Whose? -rena and neure burua
Belonging without a second "izan": -rena is added to the owner word. Liburu hau nirea da — this book is mine, literally "mine-belonging". The question "whose?" — the norena of wave 1, the same suffix inside. For example: “Etxe hau gurea da” — This house is ours. A rule from the Basque course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Belonging without a second "izan": -rena is added to the owner word. Liburu hau nirea da — this book is mine, literally "mine-belonging". The question "whose?" — the norena of wave 1, the same suffix inside.
"Myself" — neure burua: neure is the colloquial brother of "nire", burua is the head of wave 1. Yourself here is "kept in the head": Neure burua zaintzen dut — I take care of myself.
Table
| whose | the form | the example |
|---|---|---|
| my | nirea | Kotxea nirea da — the car is mine |
| your | zurea | Giltza zurea da — the key is yours |
| his, her | harena | Poltsa harena da — the bag is hers |
| our | gurea | Etxea gurea da — the house is ours |
By example
- Etxe hau gurea daThis house is ours
- Telefonoa harena da, ez nireaThe phone is hers, not mine
- Neure burua zaintzen dutI take care of myself
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
Whose? -rena and neure burua: how does it work in Basque?
Belonging without a second "izan": -rena is added to the owner word. Liburu hau nirea da — this book is mine, literally "mine-belonging". The question "whose?" — the norena of wave 1, the same suffix inside.
What does it look like in an example sentence Basque?
“Etxe hau gurea da” — This house is ours. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.