Basque Grammar List

-(r)ekin means with: Anerekin (with Ane), Mikelekin, lagunarekin (with the friend), nirekin, zurekin. Kafea esnearekin (coffee with milk).

-(r)en marks whose: Aneren etxea (Ane's house), Mikelen autoa (Mikel's car), mutilaren liburua (the boy's book). The owner goes first.

Basque has no separate word for "the": -a goes on the end of the noun phrase, and a word already ending in -a does not add another.

The plural article -ak means "the" with more than one: etxeak, mendiak, neskak. Basque shows plural with the article, not with a separate plural ending.

The subject of a transitive verb takes the ergative ending -k: Anek, Mikelek (-ek after a consonant), nik, zuk. With the article the singular ending is -ak and the plural is -ek.

-ko links a noun to a place: Bilboko museoa (the Bilbao museum), etxeko giltza (the house key). With the article, -koa says where someone is from: Bilbokoa naiz.

Add -ko to the participle, or -go when it ends in -n, and use a present auxiliary. Bihar etorriko naiz means “I will come tomorrow.”

The inessive -n answers non? (where?): etxean (at home), kalean (in the street), mahaian (on the table). Place names take it without the article: Bilbon, Donostian, and Gasteizen after a consonant.

The allative -ra answers nora? (where to?): etxera (home, to the house), hondartzara (to the beach), Bilbora. A word ending in a consonant adds -e-: lanera, Madrilera, Gasteizera.

The ablative -tik answers nondik? (where from?): etxetik (from home), Bilbotik (from Bilbao). A common noun ending in a consonant takes -etik: lanetik (from work).

The participle is the form you find in the dictionary, such as sartu, etorri or egin. It is also the base of the perfect (etorri naiz) and the future (etorriko naiz).

Most Basque verbs make their everyday present with two words: the -tzen or -ten form and a present auxiliary. Lan egiten dut means “I work.”

For most verbs, take off the dictionary ending and add -tzen, or -ten when the stem ends in s, z or x. Verbs in -n drop the n and add -ten: sartu becomes sartzen, ikusi becomes ikusten and egin becomes egiten.

The instrumental -z says by what means: autobusez (by bus), trenez (by train). It also names the language you use: euskaraz (in Basque), ingelesez (in English).

An adjective that describes the subject with izan takes the article and agrees with the subject in number.

gaur (today), bihar (tomorrow) and atzo (yesterday) need no ending. Days and parts of the day take -(e)an: astelehenean (on Monday), goizean (in the morning), gauean (at night).

Instead of prepositions, Basque adds case endings to the end of a noun phrase: etxean (in the house), etxera (to the house), etxetik (from the house), lagunarekin (with the friend).

In etortzen naiz or ikusten dut, the first word says what happens and whether it is finished, ongoing or still to come. The auxiliary says who is involved and when.

Basque has no grammatical gender: one pronoun, hura, covers he, she and it, and adjectives never change for gender.

In a Basque noun phrase the adjective comes after the noun, and only the last word takes -a, -ak or bat.

Many everyday verbs are a noun with no article plus egin: lan egin, hitz egin, lo egin, igeri egin. They use dut, duzu, du, and the doer takes -k.

Numbers from two up usually stand before a bare noun: bi kafe, hiru lagun. Adding -ak to the end of the phrase turns it into the: hiru lagunak (the three friends).

The question word goes directly before the verb or auxiliary, and the subject moves after it: Non bizi da Ane?, not Non Ane bizi da?

The Basque alphabet has 27 letters, including ñ. Native words write the k-sound with k and never use c, q, v, w or y, and spelling is regular, so words are read as they are written.

The focus, the key new information, stands right before the verb: Non bizi zara? — Bilbon bizi naiz. Moving a word into that place changes what the sentence stresses.

Neutral Basque order is subject, object, verb. Case endings show who does what, so the order can change to move the emphasis.

The Basque vowels a, e, i, o and u keep the same clear sound in every position. Six diphthongs join two vowels in one syllable: ai, ei, oi, ui, au and eu.

Basque gives the doer of a transitive verb -k (nork) and leaves both the subject of an intransitive verb and the object bare (nor). The auxiliary follows the same split: naiz for nor verbs, dut for nor-nork verbs.

Basque has no strong stressed syllable like English or Spanish. Standard speech gives a slight lift to the second syllable of a word or short phrase, and spelling never marks stress.

Agur is the general goodbye. The word arte means until, so gero arte is see you later, bihar arte is see you tomorrow and ikusi arte is see you.

A yes-no question can keep statement order with a rising voice, or add al right before the finite verb: Etxean al zaude? Answer bai or ez, often repeating the verb.

Learn bat, bi, hiru, lau, bost, sei, zazpi, zortzi, bederatzi and hamar. bat goes after the noun (etxe bat), while bi to hamar usually go before it (hiru etxe).

bat means "a" or "one" and batzuk means "some". Both follow the noun and take the place of -a or -ak.

To say where you live, use bizi with naiz, zara, da and put the place in -n. The everyday present is simply bizi naiz.

When the object is plural, the verb to have adds -it-: ditut (I have them), dituzu, ditu, ditugu, dituzue, dituzte. The same forms are the auxiliary for a plural object: Liburuak erosi ditut.

daukat, daukazu, dauka, daukagu, daukazue, daukate mean I have, you have and so on; dauzkat and its partners are for several things. It is common in the south, and ukan (dut) is equally correct.

These are the present forms of egon: nago, zaude, dago, gaude, zaudete, daude. It is used for location and for how someone or something is at the moment.

ere comes right after the word it adds: Ane ere etorri da. In short answers use ere bai (too) or ere ez (neither), with the pronoun in the case the full sentence would need: Nik ere bai.

Say eskerrik asko or mila esker to thank someone; the usual reply is ez horregatik (you are welcome). Add mesedez for please, and say barkatu to apologize or to get someone's attention.

eta joins (kafea eta ogia), edo gives a choice (tea edo kafea) and baina contrasts (Polita da, baina garestia). Two subjects joined by eta take a plural verb.

Etorri naiz and ikusi dut join the participle to a present auxiliary. Use them for what happened today and for experience, even where English uses the simple past.

nator means “I am coming”, and dator means “he, she or it is coming”. Say where from with -tik: Nondik zatoz?

Put ez in front of the conjugated verb: Ez dago etxean. With a main verb plus auxiliary, ez and the auxiliary come first and the main verb follows: Ez dut ulertzen.

Kafea gustatzen zait means “I like coffee”, literally “coffee pleases me.” The auxiliary shows the person (zait, zaizu) and changes to zaizkit for more than one thing.

Standard spelling writes h in words like hau, hitz and ahal. Most speakers in the Southern Basque Country do not pronounce it, while many Northern speakers breathe it as in English hat. The letter j ranges from the y of yes to the throaty jota heard in Gipuzkoa.

Eleven to nineteen are hamaika to hemeretzi. From twenty, Basque counts in twenties: hogeita bat (21), hogeita hamar (30), berrogei (40), hirurogei (60), laurogei (80), ehun (100).

Basque has three demonstratives for three distances. They come after the noun and replace -a or -ak.

Basque has three words for location by distance: hemen near the speaker, hor near the listener and han far from both.

izan names identity, jobs, lasting qualities, days and times. egon gives location and present states such as ondo, nekatuta or pozik.

These are the present forms of izan (to be): naiz, zara, da, gara, zarete, dira. It says who or what someone is, their job, origin or a lasting quality.

Ez dakit means “I don’t know”, and Badakit means “I know.” The person who knows takes the ergative -k: Nik ez dakit.

noa means “I am going”, and zoaz means “you are going”. Use these one-word forms above all for going that is happening right now.

