Perception through dut: Ikusi dut, Entzun dut
What you see and hear, Basque "has": ikusi dut — I saw, entzun dut — I heard. The auxiliary dut (duzu, du, dugu) changes by person, the verb stands in the participle: filma ikusi dugu — we watched the film. The habitual is the participle in -tzen: musika entzuten dut — I listen to music (as a habit). For example: “Filma ikusi dut bi aldiz” — I have watched the film twice. A rule from the Basque course: worked out on…
How it works
What you see and hear, Basque "has": ikusi dut — I saw, entzun dut — I heard. The auxiliary dut (duzu, du, dugu) changes by person, the verb stands in the participle: filma ikusi dugu — we watched the film. The habitual is the participle in -tzen: musika entzuten dut — I listen to music (as a habit).
Sleeping and waking are the second row: lo egin — to sleep, "to do sleep": gauean lo egiten dut — I sleep at night. Perception is directed outward — dut; sleep happens with you — but egin still pulls dut with it: Basque "does" sleep too. The negation is ordinary: ez dut ikusi — I did not see.
Table
| the meaning | the form | the example |
|---|---|---|
| I saw | ikusi dut / duzu / du | ikusi dut |
| I heard | entzun dut | entzun du |
| I listen (habitually) | entzuten dut | musika entzuten dut |
| I sleep | lo egiten dut | gauean lo egiten dut |
By example
- Filma ikusi dut bi aldizI have watched the film twice
- Ez dut ondo entzuten, hurbilago eginI hear badly, come closer
- Gaur gauean lo egingo dut goizTonight I will go to sleep early
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
Perception through dut: how does it work in Basque?
What you see and hear, Basque "has": ikusi dut — I saw, entzun dut — I heard. The auxiliary dut (duzu, du, dugu) changes by person, the verb stands in the participle: filma ikusi dugu — we watched the film. The habitual is the participle in -tzen: musika entzuten dut — I listen to music (as a…
What does it look like in an example sentence Basque?
“Filma ikusi dut bi aldiz” — I have watched the film twice. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.