Lesson 1: The Accusative Case In Depth

Master all uses of the -n ending: direct object, direction, time measure, and flexible word order.

esperantob1lesson

Overview

The accusative case — marked by the ending -n added to nouns, pronouns, and their modifying adjectives — is one of Esperanto's most powerful and flexible tools. At A1/A2 you learned its basic role: marking the direct object of a verb (the thing being acted upon). At B1 you will master all four major uses of -n, understand exactly when not to use it, and exploit its most liberating feature: the ability to place sentence elements in virtually any order without losing clarity.

The accusative is not merely a grammar rule to memorize — it is the engine behind Esperanto's expressive freedom. Because -n unambiguously marks the grammatical object regardless of position, Esperanto speakers can move words around for emphasis, rhythm, or style in ways that English simply cannot replicate. A confident grasp of all accusative uses, including direction and time measure, will raise your Esperanto from elementary to genuinely intermediate.

Learning Objectives

  • Identify and produce all four uses of the accusative: direct object, direction/destination, time measure, and post-prepositional motion
  • Know precisely which prepositions never take -n (al, de, el, ĝis, tra) and understand why
  • Reorder sentences freely using the accusative to shift emphasis
  • Apply -n correctly to adjectives agreeing with accusative nouns

Vocabulary

Esperanto English Notes
direkto direction
celo goal, destination
movado movement
hundo dog classic accusative example
kato cat
domo house
urbo city
nokto night
tago day accusative of time
semajno week
pasi to pass, spend (time)
eniri to enter (en + iri)
ekiri to set off
direkti to direct, steer
supren upward
maldekstren to the left
dekstren to the right
hejmen homeward directional -n
antaŭen forward
malantaŭen backward
preter past, beyond (prep.)
tra through (prep.) never takes -n
al to (prep.) never takes -n
tutan whole, entire (acc.)

Grammar Focus

1. The Four Uses of -n

A. Direct Object — The most common use. The noun receiving the action of a transitive verb takes -n.

Mi vidas hundon. — I see a dog. Ŝi legas interesan libron. — She reads an interesting book. Li amas sian patrion. — He loves his mother.

Note that adjectives agreeing with an accusative noun must also take -n:

Mi havas belan, novan aŭton. — I have a beautiful new car. Ni manĝis varman supon. — We ate hot soup.

Common mistake: Forgetting -n on adjectives.

  • ✗ Mi vidas bela hundo.
  • ✓ Mi vidas belan hundon.

B. Direction / Destination — When a verb of motion implies movement toward a place, the destination takes -n. This applies even when no preposition is present, or when a position preposition (en, sur, sub, etc.) is used with a motion verb.

Mi iras domon. — I am going home(ward). (no preposition) Li kuras en la ĝardenon. — He runs into the garden. (en + motion) Ŝi metis la libron sur la tablon. — She put the book onto the table. La kato saltis sub la liton. — The cat jumped under the bed.

Contrast position vs. direction:

La kato estas sub la lito. (position — no -n) La kato kuris sub la liton. (direction — -n added)

Common mistake: Using -n with prepositions that already imply direction.

  • ✗ Li iris al la urbon. (al already means "to")
  • ✓ Li iris al la urbo. (no -n needed)

C. Time Measure / Duration — An accusative noun phrase expressing a span of time (how long an action lasted) takes -n.

Mi dormis tutan nokton. — I slept a whole night. Ŝi studis tri horojn. — She studied for three hours. Ili atendis longan tempon. — They waited a long time. Li laboris la tutan semajnon. — He worked the entire week.

This also extends to specific time points indicating when (answering "when exactly?"):

Mi naskiĝis la dekan de marto. — I was born on the tenth of March. Lunde mi laboros. — On Monday I will work. (lunde is already an adverb form)

D. After Position Prepositions with Motion Verbs — As shown in use B above, position prepositions (en, sur, sub, ĉe, inter, antaŭ, malantaŭ, etc.) take -n when the action involves movement toward that position.

Metu la libron en la tireton. — Put the book in(to) the drawer. La birdo flugis sur la branĉon. — The bird flew onto the branch. Li eniris en la ĉambron. — He entered into the room.

