-tzeari utzi
Stopping Doing
Verb + -tzeari + utzi = stop doing: erretzeari utzi diot (I have quit smoking).
How It Works
1. Building the form. Take the -tzea verbal noun and add the dative -i: erre → erretzea → erretzeari, negar egin → negar egiteari, jan → jateari.
2. The auxiliary. Because the activity is in the dative, use diot, dio, diogu: Erretzeari utzi diot. The tense is shown by utzi as usual: utzi diot (I have quit), utziko diot (I will quit), utzi behar diot (I have to quit).
3. Objects and doers. The stopped activity can keep its own object: gozokiak jateari (eating sweets). The person who stops takes -k: Anek gozokiak jateari utzi dio.
4. Telling someone to stop. Use the participle utzi on its own: Utzi kexatzeari! (Stop complaining!)
5. Do not confuse it with letting. utzi with -tzen means "let someone do": Erretzen utzi diot. (I have let him smoke.)
Tip: You will also meet erretzea utzi dut, with a plain -tzea object and dut. The Academy's dictionary lists both. Just keep the two halves matched: erretzeari utzi diot or erretzea utzi dut.
Examples (6)
- Erretzeari utzi diot.
I have quit smoking.
erretzeari is a dative, so the auxiliary is diot.
- Haurrak negar egiteari utzi dio.
The child has stopped crying.
haurrak here is the child with the ergative -k.
- Euria egiteari utzi dio.
It has stopped raining.
- Utzi kexatzeari!
Stop complaining!
- Anek gozokiak jateari utzi dio.
Ane has stopped eating sweets.
- Erretzeari utzi behar diot.
I have to quit smoking.
Common Mistakes
Using an auxiliary without a receiver.
Erretzeari utzi dut.Erretzeari utzi diot.erretzeari is a dative, so the auxiliary must show it: diot, not dut. (With the plain form erretzea, dut is right: erretzea utzi dut.)
Using the -tzen form when you mean "stop".
Erretzen utzi diot.Erretzeari utzi diot.With -tzen, utzi means "let": the first sentence says "I have let him smoke". To say "I have quit smoking", use -tzeari.
Forgetting the ergative -k on the person who stops.
Ane gozokiak jateari utzi dio.Anek gozokiak jateari utzi dio.utzi has a doer, so the person who stops takes -k: Anek.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Stopping an activity places the verbal noun in the dative and uses agreement with a doer and that activity.
Related Patterns
- -(r)iTo Someone: -(r)i
The -i on -tzeari is the dative.
Level 2 - -tzen utziLetting Someone Do
utzi with -tzen means "let someone do", not "stop".
Level 4 - -tzen jarraitu / -tzen ikasiKeep Doing, Learn to Do
The opposite idea: keep doing something.
Level 3 - -tzen hasiStarting to Do
Starting an activity uses -tzen with hasi.
Level 2
Words in This Pattern
Practice -tzeari utzi in Bubblegum
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