These are equivalance verbs like:
iĝi
esti
resti

What else are there?

AFAIK it's should be a fixed list I can get away with rote-memorising, correct?

Genjix:These are equivalance verbs like:
iĝi
esti
resti

What else are there?

AFAIK it's should be a fixed list I can get away with rote-memorising, correct?

It has to do with whether or not the verb is transitive or intransitive. transitive verbs act upon something or someone. intransitive verbs don't

For example take the english verb to sing.

You can say

He sings every day. There's no object in that sentence, so in that case sing is an intransitive verb.

He sings hymns every day.

Here the object of the sentence is hymns. he's not just existing in the state of singing, he's singing *something* (a hymn). So in that case sing is transitive.

I think the transitive/intransitive thing in esperanto is one of the hardest aspects of the language to master. And often, but not always the transitivity is marked by either the ig or igx ending.

Consider the following

La akvo bolas. (The water is boiling), it's in the state of boiling, and here akvo is the subject of the sentence

Li boligos la akvon. (He will boil the water) the ig indicates that something (the water) is receiving the action of being boiled.

I don't think there's a comprehensive list in esperanto of transitive/intransitive words. in fact, you can make an intransitive verb transitive by adding the ig ending, and you can make a transitive verb intransitive by adding the igx ending.

Also, not all verbs have those endings. In general, you just have to absorb which verbs are transitive and which are intransitive through practice.

Fortunately if you make a mistake with the transitivity you'll still be understood in most cases. It just seems to be something that most people pick up by using the language.

As a rule of thumb, verbs that indicate a state of being are intransitive, and verbs that act on something are transitive (and their objects get the accusative -n in Esperanto).

Some verbs are tricky, a lot of english speaking beginners seem to have trouble with plaĉi, for example, which is intransitive

tio plaĉas al mi (That is pleasing to me). Here plaĉi is an intransitive verb which is indicating the state of being pleased, and there is therefore no object/accusative.

hope that helps

Genjix:These are equivalance verbs like:
iĝi
esti
resti

What else are there?

AFAIK it's should be a fixed list I can get away with rote-memorising, correct?

Memorise this:

Genjix:These are equivalance verbs like:
iĝi
esti
resti

What else are there?

AFAIK it's should be a fixed list I can get away with rote-memorising, correct?

I wonder if "simili" would count here.... I use it with an accusative but now you've brought up the topic perhaps someone can say "yay" or "nay" to that lingering question of mine...

Also, as Erinja and others told me, iĝi verbs never have an accusative with them, e.g. mi fariĝis pomo.

@ Everyone else, I think he's asking for a list of verbs that have NOMINATIVE verb NOMINATIVE, as opposed to NOMINATIVE verb ACCUSATIVE, not transitives/intransitives.

Forgive me if I'm wrong.

awake:hope that helps

I feel kinda guilty that you typed that because I wasn't clear enough.

I indeed was asking what ceigered is saying.

ceigered:I wonder if "simili" would count here.... I use it with an accusative but now you've brought up the topic perhaps someone can say "yay" or "nay" to that lingering question of mine...

I think that it would. A simple litmus test I use is whether the ordering of the 'nouns' (or whatever) matters.

For instance:

A tiger _is_ a type of cat.
A type of cat _is_ a tiger.

I remain ill
Ill remains (with) me.

AFAIK that's why they don't need to take the -n.

What is 'mi fariĝas pomo' supposed to mean?

Which verbs can take a direct object in Esperanto may not involve so much rote learning as it may at first seem.

I've not explored this in depth but I get the impression that the verbs can be grouped in families, so that verbs that are close in meaning may share the same transitivity. Since transitivity comes from the meaning of the root this would be logical.

Some examples: Morti (to die) doesn't take the accusative, similarly droni (to drown) also doesn't.

Another example would be Soni and sonori - and lots of other verbs to do with emitting noises.

However, when Krii is used in a meaning close to diri (laŭte) it can take the accusative. When it just means to make a noise it isn't followed by an accusative.

A perfect illustration of how this issue is bound up with meaning would be Fumi. So, you can fumi pipon, but the postrestaĵo de incendio povas fumi.

Genjix:What is 'mi fariĝas pomo' supposed to mean?

to become, to become changed to, to begin to have a profession or function, to evolve to, to occur.

Basically to make (oneself) into something.

Thus "I become an apple" (bit of a anticlimax!)

But that litmus test of yours seems to work with simili. Nonetheless, I guess if one is ever worried they can just use "simili AL".

3rdblade:Memorise this:

Very useful. Is there a reason why "grimpi" is missed out? "Mi grimpigis la eskalon" no good?

EDIT: erinja's response seems to have disappeared, but she explained that the above means "I caused the ladder to climb" which is obviously no good.

malĝoj:Is there a reason why "grimpi" is missed out?

Possibly because this verb (intransitive, according to both Wells and PIV 2005) is used less often. You need Mi grimpis laŭ (or per) la eskalo. In my view you could have Mi grimpis la eskalon, but in that case the ending -n would be a substitute for a preposition; it would not be the case that eskalo were a direct object of grimpi.