"Where do we start?"

[RichDaley]

Why is it "kie ni komencas" and not "kien ni komencas"?

Would the answer also be "ni komencas tie" and not "ni komencas tien"?

[johmue]

"komenci" is not a verb of motion. So there's also no direction and thus no accusative of direction.

[RichDaley]

Right! So the -n forms of the correlatives are only used when direction/motion are relevant, and not everywhere you'd use the -n form of a noun. Thanks for your help!

[draquila]

-ien correlatives mark motion, while -ie correlatives mark location. Other correlatives (e.g. kio) still take the accusative when they would normally take the accusative. http://donh.best.vwh.net/Esperanto/correlatives.html

[sirhalos]

That website has always put a bad taste in my mouth and unfortunately they are too many Esperanto speakers with the same attitude.

"The correlatives are the bete noir of many English-speaking students of Esperanto; they never seem to get them right. This is, in my opinion, a simple lack of diligence on their part; even memorizing the fifty words separately should take no more than the better part of an evening. "

In other words, if you get them mixed up or wrong you are an idiot.

[stephbutler19]

This is great, I needed it!

[johmue]

Not quite. It's not due to correlative or noun, it's due to the function of the correlative in the sentence.

[RichDaley]

I think that makes sense. You wouldn't use a noun in a sentence like this without a preposition anyway.

[StefanoSolgreno]

"komencigxas"?

[danielqsc]

Well... If we were classes wanting to start in a school, we would say that :D But normally we only start something (we start eating, we start sleeping, we start making, we start going...). "Komencigxi" is for the other meaning of "start" (the TV show started, a new age starts...)

[snow_mous]

Are pronouns absolutely necessary? If in context, one were to say "kie komencas?" Would they be understood? Would it be strange?

[saticek]

kie faru ni komencas?