oinez / eginez

Manner with -z

Level 3

Noun + -z: oinez etorri naiz (I have come on foot). Participle + -z: eginez (by doing).

How It Works

1. Manner words from nouns. These are fixed, everyday expressions:

  • oinez (on foot)
  • negarrez (crying), barrez (laughing)
  • presaz (in a hurry)
  • pozez (with joy), beldurrez (with fear)
  • ahoz (orally), idatziz (in writing)

The noun has no article; this is the indefinite form.

2. The same ending elsewhere. It is the instrumental -z you know from trenez (by train) and euskaraz (in Basque). Time words use it too: gauez (at night), egunez (by day).

3. By doing: participle + -z. Add -z to the participle: eginez (by doing), irakurriz (by reading), entzunez (by listening), galdetuz (by asking). The phrase can carry an object: Ariketak eginez hobetuko duzu.

4. The opposite. To say "without doing", use -tu gabe: ezer esan gabe (without saying anything).

Tip: To describe a noun, add -ko: oinezko bidea (a footpath). On its own, to say how you did something, use -z alone. For adverbs from adjectives, see -ki, -ro and -ka.

Examples (6)

  1. Oinez etorri naiz.

    I have come on foot.

  2. Haurra negarrez esnatu da.

    The child has woken up crying.

  3. Presaz atera da etxetik.

    She has left the house in a hurry.

    It can also mean "He has left".

  4. Ariketak eginez hobetuko duzu.

    You will improve by doing exercises.

    egin ends in a consonant, so it takes -ez.

  5. Liburuak irakurriz ikasi ditut gauza hauek.

    I have learned these things by reading books.

  6. Denak barrez hasi dira.

    Everyone has started laughing.

Common Mistakes

  • Using -ko to say how you did something.

    Oinezko etorri naiz.
    Oinez etorri naiz.

    oinezko describes a noun (oinezko bidea, a footpath). To say how you came, use oinez.

  • Translating "with crying" using -(r)ekin.

    Negarrarekin esnatu da.
    Negarrez esnatu da.

    Negarrarekin means "with the crying", for example woken by someone's crying, so it does not say that the child was crying. To say how someone did something, use negarrez or barrez.

How It Connects

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

oinez / eginezLevel 3Manner with -z

Learn This First

Manner -z builds on the instrumental and the participle.