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Euskal gramatika: berrikuspenen arteko aldeak

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{{itzultzen|Assar}}
'''Euskal gramatika''' [[euskara]]ren [[gramatika]] da. Kontzeptua [[euskara batu]]aren gramatikaz aritzeko erabiltzen da batez ere.
 
300 ⟶ 299 lerroa:
 
Pertsona izenordain arrunt horiez gain, badaude enfatikoak direnak. Euskalki batetik bestera asko aldatzen dira. Adibidez, lehen pertsona singularrerako: ''neu, nerau, neroni'' edo ''nihaur''.
 
====Demonstrative pronouns====
The [[demonstrative]] [[Determiner (class)|determiner]]s (see above) may be used [[Pronoun|pronominally]] (as indeed can all the determiners except for the articles). There are also emphatic ([[intensive]]) demonstrative pronouns beginning with ''ber-''.
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Demonstrative pronouns
|-
!
! align="center"|Singular
! align="center"|Plural
|-
! Ordinary
|
'''''hau''''' 'this'
 
'''''hori''''' 'that (near hearer, general)'
 
'''''hura''''' 'yon ' (in the distance, not present)'
|
'''''hauek''''' 'these'
 
'''''horiek''''' 'those (near hearer, general)'
 
'''''haiek''''' 'yon (in the distance, not present)'
|-
! Intensive
|
'''''berau''''' 'this'
 
'''''berori''''' 'that (near hearer, general)'
 
'''''bera''''' 'yonder (in the distance, not present)'
|
'''''berauek''''' 'these'
 
'''''beroriek''''' 'those (near hearer, general)'
 
'''''beraiek''''' 'yonder" (in the distance, not present)'
|}
 
It has often been noted that in traditional usage (but less so among modern speakers), there is often an explicit correlation between the three degrees of proximity in the demonstrative forms and the grammatical persons, such that ''hau'' is made to correspond to ''ni'', ''hori'' to ''hi/zu'' and so on. One manifestation of this (others lie beyond the scope of this sketch) is the now old-fashioned mode of [[style (manner of address)|addressing]] persons in social positions commanding special respect (such as a priest, for example) using third-person verb forms and, for the personal pronoun, the second-degree intensive demonstrative ''berori'' (see the above table).
 
====Other pronouns and correlative adverbs====
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Other pronouns and deictic adverbs
|-
!
! align="center"|Pronouns
! align="center"|Place adverbs
! align="center"|Manner adverbs
! align="center"|Time adverbs
|-
! align="center"|Demonstrative
|
''(see above)''
|
*'''''hemen''''' 'here'
*'''''hor''''' 'there (nearby)'
*'''''han''''' 'there (distant)'
|
*'''''honela''''' 'like this'
*'''''horrela''''' 'like that'
*'''''hala''''' 'like that, so'
|
*'''''orain''''' 'now'
*'''''orduan''''' 'then'
|-
! align="center"|Interrogative
|
*'''''nor?''''' 'who?'
*'''''zer?''''' 'what?'
*'''''zein?''''' 'which one?'
|
*'''''non?''''' 'where?'
|
*'''''nola?''''' 'how?'
|
*'''''noiz?''''' 'when?'
|-
! align="center"|Indefinite
|
*'''''norbait''''' 'somebody'
*'''''zerbait''''' 'something'
|
*'''''nonbait''''' 'somewhere'
|
*'''''nolabait''''' 'somehow'
|
*'''''noizbait''''' 'sometime'
|-
! align="center"|[[Negative polarity item|Negative polarity]]
|
*'''''inor''''' 'anybody'
*'''''ezer''''' 'anything'
|
*'''''inon''''' 'anywhere'
|
*'''''inola''''' 'any way, at all'
|
*'''''inoiz''''' 'ever'
|}
 
====Further forms====
* All the demonstrative pronouns and adverbs may be extended by the suffix ''-xe'' (''-txe'') which lends further emphasis: ''hauxe'' (this very thing), ''hementxe'' (exactly here), ''honelaxe'' (exactly in this way), ''oraintxe'' (right now).
* The pronouns can all be declined in any [[grammatical case|case]] (see below). The personal and demonstrative pronouns exhibit [[allomorph]]y between absolutive and non-[[zero (linguistics)|zero]] cases. The adverbs can be adjectivalised by addition of ''-ko'' (''-go''), and some can also take other locative suffixes.
* There are two further series of indefinites, as illustrated by ''edonor, edonon''... and ''nornahi, zernahi...'', respectively; both series may be translated as 'whoever, wherever...' or 'anyone, anywhere...'.
* Negative pronouns and adverbs consist of the negative polarity series together with ''ez'' 'no' or as part of a negative sentence: ''inor ez'' 'nobody', ''Ez dut inor ezagutzen'' 'I don't know anybody' = 'I know nobody'.
 
===Declension===
 
====Cases====
Basque noun phrases are followed by a case suffix, which specifies the relation between the noun phrase and its [[clause]] (playing roughly the role of [[preposition]]s in English). The most basic cases are shown here, for convenience divided into three main groups: [[nuclear cases|nuclear]], local (or [[locative case|locative]]) and others.
 
