Verbs
Complete Esperanto verb system — tenses, moods, participles, compound tenses, passive voice, and transitivity.
Overview
Esperanto verbs are completely regular — there are zero irregular verbs. Every verb in the language follows the same pattern: root + ending. The root never changes. You only need to learn the endings.
Verbs in Esperanto do not conjugate for:
- Person (I speak / you speak / he speaks — all use the same ending)
- Number (singular or plural subject — same ending)
- Gender
They only change for tense/mood (6 options) and for participle form (6 options).
The 6 Tense/Mood Endings
| Ending | Name | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| -i | Infinitive | to (verb) | paroli (to speak) |
| -as | Present | speaks / is speaking | parolas |
| -is | Past | spoke / was speaking | parolis |
| -os | Future | will speak | parolos |
| -us | Conditional | would speak | parolus |
| -u | Volitional/Imperative | speak! / let (one) speak | parolu |
Detailed Usage
Infinitive: -i
The infinitive is used:
- As the object of a modal verb: Mi volas paroli. (I want to speak.)
- After por (in order to): Mi venis por lerni. (I came to learn.)
- As a verbal noun in some constructions: Lerni estas plezuro. (Learning is a pleasure.)
Present Tense: -as
Covers all present time reference, including:
- Simple present: Mi manĝas pomon. (I eat / I am eating an apple.)
- Habitual/ongoing: Li ĉiutage laboras. (He works every day.)
- Universal truths: La suno leviĝas en la oriento. (The sun rises in the east.)
Past Tense: -is
Covers all past time reference:
- Simple past: Hieraŭ mi iris al la merkato. (Yesterday I went to the market.)
- Past ongoing: Li dormis kiam mi alvenis. (He was sleeping when I arrived.)
- Past perfect meaning from context: Antaŭ tio mi jam finis la laboron. (Before that I had already finished the work.)
Future Tense: -os
Covers all future reference:
- Simple future: Morgaŭ ni iros al la kongreso. (Tomorrow we will go to the congress.)
- Conditional future: Se vi venos, mi preparios manĝon. (If you come, I will prepare food.)
Conditional: -us
The conditional expresses what would happen under certain circumstances:
- Mi irus al Japanio, se mi havus la monon. (I would go to Japan if I had the money.)
- Ĉu vi helpus min? (Would you help me?)
- Eble li venus morgaŭ. (Perhaps he would come tomorrow.)
Also used after por ke (so that) when the main verb is volitional:
- Mi laboras, por ke vi povu manĝi. (I work so that you can eat.)
Volitional/Imperative: -u
Used for:
- Direct commands (2nd person): Venu! Helpu min! (Come! Help me!)
- 3rd person commands/wishes: Li parolu pli mallaŭte! (Let him speak more quietly!)
- 1st person plural (let's): Ni iru! (Let's go!)
- After por ke and similar conjunctions expressing intention: Mi volas, ke vi venu. (I want you to come.)
- In subordinate clauses of purpose with ke: Mi petas, ke vi iru tien. (I ask that you go there.)
The 6 Participles
Participles are adjective/adverb forms of verbs. Esperanto has 6: 3 active and 3 passive, for present, past, and future time.
Active Participles (subject is doing the action)
| Ending | Time | As Adjective | As Adverb |
|---|---|---|---|
| -anta | present | leganta (reading) | legante (while reading) |
| -inta | past | leginta (having read) | leginte (having read) |
| -onta | future | legonta (about to read) | legonte (about to read) |
Examples:
- La leganta homo... (The person who is reading...)
- La leginta homo... (The person who has read...)
- La legonta homo... (The person who is about to read...)
- Legante la libron, mi dormis. (While reading the book, I fell asleep.)
- Leginte la libron, mi dormis. (Having read the book, I fell asleep.)
Passive Participles (subject is receiving the action)
| Ending | Time | As Adjective | As Adverb |
|---|---|---|---|
| -ata | present | legata (being read) | legate (while being read) |
| -ita | past | legita (having been read) | legite (having been read) |
| -ota | future | legota (about to be read) | legote (about to be read) |
Examples:
- La legata libro... (The book being read...)
- La legita libro... (The book that has been read...)
- La legota libro... (The book that is about to be read...)