Say kaixo (hi) at any time, egun on in the morning, arratsalde on in the afternoon and gabon in the evening. Ask Zer moduz? (How are you?) and answer Ondo (Fine) or Oso ondo (Very well).

ll sounds like the lli in million, ñ like the ny in canyon, and tt and dd are palatal t and d. They are common in names and affectionate words, and many speakers also make l and n palatal after i without changing the spelling.

Say Kafe bat nahi dut for “I want a coffee.” To want to do something, put the participle before nahi: Etxera joan nahi dut.

Basque has six everyday personal pronouns. Standard Basque uses zu with anyone; the familiar hi is learned later for recognition.

The possessive pronouns are nire (my), zure (your), haren (his, her, its), gure (our), zuen (your, plural) and haien (their). They go before the noun, and the noun keeps its article: nire etxea.

To give your name, say Ane naiz (I am Ane), Nire izena Ane da (My name is Ane) or Ane dut izena. To ask someone's name, say Zein da zure izena? or Nola duzu izena?

noiz asks when: Noiz etorriko zara? Noiz da festa? It asks a question; a "when" clause in a statement uses the ending -(e)nean instead.

nola asks how: Nola zaude? (How are you?) Nola esaten da ... euskaraz? (How do you say ... in Basque?) For "what kind of" use nolako.

Basque has three words for where: non (where at), nora (where to) and nondik (where from). Non bizi zara? Nora zoaz? Nondik zatoz?

nor asks who with izan and with verbs like etorri: Nor da hura? Nor etorri da? When who is the doer of a transitive verb, it takes -k: Nork egin du?

Basque has a tapped r and a rolled rr, and they are kept apart between vowels. No native word begins with r, so older loanwords add a vowel in front, as in errege (king).

Each Basque s-like sound has a partner that starts with t: tz goes with z, ts with s, and tx with x. Mixing up tz and ts can change a word, as in hotz (cold) and hots (sound).

For one thing owned: dut, duzu, du, dugu, duzue, dute. The owner takes the ergative -k: Anek etxe bat du. The same forms are the auxiliary of transitive verbs.

Basque keeps three s-like sounds apart. The letter z is a sharp s, s is a softer s made with the tongue tip raised, and x is like English sh. Mixing them up can change a word, as in zu (you) and su (fire).

zenbat asks how much or how many and takes the bare noun without the article: Zenbat da? Zenbat anai-arreba dituzu? Countable plurals take plural verb forms.

zer asks what: Zer da hau? Zer nahi duzu? Before a noun it means "what" or "which kind" and the noun normally has no article: Zer liburu?

Ask Zer ordu da? Answer with the hour plus the article: Ordu bata da, Ordu biak dira, Laurak dira. Say at three with hiruretan, and ask Zer ordutan?

zergatik asks why: Zergatik ikasten duzu euskara? Zergatik ez zara etorri? The answer "because ..." adds -lako to the verb.

-(e)la turns a statement into a "that" clause: Uste dut etorriko dela. The ending goes on the auxiliary or one-word verb at the end of the clause.

Add -(e)nean to the auxiliary or synthetic verb to make a when clause: naizenean, denean, dudanean. noiz is only for questions.

-(r)entzat means "for" the person or group who gets or benefits from something: Opari hau zuretzat da (This present is for you), Kafe bat niretzat (A coffee for me). It is built on the -(r)en form: Anerentzat, amarentzat, niretzat.

The dative ending marks the receiver or the person affected: Aneri (to Ane), amari (to mother), lagunei (to the friends). The pronouns are niri, zuri, hari, guri, zuei and haiei.

In negative sentences, yes-no questions and "if" clauses, a noun that is not specific takes -(r)ik instead of the article: Ez dut dirurik (I have no money), Ba al dago ogirik? (Is there any bread?), Ez dago arazorik (There is no problem). The verb stays singular.

-ago means "more" or "-er". The thing you compare with is followed by baino: Ane Mikel baino altuagoa da (Ane is taller than Mikel). It works on adverbs too: Gaur lehenago etorri naiz (I came earlier today). askoz makes it stronger: askoz handiagoa (much bigger).

-egi means "too": handiegia (too big), garestiegia (too expensive), beranduegi (too late). Kafea beroegia dago (The coffee is too hot). For "too much" or "too many" use gehiegi: gatz gehiegi (too much salt).

-en makes the superlative, usually with the article: handiena (the biggest), merkeena (the cheapest), onena (the best). Mikel da altuena (Mikel is the tallest). Name the group with -ko: klaseko altuena (the tallest in the class).

Three time tools: -ero for how often (astero), duela or orain dela for how long ago (duela bi urte), and barru for how long from now (bi egun barru).

Ordinals are formed with -garren and come before the noun: bigarren solairua (the second floor). First is lehen or lehenengo.

To give a reason, add -(e)lako to the auxiliary or synthetic verb at the end of the reason clause: delako, dudalako, nagoelako. It also answers Zergatik?

egon plus a -ta form (nekatuta, itxita) or a -rik form (pozik, bizirik) describes a current state. These forms never change for number.

-tzea (or -tea) names an activity so it can be a subject or an object: Euskara ikastea ez da zaila. The activity counts as one thing, so the verb stays singular.

Add -tzeko (or -teko) to a verb to say why you do something or what something is for: ikasteko, jateko, erosteko.

The -tzen form with a past auxiliary describes past habits: Txikitan hondartzara joaten nintzen (As a child I used to go to the beach). Egunero egunkaria irakurtzen zuen (He read the newspaper every day).

To talk about a skill, use the -tzen form with jakin: gidatzen badakit. In a yes statement the verb usually takes ba-; in the negative, ez dakit comes first.

ari with izan describes what someone is doing right now: Lanean ari naiz (I am working). Liburu bat irakurtzen ari naiz (I am reading a book).

To say you start doing something, put the activity in the -tzen form before hasi: ikasten hasi naiz. With an activity, hasi uses izan (naiz), even when the activity has an object.

-tzera is the -tze stem plus the allative -ra (to). It treats an activity like a place you go to: igeri egitera goaz, ikustera etorri da.

Dates put the month in the genitive: Gaur irailaren 25a da (Today is September 25th). To say when, add -(e)an to the day, the month or the season: maiatzaren 3an, urtarrilean, neguan.

Hundreds are ehun, berrehun, hirurehun..., and thousands are mila, bi mila. eta goes before the last part of the number: bi mila eta hogeita sei (2026).

ba- joins directly onto the auxiliary or one-word verb to make a real "if" clause. The if clause usually comes first.

Basque verbs show the person, so ni, zu, hura and the rest are normally dropped. Keep a pronoun to contrast people or to make it the focus.

Basque says you have years: Zenbat urte dituzu? (How old are you?) Hogeita bost urte ditut (I am twenty-five).

Place names take no article, so the ending goes straight on: Bilbon bizi naiz (I live in Bilbao). Common nouns carry the article first: etxean, mendira, kaletik.

Plural nouns take their own set of endings, and most start with -e-: Ikasleek galdera bat egin dute (The students have asked a question). Lagunekin afaldu dut (I had dinner with my friends).

Loanwords are respelled with Basque letters: kafea (coffee), telefonoa, unibertsitatea, bizikleta. c becomes k before a, o and u and z before e and i (zinema), and v becomes b.

umeak can mean the children or the child doing something. The verb tells you which: Umeak jolasten ari dira (The children are playing), but Umeak kristala hautsi du (The child has broken the glass).

In a phrase like etxe hau, the ending goes on the demonstrative: etxe honetan (in this house), mutil horrek (that boy, as a doer), neska hari (to that girl).

