To come and to go: …tera joan, …tik etorri
Motion in Basque is carried by an ending, not by a preposition. Where to — -tara/-tera: kalera joan naiz — I went out to the street. And merkatura joango gara — we will go to the market. For example: “Bostetan plazara joango naiz” — At five I will go to the square. A rule from the Basque course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Motion in Basque is carried by an ending, not by a preposition. Where to — -tara/-tera: kalera joan naiz — I went out to the street. And merkatura joango gara — we will go to the market.
Where from — -tik: Madrildik etorri gara — we have come from Madrid. The pair closes the circle: to go is "joan", to come back is "itzuli". Merkatura joan naiz eta arratsalderako itzuli naiz — I went to the market and was back by evening.
Table
| the meaning | the form | the example |
|---|---|---|
| to go where | …(t)ara joan | kalera joan naiz |
| to come from where | …tik etorri | merkatutik etorri da |
| to return | itzuli | etxera itzultzen naiz |
By example
- Bostetan plazara joango naizAt five I will go to the square
- Merkatutik ogia eta frutak ekarri ditutFrom the market I brought bread and fruit
- Noiz itzuliko zara Madrildik?When will you return from Madrid?
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 is carried by an ending, not by a preposition. Where to — -tara/-tera: kalera joan naiz — I went out to the street. And merkatura joango gara — we will go to the market.
What does it look like in an example sentence Basque?
“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.