Noun + egin

Verbs with Egin

Level 1

Many Basque verbs are two words: a noun and egin (to do). Lan egin means to work, and hitz egin means to speak.

How It Works

Basque builds many everyday verbs from a noun plus egin (to do, to make). The two words work together as one verb:

  • lan egin to work (lan = work)
  • hitz egin to speak, to talk (hitz = word)
  • lo egin to sleep (lo = sleep)
  • igeri egin to swim (igeri is not a noun, but it works the same way)
  • negar egin to cry, barre egin to laugh
  • korrika egin to run, alde egin to leave

The noun stays bare. It takes no article: lan egiten dut, not lana egiten dut. With the article, the noun becomes an ordinary object and the meaning changes: Lan egiten dut (I work), but Lana egin dut (I have done the job).

Only egin changes. egin takes the same forms as any other verb: egiten for the present habit (present habitual -tzen + aux), egin for the present perfect (present perfect: etorri naiz, ikusi dut) and egingo for the future (future -ko/-go).

Always the dut auxiliary. These verbs count as transitive, even when English sees no object. So they use dut, duzu, du, dugu, duzue, dute, never naiz: Lo egin dut (I have slept). A doer that is a noun or pronoun takes the ergative -k: Nik lan egiten dut, Anek hitz egin du. See ergative -k.

Word order. The noun normally stays right before egin. In a negative sentence, ez and the auxiliary come first and the pair follows: Ez dut lan egiten (I do not work). See negation with ez. With nahi, the pair comes first: Lo egin nahi dut (I want to sleep).

Useful partners. Name the language with -z: euskaraz hitz egin (to speak Basque), as in instrumental -z. Name the person with -(r)ekin: Mikelekin hitz egin dut (I have talked with Mikel), as in sociative -(r)ekin.

Examples (6)

  1. Euskaraz hitz egiten dut.

    I speak Basque.

    Word by Word: Basque-in word doing I-have-it.

    hitz egin with -z for the language.

  2. Anek bulego batean lan egiten du.

    Ane works in an office.

    Ane takes the ergative -k because lan egin uses du.

  3. Ondo lo egin duzu?

    Did you sleep well?

    Word by Word: Well sleep done you-have-it?

    The present perfect of lo egin, with duzu.

  4. Udan igeri egingo dugu.

    We will swim in the summer.

    Only egin shows the future: egingo.

  5. Gaur ez dut lan egiten.

    I don't work today.

    In the negative, ez dut comes first and lan egiten follows.

  6. Mikelekin hitz egin nahi dut.

    I want to talk with Mikel.

    With nahi, the pair hitz egin comes before nahi dut.

Common Mistakes

  • Using naiz because the English verb has no object.

    Gaur lan egin naiz.
    Gaur lan egin dut.

    Verbs with egin are transitive in Basque, so they always take dut, duzu, du, even for working or sleeping.

  • Adding the article to the noun.

    Euskaraz hitza egiten dut.
    Euskaraz hitz egiten dut.

    In these verbs the noun stays bare. hitz egin is one verb meaning to speak.

  • Leaving the doer without -k.

    Ane euskaraz hitz egiten du.
    Anek euskaraz hitz egiten du.

    Because the verb uses du, the person who speaks takes the ergative -k.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

Noun + eginLevel 1Verbs with Egin

Learn This First

egin verbs need ukan and the ergative.

Learn Next

Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

eginlan eginhitz eginlo eginigeri egin