Tell us about your day today (wrap-up lesson)

This lesson brings together all the material from the unit: recent past with both auxiliaries, time markers, parts of the day, and everyday verbs. The goal is for you to be able to tell about your whole day.

The mental framework

To tell about your day, follow this path:

1. When you woke up → Gaur ___etan esnatu naiz.
2. What you did in the morning → Goizean …
3. How you got somewhere → Lanera / euskaltegira oinez / autoz / autobusez joan naiz.
4. What you ate / drank → Bazkaltzeko ___ jan dut. ___ edan dut.
5. What you did in the afternoon → Arratsaldean …
6. When and how you went to bed → Gauean ___etan oheratu naiz.

Model: Maialen’s day

Gaur goizeko zazpietan esnatu naiz. Berehala jaiki naiz eta dutxatu naiz. Gosaltzeko, kafesnea hartu dut eta tostadak jan ditut. Ondoren, etxetik atera naiz eta euskaltegira oinez joan naiz. Goizean euskara ikasi dut eta lagunekin hitz egin dut.

Eguerdian etxera bueltatu naiz. Bazkaltzeko, entsalada eta arraina jan ditut. Gero, lo-kuluxka egin dut.

Arratsaldean erosketak egin ditut: ogia, fruta eta esnea erosi ditut. Ondoren, lagun batekin kafea hartu dut tabernan.

Etxean afaldu dut, telebista pixka bat ikusi dut eta hamaiketan oheratu naiz.

Approximate translation:

Today I woke up at seven in the morning. I got up right away and took a shower. For breakfast I had coffee with milk and ate toast. Then I left the house and walked to the euskaltegi. In the morning I studied Basque and talked with classmates.

At midday I went back home. For lunch I had salad and fish. Then I took a nap.

In the afternoon I did the shopping: I bought bread, fruit, and milk. Afterwards I had coffee with a friend at the bar.

I had dinner at home, watched a bit of TV, and went to bed at eleven.

Your turn

Follow the same template but with your own real information. Check these two things as you write:

1. Is the verb transitive or intransitive? If it has an object → dut/duzu/du… (with subject -k). If not → naiz/zara/da…
2. Is the action habitual or recent past? Habitual = -tzen/-ten + auxiliary. Recent past = participle without suffix + auxiliary.

Common mistakes to avoid

Incorrect	Correct	Why
Goizean joan dut	Goizean joan naiz	Joan is intransitive, it goes with izan (naiz).
Mikel egunkaria irakurri da	Mikelek egunkaria irakurri du	Irakurri is transitive: subject with -k, auxiliary du.
Gaur gosaltzen dut etxean	Gaur gosaldu dut etxean	If you want recent past, drop the -tzen.
Atzo lanera joan naiz	Atzo lanera joan nintzen (full past)	With atzo and other already-closed periods you use the full past; the recent past is for today.

Note: for actions from yesterday you use the full past (joan nintzen, jan nuen), which belongs to the A2 level. At A1, focus on telling about today with the recent past; if you ever say atzo joan naiz people will understand you, but the standard form is atzo joan nintzen.

Combining it with the habitual

This is key: the two systems coexist and are often mixed within the same conversation.

Egunero zazpietan esnatzen naiz, baina gaur zazpi eta erdietan esnatu naiz. — Every day I wake up at seven, but today I woke up at half past seven.

Normalean kafea hartzen dut, baina gaur tea hartu dut. — I usually have coffee, but today I had tea.

Knowing how to alternate is the foundation of the A1 level: if you master the two forms and the two auxiliaries, you already have the backbone of everyday spoken Basque.

To finish: the best way to lock all of this in is to tell about your day out loud every night before going to bed, for a week. If you’re missing a word, look it up — but the mental exercise of putting it all into Basque is what automates the NOR/NOR-NORK system. Aurrera!