etorri naiz / ikusi dut
The Present Perfect
Participle + present auxiliary: Gaur goizean kafea edan dut (I drank coffee this morning). Ane etorri da (Ane has arrived).
How It Works
How to form it
Use the participle and a present auxiliary. Verbs like etorri and joan take naiz, zara, da. Verbs like ikusi and edan take dut, duzu, du, and the doer takes -k:
- Etorri naiz. (I have come.)
- Joan zara. (You have gone.)
- Anek filma ikusi du. (Ane has seen the film.)
- Kafea edan dugu. (We have drunk coffee.)
Today
Events of today use this form: Gaur goizean Ane ikusi dut. (I saw Ane this morning.) Time words like gaur (today), gaur goizean (this morning) and oraintxe (just now) go with it.
Experience and results
It also tells about experience, often with inoiz (ever) or behin (once): Inoiz Bilbon egon zara? Bai, behin egon naiz. (Have you ever been to Bilbao? Yes, once.) It can also report a past event whose result matters now: Giltzak galdu ditut. (I have lost my keys.) For “have been somewhere”, see egon naiz and izan naiz.
Yesterday and before
Most dialects, and most courses, use the simple past for events before today: Atzo Ane ikusi nuen. (I saw Ane yesterday.) In eastern dialects, including the Northern Basque Country, speakers also use the present perfect for earlier days: Atzo ikusi dut. See Today or Before Today?.
Negation
ez joins the auxiliary and moves in front: Gaur ez naiz lanera joan. (I didn’t go to work today.)
Examples (6)
- Gaur goizean kafea edan dut.
I drank coffee this morning.
An event of today takes the present perfect, even though English uses the past.
- Ane etorri da.
Ane has arrived.
etorri takes izan, so the auxiliary is da.
- Inoiz Bilbon egon zara?
Have you ever been to Bilbao?
inoiz (ever) asks about experience.
- Giltzak galdu ditut.
I have lost my keys.
The result matters now: the keys are still missing. ditut agrees with the plural giltzak.
- Zer egin duzu gaur?
What did you do today?
gaur (today) goes with the present perfect.
- Gaur ez naiz lanera joan.
I didn’t go to work today.
In the negative, ez naiz comes before joan.
Common Mistakes
Using du with a verb like etorri.
Ane etorri du.Ane etorri da.etorri has only one participant, so it takes izan: da, not du.
Forgetting -k on the doer of a du verb.
Ane kafea edan du.Anek kafea edan du.edan takes du, so the person who drinks takes the ergative -k: Anek.
Using the -tzen form for something already finished today.
Gaur goizean Ane ikusten dut.Gaur goizean Ane ikusi dut.For the intended meaning “I saw Ane this morning”, use the participle. Ikusten dut describes a habit or something still going on, not a finished event.
How It Connects
Learn This First
The present perfect applies the periphrastic pattern.
Related Patterns
- -tu / -i / -nThe Dictionary Form of Verbs
The present perfect is built on the participle.
Level 1 - etorri nintzen / ikusi nuenThe Simple Past
Use the simple past for events before today in most dialects.
Level 2 - Today or Before Today?
Explains how to choose between the two past forms.
Level 2 - egon naiz / izan naizHaving Been Somewhere
How to say you have been somewhere.
Level 2 - etorri izan daHave Done Before
Another way to talk about repeated experience.
Level 5
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice etorri naiz / ikusi dut in Bubblegum
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