Case suffixes are attached to whatever element (noun, adjective, determiner etc.) comes last in the noun phrase according to the rules already given. The different forms or "[[declension]]s" of each case suffix given in the following tables are selected in accordance with the nature of the nominal element to which the case ending is attached, as will be explained below.
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Nuclear cases
! rowspan=2 align="center"|Name
! rowspan=2 align="center"|Meaning/Use
! colspan=4 align="center"|Forms ("declensions")
|-
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
|-
! [[Absolutive case|Absolutive]]
| [[Intransitive verb|intransitive]] [[Subject (grammar)|subject]]; [[Transitive verb|transitive]] [[direct object]]
| '''''-a'''''
| '''''-ak'''''
| colspan=2 |'''''—'''''
|-
! [[Ergative case|Ergative]]
| [[Transitive verb|transitive]] subject
| '''''-ak'''''
| '''''-ek'''''
| colspan=2 |'''''-(e)k'''''
|-
! [[Dative case|Dative]]
| recipient or affected: 'to', 'for', 'from'
| '''''-ari'''''
| '''''-ei'''''
| colspan=2 |'''''-(r)i'''''
|}
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Local cases
! rowspan=2 align="center"|Name
! rowspan=2 align="center"|Meaning/Use
! colspan=4 align="center"|Forms ("declensions")
|-
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
|-
! [[Inessive case|Inessive]]
| place where/time when: 'in', 'at', 'on'
| '''''-(e)an'''''
| '''''-etan'''''
| '''''-(e)tan'''''
| '''''-(e)n'''''
|-
! [[Allative case|Allative]]
| where to: 'to'
| '''''-(e)ra'''''
| '''''-etara'''''
| '''''-(e)tara'''''
| '''''-(r)a'''''
|-
! [[Ablative case|Ablative]]
| where from/through: 'from', 'since', 'through'
| '''''-(e)tik'''''
| '''''-etatik'''''
| '''''-(e)tatik'''''
| '''''-tik/-dik'''''
|-
! Local [[Genitive case|genitive]]
| pertaining to where/when: 'of'
| '''''-(e)ko'''''
| '''''-etako'''''
| '''''-(e)tako'''''
| '''''-ko/-go'''''
|}
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Other cases
! rowspan=2 align="center"|Name
! rowspan=2 align="center"|Meaning/Use
! colspan=4 align="center"|Forms ("declensions")
|-
! 1
! 2
! 3
! 4
|-
! Possessive [[Genitive case|genitive]]
| possessive/genitive: 'of', '-'s'
| '''''-aren'''''
| '''''-en'''''
| colspan=2 |'''''-(r)en'''''
|-
! [[Instrumental case|Instrumental]]
| means or topic: 'by', 'of', 'about'
| '''''-az'''''
| '''''-ez'''''
| colspan=2 |'''''-(e)z, -(e)taz'''''
|-
! [[Comitative case|Comitative]]
| accompaniment or means: 'with'
| '''''-arekin'''''
| '''''-ekin'''''
| colspan=2 |'''''-(r)ekin'''''
|-
! [[Benefactive case|Benefactive]]
| beneficiary: 'for'
| '''''-arentzat'''''
| '''''-entzat'''''
| colspan=2 |'''''-(r)entzat'''''
|-
! [[Causal case|Causal]]
| cause, reason or value: 'because of', '(in exchange) for'
| '''''-a(ren)gatik'''''
| '''''-engatik'''''
| colspan=2 |'''''-(r)engatik'''''
|}
 
====Sets of case forms ("declensions")====
The four sets of forms, labelled 1 to 4 in the preceding tables, have the following uses and characteristics:
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
! Set
! Type
! Comments
! width=35% |
Examples
|-
! 1
| SINGULAR ARTICLE
| Represent the combination of the singular article ''-a'' with the case suffixes. There is a formal absence of any trace of the ''-a-'' [[morpheme]] in the local cases, however. The ''-(e)-'' in the local cases occurs after consonants.
|
* ''mendia, mendiak, mendiari, mendian, mendira...'' (''mendi'' 'mountain')
* ''zuhaitza, zuhaitzak, zuhaitzari, zuhaitzean, zuhaitzera...'' (''zuhaitz'' 'tree')
|-
! 2
| PLURAL ARTICLE
| Represent the combination of the plural article ''-ak'' with the case suffixes. Notice the pre-suffixal plural article [[allomorph]]s ''-eta-'' (in local cases) and ''-e-'' (elsewhere).
|
* ''mendiak, mendiek, mendiei, mendietan, mendietara...''
* ''zuhaitzak, zuhaitzek, zuhaitzei, zuhaitzetan, zuhaitzetara...''
|-
! 3
| NO ARTICLE
| Used in the absence of an article: when another determiner or quantifier is employed (''zein menditan?'' 'on which mountain?', ''zuhaitz askori'' 'to many trees') or occasionally when there is none at all (cf. ''oinez'' and ''sutan'' above). The ''-(e)-'' and ''-(r)-'', shown with some suffixes, appear following consonants and vowels, respectively.
|
* ''mendi, mendik, mendiri, menditan, menditara...''
* ''zuhaitz, zuhaitzek, zuhaitzi, zuhaitzetan, zuhaitzetara...''
|-
! 4
| PROPER NOUNS
| Used with [[proper nouns]]. They are identical to set 3 except in the local cases. This set contains the most basic form of each case suffix. The local forms ''-dik'' and ''-go'' are used after a voiced consonant except ''r''.
|
* ''Tokio, Tokiok, Tokiori, Tokion, Tokiora, Tokiotik, Tokioko...''
* ''Paris, Parisek, Parisi, Parisen, Parisa, Paristik, Parisko...''
* ''Dublin, Dublinek, Dublini, Dublinen, Dublina, Dublindik, Dublingo...''
|}
 
From the above, it may be deduced that the essential formal characteristics of the Basque cases are as shown in the following table:
{| width=30% border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Case morphemes
! colspan=2 align="center"|NUCLEAR
|-
! Absolutive
| '''''—'''''
|-
! Ergative
| '''''-k'''''
|-
! Dative
| '''''-i'''''
|-
! colspan=2 align="center"|LOCAL
|-
! Inessive
| '''''-n'''''
|-
! Allative
| '''''-(r)a'''''
|-
! Ablative
| '''''-tik'''''
|-
! Local genitive
| '''''-ko'''''
|-
! colspan=2 align="center"|OTHER
|-
! Possessive genitive
| '''''-en'''''
|-
! Instrumental
| '''''-z'''''
|-
! Comitative
| '''''-ekin'''''
|-
! Benefactive
| '''''-en-tzat'''''
|-
! Cause etc.
| '''''-en-gatik'''''
|}
 
====Declension of personal pronouns, demonstratives and ''bat, batzuk''====
 
For the most part, the application of the suffixes to any word in the language is highly regular. In this section are the main exceptions:
 
Personal pronouns and demonstratives display some irregularities in [[declension]]. The personal pronouns ''ni, hi, gu, zu'' form their possessive genitive by adding ''-re'' rather than ''-ren'': ''nire, hire, gure, zure''. They are the pronominal possessives:
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Pronominal possessives
|-
! align="center"|Singular
! align="center"|Plural
|-
|
'''''nire''''' 'my'
 
