Taqbaylit - Grammar - Verbs

Verbs

Verbs are conjugated for three tenses : the Preterite (past), intensive Aorist (present perfect, present continuous, past continuous) and the future (Ad+Aorist). Unlike other Berber languages, the aorist alone is rarely used in Kabyle (In the other languages it is used to express the present).

• "Weak verbs" have a preterite form that is the same as their aorist. Examples of weak verbs that follow are conjugated at the first person of the singular:

• "Strong verbs" or "irregular verbs":

Verbs are conjugated for person by adding affixes. These suffixes are static and identical for all tenses (only the theme changes). The epenthetic vowel e may be inserted between the affix and the verb. Verbs are always marked for subject and may also inflect for person of direct and indirect object.

Examples

« Yuɣ-it. » – "He bought it." (He.bought-it)

« Yenna-yas. » – "He said to him." (He.said-to.him)

« Yefka-yas-t. » – "He gave it to him." (He.gave-to.him-it)

Kabyle is a satellite-framed based language, Kabyle verbs use two particles to show the path of motion:

• d orients toward the speaker, and could be translated as "here".
• n orients toward the interlocutor or toward a certain place, and could be translated as "there".

Examples:

• « iruḥ-d » (he came), « iruḥ-n » (he went).
• « awi-d aman» (bring the water), « awi-n aman » (carry away the water).

Kabyle usually expresses negation in two parts, with the particle ur attached to the verb, and one or more negative words that modify the verb or one of its arguments. For example, simple verbal negation is expressed by « ur » before the verb and the particle « ara » after the verb:

• « Urareɣ » ("I played") → « Ur urareɣ ara » ("I did not play")

Other negative words (acemma...etc.) are used in combination with ur to express more complex types of negation. This system developed via Jespersen's cycle.

Verb derivation is performed by adding affixes. There are three types of derivation forms : Causative, reflexive and Passive.

• Causative: obtained by prefixing the verb with s- / sse- / ssu- :

ffeɣ "to go out" → ssuffeɣ "to make to go out"

kcem "to enter" → ssekcem "to make to enter, to introduce"

irid "to be washed" → ssired "to wash".

• Reflexive: obtained by prefixing the verb with m- / my(e)- / myu-:

ẓer "to see" → mẓer "to see each other"

ṭṭef "to hold" → myuṭṭaf "to hold each other".

• Passive: is obtained by prefixing the verb with ttu- / ttwa- / tt- / mm(e)- / n- / nn-:

krez "to plough" → ttwakrez "to be ploughed"

ečč "to eat" → mmečč "to be eaten".

• Complex forms: obtained by combining two or more of the previous prefixes:

enɣ "to kill" → mmenɣ "to kill each other" → smenɣ "to make to kill each other"

Interestingly, two prefixes can cancel each other:

enz "to be sold" → zzenz "to sell" → ttuzenz "to be sold" (ttuzenz = enz !!).

Every verb has a corresponding agent noun. In English it could be translated into verb+er. It is obtained by prefixing the verb with « am- » or with « an- » if the first letter is b / f / m / w (there are exceptions however).

• Examples:

ṭṭef "to hold" → anaṭṭaf "holder"

inig "to travel" → iminig "traveller"

eks "to graze" → ameksa "shepherd"

Verbal nouns are derived differently from different classes of verbal stems (including 'quality verbs'). Often a- or t(u)- is prefixed:

ffer "to hide" → tuffra "hiding" (stem VI), « Tuffra n tidett ur telhi » – "Hiding the truth is bad".

ɣeẓẓ "to bite" → aɣẓaẓ

zdi "to be united" → azday

ini "to say" → timenna