Reflective Verbs 1
32 Reflective Verbs 1
Grammar: Reflective Verbs
A few intransitive verbs are used reflectively, for example, the verb “gustatu” (to please) is used reflectively to mean “to like”.
So to say “Do you like it?” you would say “(Zuri hura) gustatzen zaizu?” (Is it pleasing to you?).
Pronouns, such as “zuri” & “hura”, are not normally used in common speech, as the verb tells who the subject and indirect object are
and including pronouns makes it rather emphatic, (Is it pleasing to YOU. (not to someone else))
but they will be used in the course to teach and reinforce the pronouns.
The Sentence structure for dative sentences is normally Indirect object + Subject + (Direct Object) + main verb + dative from of the auxiliary verb,
with the direct object only being present for transitive verbs.
So the sentence structure for “(Zuri hura) gustatzen zaizu?” is the Indirect object: zuri (to you) + the Subject: hura(it)
- the main verb: gustatzen + the dative of the auxiliary verb: zaizu.
However, the order can be modified based on what the speaker wants to emphasis.
For this verb, the item being liked can come before the verbs or after, but can’t come between,
so I like coffee.(Coffee is pleasing to me.) can be “(Niri)Kafea gustatzen zait.” or “(Niri) Gustatzen zait kafea.”
or for plural objects I like owls (Owls are pleasing to me.) (Niri)Hontzak gustatzen zaizkit or (Niri)gustatzen zaizkit hontzak.
For negative sentences, the order is, again, changed and “ez” needs to be next to the conjugated verb.
“(Niri) Ez zait gustatzen.” or “(Niri) Gustatzen ez zait.” (I don’t like it./It is not pleasing to me.)
“(Niri) Ez zaizkit gustatzen.” or “(Niri) Gustatzen ez zaizkit.” (I don’t like them./They are not pleasing to me.).
While “ez” and the verb must be together, other elements can be moved to show emphasis, so “I don’t like snakes./Snakes are not pleasing to me.” can be
“(Niri) Sugeak ez zaizkit gustatzen.” or “(Niri) Ez zaizkit sugeak gustatzen.” or “(Niri) Ez zaizkit gustatzen sugeak.”
Other reflective verbs that take the dative include: interesatu (interested in), kostatu (cost)), iruditu (seemed), berdin(same),gelditu (remained, left).
32.1 Grammar: NORI Verb Construction (Dative)
- When intransitive verbs are used in the dative case, there are only normally only two (NOR) subjects used he/she/it, which have the prefix “za”
- or they, which has the prefix “zaizk”.
- A NORI suffix is then added to form the dative verb (to me -it, to you -izu, to him, her -io, to us -igu, to you (plural) -izue, to them -ie)
- Single indirect single object(za-)/Plural indirect plural object (zaizk-)
- niri zait/zaizkit
- zuri zaizu/zaizkizu
- hari zaio/zaizkio
- guri zaigu/zaizkigu
- zuei zaizue/zaizkizue
- haiei zaie/zaizkie
Reflective Verbs 1
- zuri: to you
- zuei: to you plural
- (niri) zait: it is to me
- (zuri) zaizu: it is to you
- (hari) zaio: it is to him/her/it
- (guri) zaigu: it is to us
- (zuei) zaizue: it is to you(plural)
- (haiei) zaie: it is to them
- gustatuko: will like (will be pleasing)
- gustatzen: like (is pleasing)
- gustatu: liked (was pleasing)