'''''hire''''' 'your (very familiar)'
 
'''''zure''''' 'your (polite or neutral)'
 
'''''haren, beraren''''' 'his, her, its
 
'''''bere''''' 'his, her, its (reflexive)'
|
'''''gure''''' 'our'
 
'''''zuen''''' 'your'
 
'''''haien, beraien''''' 'their'
 
'''''beren''''' 'their (reflexive)'
|}
 
As has been seen, the demonstratives each have three stems: one for the absolutive singular (''hau, hori, hura''), another for all other singular cases (''hon-, horr-, har-''), and one for the plural, all cases (''haue-, horie-, haie-''). In the plural, they take a ''-k'' suffix in the absolutive, as does ''batzuk'' 'some').
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Demonstratives and ''bat'' 'one', ''batzuk'' 'some'
|-
! align="center"|Singular absolutive
! align="center"|Singular other
! align="center"|Plural absolutive
! align="center"|Plural other
|-
|
'''''hau''''' 'this'
 
'''''hori''''' 'that'
 
'''''hura''''' 'that (distant)'
 
'''''bat''''' 'one, a'
|
'''''honek, honi, honetan...'''''
 
'''''horrek, horri, horretan...'''''
 
'''''hark, hari, hartan...'''''
 
'''''batek, bati, batean...'''''
|
'''''hauek'''''
 
'''''horiek'''''
 
'''''haiek'''''
 
'''''batzuk''''' 'some'
|
'''''hauek, hauei, hauetan...'''''
 
'''''horiek, horiei, horietan...'''''
 
'''''haiek, haiei, haietan...'''''
 
'''''batzuek, batzuei, batzuetan...'''''
|}
 
====Animate local cases====
 
As a rule, the local case suffixes given above are not used directly with noun phrases that refer to a person or an animal (called [[animacy|animate]] noun phrases). An inessive, allative or ablative relation affecting such noun phrases may be expressed by using the suffixes inessive ''-gan'', allative ''-gana'', and ablative ''-gandik'', affixed to either the possessive genitive or the absolutive: ''nigan'' 'in me', ''irakaslearengana'' 'to(wards) the teacher' (''irakasle'' 'teacher'), ''zaldiengandik'' 'from the horses' (''zaldi'' 'horse'), ''haur horrengandik'' 'from that child', ''Koldorengana'' 'to(wards) Koldo'.
 
====Compound case forms====
In addition to the basic case forms given above, further forms are found derived from them through the addition of further suffixes or extensions. Some of the additional forms provide for the expression of more nuanced relations; others have the same or similar meanings to the basic forms, with which they merely contrast stylistically or dialectally:
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Some compound cases
! align="center"|Basic case
! align="center"|Compound cases
|-
| '''ALLATIVE:''' ''-ra'' 'to'
|
* ''-rat'' 'to, towards'
* ''-rantz'' 'towards'
* ''-raino'' 'as far as'
* ''-rako'' 'for'
|-
| '''ABLATIVE:''' ''-tik'' 'from'
|
* ''-tikan'' same meaning
|-
| '''COMITATIVE:''' ''-ekin'' 'with'
|
* ''-ekila(n)'' same meaning
* ''-ekiko'' 'in relation to'
|-
| '''BENEFACTIVE:''' ''-entzat'' 'for'
|
* ''-entzako'' same meaning
|}
 
====Adjectival ''-ko''====
The ''-ko'' suffix (see above) may be added to some case forms to make their syntactic function adjectival.
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Examples of adjectival ''-ko'' after case suffixes
! align="center"|Case
! align="center"|Primary use
! align="center"|Adjectival use
|-
| '''Allative'''
|
* ''Errepide honek '''Bilbora''' darama.'' 'This road leads to Bilbao.'
|
* '''''Bilborako''' errepidea berria da.'' 'The Bilbao road (= road to Bilbao) is new.' [Bilbo-ra-ko: Bilbao-to-''ko'']
|-
| '''Instrumental'''
|
* ''Liburu hau '''euskaraz''' dago.'' 'This book is in Basque.'
|
* ''Badauzkate '''euskarazko''' liburuak.'' 'They have Basque-language books (= books in Basque).' [euskara-z-ko: Basque-INSTRUMENTAL-''ko'']
|-
| '''Benefactive'''
|
* ''Liburu hori '''haurrentzat''' idatzi nuen.'' 'I wrote that book for children.'
|
* '''''Haurrentzako''' liburuak idazten ditut.'' 'I write children's books (= books for children).' [haurr-entza(t)-ko: child-for.PLURAL.ART-''ko'']
|}
 
Any such adjectivalised forms may be used without an overt head noun, tgen likely to appear with a suffixed article: ''haurrentzakoa'' '(the) one for (the) children' [child-for.PLURAL.ART-''ko''-ART], ''haurrentzakoak'' '(the) ones for (the) children' [child-for.PLURAL.ART-''ko''-PLURAL.ART]. Such nominalised adjectival forms may further take case suffixes of their own: ''haurrentzakoarekin'' 'with the one for children' [child-for.PLURAL.ART-''ko''-with.ART], ''euskarazkoentzat'' 'for the ones in Basque' [Basque-INSTRUMENTAL-''ko''-for.PLURAL.ART], etc. While the potential to generate and understand (in a reasonable context) such complex forms is built into Basque grammar and perfectly intelligible to speakers, in practice, the use of such very complex constructions is not uncommon.
 
====Local cases with adverbs====
The fourth set is local case suffixes (etymologically the primary forms) incorporated into the place adverbs, which gives these following (partly irregular) forms:
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Place adverbs
|-
! rowspan=2 colspan=2|
! colspan=3 align="center"|Demonstrative
! rowspan=2 align="center"|Interrogative<br>'where?'
|-
! align="center"|'here'
! align="center"|'there (near)'
! align="center"|'there (distant)'
|-
! Inessive
| 'here, there, where?'
| '''''hemen'''''
| '''''hor'''''
| '''''han'''''
| '''''non'''''
|-
! Allative
| 'to here, to there, where to?'
| '''''hona'''''
| '''''horra'''''
| '''''hara'''''
| '''''nora'''''
|-
! Ablative
| 'from here/there, where from?', 'this/that way, which way?'
| '''''hemendik'''''
| '''''hortik'''''
| '''''handik'''''
| '''''nondik'''''
|-
! Genitive
| 'pertaining to here/there/where?'
| '''''hemengo'''''
| '''''horko'''''
| '''''hango'''''
| '''''nongo'''''
|}
 
Many other adverbs may be adjectivalised with ''-ko''. Some may take certain other case suffixes (usually from set 4), particularly ablative ''-tik/-dik'': ''atzotik'' 'since yesterday', ''urrundik'' 'from far away'.
 
