LingoflyCause and consequence: …tzeagatik and …arekin
A cause in Basque takes the tail -gatik — "because of": Hotzagatik gaixotu naiz — I fell ill from the cold. It joins an action through -tzea: Lo gutxi egiteagatik beti nekatuta nago — because I sleep little, I am always tired. For example: “Hotzagatik gaixotu naiz asteburuan” — From the cold I fell ill on the weekend. A rule from the Basque course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
A cause in Basque takes the tail -gatik — "because of": Hotzagatik gaixotu naiz — I fell ill from the cold. It joins an action through -tzea: Lo gutxi egiteagatik beti nekatuta nago — because I sleep little, I am always tired.
A second thread of cause is …arekin, "with": the state comes along with the weather or an event. Euriarekin nekatzen naiz — rain makes me tired. And beraz — "so" — gathers the result: the cause first, the conclusion after it.
Table
| the meaning | the form | the example |
|---|---|---|
| because of what (cause) | …-gatik / …tzeagatik | Hotzagatik gaixotu naiz |
| with what (state) | …arekin | Euriarekin nekatzen naiz |
| the consequence | beraz + conclusion | Beraz, etxean geratuko 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
Cause and consequence: how does it work in Basque?
A cause in Basque takes the tail -gatik — "because of": Hotzagatik gaixotu naiz — I fell ill from the cold. It joins an action through -tzea: Lo gutxi egiteagatik beti nekatuta nago — because I sleep little, I am always tired.
What does it look like in a Basque example sentence?
“Hotzagatik gaixotu naiz asteburuan” — From the cold I fell ill on the weekend. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.