What have you done today? — the recent past
In Basque, to talk about what you have done recently — especially today — you use the orainaldi burutua (literally “present perfect”), which is equivalent to I have eaten / I have gone in English. This is what is known as the recent past.
The formula is very simple
Partizipioa + auxiliary (izan or ukan)
Compared with the habitual aspect you saw in the previous unit, the only thing that changes is that the verb goes without -tzen / -ten:
| Habitual | Recent past | English |
|---|---|---|
| gosaltzen dut | gosaldu dut | I have breakfast → I have had breakfast |
| jaten dut | jan dut | I eat → I have eaten |
| joaten naiz | joan naiz | I go → I have gone |
| etortzen naiz | etorri naiz | I come → I have come |
| ikusten dut | ikusi dut | I see → I have seen |
It is the same difference as in English between the habitual present and the present perfect:
- Egunero euskaltegira joaten naiz. — Every day I go to the euskaltegi.
- Gaur goizean euskaltegira joan naiz. — This morning I have gone to the euskaltegi.
The most natural question
— Zer egin duzu gaur? — What have you done today?
— Lan egin dut, eta gero zinera joan naiz. — I have worked, and then I have gone to the cinema.
Notice the two forms: lan egin dut (with dut because “to work” takes an object in Basque) and joan naiz (with naiz because “to go” does not take an object).
The two auxiliaries — quick review
With izan (NOR) — naiz / zara / da / gara / zarete / dira
| Pronoun | Auxiliary | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ni (I) | naiz | joan naiz (I have gone) |
| zu (you) | zara | etorri zara (you have come) |
| hura (he/she) | da | esnatu da (he/she has woken up) |
| gu (we) | gara | joan gara (we have gone) |
| zuek (you, pl.) | zarete | etorri zarete (you have come) |
| haiek (they) | dira | joan dira (they have gone) |
With ukan (NOR-NORK) — dut / duzu / du / dugu / duzue / dute
| Pronoun | Auxiliary | Example |
|---|---|---|
| nik (I) | dut | jan dut (I have eaten) |
| zuk (you) | duzu | ikusi duzu (you have seen) |
| hark (he/she) | du | erosi du (he/she has bought) |
| guk (we) | dugu | egin dugu (we have done) |
| zuek (you, pl.) | duzue | jan duzue (you have eaten) |
| haiek (they) | dute | ikusi dute (they have seen) |
Mini-conversation
— Kaixo Maialen! Zer moduz?
— Ondo. Eta zu? Zer egin duzu gaur?
— Lan egin dut goizean, eta arratsaldean lagun batekin kafea hartu dut.
— Polita. Ni gaur ez naiz lanera joan, gaixo egon naiz.
Game-plan summary: the whole trick lies in knowing which auxiliary each verb uses (we will see this in the next two lessons) and keeping the partizipio without the habitual marker -tzen/-ten.
Ejercicios
"Zer egin duzu gaur?" means…
Compare: "egunero gosaltzen dut" vs "gaur gosaldu dut". What is the difference?
I have eaten = jan (auxiliary for "I + object").
I have gone = joan (auxiliary for "I" without an object).