Compound Tenses
Combining esti (to be) with a participle creates compound tenses. This allows very precise temporal distinctions.
Active Compound Tenses (with active participles)
| Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| estas + -anta | is (in the process of) | Mi estas leganta (I am reading) |
| estis + -anta | was (in the process of) | Mi estis leganta (I was reading) |
| estos + -anta | will be (in process of) | Mi estos leganta (I will be reading) |
| estas + -inta | has (completed) | Mi estas leginta (I have read) |
| estis + -inta | had (completed) | Mi estis leginta (I had read) |
| estos + -inta | will have (completed) | Mi estos leginta (I will have read) |
| estas + -onta | is about to | Mi estas legonta (I am about to read) |
| estis + -onta | was about to | Mi estis legonta (I was about to read) |
| estos + -onta | will be about to | Mi estos legonta (I will be about to read) |
Passive Compound Tenses (with passive participles)
| Construction | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| estas + -ata | is being (continuously) | La libro estas legata (The book is being read) |
| estis + -ata | was being | La libro estis legata |
| estas + -ita | has been (completed) | La libro estas legita (The book has been read) |
| estis + -ita | had been | La libro estis legita |
| estos + -ita | will have been | La libro estos legita |
Practical note: In everyday speech, Esperantists usually use the simple tenses (-as/-is/-os) and only reach for compound tenses when the temporal distinction is important. The simple past (estis legita vs. legis) is already sufficient for most contexts.
Passive Voice
Esperanto forms the passive with esti + passive participle:
| Voice | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Active | Mi legas la libron | I read the book |
| Passive (present) | La libro estas legata de mi | The book is being read by me |
| Passive (past) | La libro estis legita de mi | The book was read by me |
| Passive (future) | La libro estos legota de mi | The book will be read by me |
By-agent: Use de (by) for the agent in passive constructions:
- La poemo estis verkita de Zamenhof. (The poem was written by Zamenhof.)
Passive alternative — -iĝ-: The reflexive suffix creates a natural passive alternative:
- La pordo malfermiĝis. (The door opened / was opened.) — focus on the event, no agent implied
Transitivity and the -ig-/-iĝ- Pair
Esperanto carefully distinguishes transitive (takes a direct object) and intransitive (no direct object) verbs using the suffixes:
| Suffix | Example | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transitive (causes) | -ig- | purigi | to clean (something), make pure |
| Intransitive (becomes) | -iĝ- | puriĝi | to become clean, get clean |
More examples:
| Intransitive | Transitive | Causative |
|---|---|---|
| ruĝiĝi (to turn red) | ruĝigi (to redden something) | |
| mortigi (to kill = cause death) | morti (to die) | |
| sidiĝi (to sit down) | sidigi (to seat someone) | |
| naskiĝi (to be born) | naski (to give birth to) | |
| fariĝi (to become) | fari (to make) |
Modal Verbs
Esperanto uses several common verbs as modals, followed by an infinitive:
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| voli | to want to | Mi volas manĝi. (I want to eat.) |
| povi | to be able to, can | Li povas helpi. (He can help.) |
| devi | to have to, must | Ni devas iri. (We must go.) |
| rajti | to be allowed to, may | Ĉu mi rajtas eniri? (May I enter?) |
| ŝati | to like to | Mi ŝatas kanti. (I like to sing.) |
| ĝoji | to be glad to | Mi ĝojas helpi. (I'm glad to help.) |
| klopodi | to try to, endeavor | Li klopodis helpi. (He tried to help.) |
Summary: Why Esperanto Verbs Are Easy
- Zero irregular verbs — every verb follows the same pattern, no exceptions
- No person/number agreement — mi iras, vi iras, li iras, ni iras — same ending
- 6 clear endings — -i, -as, -is, -os, -us, -u — each with unambiguous meaning
- 6 participles for fine-grained time/voice expression when needed
- Compound tenses are logical combinations of esti + participle
- Transitivity handled systematically with -ig- and -iĝ-
Compare this to English (irregular: go/went, be/was/been, 6+ auxiliary combinations) or Spanish (6 persons × 6 tenses + irregular stems for hundreds of verbs). Esperanto's verbal system can be fully learned in a single study session.