-ko links a noun to a time, just as it links a noun to a place: gaurko egunkaria (today's paper), biharko bilera (tomorrow's meeting), goizeko zazpietan (at seven in the morning), udako oporrak (the summer holidays).

Events of today use the present perfect: Gaur goizean Ane ikusi dut. Events before today use the simple past: Atzo Ane ikusi nuen.

A final -r usually becomes rr when the article or another vowel ending is added: haurra (the child), lurrean (on the ground). Some words keep a single r: ura (the water).

ahal says can or be able to. It keeps the auxiliary the main verb normally takes: naiz for etorri, dut for ordaindu.

ala means "or" in a question that asks someone to choose: Etorriko zara ala ez? Adding ezta? to a statement turns it into "..., isn't it?"

asko (a lot, many) and gutxi (few, little) follow the noun without an article: jende asko, diru gutxi. zenbait (some) usually goes before the noun: zenbait lagun. batzuk (some) follows it and makes the verb plural: Lagun batzuk etorri dira.

In a yes statement where no word stands in the focus place, a one-word verb takes ba-: Badakit, Badago kafea, Bai, badut. It drops when another word is the focus or when the verb is negative.

behar says must, have to or need. In Standard Basque it takes dut, duzu, du..., even with verbs like joan that normally use naiz.

bere refers back to the subject and haren to someone else: Mikelek bere autoa saldu du (Mikel has sold his own car). Mikelek haren autoa saldu du (Mikel has sold his car, someone else's).

beste means other and comes before the noun: beste etxe bat (another house), beste egun batean (another day). As a pronoun it takes the article: bestea (the other one), besteak (the others).

bezain compares two things that are equal: Ane Mikel bezain altua da (Ane is as tall as Mikel). With ez it means "not as ... as": Ez da zu bezain azkarra (He isn't as quick as you). For amounts, use adina.

Verbs of giving, telling, sending and showing use a di- auxiliary that agrees with the doer, the thing and the receiver: Liburua eman diot (I have given him the book), Egia esan dizut (I have told you the truth), Anek opari bat eman dit (Ane has given me a present). The receiver takes -(r)i.

Both make the present perfect with naiz. izan naiz tells what you have been, or that you have visited a place; egon naiz stresses staying somewhere or being in a state for a time.

For events before today, use the participle with a past auxiliary: Atzo Bilbora joan nintzen (Yesterday I went to Bilbao). Iaz film hori ikusi genuen (Last year we saw that film).

Rain and snow falling now use ari du: Euria ari du (It is raining). Heat and cold use egin: Hotz egiten du (It is cold). Eguraldi ona dago (The weather is nice).

ezin works like ez: the auxiliary comes straight after it and the participle goes last. The auxiliary is the one the main verb normally takes.

Basque says "on, under, next to, in front of, behind" with location words placed after the noun: mahai gainean (on the table), aulki azpian (under the chair), etxe ondoan (next to the house), atearen aurrean (in front of the door), eskolaren atzean (behind the school), lagunen artean (among friends).

gose (hunger), egarri (thirst) and beldur (fear) go with izan and no article: Gose naiz. The thing you are afraid of takes the genitive: txakurraren beldur naiz.

ikasle guztiak means all the students and egun osoa means the whole day. On their own, dena means everything and denak means everyone or all of them.

A few words have special forms: on (good), hobea (better), onena (the best); ondo (well), hobeto (better); asko (much), gehiago (more); gutxi (little), gutxiago (less). Hobeto nago (I feel better).

The place words hemen, hor and han have motion partners: hona, horra and hara for movement toward a place, and hemendik, hortik and handik for movement away from it.

ibili has its own present forms for moving about or being busy with something now: Mendian gabiltza (We are out in the mountains). Zer moduz zabiltza? (How are you getting on?)

These words pair with ez to make negative sentences: Ez dut inor ikusi. On their own they mean anybody, anything, anywhere and ever, so they also appear in questions.

Sequencing words put steps and stories in order: Lehenengo gosaldu nuen, gero lanera joan nintzen, eta azkenik etxera itzuli nintzen.

nahiago is nahi (want) with the comparative -ago, so it means want more, or prefer. What you like less takes baino: Tea kafea baino nahiago dut.

In nor-nork sentences the auxiliary begins with the object: n- for me, z- for you, g- for us. Maite zaitut (I love you), Anek ikusi nau (Ane has seen me), Entzuten nauzu? (Can you hear me?), Irakasleak ikusi gaitu (The teacher has seen us).

jakin and eduki have synthetic pasts: nekien, zenekien, zekien (knew) and neukan, zeneukan, zeukan (had). Ez nekien hori (I did not know that). Txakur bat neukan (I had a dog).

egon has its own past for where someone was or how they were: Atzo etxean nengoen (Yesterday I was at home). Non zeunden? (Where were you?)

izan has its own past forms for what someone or something was: Txikitan lotsatia nintzen (As a child I was shy). Nire aitona arrantzalea zen (My grandfather was a fisherman).

A possessive with the article stands for the thing owned: Liburu hau nirea da (This book is mine). Zein da zurea? (Which one is yours?)

nolako asks what kind: Nolako etxea da? nongoa asks where someone is from: Nongoa zara? noren asks whose: Noren liburua da?

norbait (someone), zerbait (something), nonbait (somewhere) and noizbait (sometime) come from question words plus -bait. They are used in positive sentences and questions.

ukan has past forms for what someone had: Auto zahar bat nuen (I had an old car). When the thing is plural the form changes: Bi katu genituen (We had two cats).

oraindik means still or yet, and dagoeneko and jada mean already: Oraindik ez da etorri (He has not come yet). Dagoeneko bukatu dut (I have already finished).

oso (very) and nahiko (quite) come before the adjective: oso polita, nahiko ona. samar (rather) comes after it: garesti samarra (rather expensive).

Many intransitive verbs also agree with the person affected: Giltza ahaztu zait (I have forgotten the key). Kafea gustatzen zaio? (Does he like coffee?)

If the things that please or happen to someone are plural, add -zki-: Giltzak galdu zaizkit (I have lost my keys). Liburu hauek gustatzen zaizkio (She likes these books).

A few common verbs have one-word command forms: Zatoz! Zoaz! Zaude! For most other verbs, everyday Basque uses the participle alone: Itxi atea!

Use zein to pick one item from a set: Zein da zure etxea? A noun after zein stays bare (zein kolore), and as the doer of a transitive verb it becomes zeinek.

Put the describing clause before the noun and add -(e)n to its verb: Bilbon bizi den laguna (the friend who lives in Bilbao).

Add -(e)n to the verb and put bitartean after it to say while: Lo zeunden bitartean, lapurrak etxean sartu ziren (While you were asleep, thieves got into the house).

Add the article to a relative verb to mean the one who or what: Esan duzuna egia da (What you said is true). Etorri direnak (those who came).

Use -(e)nez to give background for what you say next: Gaur jaieguna denez, dendak itxita daude (As today is a holiday, the shops are closed).

When the main verb is negative, as in ez dut uste or ez dirudi, the clause after it usually takes -(e)nik: Ez dut uste zaila denik (I do not think it is hard).

-(r)en bila means looking for and -(r)en zain means waiting for. The word before them takes -(r)en: Giltzen bila nabil (I am looking for the keys), Zure zain nago (I am waiting for you).

Add -(r)engatik to a noun or pronoun to say what caused something: Zuregatik etorri naiz (I've come because of you), Euriagatik ez gara atera (We haven't gone out because of the rain). Use -(r)i esker when the result is good: Zuri esker, lana bukatu dut (Thanks to you, I have finished the work).

Both -(r)i buruz and the instrumental -z mean "about": Politikari buruz hitz egin dugu (We have talked about politics), Horretaz ez dakit ezer (I don't know anything about that). Before a noun, use -(r)i buruzko: euskarari buruzko liburua (a book about Basque).

