Zehar-galderak — I don't know if he/she will come

Until now, you asked directly: Etorriko da? Now you’ll learn to ask indirectly: I don’t know if he/she will come, ask him/her if he/she has time. These are the zehar-galderak (indirect questions), and their trick is a single letter: -n.

The rule: the auxiliary takes -n

Direct	Indirect
Etorriko da?	Ez dakit etorriko den
Nor da?	Ez dakit nor den
Non dago?	Ez dakit non dagoen
Zer nahi du?	Ez dakit zer nahi duen
Denborarik dauka?	Galdetu ea denborarik daukan

How to attach the -n: da → den · dago → dagoen · du → duen · dauka → daukan · gara → garen · dute → duten. (If it ends in a vowel, -n; otherwise, -en. Your ear will get it on its own in a couple of days.)

”Ea” — the wildcard word

For yes/no questions, Basque adds ea (= “let’s see if / if”):

Galdetu diot ea gurekin bazkalduko duen. — I’ve asked him/her if he/she will have lunch with us.

Ikusiko dugu ea eguraldi ona egiten duen. — We’ll see if the weather is good.

Ea garaiz iristen garen! — Let’s see if we arrive on time!

That last standalone ea…! is pure spoken Basque: desire + suspense in one word.

The verbs that require them

English	Basque
I don’t know if…	Ez dakit … -(e)n
Do you know if…?	Badakizu … -(e)n?
Ask him/her if…	Galdetu (iezaiozu) ea … -(e)n
I don’t remember if…	Ez naiz gogoratzen … -(e)n
I’m not sure if…	Ez nago ziur … -(e)n

In action

— Badakizu zer ordutan hasten den kontzertua?

— Ez, baina Aneri galdetuko diot ea dakien.

— Eta ea sarrerarik geratzen den ere galdetu, mesedez!

— Lasai. Ea zorte ona dugun!

The contrast with -la (the false friend)

Don’t confuse the indirect question with the indirect statement (unit 04):

Esan dit etorriko dela. — He/she told me that he/she will come. (statement → -la)

Galdetu dit ea etorriko den. — He/she asked me if I will come. (question → -n)

That = -la · If = (ea) -n. With that cheat sheet, this lesson is in the bag.