2ND LESSON: EUSKARA MAITE DUT

NOR ZARA? ZER DUZU?
(Who are you?) (What do you have? *OR* What's the matter with you?)

1."UKAN" ADITZA (NOR-NORK verb)

The verb "Ukan" ("have") works both as an independent verb and as an auxiliary, in *transitive* sentences.
Examples:

Bizarra luzea dut ("I have a long beard")
Bizarra moztu dut ("I have cut my beard")

INDICATIVE (present tense)

              Passive person     	Active person's
              (object)           	suffixes (subject)

1               Ni     	NAU      		-T      (1.Nik)
2 (Informal)    Hi     	HAU      		-K/N    (2.Hik)
2 (Normal)      Zu     	ZAITU    		-ZU     (2.Zuk)
3               Hura   	DU       		-       (3.Hark)
1 Plural        Gu     	GAITU    		-GU     (1.Guk)
2 Plural        Zuek   	ZAITUZTE		-ZUE    (2.Zuek)
3 Plural        Haiek  	DITU    		(z)-TE  (3.Haiek)

How does it work, this labyrinth?
Simple. It's an art of combinating objects and subjects. The most used combination happens with the objects in the third person plural and singular: DU and DITU combine with all the suffixes of the last column. Let's see how DU combines

Buru handia DUT ("I have a big head")
Sudur ederra DUK ("You have a nice nose")(male subject)
Sudur motza DUN ("You have a short nose")(female subject)
Beso indartsua DUZU ("You have a strong arm")
Aurpegi handia DU ("He/She has got a nerve")
Ile beltza DUGU ("We have a black hair")
Belarri ona DUZUE ("You have a good ear")
Bihotz handia DUTE (They have a big heart")

The same, with plural objects ("haiek"). For example, with the last sentence:

Bihotz handiak DITUZTE ("They have big hearts")

Now, to have fun, we can try other nice combinations:

Kalean ikusi HAUT ("I've seen you in the street")
Autoan eraman GAITUZTE ("They've carried us by car")
Langileak kalera bota DITUZTE ("They've dismissed the workers")
Maite ZAITUT ("I love you")
Asko poztu GAITUZU ("You've made us very happy")
Etc., etc.

Obviously, we can't combine identical persons: "Nik gu ikusi GAITUT" is a nonsense (just as "I saw us"?)

Note 1: "GAITU-", "ZAITU" and "DITU-" take a "-z" when combining with "-TE": "gaituzte", "zaituzte" and "dituzte" sound better than "gaitute", "zaitute" and "ditute", as you may understand.

Note 2: We will use the male or female suffix of the second informal person ("Hik") depending on the sex of our interlocutor: -K with males, -N with females. This informal treatment is not used in all the basque speaking areas. One has to be prudent when using it. Some people may consider it as a lack of respect: for example, elderly people or those who have a higher social position. Let's take into account that the informal treatment is often used to talk to animals, in people's quarrels and, generally speaking, among equals, among youth or with youth. Always, in an informal situation.

Note 3: at this moment, you have probably noticed that, in basque language, the subject is very often omitted. In fact, there is usually no need to speciphy it, the suffixes do it very well.

2. NORK-ZERK KASUA (The "ergative" case, the subject in transitive sentences)

Do you remember from the FIRST LESSON, the nominative case NOR-ZER?

indefinite : - (neska, mutil) [no suffix added]
singular : - a (neska, mutila)
plural : -ak (neskak, mutilak)

Let's compare it with NORK-ZERK, applied to the names "neska" (girl) and "mutil" (boy):

indefinite : - (e) K (neskak, mutilek)
singular : - AK (neskak, mutilak)
plural : -EK (neskek, mutilek)

(Note: a+e=e, as in "neska+ek= neskek"; a+a=a, as in "neska+ak=neskak"; e+e=eek, as in "lore+ek=loreek"; the "(e)" of the indefinite case is used when the name has a consonant at the end, as in "mutil+(e)k= mutilek").

As you can see, some forms look the same, and the context becomes important to figure out what case we are dealing with.

