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How does Basque verb agreement change when speaking familiarly to a man or a woman?
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Basque language
Extent of the Basque language area
In the Basque language, verb agreement changes through the use of obligatory allocutive forms when addressing someone using the familiar pronoun hi ("you"). In these instances, all nonsubordinate verbs must inflect to agree with the gender of the person being addressed.1
For example, the statement "I don't know" is expressed differently depending on the gender of the listener:
- Unmarked (neutral): ez dakit1
- Male addressee: ez zekiat1
- Female addressee: ez zekinat1
This grammatical feature ensures that the verb reflects the sex of the interlocutor, a unique characteristic of Basque syntax. In certain northeastern dialects, this type of addressee agreement also extends to the zu (singular polite) form of address.1