-ko / -go
The Future
etorri → etorriko naiz (I will come), egin → egingo dut (I will do it), jan → jango dugu (we will eat).
How It Works
Adding -ko or -go
- Most participles add -ko: etorri → etorriko, ikusi → ikusiko, sartu → sartuko, atera → aterako.
- After -n, use -go: egin → egingo, jan → jango, joan → joango, izan → izango, egon → egongo.
- After -l, both are accepted: hil → hilko or hilgo.
The auxiliary
Keep the verb’s usual auxiliary in the present: Bihar etorriko naiz. (I will come tomorrow.) Afaria prestatuko dut. (I will make dinner.) The auxiliary changes for the person as usual: etorriko zara, etorriko da.
Negatives and questions
ez joins the auxiliary, and both come first: Ez naiz etorriko. (I won’t come.) A question word goes right before the verb: Zer egingo duzu bihar? (What will you do tomorrow?)
Guesses
In the south, the same form can make a guess about now: Etxean egongo da. (She is probably at home.) See Probably: The Future for Guesses.
Northern forms
In the Northern Basque Country, participles ending in -n or -l often take -en instead: eginen dut, joanen naiz. See Northern Verb Forms.
Examples (6)
- Bihar etorriko naiz.
I will come tomorrow.
etorri + -ko, with the izan auxiliary naiz.
- Zer egingo duzu?
What will you do?
egin ends in -n, so it takes -go.
- Afaria jango dugu.
We will eat dinner.
jan → jango; jan takes the dut series.
- Datorren astean Ane Bilbora joango da.
Next week Ane will go to Bilbao.
joan → joango; joan takes da.
- Ez naiz berandu iritsiko.
I won’t arrive late.
In the negative, ez naiz comes first.
- Etxean egongo da.
She will be at home.
In the south this can also mean “She is probably at home.”
Common Mistakes
Using -ko after a participle ending in -n.
Zer eginko duzu?Zer egingo duzu?After -n, -ko becomes -go: egingo, jango, izango, joango.
Changing the auxiliary in the future.
Bihar etorriko dut.Bihar etorriko naiz.The future keeps the verb’s usual auxiliary. etorri takes izan, so it is etorriko naiz.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The future applies the periphrastic pattern.
Related Patterns
- -tu / -i / -nThe Dictionary Form of Verbs
The future adds -ko or -go to the participle.
Level 1 - Probably: The Future for Guesses
The same form can express a guess about the present.
Level 4 - eginen / ukanNorthern Verb Forms
Northern Basque often uses -en for the future.
Level 5 - etorriko zenWould: The Future in the Past
The same form with a past auxiliary.
Level 4 - -tzera + Motion VerbGoing to Do: -tzera
Another way to talk about what you are about to do.
Level 2
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice -ko / -go in Bubblegum
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