Whom and what: the object lives in the verb
With a transitive verb the auxiliary agrees with two participants at once: who does, and whom/what is done. The object marker stands at the beginning: d-ut — "it-I-have", that is erosten dut — I buy it. For example: “Nik arrainak erosten ditut azokan” — The fish I buy at the market. A rule from the Basque course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
With a transitive verb the auxiliary agrees with two participants at once: who does, and whom/what is done. The object marker stands at the beginning: d-ut — "it-I-have", that is erosten dut — I buy it.
A plural object changes the middle: ditut — erosten ditut — I buy them. The same shift with any person: du — has it, ditu — has them.
The subject meanwhile stands in the ergative -k — English has no case, but here the doer takes -k: Nik liburuak erosten ditut — I (nik) the books buy. And the irregular ekarri, "to bring", shows both markers plainly: dakart — I bring it, dakarkit — I bring them.
Table
| one object | many objects | |
|---|---|---|
| I (ni) | dut — erosten dut | ditut — erosten ditut |
| he, she (hura) | du — erosten du | ditu — erosten ditu |
| to carry (ekarri) | dakart | dakarkit |
By example
- Nik arrainak erosten ditut azokanThe fish I buy at the market
- Maleta bat dakart eta poltsa batI am bringing a suitcase and a bag
- Bi ale dakarkitI am bringing two pieces
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
Whom and what: how does it work in Basque?
With a transitive verb the auxiliary agrees with two participants at once: who does, and whom/what is done. The object marker stands at the beginning: d-ut — "it-I-have", that is erosten dut — I buy it.
What does it look like in an example sentence Basque?
“Nik arrainak erosten ditut azokan” — The fish I buy at the market. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.