LingoflyTo come and to go: …tera joan, …tik etorri
Motion in Basque rides on an ending, not on a preposition. Where to — -ra, after a consonant -era: kalera joan naiz — I went out into the street, Bilbora joango gara — we will go to Bilbao. Where from — -tik: kaletik etorri da — he came in from the street, Madrildik etorri gara — we came from Madrid. For example: “Bostetan plazara joango naiz” — At five I will go to the square. A rule from the Basque course: worked…
How it works
Motion in Basque rides on an ending, not on a preposition. Where to — -ra, after a consonant -era: kalera joan naiz — I went out into the street, Bilbora joango gara — we will go to Bilbao. Where from — -tik: kaletik etorri da — he came in from the street, Madrildik etorri gara — we came from Madrid.
The pair closes the circle: to go — "joan", to come back — "itzuli". Merkatura joan naiz eta arratsalderako itzuli naiz — I went to the market and was back by evening. The same verb also means "to leave for good": joan behar dut — I have to go.
Table
| the meaning | the form | the example |
|---|---|---|
| to go somewhere | …(e)ra joan | kalera joan naiz |
| to come from | …tik etorri | merkatutik etorri da |
| to come back | itzuli | etxera itzultzen naiz |
By example
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
To come and to go: how does it work in Basque?
Motion in Basque rides on an ending, not on a preposition. Where to — -ra, after a consonant -era: kalera joan naiz — I went out into the street, Bilbora joango gara — we will go to Bilbao. Where from — -tik: kaletik etorri da — he came in from the street, Madrildik etorri gara — we came from…
What does it look like in a Basque example sentence?
“Bostetan plazara joango naiz” — At five I will go to the square. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.