===Postpositions===
Basque [[postposition]]s are items of sufficient [[Lexicon|lexical]] substance and [[Grammar|grammatical]] autonomy to be treated as separate words (unlike the case suffixes) and specifying relations. They are so called because they follow the word or phrase whose relation they express (compare [[prepositions]], which precede a word or phrase, but do not exist in Basque).
 
{|
|
Most Basque postpositions require the [[complement (linguistics)|complement]] after which they are placed to adopt a particular case form (such postpositions are sometimes said to ''govern'' a certain case). Postpositions in Basque furthermore often take a case suffix (or may take several different case suffixes) themselves. An English [[Compound (linguistics)|compound]] preposition is ''on top of'', ''of'' being comparable to the case taken by a Basque noun preceding a postposition (in this case it would be the genitive) and ''on'' is like the case suffix (inessive, in this case) taken by the postposition (to which ''top'' corresponds). The examples on the right show how Basque expresses ''on top of'' and a few other postpositional notions.
| width=50% style="background:#efefef;" |
* ''harri'''aren gainean''''' 'on top of the stone'<br>[stone-GENITIVE top-INESSIVE = of.the.stone on.top]
* ''lege'''aren arabera''''' 'according to the law'<br>[law-GENITIVE rule-ALLATIVE = of.the.law to.the.rule]
* ''euri'''ari esker''''' 'on account of the rain'<br>[rain-DATIVE thank = to.the.rain thank(s)]
* ''diru'''ari dagokionez''''' 'as regards money'<br>[money-DATIVE as-it-is-to-it]
|}
 
The most typical Basque postpositions are built on nominal structures: ''-aren gainean'' 'on top of' centres on the word ''gain'' 'top', but not all postpositional nuclei consist of nouns that can be used independently of the postpositional construction in which they participate.
 
One subset of postpositions that express spatial relationships (again exemplified by ''gainean'') have a lexical stem whose syntactic behaviour is roughly noun-like but is limited to a much narrower range of possible patterns (in the grammars of some non-European languages such elements are called ''[[relational noun]]s'' or ''relationals''). Here are some Basque relationals:
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Some relationals
|
* '''''arte-''''' 'between, among'
* '''''atze-''''' 'behind, rear'
* '''''aurre-''''' '(in) front'
* '''''azpi-''''' 'below, underside'
* '''''barru-''''' 'inside'
|
* '''''erdi-''''' 'middle'
* '''''gain-''''' '(on) top, above'
* '''''inguru-''''' 'around'
* '''''ondo-''''' 'next to, beside'
|}
 
{|
|
Typical Basque relationals can enter into two possible relations with the preceding (governed) complement: the complement is a noun phrase in a possessive genitive relation:
| width=50% style="background:#efefef;" |
* ''mendi'''aren''' gainean'' 'on top of the mountain'<br>[of.the.mountain on.top]
* ''mendi'''en''' gainean'' 'on top of the mountains'<br>[of.the.mountains on.top]
* ''mendi txiki hon'''en''' gainean'' 'on top of this small mountain'<br>[mountain small of.this on.top]
* ''ni'''re''' gainean'' 'on (top of) me'<br>[of.me/my on.top]
|-
|
or the complement is an unsuffixed noun (not a noun phrase) in a relation resembling a lexical compound:
| style="background:#efefef;" |
* ''mendi gainean'' 'on top of the mountain, on the mountain top'<br>[mountain on.top]
|-
|
In these examples, the relational (''gain-'') takes the set 1 (singular) inessive case suffix (''-(e)an''), as in ''mendiaren gain'''ean''''' and these further examples,
| colspan=2 style="background:#efefef;" |
* ''mahai(aren) azpi'''an''''' 'under the table'<br>[(of.the).table at.bottom]
* ''etxe(aren) barru'''an''''' 'inside the house'<br>[(of.the).house at.inside]
* ''begien erdi'''an''''' 'between the eyes'<br>[of.the.eyes in.middle]
|-
|
but other local case suffixes (glossed in capitals) may occur instead of the inessive as sense or usage conventions require, for example,
| style="background:#efefef;" |
* ''etxe(aren) barru'''ra''''' 'into the house'<br>[(of.the).house TO.inside]
* ''nire atze'''tik''''' 'behind me, following me'<br>[of.me/my FROM/THROUGH.back]
* ''mendi(aren) gain'''eko''' gurutzea'' 'the cross on top of the mountain'<br>[(of.the).mountain OF/PERTAINING TO.top the.cross]
|-
|
The relationals are often used in an adverbial function without a preceding complement (thus not as postpositions):
| style="background:#efefef;" |
* '''''barruan''' dago'' 'he/she/it is inside' [at.inside]
* '''''barrura''' doa'' 'he/she/it is going inside' [to.inside]
* '''''Aurrera!''''' 'Forwards! Onwards!' [to.front]
* '''''atzetik aurrera''''' 'backwards, back-to-front' [from.back to.front]
|}
 
There are a few relationals, such as ''kanpo-'' 'outside', ''goi-'' 'up' and ''behe-'' 'down', that cannot be preceded by a complement of the kind described but have an adverbial uses resembling them: ''Kanpora noa'' 'I'm going outside', ''Goian dago'' 'It is above', etc. The irregular allative of ''goi'' is ''gora'' 'up(wards)'.
 
