bera
The Same, Itself: Bera
bera comes after a noun and means the same: gauza bera (the same thing), egun berean (on the same day). After a noun that already has an article, it means itself: Alkatea bera etorri da (The mayor himself has come).
How It Works
The same. Put bera after the noun and add the case ending to bera:
- gauza bera (the same thing), plural gauza berak (the same things)
- leku berean (in the same place), urte berean (in the same year)
- eskola beretik (from the same school), herri berera (to the same town)
Itself, the very one. After a definite noun, a name or a demonstrative, bera adds emphasis: Alkatea bera etorri da (The mayor himself has come), hura bera (that very one). With place and time words, the emphatic forms are bertan, bertara, bertatik in the Western dialects and berean, berera, beretik in the North and in High Navarrese: hemen bertan (right here), orain bertan (right now), egun hartan bertan or egun hartan berean (that very day). Compare -xe, another way to say right here: hementxe.
A pronoun in the South. In much of the Southern Basque Country, bera is also a third person pronoun, often for someone already mentioned: Bera etorriko da bihar (He will come tomorrow), Berak esan dit (She told me). The plural is beraiek, or eurak in the West. The neutral pronoun everywhere is hura. For emphasis with the first and second person, Basque uses neu and zeu.
The possessive bere comes from the same root.
Examples (6)
- Gauza bera esan dugu.
We have said the same thing.
- Leku berean bizi gara.
We live in the same place.
berean is bera with the inessive ending.
- Egun berean jaio ginen.
We were born on the same day.
- Alkatea bera etorri da.
The mayor himself has come.
After a definite noun, bera adds emphasis.
- Hemen bertan itxarongo dut.
I will wait right here.
bertan is the Western emphatic form; the North says hemen berean.
- Bera etorriko da bihar.
He will come tomorrow.
In much of the South, bera is a plain he/she pronoun.
Common Mistakes
Putting bera before the noun.
Bera gauza esan dugu.Gauza bera esan dugu.bera follows the noun, like the article and bat.
Getting the case form wrong.
Leku beran bizi gara.Leku berean bizi gara.The inessive of bera is berean, as in egun berean. *Beran is not a form of bera.
How It Connects
Learn This First
bera follows bere and haren.
Related Patterns
- neu / zeuMyself, Yourself: Neu, Zeu
The emphatic forms for I and you, the partners of emphatic bera.
Level 5 - bere buruaOneself: Bere Burua
Another way to say himself or herself, with buru.
Level 3 - ni / zu / hura / gu / zuek / haiekPersonal Pronouns
hura, the neutral third person pronoun, alongside Southern bera.
Level 1 - -xeExactly This: -xe
Another way to add emphasis to place and time words: hementxe, oraintxe.
Level 4 - hau / hori / huraThis, That and That Over There
Demonstratives that often combine with bera: hura bera, hori bera.
Level 1
Words in This Pattern
Practice bera in Bubblegum
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