42. Grammatical Terminations (gramatikaj finiĝoj).—Every word in Esperanto, except the primary words, has a grammatical termination which shows:—
(a). The part of speech.
(b). Whether the word is singular or plural.
(c). Whether in the nominative or accusative case.
(d). The mood, tense, and participles of a verb.
A list of the grammatical terminations will be found in par. 53.
43. Suffixes.—Suffixes are syllables placed between the root and grammatical termination, adding to the word the idea contained in the suffix as well as that in the root.
A list of suffixes will be found in par. 54.
44. Prefixes.—A prefix is a syllable placed before the root, adding to the root the idea contained in the prefix.
A list of prefixes will be found in par. 55.
45. From the foregoing definitions we see that words in Esperanto are either primary words, or words composed of:—
(a). Roots and grammatical terminations.
(b). Roots, suffixes, and grammatical terminations.
(c). Prefixes, roots, and grammatical terminations.
(d). Prefixes, roots, suffixes, and grammatical terminations.
46. Order of Suffixes.—The grammatical terminations, A, E, I, O, U, AS, IS, OS, US, showing the part of speech and mood and tense of verbs, must end all words (except some of the primary words), the accusative N or plural J being added if required. Suffixes precede this termination in their natural order. For instance, if we want to say "a tiny female kitten," we commence with the root kat-, giving the idea only of "cat" ; then add -id- (suffix for "offspring of") kat-id- = kitten; then -in- (female suffix) kat-id-in- = kitten female; then -et- (diminutive suffix) kat-id-in-et- = kitten female tiny; we have now got the root and all the suffixes, and we might make the word an adjective by adding A, but we want a noun, so add O; kat-id-in-et-o = a tiny female kitten. If we place -et- after kat-, we commence by speaking of a "tiny cat," for kateto has that meaning, so katetidino would be the "female offspring of a tiny cat." If we reversed the three suffixes, we should get kat-in-et-id-o = offspring of a tiny female cat. This exaggerated example of building up suffixes will show the importance of placing them in their natural order. The student cannot make a mistake if he commences with the root and forms a word of each suffix in succession; for instance, hund-o = a dog, hund-id-o = a puppy, hundid-in-o = a female puppy, hundidin-eg-o = a huge female puppy.
47. Order of Prefixes.—In like manner prefixes must come in their natural order, as:—Sano = health, mal-sano = illness, re-mal-sano = a return of illness, a relapse.
48. Order of roots in compound words.—The principal root is always placed last, and receives the grammatical termination, with or without a suffix. The root of a subordinate word is sufficient without any suffix.
Examples.—Ĉas-gard-ist-o = A gamekeeper, (ĉasi = to hunt, ĉas-aĵo = a thing hunted, game; but it is unnecessary to add the suffix -aĵ- to the subordinate root). Roz-kolora = Rose coloured. Skrib-tablo = Writing table. Lerno-libro = Instruction book, manual (lern-o, the root, made a full word for euphony). Compare: librolerno, book-learning. Tir-kesto = A drawer (tir-i = to draw, kesto = a chest). Lum-turo = Lighthouse (lum-i = to shine, turo = a tower). Lip-haroj = Moustache (lip-o = a lip, haroj = hairs). Vang-haroj = Whiskers (vang-o = a cheek).
49. When the root should be a noun, adjective, or adverb.—When the joining of the root alone makes the compound word difficult to pronounce, the root is generally made a noun by adding O for the sake of euphony, as:—Lerno-libro = manual, instruction book. If the prefixed root alone would not give the required meaning, the suitable grammatical ending must be added. Estis unu-taga laboro = it was one day’s work. Estis la unua-taga laboro = it was the first day’s work. La supre-citita paragrafo = the above-quoted paragraph. In case of adverbs, N to form the accusative is also added, if direction is implied, as:—Li supren-iris la monton = he ascended the mountain (see 67 (b)).
N.B.—The hyphens are not necessary.
50. The idea conveyed by the root.—In forming a word, the first thing is to find out the exact primary idea contained in the root. Do not think, for instance, that because you happen to know that one of the meanings of cel-o is end, that cel-i will mean to finish or end. The primary idea of cel- is aim, or purpose, therefore cel-i is to aim, to purpose. Do not, in the case of a word with one or more suffixes, think that because you know one of its meanings, you know also the idea conveyed in its root. For instance, kresk-aĵ-o is a plant, but do not at once say that kresk-i is to plant; kreskaĵo comes quite logically from kreski = to grow, therefore kreskaĵo is a thing grown, a growth, a plant. In other words, make certain that you understand the exact meaning of the Esperanto root; and be careful not to be misled by the fact that many English words have a number of different meanings.
PRIMARY WORDS (Vortoj fundamentaj).
51. The Primary words are 158 in number, and must be carefully learnt (see list, page 334). They are not only complete words in themselves with a definite meaning, but they can be treated as root-words and receive prefixes, suffixes, and grammatical terminations. There is no rule to prevent any of these words, ending in a vowel, from receiving, if logically allowable, the accusative N or the plural J (see par. 142).
Examples.—Jen (behold), jene = As follows. Ne (no, not), nei = To deny. Tie (there), tieulo = A man from there (that place). Ĉirkaŭ (around, round), ĉirkaŭi = To surround. Jes (yes), jeso = An affirmation. Tiaj esprimoj = Such expressions. Tiuj ĉevaloj = Those horses. Li aĉetis ĉiujn ĉevalojn = He bought all the horses. Faru al mi ian respondon = Make me some (kind of) reply. Venu tien ĉi = Come hither. Diru al mi tion, kion vi faris = Tell me what (that which) you did (have done). Unuj faris tion ĉi, aliaj tion = Some did this, others that.
Among the Primary Words are found all the personal and demonstrative pronouns, all the cardinal numbers and prepositions, and also many common adverbs and conjunctions. It is important, therefore, that the student should thoroughly master their meaning.
FOREIGN WORDS (Vortoj fremdaj).
52. Foreign words are those which in most languages are derived from the same source, and, being consequently much alike in formation, are easily understood by most nations, there being only a slight difference in spelling