===Comparison===
In English, the [[comparative]] and [[superlative]] of many adjectives and adverbs are formed by adding the suffixes ''-er'' and ''-est'' respectively (from ''big'', for example, ''bigger'' and ''biggest'' are formed). Basque adjectives and adverbs similarly take such suffixes, but there are three morphologically derived degrees of comparison. From ''handi'' 'big' is ''handiago'' 'bigger', ''handien(a)'' '(the) biggest' (there, ''-a'' is the article) and ''handiegi'' 'too big':
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Comparison suffixes
|-
|
* COMPARATIVE: '''''-ago''''' '-er, more...'
* SUPERLATIVE: '''''-en(a)''''' '(the) -est, most...'
* EXCESSIVE: '''''-egi''''' 'too...'
|}
 
Comparative, superlative and excessive adjectives may be used in the same syntactic frames as adjectives in the positive (basic) degree: compare ''mendi altuak'' 'high mountains' [mountain high.PLURAL.ART] and ''mendi altuagoak'' 'higher mountains' [mountain higher.PLURAL.ART]. The noun preceding a superlative often takes the partitive suffix ''-(r)ik'', either ''mendi altuenak'' or ''mendirik altuenak'' 'the highest mountains' is possible.
 
Occasionally, such suffixes may be added to other word forms: from ''gora'' 'up' (irregular allative of the relational ''goi-'', hence literally 'to above') can be formed ''gorago'' (for ''gora + -ago''), 'more up', i.e. 'higher'. Just as English has a few irregular forms of comparison such as ''better'' and ''best'' (from ''good'' or ''well''), so does Basque: ''on'' 'good' but ''hobe'' 'better'. Other ways of comparing quality or manner, in both Basque and English, involve using a separate word, such as ''hain handi'' 'so big'.
 
Special words are used to compare quantities (how much or how many of something), such as ''gehiago'' 'more', ''gehien(a)'' '(the) most', ''gehiegi'' 'too much, too many'. They follow the noun quantified: ''liburu gehiago'' 'more books', ''gatz gehiegi'' 'too much salt', and ''hainbeste'' 'so much, so many', which precedes the noun: ''hainbeste diru'' 'so much money'. All of them can also be used adverbially (comparing the extent to which something occurs or is the case): ''Ez pentsatu hainbeste!'' 'Don't think so much!'.
 
Comparisons may involve reference to a ''standard (of comparison)'': compare ''English is easier'' (no standard mentioned) to ''English is easier '''than Basque''''' (there, Basque is referred to as the standard of comparison). English puts the word ''than'' in front of the standard. In ''Fish is as expensive '''as meat''''', ''meat'' is the standard, indicated by the second ''as'' (compare ''Fish is as expensive'' or ''Fish is so expensive'', where no standard is mentioned). Comparisons of the ''as...as'' type are called ''[[equative case|equative]]''. With superlatives, as in ''Donostia is the prettiest city '''in the Basque Country''''', on the other hand, ''the Basque Country'' is not really a standard but a ''domain'' or range within which the superlative applies. The structures used in such comparisons in Basque are as follows (the second table shows examples); the word orders shown are the most common and considered basic, but certain variations are also possible.
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Comparison constructions
! rowspan=2 align="center"|
! colspan=2 align="center"|Qualitative
! colspan=2 align="center"|Quantitative
|-
! align="center"|Construction
! align="center"|Meaning
! align="center"|Construction
! align="center"|Meaning
|-
! align="center"|Comparative
| STANDARD ''baino'' COMPARATIVE
| ADJ/ADV-er than STANDARD
| STANDARD ''baino'' NOUN ''gehiago''
| more NOUN(s) than STANDARD
|-
! align="center"|Superlative
| DOMAIN''-(e)ko'' NOUN''-(r)ik'' SUPERLATIVE''-a''
| the ADJ/ADV-est NOUN in the DOMAIN
| DOMAIN''-(e)ko'' NOUN''-(r)ik gehienak''
| most NOUNs in the DOMAIN
|-
! align="center"|Equative
| STANDARD ''bezain'' ADJ/ADV
| as ADJ/ADV as STANDARD
| STANDARD ''adina'' NOUN
| as much/many NOUN(s) as STANDARD
|}
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Examples of comparison constructions
! colspan=2 align="center"|
! align="center"|Example
! align="center"|Meaning
|-
! rowspan=2 align="center"|Comparative
! align="center"|Qualitative
| ''Ingelesa euskara '''baino''' erraz'''ago'''a da.''
| 'English is easier than Basque.'
|-
! align="center"|Quantitative
| ''Zuk nik '''baino''' diru '''gehiago''' daukazu.''
| 'You've got more money than me.'
|-
! rowspan=2 align="center"|Superlative
! align="center"|Qualitative
| ''Donostia Euskal Herri'''ko''' hiri'''rik''' polit'''ena''' da.''
| 'Donostia is the prettiest city in the Basque Country.'
|-
! align="center"|Quantitative
| ''Araba'''ko''' lanpostu'''rik gehienak''' Gasteizen daude.''
| 'Most of the jobs in Araba are in Gasteiz.'
|-
! rowspan=2 align="center"|Equative
! align="center"|Qualitative
| ''Arraina haragia '''bezain''' garestia da.''
| 'Fish is as expensive as meat.'
|-
! align="center"|Quantitative
| ''Zuk nik '''adina''' lagun dituzu.''
| 'You have as many friends as I (do).'
|}
 
==Verbs==
 
{{main|Basque verbs}}
 
Although several verbal categories are expressed [[morphology (linguistics)|morphologically]], [[periphrastic]] [[grammatical tense|tense]] formations predominate. Up to three [[Verb argument|arguments]] (subject, direct object and indirect object) can be indexed morphologically on single verb forms, and further sets of [[synthetic language|synthetic]] [[allocutive]] forms make for an even more complex morphology. The verb is also an area of the language subject to a fair amount of dialectal variation. The complexity of this subject and its traditional centrality in descriptions of Basque grammar made it the subject of a separate article.
 
==Syntax==
 
===Information structure===
 
====The focus rule and the topic rule====
 
Basque word order is largely determined by the notions of [[Focus (linguistics)|focus]] and [[Topic (linguistics)|topic]] which are employed to decide how to "package" or structure the [[proposition]]al content (information) in [[utterance]]s. Focus is a [[Semantic feature|feature]] that attaches to a part of a sentence considered to contain the most important information, the "point" of the utterance. Thus in different discourse contexts the same (basic) sentence can take the focus on different parts, giving rise (in a language like Basque) to different grammatical forms. Topic, on the other hand, refers to a part of a sentence that serves to put the information it contains into context, i.e. to establish "what we are talking about". Basque [[word order]] involves in a very basic way two rules, the "focus rule" and the "topic rule", as follows:
 
* '''Focus rule:''' Whichever [[Constituent (linguistics)|constituent]] of a sentence is in focus immediately precedes the verb.
* '''Topic rule:''' A topic is emphasised by placing it at the beginning of the sentence.
 
