Tell about your day today (review lesson)

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

The mental outline

To talk 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 went 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.

Example: 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.

Rough 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 home and walked to the euskaltegi. In the morning, I studied Basque and talked with classmates.

At noon, I returned home. For lunch, I ate salad and fish. Then I took a nap.

In the afternoon, I did the shopping: I bought bread, fruit, and milk. Afterward, 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 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 a -k subject). If not → naiz/zara/da…
2. Is the action habitual or recent past? Habitual = -tzen/-ten + auxiliary. Recent past = participle without a 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 the recent past, don’t use -tzen.
Atzo lanera joan naiz	Atzo lanera joan nintzen (simple past)	With atzo and other completed time periods, the simple past is used; the recent past is for today.

Note: for yesterday’s actions, the simple past is used (joan nintzen, jan nuen), which is typical of the A2 level. At A1, focus on talking about today with the recent past; if you ever say atzo joan naiz you will be understood, but the standard is atzo joan nintzen.

Combining it with the habitual

This is key: the two systems coexist and are often mixed in 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 seven thirty.

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

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

To finish: the best way to solidify all this is to recount 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!