When? Time markers (gaur, atzo, gaur goizean)
To properly recount what happened, you need to say when. This lesson gives you the markers that combine with the recent past to anchor actions in time.
Basic markers
| Basque | English |
|---|---|
| gaur | today |
| atzo | yesterday |
| bihar | tomorrow |
| etzi | the day after tomorrow |
| orain | now |
| oraintxe | right now |
| lehen | before |
| gero | later, after |
If you’ve noticed, atzo (yesterday) and bihar (tomorrow) are two words so short you can learn them in one go. Etzi (the day after tomorrow) is a word that Spanish doesn’t have in a single piece — a small gift from Basque.
Combining with times of day
The markers combine with goizean, arratsaldean, gauean and others from the previous unit. The formula is: marker + part of the day.
| Basque | English |
|---|---|
| gaur goizean | this morning / today in the morning |
| gaur eguerdian | today at noon |
| gaur arratsaldean | this afternoon |
| gaur gauean | tonight |
| atzo goizean | yesterday morning |
| atzo arratsaldean | yesterday afternoon |
| atzo gauean | last night |
| bihar goizean | tomorrow morning |
Attention: gaur gauean is “tonight” (the night ahead of you or the one you are currently in); atzo gauean is “last night”. Basque makes a very clear distinction.
Frequency and times
| Basque | English |
|---|---|
| behin | once |
| bi aldiz | twice |
| hiru aldiz | three times |
| askotan | often, many times |
| batzuetan | sometimes |
| inoiz ez | never |
| gaur goizetik | since this morning |
| aste honetan | this week |
| hilabete honetan | this month |
Sentences with the recent past and markers
Gaur goizean lanera joan naiz autoz. — This morning I went to work by car.
Gaur arratsaldean Mikelekin egon naiz. — This afternoon I was with Mikel.
Gaur oso berandu esnatu naiz. — Today I woke up very late.
Gaur eguerdian etxean bazkaldu dut. — Today at noon I had lunch at home.
Aste honetan bi aldiz egon naiz zinean. — This week I have been to the cinema twice.
Sentence order
In Basque, the typical order of a sentence with a time marker is:
WHEN + WHERE + WHAT + VERB
Gaur goizean + euskaltegian + euskara + ikasi dut. — This morning I studied Basque at the euskaltegi.
It’s not the only possibility — Basque allows you to move the elements to add emphasis — but if you follow this order, you can’t go wrong.
Mini-conversation
— Eta gaur zer egin duzu, Maialen?
— Gaur goizean lanera joan naiz oinez. Eguerdian lagunekin bazkaldu dut tabernan. Arratsaldean etxera bueltatu naiz eta liburua irakurri dut. Gauean ez dut afaldu, asko jan baitut bazkarian.
Note: gaur covers the entire current day. If you want to be more specific, add the time of day (gaur goizean, gaur arratsaldean). In normal conversations, Zer egin duzu gaur? is understood as “what have you done today in general?”.
Ejercicios
"Atzo arratsaldean" means…
You want to say "This morning I had breakfast at home". How do you say it?
Distinguish: "askotan" vs "behin". What do they mean?
The day after tomorrow = (fill in the word).