Compare, for example:
 
{|
|width="50%"|
''TXAKURREK '''hezurrak''' jaten dituzte.''
 
'Dogs eat bones.'<br>[dog.PLURAL.ARTICLE.ERGATIVE bone.PLURAL.ARTICLE eat.IMPERFECT AUXILIARY]
* Topic: ''TXAKURREK'' 'dogs'
* Focus: '''''hezurrak''''' 'bones'
* Verb: ''jaten dituzte'' '(they) eat (them)'
|
''HEZURRAK '''txakurrek''' jaten dituzte.''
 
'Dogs eat bones,' 'Bones are eaten by dogs,' 'It is dogs who eat bones.'<br>[bone.PLURAL.ARTICLE dog.PLURAL.ARTICLE.ERGATIVE eat.IMPERFECT AUXILIARY]
* Topic: ''HEZURRAK'' 'bones'
* Focus: '''''txakurrek''''' 'dogs'
* Verb: ''jaten dituzte'' '(they) eat (them)'
|}
 
Basque is sometimes called an [[subject–object–verb|SOV]] (i.e. subject–object–verb) language, but as one can see, the order of elements in the Basque sentence is not rigidly determined by grammatical roles (such as [[Subject (grammar)|subject]] and [[Object (grammar)|object]]) and has to do with other criteria (such as focus and topic). In Basque the SOV is more common and less [[Markedness|marked]] than the OSV order, although each is appropriate in different contexts (as are other word orders). That is to say, it is more common and less marked (other things being equal) for the subject to be topic and for the object to be in focus than vice versa. This may be explained by intrinsic qualities of the concepts "subject" and "object". It is compatible with the cross-linguistic tendency for topichood to be a characteristic feature of prototypical [[Subject (grammar)|subjects]], for example.
 
====Verbal focus====
 
A possibility seemingly not taken into account by the above focus rule, which states that the focused element precedes the verb, is the circumstance wherein the verb itself is in focus. One situation in which this occurs is a [[clause]] with no (or no focused) non-verbal [[Constituent (linguistics)|constituents]], only perhaps a topic-subject, as in 'He knows' or 'John is coming' (in contexts where 'he' or 'John' are not focused). Of course there my be other constituents, as long as none of them are focused, e.g. 'She has money' (where the point of the utterance is not to tell us ''what'' she has, but whether or not she has it). This type of sentence is sometimes described as one in which what is in focus is not so much the verb as the affirmation of the [[Predicate (grammar)|predicate]]; i.e. 'She has money' does not really stand in contrast to, say, 'She eats money', but only to 'She doesn't have money'. For the present practical purpose this distinction may be ignored and the term "verbal focus" will be applied to such cases.
 
The most notable verb-focusing strategy in Basque grammar is use of the affirmative prefix ''ba-''. Attached to a synthetically [[Grammatical conjugation|conjugated]] [[finite verb]], this has the effect of putting that verb (or its affirmation, if one prefers) in focus, thereby implying that whatever (if anything) precedes the verb is not in focus. Thus the use of ''ba-'' looks as if it blocks application of the general focus rule which assigns focus to an element in pre-verbal position.
 
{|
| width=30%|
'''''Berak''' daki.'' [he.ERGATIVE (he).knows.(it)]
 
'' 'He'' knows,' 'He's the one who knows.'
* Focus: '''''berak''''' 'he'
* Verb: ''daki'' '(he) knows (it)'
| width=30%|
 
'''''Ba'''daki.'' [''ba''-(he).knows.(it)]
 
'He ''knows''.'
* Verb/Focus: '''''(ba)daki''''' '(he) knows (it)'
|width=30%|
 
''BERAK '''ba'''daki.'' (or: '''''Ba'''daki BERAK.'')
 
'(As for) him, he ''knows'',' 'He knows, (he does).'
* Topic: ''BERAK'' 'he'
* Verb/Focus: '''''(ba)daki''''' '(he) knows (it)'
|}
 
The affirmative use of ''ba-'' (not to confused with the [[Homophony (disambiguation)|homophonous]] subordinating prefix meaning 'if') is normally used with synthetic finite forms, thus also ''John badator'' or ''Badator John'' 'John is coming' (as opposed to ''John dator'' '' 'John'' is coming'), ''Badu dirua'' (or in western Basque ''Badauka dirua'') 'She has money'. In most varieties of Basque, affirmative ''ba-'' is not so used with compound [[Tense (grammar)|tenses]] or compound verbs, however.
 
To place a compound verb form (or its affirmation) in focus, it may be enough to place the main [[Stress (linguistics)|sentence stress]] (which normally goes on the focused item) on the first component of the verbal compound expression. Here it seems that the [[Auxiliary verb|auxiliary]] part of the expression is treated as representing the "verb" in the general focus rule, thereby predictably throwing the focus onto the preceding component, which is now the main verb. In western dialects an alternative procedure used to emphasise the placement of focus on the verb is to make this a [[Complement (linguistics)|complement]] of the verb ''egin'' 'do'.
 
{|
| width="30%"; |
'''''Bérak''' ikusi du.''
 
'' 'He'' has seen it,' 'He's the one who has seen it.'
* Focus: '''''berak''''' 'he'
* Verb: ''ikusi du'' '(he) has seen (it)'
| width="30%"; |
'''''Ikúsi''' du.''
 
'He has seen it (he has indeed!).'
* Verb/Focus: '''''ikusi du''''' '(he) has seen (it)'
|
''BERAK '''ikúsi''' du.'' (or: '''''Ikúsi''' du BERAK.'')
 
