Mesaĝoj: 20
Lingvo: English
Mart1986 (Montri la profilon) 2008-septembro-07 12:59:18
I wanted to say the following in Esperanto but I then realised I wasn't sure of how to say it:
"Martin is working"
Now, I came up with the following options:
1. "Martin estas laboras"
2. "Martin estas laborado"
3. "Martin estas laboradas"
I think the second would be wrong, would that mean "Martin is [a working]"?
But I'm not sure about 1 and 3. Can two verbs occur after each other like this?
Can anyone clear this up for me?
Kind regards,
Martin Rue.
Espi (Montri la profilon) 2008-septembro-07 13:47:15
Mart1986:1. "Martin estas laboras"Hi Martin,
2. "Martin estas laborado"
3. "Martin estas laboradas"
my offers:
1. very simple and preferable: Martin laboras.
2. continuous form: Martin estas laboranta.
Amike
Espi
Mart1986 (Montri la profilon) 2008-septembro-07 13:59:18
I was confused because "laboranta" ends with 'a' and it seems to mean that it is an adjective. But I thought "working" is an action and should have a verb ending.
I understand now the correct use. But it would still make more sense to me if the word was "laborantas".
Thanks for the reply.
Martin.
Rohan (Montri la profilon) 2008-septembro-07 14:22:28
Mart1986:But it would still make more sense to me if the word was "laborantas".Dear Martin,
'Martin laborantas.' is in fact correct. It means the same as 'Martin estas laboranta.'.
Mart1986 (Montri la profilon) 2008-septembro-07 14:49:51
Well, now I am lost for choice
I will stick to the simple form, but it's good to know that if I wanted to explicitly express the continuous form I could do so in both ways.
Thanks for clearing this up in my own mind.
Regards,
Martin.
RiotNrrd (Montri la profilon) 2008-septembro-07 16:21:20
Mart1986:I was confused because "laboranta" ends with 'a' and it seems to mean that it is an adjective. But I thought "working" is an action and should have a verb ending."Laboranta" IS an adjective. But it is an active one (which is probably where your confusion came in).
Pretty much anything after "estas" is going to be an adjective (or a noun, but that's not relevant here), because it is describing a quality of the subject.
Mi estas ruĝa. (I am red.)
Ŝi estas malsana. (She is sick.)
Ili estas dikaj. (They are fat).
The adjectives which end in -anta describe a quality of being actively engaged (at the present time) in whatever the root is about.
Mi estas laboranta. (I am working.)
Ŝi estas falanta. (She is falling.)
Ili estas kurantaj. (They are running.)
This form is, however, more common in English than it is in Esperanto. The advice I've gotten is to use the simpler, verbal, forms whenever possible, as they are generally easier to understand and for the most part convey the same meaning.
Mi laboras. (I work.)
Ŝi falas. (She falls.)
Ili kuras. (They run.)
davidwelsh (Montri la profilon) 2008-septembro-07 17:12:32
Basically, if it's:
something that happened in the past, use "-is";
something in the present or a general truth, use "-as";
something in the future, use "-os";
something hypothetical, use "-us".
Forms like "estas laboranta" or "laborantas" are very unusual in Esperanto. As an English speaker, I would simply avoid using them completely until you have a good grasp of the language.
galvis (Montri la profilon) 2008-septembro-07 17:48:57
Li estas laboranta = li laborantas
ŝi estis laboranta = ŝi laborantis
ni estos laborantaj = ni laborantos
ili estus laborantaj = ili laborantus.
Miland (Montri la profilon) 2008-septembro-07 17:51:34
galvis:---According to Rohan's explanation, are the following phrases correct ?Yes.
Li estas laboranta = li laborantas...
Mart1986 (Montri la profilon) 2008-septembro-07 18:12:56
I had previously wondered whether I was saying it wrong and should use the other form.
Cheers guys,
Martin.