nau / zaitut

Me and You as Objects

Level 2

dut is for "it, him or her". When the object is "me" or "you", the whole auxiliary changes: Maite zaitut (I love you), Anek ikusi nau (Ane has seen me).

How It Works

1. The object comes first. You already know dut, duzu, du, where the object is him, her or it. Swap du- for the person who is seen, loved or helped:

  • Me: nauzu (you … me), nau (he or she … me), nauzue (you all … me), naute (they … me)
  • You: zaitut (I … you), zaitu (he or she … you), zaitugu (we … you), zaituzte (they … you)
  • Us: gaituzu (you … us), gaitu (he or she … us), gaituzue (you all … us), gaituzte (they … us)
  • You all: zaituztet (I … you all), zaituzte (he or she … you all), zaituztegu (we … you all), zaituztete (they … you all)

2. Some pairs do not exist. There is no form for "I … me" or "we … us". Doing something to yourself uses another structure (see bere burua).

3. One form, two meanings. zaituzte can mean "they … you" or "he or she … you all". The sentence makes it clear: Nire gurasoek ondo ezagutzen zaituzte (My parents know you well).

4. Who is who. A named doer takes -k; the person seen takes no ending: Anek (ni) ikusi nau. The pronouns are usually left out, because the auxiliary already says it all: Maite zaitut.

5. The main verb shows the time. ikusten nau (sees me), ikusi nau (has seen me), ikusiko nau (will see me). The past forms, like ninduen, are in the past with me and you.

Examples (6)

  1. Maite zaitut.

    I love you.

    zaitu- is you (the one loved) and -t is I.

  2. Anek ikusi nau.

    Ane has seen me.

    nau: he or she … me. Anek carries the ergative -k.

  3. Entzuten nauzu?

    Can you hear me?

    nauzu: you … me. Literally "Do you hear me?"

  4. Irakasleak ikusi gaitu.

    The teacher has seen us.

    gaitu: he or she … us.

  5. Bihar ikusiko zaitut.

    I will see you tomorrow.

    zaitut again; ikusiko puts it in the future.

  6. Nire gurasoek ondo ezagutzen zaituzte.

    My parents know you well.

    zaituzte: they … you. The same form can also mean "he or she knows you all".

Common Mistakes

  • Using dut when the object is you.

    Maite dut zu.
    Maite zaitut.

    dut only works when the object is him, her or it. When the one loved is you, the auxiliary must start with zaitu-.

  • Keeping du when the object is me.

    Anek ni ikusi du.
    Anek ni ikusi nau.

    The auxiliary has to agree with ni as the object, so du becomes nau.

  • Swapping the doer and the object.

    Zuk ikusi zaitut.
    Zuk ikusi nauzu.

    zaitut means "I have seen you". With zuk as the doer and me as the object, the form is nauzu.

How It Connects

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

nau / zaitutLevel 2Me and You as Objects

Learn This First

Me and you as objects build on the ergative system.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

nor norkedun