in Courses-Intermediate-Jen nia IJK-Chapter 2-New grammar rules - there's the following explanation for "-ant-":

-ant- The doing of something, doing something helpanto

doesn't "-ant-" actually indicate a person doing the action as in "esperi" - "esperanto - one who hopes"?

IvoG:doesn't "-ant-" actually indicate a person doing the action as in "esperi" - "esperanto - one who hopes"?

Yes, you're correct. It's the one who does the action. Prezidanto prezidas kunsidon. Leganto legas gazeton. Helpanto helpas aliajn.

-ant- is not limited only to people, though. You can have, for example, kuranta/fluanta akvo, water which is running. They're describing the water in its current state.

Timtim:
-ant- is not limited only to people, though. You can have, for example, kuranta/fluanta akvo, water which is running. They're describing the water in its current state.

"kuranto" would mean a "person that is running" though, right? so when the word is an adjective "-ant-" would indicate the "-ing" form and when it's a noun the person doing the action?

IvoG:

Timtim:
-ant- is not limited only to people, though. You can have, for example, kuranta/fluanta akvo, water which is running. They're describing the water in its current state.

"kuranto" would mean a "person that is running" though, right? so when the word is an adjective "-ant-" would indicate the "-ing" form and when it's a noun the person doing the action?

Kuranto = runner (person who is running)
Kuranta ulo = a running fella
La ulo estas kuranta = the fella is in the process of running
Manĝante pomon, la ulo kuras = eating an apple, the fella runs. (the man runs, eating-ly an apple(accusative).

IvoG:

Timtim:
-ant- is not limited only to people, though. You can have, for example, kuranta/fluanta akvo, water which is running. They're describing the water in its current state.

"kuranto" would mean a "person that is running" though, right? so when the word is an adjective "-ant-" would indicate the "-ing" form and when it's a noun the person doing the action?

exactly.
there are a few special cases such as mathematical terms like "dividato" where a participial noun doesn't mean a person, but i wouldn't worry about them too much yet.

darkweasel:

IvoG:

Timtim:
-ant- is not limited only to people, though. You can have, for example, kuranta/fluanta akvo, water which is running. They're describing the water in its current state.

"kuranto" would mean a "person that is running" though, right? so when the word is an adjective "-ant-" would indicate the "-ing" form and when it's a noun the person doing the action?

exactly.
there are a few special cases such as mathematical terms like "dividato" where a participial noun doesn't mean a person, but i wouldn't worry about them too much yet.

If I might build on that, it's generally insinuated that participles ending in -o refer to people unless context heavily shows otherwise, since most verbs refer to actions relevant to people.

Passive participles on the other hand could mean a larger variety of things, since while most actions in human languages are associated with people, most things at the end of human actions aren't necessarily (but the -o at the end of a participle instead of something like "aĵo" generally refers to an animate thing).

in the sentence: "Ĉie troveblas Esperantistoj." - shouldn't "Esperantistoj" have the "-n" ending? isn't it the object of the sentence?

IvoG:in the sentence: "Ĉie troveblas Esperantistoj." - shouldn't "Esperantistoj" have the "-n" ending? isn't it the object of the sentence?

No. I don’t know if in English "findable" makes sense, but the sentence means "everywhere Esperantists are findable" (ĉie estas troveblaj Esperantistoj). The subject has just been moved to the end of the sentence.

darkweasel:

IvoG:in the sentence: "Ĉie troveblas Esperantistoj." - shouldn't "Esperantistoj" have the "-n" ending? isn't it the object of the sentence?

No. I don’t know if in English "findable" makes sense, but the sentence means "everywhere Esperantists are findable" (ĉie estas troveblaj Esperantistoj). The subject has just been moved to the end of the sentence.

"Esperantists can be found everywhere" is what we'd say, although "locatable" is usable to a degree (more for inanimate, manipulable objects or places or military targets)

"Everywhere, Esperantists are locatable"... "AIIIEEE! F-F-F-FIRE!"

the word "disinofero" (as in "Disinofero de Kristo") means "atonement", right? - can anybody give me the ethimology of the word? i assume it's a native Esperanto-word (so to say ) but i can't seem to figure the elements it's composed of