'(As for) him, he has (indeed) seen it.'
* Topic: ''BERAK'' 'he'
* Verb/Focus: '''''ikusi du''''' '(he) has seen (it)'
 
Western Basque alternative:
 
''(Berak) ikusi egin du.''
|}
 
====Further observations on focus and topic====
There are certain exceptions to the general focus rule:
 
{|
|width="50%"|
[[Heavy NP shift|"Heavy"]] constituents may be placed after an unfocused verb even when they are ([[Pragmatics|pragmatically]]) focused.
| style="background:#efefef;" |
''Atzo ikusi nuen '''asto bat betaurrekoekin'''.'' 'Yesterday I saw a donkey with (i.e. wearing) glasses.'
|-
|
[[Imperative mood|Imperative]] verbs often precede other constituents (except for topics).
| style="background:#efefef;" |
* '''''Ekarri''' hona bi botila ardo mesedez!'' 'Bring two bottles of wine here please!'
* ''Bihar arratsaldean, '''zatoz''' nire etxera.'' 'Tomorrow afternoon, come to my house.'
|-
|
Some [[subordinate clause]]s are exempt from certain rules. For example, an unfocused verb is allowed to occur without any focused clause constituent in such clauses.
| style="background:#efefef;" |
* '''''datorren''' astean'' 'next week' (lit. 'the week that is coming', 'the coming week')
* '''''dakigunez''''' 'as we know'
|}
 
Systematic exceptions apart, focus assignment (as defined in the preceding sections) is an obligatory feature of Basque clauses. Because it is obligatory and automatic, such focus assignment need not be pragmatically [[Markedness|marked]] and does not necessarily signify emphatic focusing or [[foregrounding]]. This observation is particularly applicable when focus is assigned in accordance with predictable or prototypical patterns, such as when the direct object takes the focus position in a transitive clause, or when the verb is formally focused in an intransitive clause.
 
In some varieties or styles of Basque, e.g. in poetic diction, one may achieve more emphatic focus (even on an object) by inverting the usual verb-auxiliary order: ''Txakurrek hezurrak dituzte jaten.'' In ordinary colloquial usage many speakers do not allow this, but some allow other such "inversions", e.g. with compound verbs (light-verb constructions), e.g. normal ''Irakaslearekin hitz egingo dut'' 'I'll speak to the teacher' (ordinary focus on ''irakaslearekin'') versus more marked ''Irakaslearekin egingo dut hitz'' (emphatic focus on ''irakaslearekin'').
 
A topic may be backgrounded (although arguably still remaining a topic) by placement at the end of a sentence rather than at the beginning, e.g. ''Hezurrak jaten dituzte txakurrek'', roughly 'They eat bones, dogs'; so also ''Ez dakit, nik'' 'I don't know', where ''nik'' is no doubt a topic of sorts since if it weren't there would be no need to mention it at all (unmarked: ''Ez dakit'').
 
====Clause-initial verbs====
 
Although the following restrictions on the placement of verbs within the clause are the outcome of the various rules already given, it may be useful to summarise those restrictions here.
 
{|
|width="50%"|
A '''finite verb form''' (a synthetically conjugative verb or auxiliary) cannot stand in absolute clause-initial position unless: (1) it is preceded by affirmative (verb-focusing) ''ba-''...
| style="background:#efefef;" |
''Badakit.'' 'I know.'
|-
|
(2) it is preceded by negative ''ez'' (see below)...
| style="background:#efefef;" |
'''''Ez dauka''' dirurik.'' 'She hasn't got any money.'
|-
|
(3) it is imperative (or optative)...
| style="background:#efefef;" |
* '''''Zatoz''' hona!'' 'Come here!'
* '''''Datorrela''' bihar.'' 'Let him come tomorrow.'
|-
|
(4) certain subordinate clauses...
| style="background:#efefef;" |
'''''datorren''' astean'' 'next week'
|-
|
A '''compound verb form''' (a verb in a compound tense or a compound verb construction) may be clause-initial in cases of verbal focus:
| style="background:#efefef;" |
* ''Ikusi (egin) du.'' 'He has seen it.'
* ''Maite nau.'' 'He loves me.'
|}
 
===Negation===
{|
| width=50% |
Negation is expressed by ''ez'' preceding the [[finite verb]] form.
| width=50% style="background:#efefef;" |
* ''John '''ez dator.''''' (Or: '''''Ez dator''' John.'') 'John is not coming.'
|-
|
If there is no finite verb in the [[clause]], such as when the [[participle]] on its own is used as an [[Imperative mood|imperative]] or in [[Non-finite verb|non-finite]] [[subordinate clause]]s, ''ez'' may precede a [[non-finite verb]]. (VN stands for [[verbal noun]] here.)
| style="background:#efefef;" |
* '''''Ez etorri'''!'' 'Do not come!'
* ''Esan nion '''ez etortzeko'''.'' 'I told him not to come.'<br>[say.PARTICIPLE AUXILIARY not come.VN-''ko'']
|-
|
There is a strong tendency for other sentence [[Constituent (linguistics)|constituents]] to ''follow'' a negated finite verb, except when [[Topic (linguistics)|topicalised]]. Thus the general focus rule (see above) does not apply with negated finite verb forms (in the same way as it doesn't apply with verbs with the affirmative ''ba-'' prefix, see also above).
| style="background:#efefef;" |
* ''Ez dauka '''dirurik'''.'' 'She hasn't got any money.'<br>[not (she).has.(it) money.ARTICLE]
* cf. ''Dirurik ez dauka.'' 'Money she hasn't got.' (here 'money' is emphatically topicalised or foregrounded)
|-
|
Compound tense forms of verbs, and also compound verbs, are negated by placing ''ez'' in front of the finite [[Auxiliary verb|auxiliary]] (or [[light verb]]); the other components of the verbal construction are normally placed ''after'' the negated finite form.
| style="background:#efefef;" |
* ''Ez du '''ikusi'''.'' 'He hasn't seen it.' [not AUXILIARY see.PARTICIPLE]<br>(cf. ''Ikusi du.'' 'He has seen it.')
* ''Johnek ez nau '''maite'''.'' 'John doesn't love me.'<br>[John.ERGATIVE not AUXILIARY love]<br>(cf. ''Johnek maite nau.'' 'John loves me.')
|-
|
In this construction the postposed verb component(s) may be separated from the finite auxiliary or light verb. Focused constituents, unless somewhat heavy, will be placed between the two.
| style="background:#efefef;" |
* ''Ez dut '''inor''' ikusi hemen.'' 'I haven't seen anyone here.'<br>[not AUXILIARY anyone see.PARTICIPLE here]
* ''Berak ez du '''John''' maite.'' 'He doesn't love John.'<br>[he.ERGATIVE not AUXILIARY John love]
* ''Ez dut irakurri '''liburu hori'''.'' 'I haven't read that book.'<br>[not AUXILIARY read.PARTICIPLE book that]
|-
|
An indefinite subject of an intransitive verb, or an indefinite direct object of a transitive verb, usually take the negative polarity article ''-(r)ik'' instead of the normal article ''-a, -ak'' in negative (or other negative-polar) sentences.
| style="background:#efefef;" |
* ''Ez dut '''dirurik''' ikusi hemen.'' 'I haven't seen any money here.'<br>[not AUXILIARY money.-''ik'' see.PARTICIPLE here]
* ''Ez dago '''urik'''.'' 'There is no water.' [not is water-''ik'']
* ''Badago '''urik'''?'' 'Is there any water?' [''ba''-is water-''ik'']
|-
|
There are no true negative pronouns (or adverbs, etc.) as such. The negative-polar pronouns etc. are used in negative contexts (and other negative-polarity contexts too). All such words may be combined directly with ''ez'' (or ''gabe'' 'without', which also has an intrinsically negative meaning). Some speakers do accept uses of negative-polar words in isolation, with ''ez'' implicit.
| style="background:#efefef;" |
* ''Ez dut '''inor''' ikusi hemen.'' 'I haven't seen anyone (I have seen no one) here.'<br>[not AUXILIARY anyone see.PARTICIPLE here]
* ''Ez dut '''ezer''' nahi.'' 'I don't want anything.'<br>[not I.have.(it) anything want]
* ''Ez dago '''inon'''.'' 'It isn't anywhere.' [not (it).is anywhere]
* ''Ba al dago '''inor'''?'' 'Is there anyone (there)?' [''ba'' INTERROGATIVE is anyone]
* ''Inor (ez)!'' 'No one!' [anyone (not)]
* '''''Ezer gabe''' etorri da.'' 'He has come without anything.' [anything without come.PARTICIPLE AUXILIARY]
|}
 