The endings -n, -ra and -tik are for places and things. For people and animals, use -gan (in), -gana (to) and -gandik (from), usually after the genitive: nigana (to me), amarengana (to Mum), lagunarengandik (from the friend).

People and owners take -(r)en (Aneren etxea). Where and when usually take -ko (Bilboko etxea, gaurko bilera), and materials take -zko (urrezko eraztuna).

Doer words come from verbs with -le or -tzaile (irakasle, saltzaile) and from nouns with -lari or -ari (abeslari, dendari). They are ordinary nouns and take the article: irakaslea.

-raino is -ra plus -ino and marks an end point: Tren hau Bilboraino doa. -rantz gives a direction: Etxerantz noa (I am heading home).

-rako is -ra (to) plus -ko. It says where something is going (Bilborako trena, the train to Bilbao), what something is for (Zertarako? What for?) and the time by which or for which something is planned (Lana ostiralerako bukatu behar dut, I have to finish the work by Friday).

A participle plus -tako works like a short relative clause for a finished action: erositako liburua (the book that was bought), egindako lana (the work done), gaur jasotako mezua (the message received today). It goes before the noun and does not show who did it.

Pair -tik (from) with -ra (to) to give a start and an end: astelehenetik ostiralera. Use -tik aurrera for from ... on and -z for how long: bi orduz.

arte marks the point where a waiting or lasting action ends: Euria gelditu arte, etxean geratuko gara (We will stay at home until the rain stops).

Say what comes first with the participle and aurretik or baino lehen: Afaldu baino lehen, eskuak garbitu (Wash your hands before dinner).

Advice uses behar with -ko and a conditional auxiliary: Medikuarengana joan beharko zenuke (You should go to the doctor). Gehiago lo egin beharko genuke (We should sleep more).

To say one action comes after another, use the participle with eta gero or ondoren: Lana bukatu ondoren, etxera joan nintzen (After finishing work, I went home).

Put gabe after the dictionary form of a verb to say an action did not happen: Liburua irakurri gabe egin zuen azterketa (She took the exam without reading the book).

Use a -tzea clause with nahi izan when the person who should act is not the one who wants: Zu etortzea nahi dut (I want you to come), Gurasoek nik ikastea nahi dute (My parents want me to study). When it is the same person, use the participle: Etorri nahi dut (I want to come).

-tzean is a short way to say when: add it to the verb and let the main verb show who and when: Hori entzutean, barre egin genuen (When we heard that, we laughed).

Stopping an activity is said with -tzeari + utzi: Erretzeari utzi diot (I have quit smoking), Haurrak negar egiteari utzi dio (The child has stopped crying). Because -tzeari is a dative, the auxiliary is the di- type: diot, dio, diogu.

Besides "in order to", -tzeko can describe a noun or complete an adjective: jateko gogoa (the wish to eat), egiteko modua (the way to do it), Irteteko prest nago (I am ready to leave), Gai naiz hori egiteko (I am able to do that).

To say "keep doing" or "learn to do", put the action in the -tzen form before jarraitu or ikasi: Euskara ikasten jarraituko dut (I will keep learning Basque), Igeri egiten ikasi dut (I have learned to swim). Only jarraitu or ikasi changes for tense.

A negative command starts with ez and puts the auxiliary before the verb: Ez zaitez joan! (Don't go!) In speech, Ez joan! is also common.

Nouns after zein, zer, zenbat, numbers and words like asko use the indefinite endings -tan, -tara, -tatik, -tako, -k and -ri: zer ordutan? hiru ikaslek.

A question inside another sentence adds -(e)n to its verb: Ez dakit non dagoen (I don't know where it is). Galdetu dit zer ordu den (She asked me what time it is).

Add -ko to a phrase to make it describe a noun, and put it before the noun: etxe aurreko parkea, zuretzako oparia. An -n ending drops before -ko: gainean becomes gaineko.

A reported command uses the -tzeko form of the verb with a verb of telling or asking: Isiltzeko eskatu digute (They have asked us to be quiet).

Reported statements end their verb in -(e)la, with persons and tense seen from the reporter's side: Esan zuen nekatuta zegoela (She said she was tired).

Many commands and "can" and "so that" forms use the verb radical, a shortened participle: Eser zaitez (Sit down). Har ezazu (Take it).

agian and beharbada mean maybe, seguru asko means probably and noski means of course: Agian bihar etorriko da (Maybe she will come tomorrow). Seguru asko berandu iritsiko gara (We will probably arrive late).

Put ahalik eta before a superlative: Zatoz ahalik eta lasterren (Come as soon as possible). eta can be left out, and -ena is also correct: ahalik azkarrena.

Use arren after the verb, or open the clause with nahiz eta, to say although: Nekatuta nagoen arren, lagunduko dizut (Although I am tired, I will help you).

bai ... bai means both ... and, and ez ... ez means neither ... nor: Bai Ane bai Mikel etorri dira (Both Ane and Mikel have come). Ez da ez handia ez txikia (It is neither big nor small).

baietz and ezetz stand for a whole yes or no clause: Baietz uste dut (I think so). Ezetz esan du (She has said no).

After a negative, baizik introduces the correct alternative: Ez da Mikel, Jon baizik (It is not Mikel but Jon). Ez naiz irakaslea, ikaslea baizik (I am not a teacher but a student).

bakoitza means each: Ikasle bakoitzak liburu bat du (Each student has a book). biak means both and hirurak all three: Biak etorri dira (Both have come).

Imaginary conditions use ba- with banintz or banu: Aberatsa banintz... (If I were rich...). Other verbs put the -ko form first: Etorriko balitz... (If he came...), Erosiko bazenu... (If you bought it...).

behin means once, bitan or birritan twice and hirutan three times: Astean bitan joaten naiz igerilekura (I go to the pool twice a week). Behin Parisen egon nintzen (I was in Paris once).

beraz (so), hala ere (even so) and ordea (however) connect sentences: Berandu da; beraz, joan behar dut. Nekatuta nago; hala ere, lagunduko dizut. Ane, ordea, etxean geratu zen.

The reflexive is a possessive plus burua, literally "one's own head": Ispiluan bere burua ikusi du (He has seen himself in the mirror), Zaindu zeure burua! (Take care of yourself!). It counts as a third-person noun, so the auxiliary is dut, du or diot, never naut.

besterik ez and baino ez mean nothing but: Bi euro besterik ez ditut (I only have two euros). bakarrik means only or alone: Ni bakarrik etorri naiz.

When someone else is meant to do the action, "so that" uses the radical plus dadin or dezan: Poliki hitz egiten dut, ondo uler dezazun (I speak slowly so that you understand well).

daiteke with a radical says something can be done in general: Hori egin daiteke (That can be done). Nola egin daiteke? The negative is often ezin da: Hemen ezin da erre (You cannot smoke here).

Plural objects add -zki-: Liburuak eman dizkiot (I have given him the books). Plural receivers take -e-: Egia esan diet (I have told them the truth).

Put ea at the start of an embedded yes-no question and -(e)n on its verb to say whether: Ez dakit ea etxean dagoen (I do not know whether he is at home).

Use a transitive verb with da instead of du to say what people generally do, without saying who: Nola esaten da euskaraz? (How do you say it in Basque?)

elkar (each other) shows that people do something to one another: Elkar ikusten dugu (We see each other), Elkarri laguntzen diogu (We help each other). It takes case endings without an article, and elkarrekin means together.

