Demonstratives in Basque

Overview

Basque has a three-way demonstrative system based on distance from the speaker and listener. This is richer than English, which only has "this" and "that." In Basque, hau means "this" (near the speaker), hori means "that" (near the listener), and hura means "that over there" (far from both). Each has a corresponding plural form.

Demonstratives in Basque can function as both adjectives (modifying a noun) and pronouns (standing alone). When used as adjectives, they follow the noun. When used as pronouns, they stand alone as the subject or object of a sentence. This three-way system mirrors the three-way system of place adverbs (hemen/hor/han) and personal pronouns.

At the A1 level, demonstratives are essential for pointing things out, asking "what is this?", and making basic identifications.

How It Works

Distance	Singular	Plural	Equivalent
Near speaker	hau (this)	hauek (these)	here (hemen)
Near listener	hori (that)	horiek (those)	there (hor)
Far from both	hura (that)	haiek (those)	over there (han)

As adjective (after noun):

Example	Meaning
liburu hau	this book
etxe hori	that house
mendi hura	that mountain (over there)
liburu hauek	these books

As pronoun (standing alone):

Example	Meaning
Hau nirea da.	This is mine.
Hori zer da?	What is that?
Hura Jon da.	That is Jon.

Declined forms (demonstratives take case endings):

Case	hau	hori	hura
Absolutive	hau	hori	hura
Ergative	honek	horrek	hark
Dative	honi	horri	hari
Genitive	honen	horren	haren

Examples in Context

Basque	English	Note
Hau nire liburua da.	This is my book.	Pronoun use
Hori zer da?	What is that?	Asking about nearby object
Haiek nire lagunak dira.	Those are my friends.	Far plural
Liburu hauek interesgarriak dira.	These books are interesting.	Adjective, plural
Gizon hori nor da?	Who is that man?	Adjective after noun
Honek egin du.	This one did it.	Ergative demonstrative
Hau gustatzen zait.	I like this.	As direct argument
Hori ez da egia.	That is not true.	Negation with demonstrative
Mendi hura oso altua da.	That mountain is very tall.	Distant reference
Hauek zureak dira?	Are these yours?	Plural question

Common Mistakes

Confusing hori (that) with hori (yellow)

• Wrong: Misreading hori in context
• Right: Context clarifies: Etxe hori = that house, etxe horia = the yellow house
• Why: The demonstrative hori (that) follows the noun without an article suffix, while the adjective hori (yellow) takes -a: horia.

Placing demonstratives before the noun

• Wrong: hau liburua
• Right: liburu hau
• Why: When used as adjectives, demonstratives follow the noun in Basque. Note that the noun loses its article suffix when a demonstrative is present.

Forgetting to decline demonstratives

• Wrong: Hau egin du. (meaning "this one did it")
• Right: Honek egin du.
• Why: When the demonstrative is the agent of a transitive verb, it must be in the ergative case: honek (this one, as agent).

Practice Tips

1. Practice the three-way system by pointing to objects at different distances: Hau liburua da (near me), Hori aulkia da (near you), Hura mahaia da (over there).
2. Learn the declined forms gradually. Start with absolutive (hau/hori/hura), then ergative (honek/horrek/hark), as these are the most common.

Related Concepts

• Articles and Determiners