hil zaio

Something Happening to Someone

Level 5

Basque says the car broke down on me: Autoa hondatu zait = My car has broken down.

How It Works

1. Without a doer. The thing that changes + participle + a zait, zaizu, zaio auxiliary:

  • Autoa hondatu zait. (My car has broken down.)
  • Ama hil zaio. (His or her mother has died.)
  • Giltzak galdu zaizkit. (I have lost my keys.) With a plural thing, use zaizkit.

2. With a doer. The auxiliary is from dit, dizu, dio:

  • Poltsa lapurtu didate. (They have stolen my bag.)
  • Amak ilea moztu dit. (My mother has cut my hair.)

3. Why the dative? It shows that the person is directly affected. Compare two correct sentences:

  • Jonen ama hil da. (Jon's mother has died.) This is a plain fact, using -(r)en.
  • Joni ama hil zaio. (Jon has lost his mother.) Jon is alive and feels the loss.

This pattern is very common with body parts, clothes, family members and things you carry.

4. Leave the pronoun out. The auxiliary already says who is affected, so niri or hari is only added for emphasis or contrast: Niri autoa hondatu zait, ez zuri. (My car broke down, not yours.)

Examples (6)

  1. Ama hil zaio.

    His mother has died.

    zaio shows the person affected. It can also mean "Her mother has died".

  2. Autoa hondatu zait.

    My car has broken down.

  3. Giltzak galdu zaizkit.

    I have lost my keys.

    Literally "the keys have got lost on me". The plural giltzak needs zaizkit.

  4. Kafea hoztu zaizu.

    Your coffee has gone cold.

  5. Poltsa lapurtu didate.

    They have stolen my bag.

    With a doer, the owner shows up in didate.

  6. Amak ilea moztu dit.

    My mother has cut my hair.

Common Mistakes

  • Forgetting to show the person in the verb.

    Niri autoa hondatu da.
    Niri autoa hondatu zait.

    Once niri marks the affected person, the auxiliary must agree with it: zait, not da.

  • Using a singular auxiliary for several things.

    Giltzak galdu zait.
    Giltzak galdu zaizkit.

    giltzak is plural, so the auxiliary becomes zaizkit.

  • Putting the affected person in the ergative.

    Anek ama hil zaio.
    Aneri ama hil zaio.

    The person affected takes the dative -(r)i, not the doer ending -k. Nobody does the dying here.

How It Connects

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

hil zaioLevel 5Something Happening to Someone

Learn This First

An affected owner can be expressed through dative agreement in constructions with or without a separate doer.