Language/Basque/Grammar/Negation
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Hi Basque learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn about negation in Basque grammar. To improve your [Language/Basque|Basque] [Language/Basque/Grammar|grammar], you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!
Are you ready to learn? 🤓
Basic Negation
In Basque, you can form negative sentences by using the word "ez". This word can be used with any verb to form negative sentences.
For example:
| Basque | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ez dut hitz egin | [es duːt hit͡s eɡin] | I didn't speak |
| Ez nintzen etorri | [es nint͡sen etorːi] | I didn't come |
"ez" will always come before the verb that it is negating.
Negative Interrogative
In Basque, you form negative interrogative sentences by using "ez" and "bai". "Ez" will come before the verb and "bai" will come after the verb.
For example:
| Basque | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ez duzu hitz egin, bai ez? | [es duːz huːts eɡin bai eθ] | Didn't you speak? |
In this example, "ez" comes before the verb "duzu" (you speak) and "bai" comes after, making it a negative interrogative sentence.
Negative Pronouns
In Basque, negative pronouns are used to form negative sentences with verbs. They are usually formed by adding "ez" to the beginning of a pronoun.
For example:
| Basque | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| Ez nauk | [es naʊk] | I don't have |
| Ez dizut | [es diθuːt] | I don't give you |
In the examples above, we see the negative pronouns "Ez nauk" (I don't have) and "Ez dizut" (I don't give you).
Adverbial Negation
In Basque, you can also use adverbs to negate sentences. The adverbs that are commonly used for negation are: "inork", "inor", "inongo", "inon", "inora", "inoiz" and "inonahi".
For example:
| Basque | Pronunciation | English | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Inork ez da etorri | [inork es da etorːi] | Nobody hasn't come | |
| Inon ez da etorri | [inon es da etorːi] | Nothing hasn't come |
In these examples, we see that the adverb "inork" (nobody) and "inon" (nothing) are used to negate the sentence.
Dialogue
- Person 1: Hitz egin duzu? (Did you speak?)
- Person 2: Ez, ez dut hitz egin. (No, I didn't speak.)
- Person 1: Nola dago ebakuntza? (How is the discount?)
- Person 2: Ez dago ebakuntzarik. (There is no discount.)
- Person 1: Nongoan da liburutegia? (Where is the library?)
- Person 2: Inor ez dakigu nongoa. (Nobody knows where it is.)
Conclusion
Negative sentences are an important part of any language's grammar, and Basque is no exception. In this lesson, we learned how to form negative sentences in Basque using the word "ez", negative pronouns, and adverbs. These tools allow us to communicate different ideas and concepts and to have a greater understanding of the Basque language. Keep practicing! 💪
➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎
Sources
Great work on completing this lesson! Take a moment to investigate these connected pages: Questions, Conditional Tense, Basic elements of the sentence & Definite Articles in Basque.
Other Lessons
- Basic elements of the sentence
- Conditional Tense
- Present Tense
- Pronouns
- Future Tense
- Adjectives
- Gender
- Plurals
- Past Participle in Basque
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