.
VOCABULARY
agrabla = pleasant, agreeable. luma = light (not dark). bildo = picture. muro = wall. blua = blue. nun = now. danki = to thank. planko = floor. de = from. pordo = door. diri = to say. rigardi = to look (at). infano = child. tapisxo = carpet. interesa = interesting. tra = through.
READING LESSON.
1. Hodiaux la knaboj kaj knabinoj estas en la granda domo. 2. Ili staras apud la tablo, en agrabla luma cxambro. 3. Gxi havas altajn largxajn fenestrojn. 4. Sub la tablo kaj segxoj, mola tapisxo kusxas sur la planko. 5. La tapisxo havas belajn kolorojn, rugxan, bluan, flavan, kaj verdan. 6. Virino marsxis tra la pordo, kaj staris apud la tablo. 7. Sxi havis interesajn bildojn, kaj donis ilin al la knaboj kaj la knabinoj. 8. Sxi diris "Cxu vi volas rigardi la bildojn?" 9. "Jes, ni dankas vin," diris la infanoj, kaj sxi donis al ili la bildojn. 10. Granda bildo falis de la tablo, sed Arturo nun havas gxin. 11. Li donas gxin al Mario, sxi dankas lin, kaj donas gxin al Roberto. 12. Ili volis doni gxin al Gertrudo, sed sxi diris "Ne, mi dankas vin, mi ne sxatas rigardi bildojn." 13. Sxi marsxis de la tablo al la fenestro kaj diris "Mi preferas kudri." 14. Sxi volis sidi en granda segxo apud la fenestro. 15. La virino rigardis sxin kaj diris "Mi donis la bildojn al vi, knaboj kaj knabinoj," cxar ili estas interesaj bildoj. 16. Gertrudo diris "Vi estas bona al ni, sed mi volas sidi apud la pordo aux la fenestro. 17. Mi kolektis dolcxajn violojn en la gxardeno, kaj nun mi volas rigardi la dolcxajn florojn, kaj kudri."
SENTENCES FOR TRANSLATION.
1. Do the boys and girls wish to be good? 2. They gathered fresh flowers and gave them to the woman. 3. The happy children were in the garden, but now they are in the house. 4. The rooms in the house are light, because they