inor / ezer / inon / inoiz

Nobody, Nothing, Nowhere, Never

Level 2

Basque says "nobody" and "nothing" with ez plus inor, ezer, inon or inoiz: Ez dut inor ikusi (I have not seen anybody).

How It Works

The four words:

  • inor: anybody (with ez: nobody)
  • ezer: anything (with ez: nothing)
  • inon: anywhere (with ez: nowhere)
  • inoiz: ever (with ez: never)

They need ez. On their own these words are not negative. The "not" comes from ez: Ez da inor etorri (Nobody has come), Ez dut ezer jan (I have not eaten anything), Ez naiz inoiz Parisen egon (I have never been to Paris). The word can also go first for emphasis: Inor ez da etorri.

Short answers. In a one-word answer, add ez, and ere if you like: Nor etorri da? Inor ez. (Who has come? Nobody.) Zer nahi duzu? Ezer ere ez. (What do you want? Nothing at all.)

Questions and "if" clauses. Without ez, these words ask about "any" or "ever": Inor etorri al da? (Has anybody come?), Ezer behar baduzu, deitu (If you need anything, call).

They take case endings. They change like other words: inork (ergative), inori (to anybody), inorekin (with anybody), inora (to anywhere), inondik (from anywhere). Inork ez daki (Nobody knows). Ez noa inora (I am not going anywhere).

For ordinary positive statements like "Someone has come", use the -bait words instead: norbait, zerbait, nonbait, noizbait.

Examples (6)

  1. Ez dut inor ikusi.

    I haven't seen anybody.

  2. Ez dago ezer hozkailuan.

    There is nothing in the fridge.

  3. Ez naiz inoiz Parisen egon.

    I have never been to Paris.

  4. Giltzak ez daude inon.

    The keys aren't anywhere.

    inon with ez means nowhere.

  5. Inork ez daki erantzuna.

    Nobody knows the answer.

    jakin has an object here, so inor takes the ergative -k: inork.

  6. Inoiz egon zara Donostian?

    Have you ever been to Donostia?

    There is no ez, so inoiz simply means "ever".

Common Mistakes

  • Using zerbait or norbait in a negative sentence.

    Ez dut zerbait jan.
    Ez dut ezer jan.

    To say you ate nothing, use ezer after ez. With zerbait, the sentence would suggest one particular thing you did not eat.

  • Leaving out ez when you mean "nobody".

    Inor etorri da.
    Ez da inor etorri.

    inor alone means "anybody". Without ez, the sentence only works as a question: Inor etorri da?

  • Forgetting the -k when "nobody" does something to an object.

    Inor ez daki erantzuna.
    Inork ez daki erantzuna.

    jakin has an object (erantzuna), so its subject takes the ergative ending: inork.

How It Connects

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

inor / ezer / inon / inoizLevel 2Nobody, Nothing, Nowhere, Never

Learn This First

inor and ezer need negation and the partitive.

Words in This Pattern

inorezerinoninoiz