-(e)n bezala
As, Like: -(e)n Bezala
Put -(e)n on the conjugated verb and add bezala: Esan dudan bezala, bihar ez dago klaserik. (As I said, there is no class tomorrow.)
How It Works
With a full verb. The verb takes the relative -(e)n, and bezala follows:
- dut → dudan bezala: Esan dudan bezala (As I said)
- duzu → duzun bezala: Nahi duzun bezala egin (Do it however you like)
- zuen → zuen bezala: Aitak egiten zuen bezala (the way my father did)
Short form. Very common phrases drop the auxiliary: esan bezala (as said), nahi bezala (as you like), uste bezala (as expected), behar bezala (properly).
Two jobs. The clause can describe how something is done: Nahi duzun bezala egin. It can also frame the whole sentence, like -(e)nez does: Uste nuen bezala, dena ondo atera da. (As I thought, everything turned out well.)
After a noun. bezala means "like" or "as": Aita bezala, Jon ere medikua da. (Like his father, Jon is a doctor too.) The noun often keeps the ending it would have in the full sentence: Zuk bezala, nik ere asko irakurtzen dut (Like you, I read a lot too): zuk, because "you read" is zuk irakurtzen duzu.
bezala or bezalako? bezala goes with verbs. To describe a noun, use bezalako: zu bezalako lagunak (friends like you). Adding -xe gives bezalaxe, "exactly as". In Bizkaian speech, legez is used for bezala.
Examples (6)
- Esan dudan bezala, bihar ez dago klaserik.
As I said, there is no class tomorrow.
- Nahi duzun bezala egin.
Do it however you like.
- Aitak egiten zuen bezala egiten dut ogia.
I make bread the way my father used to.
bezala compares two ways of doing the same thing.
- Uste nuen bezala, dena ondo atera da.
As I thought, everything turned out well.
- Esan bezala, bihar goizean hasiko gara.
As I said, we will start tomorrow morning.
The short form drops the auxiliary.
- Aita bezala, Jon ere medikua da.
Like his father, Jon is a doctor too.
After a noun, bezala means "like".
Common Mistakes
Leaving the -(e)n off the verb.
Esan dut bezala, bihar ez dago klaserik.Esan dudan bezala, bihar ez dago klaserik.A full verb before bezala needs the relative -(e)n: dudan, duzun, zuen. Or drop the auxiliary: esan bezala.
Using bezalako with a verb.
Nahi duzun bezalako egin.Nahi duzun bezala egin.bezalako describes a noun (nahi duzun bezalako etxea, the house you want). To describe how an action is done, use bezala.
How It Connects
Learn This First
As builds on -(e)n and bezain.
Related Patterns
- bezalako / -(r)en antzeko / -(r)en aldeanLike, Similar to, Compared with
bezalako is the form of bezala that describes nouns.
Level 4 - Saying Verb + -(e)nezApparently, As They Say
Another way to frame a sentence with its source: esan didatenez.
Level 4 - honela / horrela / hala / horrelakoLike This, Such
Words for "like this" and "like that", which bezala clauses often answer.
Level 3 - -xeExactly This: -xe
Adds "exactly" to bezala: bezalaxe.
Level 4
Words in This Pattern
Practice -(e)n bezala in Bubblegum
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