Ido for All/Lesson 01

Previous Page

Table of Contents

Next Page

Lesson 01 - Unesma Leciono

Nouns

A noun is a person, place, or thing, anything that you can see, hear, touch, or put a name to, like "table", "chair", "man", "cat". In Ido, all singular nouns end with the letter -O: kato (cat), hundo (dog), tablo (table). Plural nouns end with -I: kati (cats), hundi (dogs), tabli (tables).

The Indefinite Article

In English we say "a table" and "an egg". The "a" and "an" are indefinite articles. Ido does not use indefinite articles. It is enough to say "ovo" for egg or "an" egg; "tablo" for table or "a" table, and so on, when referring to "some unspecified" egg or table, or "any" egg or table.

The Definite Article

The definite article "the", used to specify a particular object being discussed, is "la" in Ido: matro - a mother (such as "any mother"); la matro - the mother (a specific mother, the one we are discussing).

Es - "Is"

The Ido word "es" is roughly the English word "is" as in "he is", but also takes the place of "am" or "are" as in "I am" and "you are". Ido uses the one word "es" where English uses several different words "am-is-are" to accomplish the same function: me es - I am; vu es - you are; elo es - she is. The Ido way with verbs is to keep everything simple, and very regular, with no exceptions or special treatments or tricky conjugations.

Notes

"Es" is a short form of 'esas", Though "es" is more convenient, "esas" is just as common. Use either form, by personal preference.

Vortaro (vocabulary)

me - I/me

vu - you

buxo - box

domo - house

gardeno - garden

hundo - dog

kato - cat

yuno - teenager/ a youth

yunulo - boy

yunino - girl

la - the

en - in

sub - under

sur - on

muso - mouse

tablo - table

esas/es - is/am/are

Exempli

Mary is a girl. - Mary esas yuno. // Mary es yunino. (You may say either "esas" or "es".)

Charles is a boy. - Charles esas/es yuno. // Charles esas/es yunulo. The house is in the garden. - La domo esas/es en la gardeno. I am in the garden. - Me esas/es en la gardeno. (Say "meh", not "mee".)

I am in the house. - Me esas/es en la domo.

You are in the house. - Vu esas/es en la domo.

You are under the table. - Vu esas/es sub la tablo.

A dog is on the table in the house. - Hundo esas/es sur la tablo en la domo.

Rex is a dog. - Rex esas/es hundo.

William is a cat. - William esas/es kato.

The dog is in the house. - La hundo esas/es en la domo.

The cat is on the table. - La kato esas/es sur la tablo.

The box is under the table. - La buxo esas/es sub la tablo.

The cat is on the box. - La kato esas/es sur la buxo.

The mouse is in the house. - La muso esas/es en la domo.

The mouse is in the box. - La muso esas/es en la buxo.

The mouse is under the table. - La muso esas/es sub la tablo.

Verbs - Present Tense

A verb is an action or "doing" word: see, read, touch, chase. Verbs in Ido all have identifying endings, "verb endings", so you can easily recognize a verb when you see one. In English, the same word could be a verb or a noun: you can pull a plow, or plow the field. That doesn't happen in Ido, where nouns end in -O (or -I for plurals), and verbs do not.

The verbs you have seen so far in this book all have the ending that shows the present tense, the ending -AS. The present tense is used when the action in the verb is happening NOW:

Me vidas la hundo. -1 see the dog.

Vu tushas la kato. - You touch the cat.

These are actions taking place at the present moment, so the present tense is used. In English there is more than one present tense -1 touch the dog, I am touching the dog. Both of these expressions describe actions taking place in the present. Because the meanings of these two are so similar, Ido says them both in the same way: Me tushas (I touch or am touching) la hundo. "Me lektas la libro" could therefore be either "I read the book" or "I am reading the book", (or even "I do read the book").

Remember this, especially when translating English into Ido. Don't translate "I am touching" or "you are reading" word for word. Until you can think naturally in Ido, it is best to change them in your mind to "I touch" and "you read" and then translate that simple form.

Ed/e - "And"

The Ido for "and" is "ed". The final -D, which is part of the root, is often dropped if the following word starts with a consonant. It is a question of which one sounds better. Officially you may suit yourself and chose the one you prefer, "ed" or "e". In practice most Idists use "e" if the following word starts with a consonant, and "ed" if it starts with a vowel. Three other words which you will learn later - a/ad, o/od, ka/kad - allow the same flexibility.

Vortaro (Vocabulary)

drinkas - drinks

havas - has (got)

lektas - reads

manjas - eats

prizas - likes

promenas - walks/strolls

regardas - looks (at)

tushas - touches

lakto - milk

libro - book

pomo - apple

pordo - door

stulo - chair

e/ed - and

aquo - water

fenestro - window

vidas - sees 

Exempli

I have a dog. - Me havas hundo.

I see the dog. - Me vidas la hundo.

The dog sees me. - La hundo vidas me.

I like the dog. - Me prizas la hundo.

I like milk. - Me prizas lakto.

The dog has the milk. - La hundo havas la lakto.

The cat drinks the milk. - La kato drinkas la lakto.

You drink the milk. - Vu drinkas la lakto.

I have the apple. - Me havas la pomo.

I am eating the apple. - Me manjas la pomo.

The boy/girl is eating the apple. - La yuno manjas la pomo.

I am looking at the mouse. - Me regardas la muso.

The mouse sees the water. - La muso vidas la aquo.

The mouse is eating the book. - La muso manjas la libro.

The book is on the table. - La libro esas/es sur la tablo.

You read the book. - Vu lektas la libro.

You are reading the book. - Vu lektas la libro.

The cat looks at me. - La kato regardas me.

The cat looks at the door. - La kato regardas la pordo.

You are touching the door. - Vu tushas la pordo.

The cat is touching the window. - La kato tushas la fenestra.

I am touching the window. - Me tushas la fenestro.

I am walking in the garden. - Me promenas en la gardeno.

You and the dog are walking in the garden. - Vu e la hundo promenas en la gardeno.

The table and chair are in the house. - La tablo e la stulo esas/es en la domo.

Vortaro:- Vocabulary

Bonajorno - Hello (Good day)

Til rivido - Good-bye (Until we meet again)

Quale vu standas? - How are you?

Tre bone danko - Very well thank you.

Now when you meet another Idist, or go to a congress or international gathering you have the beginnings of a simple conversation.

Konversado:- Conversation

Here is a conversation between Peter and Mary.

P: Bonajorno!

M: Bonajorno!

P: Quale vu standas?

M: Tre bone, danko. Quale vu standas?

P: Tre bone, danko.

M: Til rivido!

P: Til rivido!

Exerco:- Exercise

1. Practice the conversation phrases.

2. Think in Ido of the things you know: Touch the door and say to yourself, "Me tushas la pordo"; read a book and say "Me lektas libro"; and so on, to use and repeat as many of the words you've learned as possible.

3. Read aloud every Ido sentence in a lesson as many times as possible.

4. When you begin a new lesson, start by paging back and reviewing and reading the Ido sentences in the previous lesson, to get your Ido "frame of mind" into high gear. Then dive into the new lesson.

Previous Page

Table of Contents

Next Page