Duration: Bost urte daramatzat hemen
"How long already" Basque says with the verb zeraman — "to carry": Nik bost urte daramatzat hemen — I have been here five years, literally "five years I carry". The form is its own for each person: daramatzat — I carry (the years), daramazu — you carry, daramatza — he carries: Bost urte daramatza hemen — he has been here five years. For example: “Bost urte daramatzat hemen” — I have been here five years. A rule from…
How it works
"How long already" Basque says with the verb zeraman — "to carry": Nik bost urte daramatzat hemen — I have been here five years, literally "five years I carry". The form is its own for each person: daramatzat — I carry (the years), daramazu — you carry, daramatza — he carries: Bost urte daramatza hemen — he has been here five years.
The question to this form is one: Zenbat denbora daramazu hemen? — how long have you been here? And a repetition with an extension stretches freely: Hamabi urte daramatzat etxe honetan — twelve years I have been in this house. The starting point is set by the original …tik: gaztetatik — since youth, atzotik — since yesterday.
Table
| the meaning | the form | the example |
|---|---|---|
| I have been… years | … daramatzat | bost urte daramatzat |
| he has been… years | … daramatza | bost urte daramatza hemen |
| since when | …tik | gaztetatik |
By example
- Bost urte daramatzat hemenI have been here five years
- Hamabi urte daramatzat etxe honetanI have been in this house twelve years
- Gaztetatik itsasoa ezagutzen dutSince youth I have known the sea
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
Duration: how does it work in Basque?
"How long already" Basque says with the verb zeraman — "to carry": Nik bost urte daramatzat hemen — I have been here five years, literally "five years I carry". The form is its own for each person: daramatzat — I carry (the years), daramazu — you carry, daramatza — he carries: Bost urte daramatza…
What does it look like in an example sentence Basque?
“Bost urte daramatzat hemen” — I have been here five years. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.