In a -(e)la clause you can say ez dela etorriko or etorriko ez dela. Relative clauses put ez just before the auxiliary at the end: gustatzen ez zaidan filma.

ezta ... ere means not even or neither: Ez dut ezer jan, ezta ogirik ere (I have not eaten anything, not even bread). Nik ez dakit, ezta Anek ere (I don't know, and neither does Ane).

Put gero eta before a comparative to say something keeps growing: Gero eta hobeto hitz egiten duzu (You speak better and better). Gero eta garestiagoa da (It is getting more and more expensive).

Say let's with goazen (let's go) or with the radical plus gaitezen or dezagun: Has gaitezen! (Let's begin!) Ikus dezagun (Let's see).

Polite wishes use the conditional: Kafe bat nahi nuke (I would like a coffee). Gustatuko litzaidake Parisera joatea (I would like to go to Paris).

hain and horren mean so or that before an adjective or adverb: Ez da horren zaila (It is not that hard). Exclamations: Hain polita da! Zein polita! Bai polita dela! A zer eguna! (What a day!)

honela, horrela and hala answer nola? (how?). honelako, horrelako and halako usually come before a noun and mean such or of this kind: horrelako etxe bat.

Like gustatzen zait, these verbs put the person in the dative: Niri ondo iruditzen zait (It seems fine to me), Euro bat falta zait (I am one euro short), Ez zait axola (I don't mind).

Besides ahal, Basque has potential forms used with the verb radical: naiteke, zaitezke, daiteke and dezaket, dezakezu, dezake. Etor naiteke? (May I come?) Egin dezaket (I can do it).

When the past action is done to me, you or us, the verb starts with nind-, zint- or gint-: Anek ikusi ninduen (Ane saw me). Atzo ez zintudan ezagutu (I didn't recognize you yesterday).

The result of an imaginary condition uses the -ko form with nintzateke or nuke: Aberatsa banintz, etxe handi bat erosiko nuke. Zu banintz, ez nintzateke joango.

The past forms for giving, telling and sending to someone: Liburua eman nion (I gave her the book). Anek egia esan zidan (Ane told me the truth).

The instrumental -z also expresses manner. On a noun without an article it makes set words such as oinez (on foot), negarrez (crying) and presaz (in a hurry). On a participle it means "by doing": Ariketak eginez hobetuko duzu (You will improve by doing exercises).

ote turns a question into wondering aloud: Etorriko ote da? It stands right before the auxiliary or one-word verb and is not used together with al.

Most commands use the radical plus zaitez or ezazu: Eser zaitez (Sit down). Ireki ezazu leihoa (Open the window). Ekar itzazu liburuak (Bring the books).

The past of zait, zaizu, zaio: Filma asko gustatu zitzaion (He liked the film a lot). Zer gertatu zitzaizun? (What happened to you?)

-(e)la eta gives a reason, often the reason someone gave or had in mind: Gaixorik zegoela eta, ez zen etorri (Because he was ill, he did not come).

-(e)n bezala means "as" or "the way that": Esan dudan bezala, bihar ez dago klaserik. Nahi duzun bezala egin. After a noun, bezala means "like": aita bezala.

To stress one person or thing, name it before izan and describe the rest with a headless relative: Ane da etorri dena (It is Ane who came), Hau da nahi dudana (This is what I want).

-(e)netik means "since" a past event: Hona etorri nintzenetik, euskara ikasten ari naiz. With nouns use -tik or -z geroztik: txikitatik, orduz geroztik.

-(r)en alde means in favour of or on someone's side; -(r)en aurka and -(r)en kontra mean against. For opinions they usually go with egon: Legearen alde nago. Before a noun they take -ko: gerraren aurkako legea.

-(r)en arabera means according to or depending on: Aurreikuspenen arabera, bihar euria egingo du. Eguraldiaren arabera erabakiko dugu. After a verb, turn the clause into a noun first: esan zuenaren arabera.

-(r)en bidez and -(r)en bitartez say what or who something is done through: Posta elektronikoaren bidez bidali dut (I sent it by email). Lagun baten bitartez ezagutu genuen (We met him through a friend).

-(r)en ondorioz means as a result of: a noun or a -tzea verbal noun takes the genitive -(r)en, and ondorioz follows it. On its own, Ondorioz means as a result or consequently.

-(r)en ordez after a noun and beharrean after a participle mean instead of: Kafearen ordez tea hartuko dut. Lan egin beharrean, lo egin du. ordez can also follow a participle: Ikasi ordez, jolasean aritu da.

-arazi on a verb means make or have someone do it: Ikasleei liburua irakurrarazi die (She has made the students read the book). Medikua etorrarazi dute (They have had the doctor come).

-dun means having: dirudun (wealthy), euskaldun (Basque speaker), arduradun (person in charge). -gabe means without: lotsagabe (shameless), etxegabe (homeless), errugabe (innocent).

-garri makes adjectives from verbs and nouns. It can mean causing a feeling or effect, as in harrigarri (surprising) and beldurgarri (frightening), or worth or able to be done, as in maitagarri (lovable) and jangarri (edible).

-keta forms nouns for an activity from a verb: azterketa (exam, examination), garbiketa (cleaning), erosketa (purchase, shopping), bilketa (collection).

-ki makes manner adverbs from adjectives: zehazki (exactly), berriki (recently), ederki (very well). -ro appears in a set of fixed words such as astiro (slowly) and berriro (again). -ka describes a manner or a repeated action: korrika (running), oihuka (shouting), binaka (in pairs).

-ko after a number and a unit describes a noun: bi kiloko arraina (a two-kilo fish), hiru orduko bidaia (a three-hour trip). -zko names the material: urrezko eraztuna (a gold ring), zurezko mahaia (a wooden table).

-ok replaces -ak when the group includes the speaker or the listener: Euskaldunok badakigu (We Basque speakers know), Zuek, ikasleok, ondo egin duzue (You students did well). It also means these, as in azken urteotan (in recent years).

A superlative often puts the noun in the partitive: munduko mendirik altuena (the highest mountain in the world). inoiz baino and inork baino compare with any time or anyone: Inoiz baino hobeto nago (I am better than ever).

Add -tar, or -ar after names ending in -a (which drop it), to say where someone is from: bilbotar, gasteiztar, donostiar. The same word also works as an adjective of origin for people.

-tasun makes nouns from adjectives: zoriontasun (happiness), askatasun (freedom), berdintasun (equality), edertasun (beauty). It also works on some nouns: adiskidetasun (friendship).

-tegi names a place: liburutegi (library), harategi (butcher's shop), ikastegi (school, institute). After n or l it usually becomes -degi: okindegi (bakery), arrandegi (fishmonger's).

The participle plus orduko or bezain laster means "as soon as": Iritsi orduko, deitu zidan (As soon as he arrived, he called me). Bukatu bezain laster, joango naiz.

-txo makes small or affectionate forms: etxetxo (little house), txakurtxo (puppy), amatxo (mummy); -tto and -ño play the same role in the North. -xka makes small places and things (herrixka, a hamlet) and, on adjectives, means rather or -ish: gorrixka (reddish).

-tzat with verbs such as hartu, jo, eduki and eman means as or for: Laguntzat hartu nau (He has taken me as a friend). Galdutzat jo dute (They have given it up for lost). It joins the bare word, with no article.

-tzear or -tzeko zorian with egon means "about to": Trena irtetear dago (The train is about to leave). Erortzeko zorian zegoen (It was about to fall).

To say you saw or heard someone doing something, use the -tzen form after ikusi, entzun or sentitu: Ane kantatzen entzun dut (I have heard Ane singing). The person seen or heard is the object.

utzi + -tzen means to let someone do something. In the usage most learners meet, the person allowed takes the dative and the auxiliary follows the dit, dizu, dio pattern: Utzi iezadazu pasatzen (Let me through).

