ere

Also and Neither (Ere)

Level 1

ere means also or too. It comes after the word it adds to: Ni ere bai (Me too), Ni ere ez (Me neither).

How It Works

ere adds a new item to something already said. It always follows the word or phrase it adds, and it never starts a sentence:

  • Ane ere etorri da. Ane has come too.
  • Gaur ere lan egiten dut. I work today too.

Its position changes the meaning: Nik ere kafea nahi dut (I want coffee too, like you), but Nik kafea ere nahi dut (I want coffee as well, along with something else).

Short answers: ere bai, ere ez. When you do not repeat the verb, put bai or ez after ere:

  • Bilbon bizi naiz. — Ni ere bai. I live in Bilbao. — Me too.
  • Ez naiz etorriko. — Ni ere ez. I will not come. — Me neither.

Keep the right case. The word before ere takes the ending it would have in the full sentence. After a verb that uses dut, a pronoun takes the ergative: Kafea nahi dut. — Nik ere bai. Ez dakit. — Nik ere ez. After naiz, it stays plain: Ni ere bai. See ergative -k.

A one-word verb after ere takes ba-. ere is never the focus of the sentence, so a following one-word verb needs the affirmative ba-: Nik ere badakit (I know too), Ni ere banoa (I am going too). See affirmative ba-.

Not after the verb. In standard Basque, ere does not usually go at the end, after the verb. Say Mikel ere etorri da. The order Mikel etorri da ere is common in eastern dialects.

baita ... ere. A common way to return a wish is Baita zuri ere! (Same to you!). For not even and neither with a longer phrase, see ezta ... ere.

Examples (6)

  1. Bilbon bizi naiz. — Ni ere bai.

    I live in Bilbao. — Me too.

    bizi naiz uses naiz, so the answer uses plain ni.

  2. Kafea nahi dut. — Nik ere bai.

    I want coffee. — Me too.

    nahi dut uses dut, so the answer uses ergative nik.

  3. Ez dakit. — Nik ere ez.

    I don't know. — Me neither.

  4. Ane ere etorri da.

    Ane has come too.

    Word by Word: Ane too come has.

  5. Nik ere badakit.

    I know too.

    After ere, the one-word verb dakit takes ba-.

  6. Urte berri on! — Baita zuri ere!

    Happy New Year! — Same to you!

    Word by Word: Year new good! — Also you-to too!

    baita ... ere returns a wish to the other person.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting ere before the word it adds.

    Ere Ane etorri da.
    Ane ere etorri da.

    ere always follows the word it adds and never starts a sentence.

  • Leaving out ba- on a one-word verb after ere.

    Nik ere dakit.
    Nik ere badakit.

    ere cannot be the focus, so the verb needs ba- to fill that place.

  • Answering a negative with ere bai.

    Ez dakit. — Nik ere bai.
    Ez dakit. — Nik ere ez.

    Nik ere bai means me too, so it agrees with a yes statement. After a negative, say Nik ere ez, me neither.

How It Connects

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

ereLevel 1Also and Neither (Ere)

Learn This First

ere follows negation.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

erebai