Colloquial Basque: A Complete Language Course by Begotxu Olaizola Elordi & Alan R. King

Author:Begotxu Olaizola Elordi & Alan R. King [Elordi, Begotxu Olaizola]
Language: eng
Format: azw3
ISBN: 9781317305644
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Published: 2015-08-27T04:00:00+00:00

Genitive -ko and the local cases

Study these sentences:

Hau Donostiako autobusa da. This is the Donostia bus.

Garaiko berdura freskoak dituzte salgai. They have green vegetables of the season for sale.

Elin Bangorkoa da. Elin is from Bangor.

Nongoa zara? Where are you from?

We have already seen how -ko can be added to words like gaur ‘today’, euskaraz ‘in Basque’, and so on, i.e. to adverbs and adverbial expressions, giving to these an adjectival function (page 115). But -ko is also often added to nouns and noun phrases with a genitive function. It is sometimes translatable by of, although as the above examples show this is not always the case.

Genitive -ko has a range of forms paralleling those of the ‘local’ cases, namely -n ‘in/on/at’, -ra ‘to’ and -tik ‘from’. It is therefore sometimes called the ‘local genitive’ to distinguish it from the possessive suffix -(r)en . This is a good place to give the endings of all the main ‘local’ cases, including genitive -ko:

‘In/on/at’ ‘To’ ‘From’ Genitive

Proper names

Ending in a consonant -en -(er)a (e)tik/- dik -(e)ko/-go

Ending in a vowel -n -ra -tik -ko

Singular article

Ending in a consonant -ean -era -etik dik -eko

Ending in a vowel -an -ra -tik -ko

Plural article -etan -etara -etatik -etako

Genitive -ko , like possessive -(r)en , precedes the noun, and may also appear in predicative or headless structures. The most difficult question is when to use -ko and when to use -(r)en: this is something even Basques disagree about occasionally! If place or time is involved, use -ko: etxeko andrea ‘housewife, lady of the house’, garaiko fruta ‘fruit of the season’. If possession or a characteristic is expressed, use -(r)en: emakumearen etxea ‘the woman's house’, etxearen kolorea ‘the colour of the house’. Above all, never use -ko with animate possessors: for example emakumearen, not ‘emakumeko’, for ‘the woman's, of the woman’.

Exercise 2 Complete the translations of these sentences by choosing between the -(r)en and -ko alternatives shown. Give reasons.

1 What are the good points of small shops, (of) the supermarket, and (of) the market? Zein dira ———— aide onak?

(a) denda txikien, supermerkatuaren eta azokaren

(b) denda txikietako, supermerkatuko eta azokako

2 Every day I pop down to the shop next door in order to buy something. Egunero ———— dendara jaisten naiz zerbait erostera.

(a) aldamenaren

(b) aldameneko

3 Many of Zarautz's shopkeepers are Basque speakers. ———— dendari asko euskaldunak dira.

(a) Zarautzen

(b) Zarauzko

4 You will have to answer the shopkeepers’ questions. ———— galderak erantzun beharko dituzu.

(a) Dendarien

(b) Dendarietako

5 Prices in the small shops are not always the cheapest. ———— prezioak ez dira beti merkeenak (izaten).

(a) Denden

(b) Dendetako

6 You should go to see the things in the market. ———— gauzak ikustera joan beharko zenuke.

(a) Azokaren

(b) Azokako

7 The farmers at the tables sell their vegetables. ———— baserritarrek beren barazkiak saltzen dituzte.

(a) Mahaien

(b) Mahaietako

8 I'm going to buy this woman's fish. ———— arraina erosiko dut.

(a) Emakume honen

(b) Emakume honetako

9 Which things are cheaper, those at the market or those in the shops? Zein gauza dira merkeagoak, ————

(a) azokarenak ala dendenak?

(b) azokakoak ala dendetakoak?

10 Where did you leave Monday's

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