-gan / -gana / -gandik
People as Places
Place: etxera (to the house). Person: amarengana (to Mum), nigana (to me).
How It Works
1. Why a separate set. The inessive -n, allative -ra and ablative -tik are for places. With people and animals, the element -ga- comes in.
2. The forms.
- -gan (in, at): nigan, zugan, harengan, amarengan
- -gana (to): nigana, zugana, harengana, medikuarengana
- -gandik (from): nigandik, zugandik, harengandik, lagunarengandik
Other pronouns: gugana, zuengana, haiengana. Names: Mikelengana, Anerengana. Plurals: lagunengana (to the friends). These build on the genitive -(r)en. Shorter forms without -ren-, such as medikuagana, also exist.
3. What they are used for.
- going to someone: Medikuarengana joan behar dut.
- getting something from someone: Opari hau amonarengandik jaso dut.
- trust and belief: Zugan sinesten dut. (I believe in you.)
4. Questions. Norengana? (to whom?), Norengandik? (from whom?).
Tip: In everyday speech you will also hear medikura joan, which treats "the doctor's" as a place. For people themselves, use -gana. To see how all the endings fit together, see the case endings overview and -raino and -rantz, which also have -ga- forms.
Examples (6)
- Medikuarengana joan behar dut.
I have to go to the doctor.
- Zatoz nigana!
Come to me!
- Opari hau amonarengandik jaso dut.
I have received this present from Grandma.
- Arazoak ditudanean, lagunengana joaten naiz.
When I have problems, I go to my friends.
lagunen (of the friends) + -gana.
- Zugan sinesten dut.
I believe in you.
- Norengandik jaso duzu mezua?
Who did you get the message from?
Common Mistakes
Using the place ending -ra with a person.
Zatoz nira!Zatoz nigana!With people, "to" is -gana: nigana, zugana, amarengana.
Using -tik with a person.
Opari hau amonatik jaso dut.Opari hau amonarengandik jaso dut.-tik is for places. "From a person" is -gandik: amonarengandik.
Using -gana with a place.
Etxearengana joan naiz.Etxera joan naiz.A house is a place, so it takes the ordinary -ra ending.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Animate local forms express location, destination and source using the appropriate animate-case pattern.
- -raWhere to: -ra
The destination meaning of -gana parallels the destination meaning of -ra; it is not formed by appending -ra to -gan.
Level 1 - -tikWhere from: -tik
The source meaning of -gandik parallels the source meaning of -tik; it is not formed by appending -tik to -gan.
Level 1 - -(r)enWhose: -(r)en
The genitive prepares forms of the animate noun or pronoun used before these endings.
Level 1
Related Patterns
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Practice -gan / -gana / -gandik in Bubblegum
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