nor / nork
Who (Nor, Nork)
nor means "who": Nor da hura? (Who is that?) When "who" does something to something, it becomes nork: Nork egin du? (Who did it?)
How It Works
Basque marks the doer of a transitive verb with the ergative ending -k, and the question word "who" follows the same rule.
nor is the plain form. Use it with the verb "to be" and with verbs that take the naiz/da auxiliary:
- Nor da hura? (Who is that?)
- Nor da zure irakaslea? (Who is your teacher?)
- Nor etorri da? (Who has come?)
nork is "who" as the doer of a verb that takes the dut/du auxiliary, or of a one-word verb like daki or du:
- Nork egin du? (Who did it?)
- Nork du giltza? (Who has the key?)
- Nork daki? (Who knows?)
Who as the object. When "who" is the person something is done to, it stays nor, even with a du verb: Nor ikusi duzu? (Who did you see?) Here you are the doer, so nor has no -k.
Basque textbooks name these roles NOR and NORK after these very words. You will see them again in who does what: nor and nork.
Other forms of who. nor takes the usual endings: nori (to whom, see the dative), norekin (with whom) and noren (whose). For more than one person, Standard Basque also accepts nortzuk.
Like every question word, nor and nork stand directly before the verb.
Examples (6)
- Nor da hura?
Who is that?
- Nor da zure irakaslea?
Who is your teacher?
- Nor etorri da?
Who has come?
etorri takes da, so "who" stays nor.
- Nork egin du?
Who did it?
egin takes du, so "who" becomes nork.
- Nork du giltza?
Who has the key?
du (has) is transitive, so the owner is nork.
- Nork irabazi du partida?
Who won the match?
Common Mistakes
Using nor as the doer of a transitive verb.
Nor egin du hau?Nork egin du hau?egin takes the du auxiliary, so the doer needs the ergative -k: nork.
Using nork with a verb that takes naiz/da.
Nork etorri da?Nor etorri da?etorri takes da, not du. Its subject has no -k, so the question word is nor.
How It Connects
Learn This First
nor and nork need zer and the ergative.
Related Patterns
- Who Does What: nor and nork
Shows how nor and nork roles work in every sentence.
Level 1 - -(r)iTo Someone: -(r)i
Gives nori, "to whom".
Level 2 - nolako / nongoa / norenWhat Kind, From Where, Whose
Includes noren, "whose".
Level 2 - Question Word Next to the Verb
Explains why nor and nork stand right before the verb.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Words in This Pattern
Practice nor / nork in Bubblegum
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