NORK-ZERK examples:

Hagineko mina du amamak (grandma has a toothache)
Senarrak lanera eraman nau (my husband brought me to work)
Zure emazteak tripako mina du (your wife has a stomach-ache)
Hainbat haurtxok ez dute behar adina jaten (many kids don't eat enough)
Zazpi emakumek egin dute azterketa (seven women did the exam)
Zazpi emakumeek gainditu dute azterketa (the seven women succeeded in the exam)
Lehengusuek buruko minez utzi gaituzte (Our cousins left us with a headache)

3- EXERCISES (present)

Ez ........... hemendik gehiago ikusi nahi (nik-hi)
Argal ikusi .............. foto horretan (guk-zuek)
Sendagileak ikusi ............ (ni)
Osasun ona ............ nire aiton-amonak
Harrapatuko ................. ! (nik-zu)
Lanbroak maite .............. euskaldunek
Basoko aritz handiek harritu ............. (zu)
Baserri ederra ........... nik mendi horretan
Lan ederra egin .............baratzean (zuek)
Ardi asko ................. artzain haiek
Belardietara eraman .............. zure adiskideak (gu)
Nire ahizpak ez ............... begi onetik hartu (zu)
Ehiztariek bota ............... uso horiek
Mendizaleek mendi tontorreraino egin .........
Artoa bildu ............. jadanik soro horretan (haiek)

4- VOCABULARY

Adiskide: friend
Aditz: verb
Ahizpa: sister (of a woman's)
Aiton-amonak: grandparents
Amama (or Amona): grandmother
Ardi: sheep
Argal: thin
Aritz: oak
Artoa: corn
Artzain: shepherd (Ardi+zain: to watch over)
Asko: many; very much
Aurpegi: face
Autoan: in the car (auto+an)
Azterketa: exam)
Bai/Ez: Yes/No
Baratz: vegetable garden
Baserri: country house
Baso: forest
Bat, bi, hiru, lau, bost, sei, zazpi, zortzi, bederatzi, hamar (Numbers 1-10)
Begi: eye
Behar adina: as much as it is needed
Belardi: pasture
Belarri: ear
Beltz: black
Beso : arm
Bihotz : heart
Bildu: to pick up
Bizarra: beard
Bota: to throw
Bota: to throw; to dismiss
Buru : head
Buruko min: headache
Eder: nice
Egin: to do
Ehiztari: hunter
Emakume: woman
Emazte: wife
Eraman (also Eroan): to carry
Eraman: to bring
Euskaldun: basque
Euskara: basque language (also euskera, eskuara, etc)
Foto (also Argazki): photo
Gainditu: to overcome
Gehiago: more
Hagineko min: toothache (Hagin: tooth; Min: ache)
Hainbat: many
Handi: big
Harrapatu: to catch
Harritu: to surprise
Hartu: take
Haurtxo: small child (haur: child + txo: small)
Hemendik: around here (Hemen=here)
Horiek: those (from Hori: that)
Horretan: in that... (from Hori: that)
Ikusi: to see
Ile (also Ule): hair
Indartsu: strong (Indar= strenght)
Jadanik: already
Jaten: habitual form of verb Jan, "to eat" (jan+ten= jaten)
Kalean: in the street (kale: street)
Lanbro: fog
Lanera: to work (Lan: work; job)
Langile: worker
Lehengusu: cousin
Lore: flower
Luze: long
Maite: to love
Mendi: mountain
Mendizale: mountain climber
Motz: short
Moztu: to cut; to shorten
Nor-Zer: Who-What (absolutive, intransitive case)
Nork-Zerk: Who-What (ergative, transitive case)
Ona: good
Osasun: health
Poztu: to make or become happy
Senar: husband
Sendagile: doctor
Soro: field
Sudur: nose
Tontor: top
Tripako mina: stomach-ache
Ukan: have
Uso: pigeon
Utzi: to leave; to allow gaituzte
Zazpi: seven
Zure: your (Nire: my; Gure: our, etc)

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