LingoflyThe imperative
The shortest request is the bare dictionary form of the verb: Itxaron! — wait!, Ireki! — open!, Etorri! — come!, Egon! — stay! A ban is the same with ez: Ez ukitu! — do not touch! For example: “Itxaron minutu bat!” — Wait a minute! A rule from the Basque course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The shortest request is the bare dictionary form of the verb: Itxaron! — wait!, Ireki! — open!, Etorri! — come!, Egon! — stay! A ban is the same with ez: Ez ukitu! — do not touch!
The full, polite form adds an auxiliary verb. When the action is done to a thing — ezazu: Ireki ezazu! — please open it. With no thing — zaitez: Etor zaitez! — do come!, Eseri zaitez! — take a seat!
A couple of verbs have their own short form: Zatoz! — come here!, Zaude! — stay where you are!
Table
| short | full form | |
|---|---|---|
| to open | Ireki! | Ireki ezazu! |
| to come | Etorri! | Etor zaitez! |
| to sit down | Eseri! | Eseri zaitez! |
By example
- Wait a minute!
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
The imperative: how does it work in Basque?
The shortest request is the bare dictionary form of the verb: Itxaron! — wait!, Ireki! — open!, Etorri! — come!, Egon! — stay! A ban is the same with ez: Ez ukitu! — do not touch!
What does it look like in a Basque example sentence?
“Itxaron minutu bat!” — Wait a minute! A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.