dakusat / dantzut

Literary Synthetic Verbs

Level 6

Hemendik itsasoa dakusat. = Hemendik itsasoa ikusten dut. (From here I can see the sea.) The synthetic form is one word and sounds literary.

How It Works

1. Present.

  • ikusi: dakusat, dakusazu, dakusa, dakusagu, dakusazue, dakusate
  • entzun: dantzut, dantzuzu, dantzu, dantzugu, dantzuzue, dantzute

2. Plural object. dakuskit (I see them), dakuski (he or she sees them), dakuskigu (we see them); dantzuzkit (I hear them), dantzuzki (he or she hears them).

3. Past. nekusan (I saw), zekusan (he or she saw), genekusan (we saw); nentzuen (I heard), zentzuen (he or she heard), genentzuen (we heard).

4. Meaning and register. They describe what someone sees or hears at that moment, like the other literary synthetic verbs. Everyday Basque uses the periphrastic forms ikusten dut and entzuten dut. Learn the synthetic forms to read poetry, older prose and formal writing.

5. The subject is still ergative. As with ikusten du, the person who sees or hears takes -k: Haurrak amaren irribarrea zekusan. (The child saw his mother's smile.)

Note: Euskaltzaindia's tables also give hi forms (dakusak / dakusan) and commands (ikusazu, entzuzu), but you will rarely need them.

Examples (6)

  1. Hemendik itsasoa dakusat.

    From here I can see the sea.

  2. Zer dakusazu?

    What do you see?

  3. Ez dantzut ezer.

    I don't hear anything.

  4. Mendiak urrunean dakuskigu.

    We see the mountains in the distance.

    Plural object: dakuskigu.

  5. Hotsak dantzuzkit, baina ez dakit nondik datozen.

    I hear noises, but I don't know where they are coming from.

    Plural object: dantzuzkit.

  6. Haurrak amaren irribarrea zekusan.

    The child saw his mother's smile.

    Past: zekusan.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the singular form with a plural object.

    Mendiak dakusat.
    Mendiak dakuskit.

    With a plural object, ikusi adds -ki-: dakuskit (I see them), just as ditut adds a plural marker to dut.

  • Adding an auxiliary to a synthetic form.

    Ez dut dantzut ezer.
    Ez dantzut ezer.

    A synthetic form already carries the person. Use either dantzut or entzuten dut, never both.

How It Connects

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

dakusat / dantzutLevel 6Literary Synthetic Verbs

Learn This First

dakusat follows the formal synthetic verbs.

Words in This Pattern

ikusientzun