Reported Command + -tzeko
Telling Someone to Do
When you report what someone told you to do, the action takes -tzeko: Etorri! (Come!) becomes Etortzeko esan dit (He has told me to come).
How It Works
Building it. Take the verbal noun without its final -a (etortze, isiltze) and add -ko: etorri → etortzeko, isildu → isiltzeko, ekarri → ekartzeko, egin → egiteko. It is the same form as purpose -tzeko.
- Etortzeko esan dit. He has told me to come.
- Isiltzeko eskatu digute. They have asked us to be quiet.
- Ogia erosteko agindu zion. She ordered him to buy bread.
Who was told. That person is in the dative, inside the auxiliary (dit, digute, zion), and can also be named with -(r)i: Ikasleei isiltzeko esan die (She has told the students to be quiet).
Telling someone not to. Put ez right before the -tzeko verb: Ez erretzeko esan digu (He has told us not to smoke). If ez goes on the main verb instead, the meaning changes: Ez digu erretzeko esan means he did not tell us to smoke.
Order or statement? With esan, -tzeko reports an order, while -(e)la reports a statement: Etortzeko esan dit (He has told me to come) but Etorriko dela esan dit (He has told me that he will come).
-tzea with eskatu and agindu. eskatu and agindu can also take -tzea, which you will often see in writing: Neurriak hartzea eskatu du (She has asked for measures to be taken). -tzeko is the more common choice, and with esan it is the normal one.
A more formal option. Commands can also be reported with a subjunctive: Etor nadila esan dit.
Examples (6)
- Etortzeko esan dit.
He has told me to come.
dit shows that the order was given to me.
- Isiltzeko eskatu digute.
They have asked us to be quiet.
- Amak ogia erosteko esan dit.
Mum has told me to buy bread.
The object ogia stays inside the -tzeko clause.
- Medikuak ez erretzeko esan dio.
The doctor has told him not to smoke.
ez comes right before erretzeko.
- Atea ixteko eskatu nion.
I asked him to close the door.
- Zer egiteko esan dizute?
What have they told you to do?
Common Mistakes
Using -tzea after esan to report an order.
Etortzea esan dit.Etortzeko esan dit.When esan reports an order, the action takes -tzeko. -tzea names an activity as a thing, as in Etortzea gustatzen zait. (eskatu and agindu also allow -tzea, but -tzeko is the safe choice.)
Putting ez on the main verb when you mean "not to".
Ez dit erretzeko esan.Ez erretzeko esan dit.The first sentence means he did not tell me to smoke. To report an order not to smoke, ez goes right before the -tzeko verb.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Reported commands with -tzeko need -tzeko and commands.
Related Patterns
- Subjunctive + -(e)laReported Commands: Etor Nadila
A second way to report commands, with a subjunctive verb and -(e)la.
Level 4 - Reported Speech + -(e)laReporting What Someone Said
How statements, rather than orders, are reported.
Level 3 - Don't
Direct negative orders, reported with ez + -tzeko.
Level 3 - -tzeko + NounThings to Do
Other places where -tzeko links a verb to the word before it.
Level 3
Words in This Pattern
Practice Reported Command + -tzeko in Bubblegum
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