2. When NOT to Use -n: Prepositions That Already Encode Direction

These prepositions always mean movement away from or toward, so adding -n would be redundant and incorrect:

Preposition Meaning Example
al to, toward Li iras al la stacio.
de from, of Ŝi venas de Parizo.
el out of Ni eliris el la domo.
ĝis as far as, until Marŝu ĝis la rivero.
tra through La trajno pasis tra la tunelo.
  • ✗ Li iras al la stacidomon. ← never correct
  • ✓ Li iras al la stacidomo. ← correct

3. Flexible Word Order Enabled by -n

Because -n clearly marks the object, you can move the object to any position for emphasis or stylistic effect without ambiguity:

Mi vidas hundon. — I see a dog. (neutral) Hundon mi vidas. — A dog is what I see. (emphasis on "dog") Vidas mi hundon. — I do see a dog. (emphasis on "see") Hundon vidas mi. — It's a dog that I (personally) see.

All four sentences have the same core meaning, but carry different emphases. This is impossible in English without restructuring.

La knabo donas al la knabino florojn. (neutral) Florojn la knabo donas al la knabino. (emphasis on flowers) Al la knabino la knabo florojn donas. (literary/poetic)

Dialogue

Ana and Beno are planning a trip to the mountains.

Ana: Kien vi iras la venontan semajnon? Beno: Mi pensas iri la montaron. Mi jam longe volis vidi tiujn montojn. Ana: Kiom longe vi restos tie? Beno: Tri aŭ kvar tagojn. La tutan semajnfinon, eble pli. Ana: Ĉu vi iros rekte al la vilaĝo, aŭ ĉu vi haltos ien aliajn? Beno: Unue mi iros al mia onklo, kiu loĝas proksimen al la lago. Poste mi supreniros la monton. Ana: Prenu ĉapelon — la suno tie estas forta. Beno: Jes, mi jam metis ĉapelon en la sakon. Ankaŭ ŝuojn fortajn. Ana: Bone. Ĝuu la vojaĝon! Beno: Dankon. Mi sendu al vi postkartojn el la monto.

Practice

Exercise 1: Add -n where needed

Add -n to the correct words, or write "no change" if -n is not needed.

  1. Mi metis la libron sur la tablo__.
  2. Ŝi iras al la urbo__.
  3. Ili dormis tuta__ nokto__.
  4. La hundo kuris en la ĝardeno__.
  5. Li venis el la domo__.
  6. Ni vidis bela__ filmo__.
  7. La kato saltis sub la lito__.

Answers: 1. tablon (onto) 2. no change (al) 3. tutan nokton 4. ĝardenon (motion) 5. no change (el) 6. belan filmon 7. liton (motion)

Exercise 2: Rewrite with Emphasis

Rewrite each sentence to emphasize the underlined element by moving it to the front.

  1. Mi legas libron.
  2. Ŝi amas muzikon.
  3. La infano manĝis la tutan kukon.
  4. Li sendis leteron al sia amiko.

Example answer for 1: Libron mi legas.

Exercise 3: Translate into Esperanto

  1. She ran into the house.
  2. He worked the whole day.
  3. We are going to Paris. (use al)
  4. Put the cup onto the table.
  5. The cat jumped out from under the bed.

Answers:

  1. Ŝi kuris en la domon.
  2. Li laboris la tutan tagon.
  3. Ni iras al Parizo.
  4. Metu la tason sur la tablon.
  5. La kato saltis el sub la lito.

Cultural Note

Zamenhof designed the accusative intentionally to give Esperanto the word-order freedom of Latin and classical Greek while keeping a simple, regular grammar. In the early Esperanto movement, poets like Kálmán Kalocsay and William Auld exploited this freedom extensively in verse — placing accusative objects at the start of lines for rhyme and meter, something impossible in most modern European languages. When you read Esperanto poetry, you will often encounter inverted word orders that rely entirely on -n to remain unambiguous. Mastering the accusative is thus not just a grammar exercise; it is the key to appreciating the full artistic range of the Esperanto literary tradition.