Deklinabidea osatzen — new A2 declensions
This integrative lesson reviews four new declensions that A2 adds to the A1 repertoire (NOR, NORK, NORI, NON, NOREN, NORA, NONDIK, NOREKIN). These are the ones that appear on any A2 exam and complete the Basque “rose”.
NORENTZAT — for whom (destinative)
-(r)entzat on the definite noun
| Noun | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| niretzat | niretzat | for me |
| zuretzat | zuretzat | for you |
| beretzat / harentzat | beretzat | for him/her |
| guretzat | guretzat | for us |
| zuentzat | zuentzat | for you (pl.) |
| haientzat | haientzat | for them |
| Lander | Landerrentzat | for Lander |
| the mother | amarentzat | for the mother |
| the friends | lagunentzat | for the friends |
Hau zuretzat da. — This is for you.
Opari bat erosi dut Garazirentzat. — I have bought a gift for Garazi.
Liburu hau gazte ikasleentzat da. — This book is for the young students.
Variant: there is also the form -(r)endako, synonymous in many dialects: Garazirendako, niretzako/niretako. The standard form is -rentzat.
NORAINO — up to (limit)
-(r)aino on the noun (follows the NORA rule: vowel → +raino, consonant → +eraino)
| English | Basque |
|---|---|
| Up to the mountain | mendiraino |
| Up to Bilbao | Bilboraino |
| Up to here | honaino |
| Up to where | noraino |
| Up to the summit | tontorreraino |
Korrika egin dugu plazaraino. — We ran up to the square.
Bilboraino etorri zen eta gero itzuli. — He/She came up to Bilbao and then returned.
NORANTZ — towards (direction)
-(r)antz on the noun (same pattern as NORA)
| English | Basque |
|---|---|
| Towards the mountain | mendirantz |
| Towards home | etxerantz |
| Towards the south | hegorantz |
| Towards you | zurantz |
Etxerantz abiatu nintzen. — I headed towards home.
Itsasorantz dago etxea. — The house faces towards the sea.
Difference with NORA (-ra): NORA indicates a specific destination (“I’m going to Bilbao”); NORANTZ indicates an approximate direction (“I’m going towards Bilbao”, with no guarantee of arriving).
ZERGATIK / NORENGATIK — because of (motive)
To ask for the reason: zergatik? (why?). To answer with a noun: -engatik.
| Noun | Form | English |
|---|---|---|
| nigatik | nigatik | because of me (cause) |
| zugatik | zugatik | because of you |
| beragatik / harengatik | beragatik | because of him/her |
| Lander | Landerrengatik | because of Lander |
| the mother | amarengatik | because of the mother |
| love | maitasunarengatik | because of love |
| the rain | euriagatik | because of the rain |
Eskerrik asko etorri zarelako, niregatik! — Thank you for coming, for me!
Berandu iritsi nintzen trafikoarengatik. — I arrived late because of the traffic.
Zergatik egin duzu hori? — Zugatik. — Why did you do that? — Because of you.
Note: distinguish -engatik (cause: “because of”) from -rentzat (recipient: “for”). In Spanish, “por” covers both, but in Basque they are different.
NONGO / NOIZKO — of what place / time
You already saw NON (-an: in) in A1. NONGO and NOIZKO turn a place or a time into a modifier (attribute):
| English | Basque |
|---|---|
| The people from Bilbao | Bilboko jendea |
| The museum in Donosti | Donostiako museoa |
| Today’s newspaper | Gaurko egunkaria |
| Tomorrow’s exam | Biharko azterketa |
| The July festival | Uztaileko jaia |
This is the NONGO/NOIZKO case (-ko / -tako after a consonant): ‘from where’ / ‘from when’ in an attributive sense.
| Form | What for |
|---|---|
| -ko singular | Bilboko, etxeko, gaurko |
| -etako plural | etxeetako, mendietako, urteetako |
Atzoko afaria ona zen. — Yesterday’s dinner was good.
Bilboko etxebizitzak garestiak dira. — The housing in Bilbao is expensive.
Mendietako loreak ederrak dira. — The flowers from the mountains are beautiful.
Mini-summary table
| Case | Suffix | Question | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| NORENTZAT | -rentzat | for whom? | Garazirentzat |
| NORAINO | -raino | up to where? | Bilboraino |
| NORANTZ | -rantz | towards where? | etxerantz |
| NORENGATIK | -engatik | because of whom/what? | euriagatik |
| NONGO | -ko | from where (attribute)? | Donostiako |
| NOIZKO | -ko / -tako | from when? | gaurko, atzoko |
Integrative mini-text
Joan den astean Bilboraino joan ginen autobusez. Helmuga: hiriko museorako sarrera bana erostea. Bilboko jendea oso jatorra izan zen. Buelta hartzeko, taxi bat hartu genuen etxerantz: euri-jasa hain handia zen, ezen autoa euriagatik hondatu zen. Azkenean, ordu bat beranduago iritsi ginen Donostiako geltokira. Hori bai, etxean opari bat zegoen zain: niretzat, ama maitearen partez.
Visual review: the A2 rose
Now you can handle all the basic cases:
| Case | Question | Suffix | Example (etxe) |
|---|---|---|---|
| NOR | who? | -a | etxea |
| NORK | who does? | -ak | etxeak (sujeto) |
| NORI | to whom? | -ari | etxeari |
| NON | where? | -an | etxean |
| NORA | to where? | -ra | etxera |
| NONDIK | from where? | -tik | etxetik |
| NOREKIN | with whom? | -arekin | etxearekin |
| NOREN | whose? | -aren | etxearen |
| NONGO | from where (att.)? | -ko | etxeko |
| NORENTZAT | for whom? | -arentzat | etxearentzat |
| NORAINO | up to where? | -raino | etxeraino |
| NORANTZ | towards where? | -rantz | etxerantz |
| NORENGATIK | because of whom? | -arengatik | etxearengatik |
| -ZAZ / -Z | instrumental | -z | etxez |
| -RIK | partitive (negation) | -rik | etxerik (ez dago) |
A2 Challenge: write a sentence for each case using the noun Garazi. You’ll see how the whole machinery of Basque works on a single person.
Pedagogical note: these declensions are the “gateway to B1”: if you master them, you can already build sentences rich in information (destination, motive, attribute, direction). In B1, the abstract uses are explored more deeply, and a few more are added (instrumental with causal value, extended partitive).
Ejercicios
"Lagunarentzat opari bat erosi dut" means…
What does "Bilboraino joan zen" mean?
Towards the mountain = mendi .
Because of the friend = lagun .