-xe makes emphatic forms: hauxe (this very one), horixe (exactly that), hementxe (right here), oraintxe (right now). Horixe da! means "That is exactly it!"

-z gain means besides or in addition to. The first item takes the instrumental -z (euskaraz, horretaz, ikasteaz), and the main clause usually adds ere.

Add -tu to an adjective or noun to make a verb: garbitu (to clean), handitu (to grow), zahartu (to age). With da the subject changes by itself (Asko zahartu da); with du someone causes the change (Gela garbitu dut).

ahal after a future form expresses a hope: Etorriko ahal da! (I hope he comes!) Wishes for someone use a subjunctive with -(e)la: Ondo pasa dezazula! (Have a good time!) Hala balitz! means If only!

erdi, heren and laurden form fractions: ordu erdi (half an hour), ogiaren erdia (half the bread), bi heren (two thirds). Percentages use ehuneko before the number: ehuneko hamar (ten percent).

A participle with -ta or -rik can describe the manner of an action or an action finished before it: Nekatuta iritsi zen (He arrived tired). Lana bukaturik, etxera joan ginen (With the work finished, we went home).

Besides talking about the future, the -ko form can make a guess about now: Nekatuta egongo zara (You must be tired). The context shows whether it is a prediction or a guess.

With verbs of saying, knowing or seeming, -(e)nez means "as" or "according to": Dirudienez, ez da etorriko (Apparently he will not come). Esan didatenez, bihar itxita dago.

Commands can be reported with a subjunctive and -(e)la, as in Etor nadila esan dit (She has told me to come). It means the same as Etortzeko esan dit.

Basque has no separate word for where or when in a relative clause. You use the normal -(e)n relative in front of the place or time noun: bizi naizen herria, elkar ezagutu genuen eguna.

When the action itself is the new information, Basque repeats it with egin: Ikusi egin dut (I did see it). Etorri egin da, baina berandu (He did come, but late).

adina and bezainbeste compare amounts: Nik zuk adina dakit (I know as much as you). Nahi duzun bezainbeste jan (Eat as much as you want).

aldiz and berriz set two things side by side in contrast. They usually follow the contrasted word, between commas, and the repeated verb can be left out: Nik kafea nahi dut; Anek, berriz, tea.

Verbs like ireki, itxi, apurtu and piztu can take a doer or not. With a doer they use the ukan auxiliary: Nik atea ireki dut (I have opened the door). Without one they use izan: Atea ireki da (The door has opened).

Speech uses short particles such as ba (well), tira (come on, all right) and bai zera! (no way!), and shortens words: ze for zer, ta for eta. Ba, ez dakit. Tira, goazen! Careful writing uses bada, zer and eta.

ba- plus ere makes an even if clause: the main clause stays true whatever happens in the ba- clause. It works with real conditions (badu ere) and imagined ones (banintz ere).

bait- on the conjugated verb gives the reason for what was just said, especially in writing: Ez nintzen joan, gaixorik bainengoen (I did not go, because I was ill).

Hypothetical forms with a dative include balitzait (if it happened to me), balitzaio and litzaidake (it would ... to me): Ahaztuko balitzaizu, deitu (If you should forget, call). Gustatuko litzaioke (He would like it).

Hypothetical conditions with a receiver use banio, bazenio, balio (if ... to him or her) and banizu (if I ... to you): Esango banio, haserretuko litzateke (If I told him, he would get angry).

bera follows the noun: gauza bera (the same thing), leku berean (in the same place). After a definite noun or a demonstrative it adds emphasis: alkatea bera (the mayor himself), hura bera (that very one). Southern speech also uses bera as a he/she pronoun.

Three ways to compare with a noun: zu bezalako lagunak (friends like you), Hau zurearen antzekoa da (This is similar to yours), Iazkoaren aldean (Compared with last year's).

dakart, dakarzu, dakar (I bring, you bring, he brings) and daramat, daramazu, darama (I take, you take, he takes) describe an action happening now; -tza- marks a plural object. With a time phrase, eraman means to have been doing something for that long.

esan has synthetic present forms for what someone or something says now or in general: diot, diozu, dio, diogu, diozue, diote. Zer dio kartelak? (What does the sign say?) Jendeak dio... (People say...).

irudi (to seem) has the synthetic forms dirudit, dirudizu, dirudi: Nekatuta dirudizu (You look tired). Before a -(e)la clause it takes ba-: Badirudi euria egingo duela (It looks like it will rain).

edo- plus a question word means any one at all: edonor (anyone), edozer (anything), edonon (anywhere), edonoiz (any time), and edozein before a noun (any). Edonork egin dezake (Anyone can do it).

etorriko zen and egingo nuen look back from a past moment to something still to come: Bazekien ez zuela lortuko (She knew she would not manage it). It is not the conditional would of imagined situations.

Three connectors link a sentence to the one before it: gainera adds a point, izan ere gives the reason behind what was just said, and hau da restates it more clearly.

gutxienez means at least with amounts: Gutxienez hiru aldiz etorri da. behintzat means at least or anyway and limits what you say: Behintzat ez du euririk egin. bederen means the same as both and is more formal.

hain ... non means "so ... that": Hain nekatuta nengoen, non berehala lo hartu bainuen (I was so tired that I fell asleep at once). The result clause usually takes bait-.

When a command has a receiver, use iezadazu, iezaiozu, iezaguzu or iezaiezu after the radical: Eman iezadazu ura, mesedez (Give me some water, please).

Besides -tzea, nahi can take a subjunctive clause with -(e)n to say what you want someone else to do: Etor zaitezen nahi dut (I want you to come).

joan and etorri have one-word past forms for being on the way: Lanera nindoan, Ane ikusi nuenean (I was going to work when I saw Ane).

These forms say what could happen in an imagined situation: Bihar etor ninteke (I could come tomorrow). Gerta liteke (It could happen).

The past potential says what was possible back then, often something that did not happen: Gurekin etor zintezkeen (You could have come with us).

Say what would have happened if the past had been different: Jakin izan banu, esango nizukeen (If I had known, I would have told you).

The conditional with a receiver uses nioke, zenioke, lioke and nizuke: Egia esango nioke (I would tell him the truth). Lagunduko zenidake? (Would you help me?)

ohi after the participle means to usually do something: Goizean kafea hartu ohi dut (I usually have coffee in the morning).

omen, placed before the auxiliary, marks something heard from others: Ane etorri omen da (Ane has come, they say).

To compare with what you expected, put uste, espero, pentsatu or nahi before baino: uste baino errazagoa (easier than expected). With a full auxiliary, the auxiliary takes -(e)n: uste dudan baino.

Potential and command forms change when the object is me or you: Lagun zaitzaket? (Can I help you?) Barka nazazu (Forgive me).

zehar follows the inessive -n: herrian zehar (all around the town), urtean zehar (all through the year). -(r)en inguruan means around, and also about: etxearen inguruan, gai honen inguruan.

zenbat eta ... orduan eta means "the more ... the more": Zenbat eta gehiago ikasi, orduan eta errazagoa da (The more you study, the easier it is).

-(e)lakoan means "thinking that" or "in the belief that". With egon it means "to be sure that": Irabaziko genuelakoan geunden (We were sure we would win).

-(e)n heinean and -(e)n neurrian mean as, to the extent that, or insofar as. They link two things that change together, set a limit, or give a role or reason.

-(e)nerako means by the time: Iristen zarenerako, afaria prest egongo da. -(e)n bakoitzean means every time: Bilbora joaten naizen bakoitzean, Ane ikusten dut.

-(e)z gero after a participle means if: Nahi izanez gero, etor zaitez (If you want, come). After a conjugated verb with -(e)n it means since: Esan duzunez gero (since you have said it).