===Questions===
 
{|
| width=50% |
Yes-no [[question]]s either take the same form as the corresponding statement, or incorporate a question [[Marker (linguistics)|marker]].
| width=50% style="background:#efefef;" |
* ''John ikusi duzu?'' or ''John ikusi '''al''' duzu?'' 'Have you seen John?'<br>[John see.PARTICIPLE (''al'') AUXILIARY]
* ''Badaki?'' or ''Ba '''al''' daki?'' 'Does he know?' [''ba'' (''al'') he.knows.it]
|}
 
There are two question markers: ''al'' for straightforward yes-no questions, and ''ote'' for tentative questions of any kind (yes-no or not). Both ''al'' and ''ote'' are placed immediately in front of the [[finite verb]] form. The question marker ''al'' is not used pan-dialectally. In some dialects the same function is performed by a suffix ''-a'' attached to the finite verb form (thus the equivalents of the above examples are ''John ikusi duzu(i)a?'' and ''Badakia?''). Still other dialects lack either interrogative ''al'' or interrogative ''-a''.
 
{|
| width=50% |
See Negation above concerning the use of [[negative polarity item]]s; these may occur in yes-no questions.
| width=50% style="background:#efefef;" |
* ''Badator '''inor'''?'' 'Is anyone coming?' [''ba''-(he).comes anyone]
* '''''Ardorik''' edan duzu?'' 'Have you drunk any wine?'<br>[wine-''ik'' drink.PARTICIPLE AUXILIARY]
|-
| width=50% |
In choice questions, 'or' is either ''ala'' or ''edo'', although the former is often taught as more correct.
| width=50% style="background:#efefef;" |
* ''Zer nahiago duzu, beltza '''ala''' gorria?'' 'What do you prefer, red wine or rosé?' (lit. 'black or red')
|}
 
{| border="1" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" class="wikitable" style="margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
|+ Question words (see also Pronouns and adverbs)
|
* '''''nor''''' 'who'
* '''''zer''''' 'what'
* '''''zein''''' 'which'
* '''''zenbat''''' 'how many'
|
* '''''non''''' 'where'
* '''''noiz''''' 'when'
* '''''nola''''' 'how'
* '''''zergatik''''' 'why'
|}
 
[[Word order]] in wh-questions (i.e. those with question words) is fully accounted for by the general rules of Basque word order, granted a further rule for Basque (shared by many other languages) which states that [[interrogative word]]s and phrases (e.g. ''nor'' 'who?', ''zein etxe zuritan?'' 'in which white house?', ''zenbat diru'' 'how much money?', etc.) are obligatorily focused.
 
{|
| width=50% |
Therefore, wh-expressions must immediately precede the verb, and none of the verb-focusing constructions are possible (since these would result in moving the focus away from the wh-expression).
| width=50% style="background:#efefef;" |
* '''''Zer''' da hau?'' 'What is this?'
* '''''Nora''' zoaz?'' 'Where are you going?'
* '''''Nora''' joango zara?'' 'Where will you go?'
* '''''Non''' bizi da zure laguna?'' 'Where does your friend live?'
* '''''Zenbat etxetan''' bizi izan zara zure bizitzan?'' 'How many houses have you lived in in <!--NOT a mistake!-->your life?'
* NOT: *'''''Nora''' bazoaz?'' 'Where are you going?' (because ''ba-'' focuses ''zoaz'', the verb, but ''nora'', the question word, needs to have the focus)
|-
|
The interrogative phrase is often placed first, but as in other sentences, topics may be foregrounded through fronting and so precede the wh-expression; such constructions are fairly common in Basque.
| style="background:#efefef;" |
* '''''Hau''' zer da?'' 'What is ''this''?'
* ''Eta '''zure laguna''' non bizi da?'' 'And your friend, where does she live?'
* '''''Zure bizitzan''' zenbat etxetan bizi izan zara?'' 'In your life how many houses have you lived in?'
|}
 
{{zirriborroa}}
"https://eu.wikipedia.org/wiki/Euskal_gramatika"(e)tik eskuratuta