Negation: ez before the verb
The negation ez is placed before the auxiliary verb and changes nothing else: Ez dut ulertzen, Ez dago ura. For example: “Ez dut euskaraz hitz egiten” — I do not speak Basque. A rule from the Basque course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The negation ez is placed before the auxiliary verb and changes nothing else: Ez dut ulertzen, Ez dago ura.
Double negation here is the norm, not an error: Ez dakit ezer — "I know nothing", with both the "not" and the "nothing" standing where they belong.
By example
- Ez dut euskaraz hitz egitenI do not speak Basque
- Ez dago urrunIt is not far
- Ez dago inorThere is nobody
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
Negation: how does it work in Basque?
The negation ez is placed before the auxiliary verb and changes nothing else: Ez dut ulertzen, Ez dago ura.
What does it look like in an example sentence Basque?
“Ez dut euskaraz hitz egiten” — I do not speak Basque. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.