-(r)ekiko turns "with X" into a describing phrase before a noun. It expresses a relationship or attitude towards someone or something: naturarekiko errespetua (respect for nature).

-(r)en izenean means on behalf of or in the name of. It follows a noun with -(r)en or a possessive word such as nire, zure or gure.

X-(r)i dagokionez means "as regards X" or "as for X". It opens a new topic, mainly in formal speech and writing. In many sentences, -(r)i buruz is a simpler everyday alternative.

-(r)iko is a formal alternative to -tako: aipaturiko arazoa = aipatutako arazoa (the problem mentioned). Add -riko after a vowel and -iko after a consonant: idatziriko, eginiko.

-aldi makes words for a period or occasion: denboraldi (season), atsedenaldi (break), egonaldi (stay). -zaro and -aro name stages of life: haurtzaro (childhood), gaztaro (youth), zahartzaro (old age).

-di names a wood or a place full of a plant: pagadi (beech wood), pinudi (pine wood), harizti (oak wood), mahasti (vineyard). -tza names a large amount: jendetza (crowd), dirutza (a fortune), harritza (a rocky place).

-era and -kera name a manner: ibilera (way of walking), idazkera (handwriting, spelling), hizkera (way of speaking, local speech), janzkera (way of dressing), jokaera (behaviour). -era also names events: hasiera (beginning), sarrera (entrance).

Add -gile to a noun for the maker: erlojugile (watchmaker), altzarigile (furniture maker), legegile (lawmaker). Add -gintza for the craft or industry: legegintza (lawmaking), ontzigintza (shipbuilding), zinemagintza (filmmaking).

-keria forms nouns with a negative tone: harrokeria (arrogance), zikinkeria (filth, mess), alferkeria (laziness as a fault), txorakeria (nonsense). Compare the neutral -tasun: alfertasun.

-kor makes adjectives for a tendency: ahazkor (forgetful), aldakor (changeable), iraunkor (lasting), hilkor (mortal), galkor (perishable). A few come from other words: baikor (optimistic), ezkor (pessimistic).

-pen and -men make abstract nouns from verbs: itxaropen (hope), itzulpen (translation), laburpen (summary), oroimen (memory), ahalmen (power, ability), adimen (intelligence).

Add -tsu to a noun to say something has a lot of it: euritsu (rainy), indartsu (strong), zoriontsu (happy). Like other adjectives, the new word goes after the noun.

-tzearren means "for the sake of" or "just to". It gives the motive for an action: Denbora aurreztearren, taxia hartu genuen (To save time, we took a taxi).

-tzekoa with izan says something was planned or is meant for something: Atzo etortzekoa zen (He was supposed to come yesterday). Hau ez da jatekoa (This is not for eating).

-tzekotan means "if the plan is to" or "on condition that". It looks ahead to a possible future event: Laguntzekotan etorriko naiz (I will come if it is to help).

Add -zale for a fan or lover of something (mendizale, a hiker) and -kide for a fellow or partner (lankide, a coworker). The new words take endings like any noun: lankidea, futbolzaleak.

A clause ending in -(e)la can describe what was going on around the main event: Ohean nengoela, telefonoak jo zuen (While I was in bed, the phone rang).

Basque joins words to make new nouns, with the main word last: eskuliburu (handbook), asteburu (weekend). Some words take a short form when they come first: euskal kultura (Basque culture), giza eskubideak (human rights).

Repeat an adjective or adverb, joined with a hyphen, to make it stronger: bero-bero (piping hot), poliki-poliki (little by little). Only the second half takes the ending: bero-beroa.

Written Basque often builds long noun phrases by stacking -ko phrases and relative clauses before the noun: Bilboko Guggenheim museoko zuzendaria (the director of the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao).

Basque news reports speech with transitive verbs such as adierazi, azaldu, gaineratu, nabarmendu, jakinarazi and salatu. After a direct quote, the verb comes next and the speaker follows in the ergative.

Euskara Batua (Standard Basque) is the common written and formal form of Basque. Euskaltzaindia laid its foundations at the Arantzazu congress in 1968, building mostly on the central dialects and the literary tradition.

Koldo Zuazo's modern map groups spoken Basque into five dialects: Western (Bizkaian), Central (Gipuzkoan), Navarrese, Navarro-Lapurdian and Souletin. The standard draws mostly on the central dialects and the Lapurdian literary tradition.

What a sentence is about, the topic, usually comes first, often set off by a pause: Liburua, Anek erosi du (As for the book, Ane bought it). Old information can also follow the verb: Anek erosi du liburua.

In Bizkaia you will hear forms that differ from Standard Basque: Ez dot ulertzen (I do not understand), lagunagaz (with the friend). They are regional forms, not mistakes, but Standard Basque is used for writing and exams.

baldin or baldin eta makes a condition stronger or clearer: Baldin eta etortzen bada (If he does come). The verb still needs ba-.

Distributive numbers end in -na and mean "so many each": Sagar bana eman diegu (We gave them an apple each). Bina liburu hartu dituzte (They each took two books).

batere and inola ere strengthen a negative. In a statement, the verb still needs ez or ezin, and a noun after batere takes the partitive -(r)ik.

Basque has real third-person commands, mostly in formal and written language: bedi and bitez for nor verbs, and beza, bitza and bezate for nor-nork verbs. Izan bedi! (So be it!)

beldur naiz with a -(e)n clause, usually with ote, voices a worry that something might happen. An ez inside such an ote clause is often only a softener, so for a clear negative fear, use -(e)la.

bide before the auxiliary marks a conclusion you draw from clues, like apparently or must have: Ez bide da etorriko (It seems he will not come).

erabili has synthetic present forms: darabilt (I use), darabilzu (you use), darabil (he or she uses). Zer darabilzu esku artean? means What are you working on?

dela eta and dela medio follow a noun with no case ending and mean because of. Use direla with a plural noun, and zela or zirela often appear when a story is told in the past.

Zer deritzozu ...-(r)i? asks for an opinion: What do you think of ...? The thing you judge goes in the dative, and the verb agrees with you and with it: deritzot, deritzozu, deritzo.

Verbs with a doer, a thing and a receiver have their own "can" and "so that" forms, built on the root ezan: diezaioket (I can ... to him), diezaion (so that he ... to him).

Grammars group the modal auxiliaries under two old roots: edin for nor verbs and ezan for nor-nork verbs. Their forms appear in the subjunctive, the potential, commands and the hypothetical, always after the verb radical.

A participle with -ta or with the article -a stresses the finished result: Lana egina dut or Lana eginda daukat (I have the work done). Atea irekita dago (The door is open).

After a participle in -n, the North makes the future with -en: eginen, izanen, joanen. It also uses ukan as the participle of the have verb: ukan dut (I have had). Both sets are standard.

Participle + izan + present auxiliary stresses repeated or lifelong experience: Askotan etorri izan da hona (He has often come here), Hori askotan esan izan dut (I have often said that).

The future perfect joins a participle, often with -a, to the future of izan or ukan: etorria izango da, egina izango dut. The bare form, etorri izango da, is also common and can make a guess about the past.

In negative sentences and in questions about whether someone exists, a headless relative takes the partitive -(e)nik instead of -(e)na: ez dago hori dakienik (there is nobody who knows that).

Put ez-, des- or ber- in front of a word to build a new one: ezezagun (unknown), desagertu (to disappear), berreskuratu (to get back). The word stays the same kind of word: a verb stays a verb.

ezean is a negative condition: unless, or if there is no. Garaiz joan ezean, ez dugu sarrerarik lortuko (Unless we go on time, we will not get tickets).

gisa means "as" or "in the role of". The noun before it has no article: irakasle gisa, opari gisa. After a genitive or possessive it means "in the manner of": bere gisa (in his own way).

hi takes its own verb forms: haiz, hago, hintzen, hator, hoa. When hi is the doer, the auxiliary ends in -k to a man and -n to a woman: Hik egin duk, Hik egin dun (You have done it).

