-keta

Actions: -keta

Level 4

Add -keta to a verb radical to name the action: aztertu (to examine) → azterketa (exam), garbitu (to clean) → garbiketa (cleaning).

How It Works

How to build it. Start from the verb radical:

  • aztertu → azter- → azterketa (exam, examination)
  • garbitu → garbiketa (cleaning), erosi → erosketa (purchase)
  • ikertu → ikerketa (research, a study), irakurri → irakurketa (reading)
  • bildu → bilketa (collection), salatu → salaketa (complaint, report)

Action or result. Zaborraren bilketa is the collecting of rubbish. Erosketak egin means to do the shopping, and erosketak are also the things you bought.

School maths. The four operations use -keta: batuketa (addition), kenketa (subtraction), biderketa (multiplication), zatiketa (division).

What is being acted on. Put it before the noun with -(r)en or join it into a compound: zaborraren bilketa, diru-zuriketa (money laundering).

Other ways to name an action. The verbal noun -tzea works with every verb and names the doing itself: Etxea garbitzea (cleaning the house). -keta words are fixed nouns with their own meaning. Other endings with similar jobs are -pen and -men: itzulpen (translation).

Examples (6)

  1. Bihar azterketa daukat.

    I have an exam tomorrow.

    aztertu (to examine) → azterketa.

  2. Larunbatean erosketak egiten ditut.

    I do the shopping on Saturdays.

  3. Etxeko garbiketa egin behar dugu.

    We have to do the house cleaning.

  4. Zaborraren bilketa astelehenetan da.

    Rubbish collection is on Mondays.

    bildu (to collect) → bilketa.

  5. Ikerketa berri batek hori dio.

    A new study says that.

  6. Umeak batuketak eta kenketak ikasten ari dira.

    The children are learning addition and subtraction.

Common Mistakes

  • Adding -keta to the whole participle.

    Bihar aztertuketa daukat.
    Bihar azterketa daukat.

    -keta goes on the verb radical, without -tu: azter- + -keta.

  • Using the verbal noun for the fixed word.

    Bihar aztertzea daukat.
    Bihar azterketa daukat.

    aztertzea means the act of examining something. The school exam you sit is azterketa.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

-ketaLevel 4Actions: -keta

Learn This First

-keta follows the radical.