30 Comments
541
And why did they chose to do it this way? I know that word order is very flexible. But they mentioned words can interchange for the sake of style. There must be another semantic nuance here, is it?
No, the reason they wrote it the other way around here in this example is to learn people that it can be written both ways.
Vikungen, just trying to help people with English! I know it's hard, but there are millions of grammar nazis and punctuation police out there to help us all out! :-)
I mean this in the friendliest of ways.
I assume it maybe due to owner's feelings about his/her plant.
I can use both
Kara amiko mia & Kara mia amiko
However the first phrase shows my descent feelings about my friend so much.
- 1334
I would say that "kara amiko mia" is ok, but "kara mia amiko" is strange. For the second one, it would be better to say "mia kara amiko."
Not all speakers make this distinction, but for a large number of esperantists "mia planto" is definite (THE specific plant that I'm talking about) and "planto mia" is indefinite (a plant that belongs to me.)
- 330
It sounded to me that way also. I tried "a plant of mine..." and was marked correct :)
This way is good for indonesian learners, for example. Tanaman anda - Plant I - My plant.
- 330
According to Salivanto, "mia planto" and "planta mia" don't share the same meaning. Check his comment :)
- 1334
I said:
Not all speakers make this distinction, but for a large number of esperantists "mia planto" is definite (THE specific plant that I'm talking about) and "planto mia" is indefinite (a plant that belongs to me.)
I wish that more sentences would switch up the word order like this, so that we're prepared for other speakers.
- 1334
Word order is actually pretty standard in Esperanto. The preparation for other speakers will be getting used to accents and the like.
Won't speakers of Germanic languages who use Esperanto incline towards putting adjectives before the words they describe while speakers of Italic/Romance languages who use Esperanto incline towards putting adjectives after the words they describe?
- 1334
No. That's pretty much what I was trying to say in my previous comment. Word order is pretty standard in Esperanto. Esperanto wasn't born yesterday. It has a 130 year unbroken history of regular usage, and all courses teach accordingly. The kind of variation you described is no more common among intermediate speakers of Esperanto than it is among intermediate speakers of, say, English.
- 1311
Mi pensas la tio ĉi ne ĝustas:
«planto mia» → a plant of mine (I may have various)
«mia planto » → my plant (I have only one)
Sed «a plant of mine» estis akceptita do eble tio ĉi ↑ĝustas?
Each time I think I get the "-n" thing, I'm lost again... :( Why it isn't "Planton mian kresas en poto"?
- 1330
Because the plant is doing the growing, rather than the thing being grown (by someone or something). If I was growing a plant, then it could be "Mi kresas planton mian" -- I am growing my plant. The subject (thing doing the verb) DOES NOT have the -n, and the object (thing the verb is done to) DOES have the -n.
I don't know ungarian but yes, esperanto has a flexible order. Might not be exactly the same, though