Hitanoa is speaking with hi, a very familiar you for close friends, siblings or peers. Its verbs change, and many show whether you are talking to a man (toka) or a woman (noka). Standard Basque addresses everyone with zu.

The dative marks the person affected, where English uses my, his or her: Ama hil zaio (His mother has died), Autoa hondatu zait (My car has broken down).

Formal texts link ideas with connectors: hortaz and horrenbestez for a result, halaber and era berean to add a point, and dena den and edonola ere to move on in any case.

Time clauses with aurretik, ondoren or ostean become describing phrases with -ko: joan aurretik → joan aurreko eguna (the day before leaving), iritsi ostean → iritsi osteko lehen orduak (the first hours after arriving).

nahiz ... nahiz and zein ... zein link two or more items and say that every one of them is included. Each item keeps its own case ending.

When the subject of a nor-nori verb is I, we or you, the auxiliary shows both people: natzaio (I ... to him or her), zatzaizkit (you ... to me). Gustatzen zatzaizkit means I like you.

Past subjunctive forms include nendin, zintezen, zedin and nezan, zenezan, zezan. They follow a past main verb: Argia piztu nuen, ondo ikus zenezan (I turned on the light so that you could see well).

Intensive pronouns add weight: neu, zeu, geu, zeuek, with neuk, zeuk, geuk and zeuek for the doer. They usually stand in the focus spot before the verb: Neuk egingo dut (I will do it myself).

Some everyday words differ between North and South: ongi/ondo (well), hobeki/hobeto (better), biziki/oso (very), anitz/asko (many), ttipi/txiki (small) and egun/gaur (today). Standard Basque accepts both sets.

salbu and izan ezik both mean except: Ane salbu, salbu Ane or Ane izan ezik. The excepted phrase can keep the case it would have in the sentence: igandeetan izan ezik (except on Sundays).

Add -(e)larik to the conjugated verb to give the time or the situation of the main event: Sei urte nituelarik hasi nintzen eskolara (I started school when I was six).

baitan is a formal, literary postposition after the genitive: nire baitan (within me), bere baitan (to himself or herself). With other place endings it gives baitara (into) and baitatik (from).

-(r)en kariaz follows a genitive and gives the cause of something or the occasion for it. It means the same as dela eta; everyday Southern Basque more often uses -(r)engatik or dela eta.

Take the -tzeko form and swap -ko for -ke: egiteko → egiteke. Lana egiteke dago means the work is still waiting to be done; Ezer esateke joan zen means he left without saying anything.

The literary Basque of Lapurdi in the 1600s, above all Axular's Gero (1643), is a model of classical prose. Its long sentences use bait-, zeren, ezen and baldin, synthetic verbs, and Northern forms such as erraiten and izanen.

A participle with -(r)ik or -ta can form a short clause with its own subject. It sets the time, cause or background of the main event: Hori horrela izanik (That being so); Afaria amaituta, kalera irten ginen.

Basque proverbs (esaera zaharrak) are short and often have no verb. Many pair a question word with a matching word: nolako ... halako, nola ... hala, zenbat ... hainbat, non ... han.

Academic Basque rarely states a claim flatly. It softens it with potential forms (esan liteke, ondoriozta daiteke), with badirudi ... -(e)la, and with baliteke + -tzea.

Laws and official notices use long noun phrases, participle chains and fixed formulas. Lege hau ... argitaratu eta biharamunean jarriko da indarrean (This law comes into force the day after it is published).

Neutral Basque puts the focus just before the verb and the verb near the end. Literature and emphatic speech may start with the verb or add words after it: Etorri zen azkenean gure laguna (Our friend came at last).

Basque prayers keep formal patterns that everyday speech rarely uses: wishes with bedi and beza, commands with a receiver, lines without a verb, and forms like bekatarion. Gure Aita, zeruetan zarena, santu izan bedi zure izena.

Official and news Basque packs actions into verbal nouns and derived nouns: eskaera aurkezteko epea (the deadline for submitting the application). Style guides advise a plain verb when the nouns make a sentence heavy.

Latin gave Basque many everyday words over two thousand years of contact. Old loans were reshaped: a vowel before r (regem → errege), a soft first sound (pacem → bake, corpus → gorputz), and one l between vowels became r (angelum → aingeru).

Older texts spelled Basque sounds with Spanish or French habits: ch or tch where we write tx, c and qu where we write k, and Southern writers often left out h. Echea, etchea → etxea; ori → hori.

Basque place names and surnames are often built from everyday words and old place suffixes: -eta and -aga (place of), -ola (place), etxe compounds like Etxeberria (the new house), and -ena for a family house (Martinena).

Relative non follows a place noun, usually after a comma, and its verb takes bait- or -(e)n: Etxea, non jaio bainintzen, zaharra da. Everyday Basque prefers the ordinary relative before the noun: jaio nintzen etxea.

Souletin is the easternmost Basque dialect. It adds the vowel ü, keeps a strong h and aspirated consonants, and has distinct forms such as niz (naiz), zira (zara) and düzü (duzu).

Improvised Basque verse (bertsoak) is sung to a known tune in a fixed metre. Zortziko txikia pairs 7 and 6 syllables; zortziko handia pairs 10 and 8. The end of every pair must rhyme.

Formal writing uses participle + -a/-ak with izan like a passive: Liburua 1990ean argitaratua da; Hori alkateak esana da. Grammars and style guides recommend the active or plain past: 1990ean argitaratu zen.

berori was the most respectful way to say you in Southern Basque and survives in older texts and some villages; its verbs are third person. In modern writing, berori more often means that very one: hori berori.

Literary and older texts use one-word forms of ikusi and entzun: dakusat, dakusazu, dakusa (I, you, he or she sees) and dantzut, dantzu (I hear, he or she hears). They mean the same as ikusten dut and entzuten dut.

jario (to flow, to drip) has synthetic forms that work like zaio: odola dario (blood flows from him or her), izerdia zerion (sweat was pouring off him or her). Used figuratively, it describes a feeling that shows.

Gipuzkoan has an e in the present of ukan for I, you and we: det, dezu, degu, dezute. Read them as dut, duzu, dugu and duzue, and use the standard forms when you write Euskara Batua.

In formal writing, dihardu, dirau and datza replace longer forms: Lanean dihardu (She is hard at work). Filmak bi ordu dirau (The film lasts two hours). Arazoa hor datza (That is where the problem lies).

ezen is a literary word for 'that'. It introduces a result after hain (so) or hainbeste (so much), or a statement before a -(e)la clause. Everyday Basque uses non for results and a plain -(e)la clause for statements.

In literary and careful style, harik eta at the start of an arte clause stresses 'right up until': Harik eta hil zen arte, herrian bizi izan zen. It adds emphasis, not a new meaning.

niezaioke (I could ... to him) and niezaiokeen (I could have ... to him) are potential forms for verbs with a receiver. They are most common in careful written Basque: Esan niezaiokeen, baina ez nuen egin.

In hitano, the verb of a main statement shows whether you are talking to a man or a woman, even when the sentence is about someone else: Egin du becomes Egin dik or Egin din.

A zein clause comes after the noun, between commas, and adds a comment about it. zein takes the case of its role in the clause (zeina, zeinak, zeinari, zeinean) and matches the noun in number.

zeren (eta) adds the reason for what you just said, like for or because: Ez daude inon, zeren ihes egin baitute (They are nowhere to be found, for they have run away).