bedi / beza

Let It Be: Bedi, Beza

Level 5

bedi and beza mean let him, her or it: Etor bedi (Let him come), Egin beza (Let her do it).

How It Works

1. The forms.

  • Nor verbs (etorri, joan, eseri, izan): bedi (he, she, it), bitez (they).
  • Nor-nork verbs (egin, ekarri, idatzi): beza (he or she, one thing), bitza (he or she, several things), bezate (they, one thing), bitzate (they, several things).

The main verb goes in the radical: etorri → etor, ekarri → ekar, idatzi → idatz, joan and egin stay the same.

2. Using them.

  • Etor bedi zure laguna ere. (Let your friend come too.)
  • Joan bitez etxera. (Let them go home.)
  • Egin beza nahi duena. (Let him do what he wants.)
  • Ekar bitza liburuak. (Let her bring the books.)

3. Set phrases. Izan bedi! or Hala bedi! (So be it!). Goian bego. (May he rest in peace.) Here bego is the same kind of command made from egon. The Lord's Prayer says egin bedi zure nahia (thy will be done).

4. Formal or everyday? These forms belong to formal, written, legal and religious language. In conversation, people usually use the subjunctive + -la: Etor dadila!, Egin dezala! See the subjunctive with -(e)la.

5. Negative. Put ez first: Ez bedi etor, Ez beza egin. This is how the West and the centre say it. Eastern speakers use the -la form here instead, and it is also the everyday version everywhere: Ez dadila etor, Ez dezala egin. A real command form never takes -la: bedila and bezala are not command forms. (bezala is a different word that means like or as.)

Tip: bedi and beza come from the same two roots as zaitez and ezazu. See the roots edin and ezan.

Examples (6)

  1. Izan bedi!

    So be it!

  2. Etor bedi zure laguna ere.

    Let your friend come too.

    etorri takes izan, so it uses bedi.

  3. Egin beza nahi duena.

    Let him do what he wants.

    egin takes ukan, so it uses beza. It can also mean "Let her do what she wants".

  4. Joan bitez etxera.

    Let them go home.

    bitez is the plural of bedi.

  5. Ekar bitza liburuak.

    Let her bring the books.

    bitza is used for several things.

  6. Goian bego.

    May he rest in peace.

    Literally "may he stay above". bego is the command form of egon.

Common Mistakes

  • Using beza with a nor verb.

    Ane etor beza.
    Ane etor bedi.

    etorri takes izan (etorri da), so its third-person command uses bedi.

  • Keeping the singular with a plural subject.

    Etor bedi guztiak.
    Etor bitez guztiak.

    guztiak is plural, so bedi becomes bitez.

  • Adding -la to a command form.

    Etor bedila zure laguna ere.
    Etor dadila zure laguna ere.

    bedi is already a command and cannot take -la. Say Etor bedi, or use the subjunctive with -la: Etor dadila.

How It Connects

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bedi / bezaLevel 5Let It Be: Bedi, Beza

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Third-person commands follow commands.

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Words in This Pattern

edinezan