LingoflyWhose? -rena and neure burua
"Whose" is said with the tail -(r)ena on the owner: ama → amarena — mum's. Pronouns have a shorter tail: nirea — mine, zurea — yours. Liburu hau nirea da — this book is mine. The question "whose?" is norena. For example: “Etxe hau gurea da” — This house is ours. A rule from the Basque course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
"Whose" is said with the tail -(r)ena on the owner: ama → amarena — mum's. Pronouns have a shorter tail: nirea — mine, zurea — yours. Liburu hau nirea da — this book is mine. The question "whose?" is norena.
"Myself" is neure burua: neure is a stronger "my own", and burua is the head. Word for word "my own head": Neure burua zaintzen dut — I take care of myself.
Table
| whose | the form | the example |
|---|---|---|
| my | nirea | Kotxea nirea da — the car is mine |
| your | zurea | Giltza zurea da — the key is yours |
| his, her | harena | Poltsa harena da — the bag is hers |
| our | gurea | Etxea gurea da — the house is ours |
By example
- Etxe hau gurea daThis house is ours
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
Whose? -rena and neure burua: how does it work in Basque?
"Whose" is said with the tail -(r)ena on the owner: ama → amarena — mum's. Pronouns have a shorter tail: nirea — mine, zurea — yours. Liburu hau nirea da — this book is mine. The question "whose?" is norena.
What does it look like in a Basque example sentence?
“Etxe hau gurea da” — This house is ours. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.