> Aside from the sleep situation (he was awakened too early

{snip}

> Do I remember correctly that E. is supposed to be a
> balanced, unsexist language?

Ah, not a misplaced "she" or "sxi" in the esperanto (second pass at your
paragraph), but a misplaced "he" in the backtranslation (third pass):

That was pure google.  No idea why it backtranslated "I" as "he".  In
esperanto, that should be "mi", and "me" is "min" (same -n ending as for an
object case noun).

> Is there no gerund form in E.?

Various things with -ing endings and so on in English can be substantially
changed in form in other languages, not just esperanto.  Simple forms like
present tense and past tense can often be swapped word for word, but other
structures can require reducing to semantic content, then rebuilding according
to the rules and common styles of the target language.

Esperanto often prefers a simpler style than does English, for example

  I'm going to the store.

COULD be literally, word for word translated as

  *Mi estas iranta al la vendejo.

(or elsewhere "iranto" for the noun form of "going"),

but is FAR more likely to be

  Mi iras al vendejo.

That is

  *I go to store
     (sell-place, from vendi, to sell, and -ejo, place).

In context, that's easily seen to be current, rather than some timeless
generalism.
If I did want to express that I often go to (the) store, I might use "kutime"
(often, typically).

Note that in English, I'd have been more likely to say
     `selling place' than `sell-place',
     but trying to include an esperanto particle to represent the
     "-ing" would leave me with a tough choice of which form to
     use and how to apply it.  And clutter it up in a way that
     E-o seldom does, without a good reason, like extra emphasis.
     For example, if I've already told someone (perhaps by mobile
     phone) than I'm on the way to the store, and the person on
     the other end keeps asking me to go to the store, I might
     for emphasis say "Mi ESTAS iranta NUN!".  I AM on the way
     NOW.  (Or I could express "on the way" as "sur la vojo").

Also, note that in English, it's common to say "I'm going to the store" when
what is really meant, is "I wiil go to the store".  Not so in Esperanto, where
the future tense is clearly shown in "Mi iros al vendejo".  (It could easily
be "la vendejo", but I don't feel it's wrong to leave out the "la".  Let your
developing feel for it be your guide, and remember that esperantists tend to
be very open to personal variations, at least where they don't break the
rules.  And we all know how hard it is to learn any language, so we tend to be
tolerant even then).

I could stop there, and it would be good. Pick up each word as it comes up.

But when you're ready to see more of the typical esperanto pattern (no rush),
try this, to get lots of words and combining forms grouped neatly together:

Above I used iranta, that is iri (go) with the -ant- ending, followed by -a
(adjective marker).  That -ant- is present tense, first person, ongoing action.

Remember the verb tense endings:

 -is    past
 -as    present
 -os    future

note the vowels, i, a, o.

Now try this

  -inta    (doing something, past)
  -anta    (doing something, present)
  -onta    (doing something, future)

Above are first person.

Below is transitive:

  -ita     (refers to the recipient of some action, past)
  -ata     (refers to the recipient of some action, present)
  -ota     (refers to the recipient of some action, future)

The difference is that the active agent has an N in the middle, but the
recipient of the action doesn't.

So,
   hakanta viro
   is "chopping man", that is a man currently involved in the
   act of chopping (something).

   hakita ligno
   is "chopped wood", that is wood that has been chopped, some
   time in the past.

The usual -a and -o endings apply for
  -a   adjective,
  -o   noun

for example

   Ironto
   Someone or something which will perform an act of going.

  Mi estas la ironto
    I'm the one who will be going.

Verbs can be combined, and parts of speech changed to fit, for more complex
concepts:

   I was about-to-go.
      Mi estis ironta.

Once you get the feel for it, that can cover a huge range of stuff, with all
sorts of subtle shades of meaning, and when you'd use a gerund in english,
there'll be a way to neatly cover the idea in esperanto.

I can't resist, try a triple tense:

   La hakota ligno estas perdita.

The wood which will be chopped is lost (having been lost).

Okay -- optional exercise for the student: Show me your own sample sentence in
english using a gerund, and translate it to esperanto, not necessarily word
for word.

--- BBBS/Li6 v4.10 Dada-1
 * Origin: Prism bbs (1:261/38)