A Grammar of Tamashek (Tuareg of Mali)

8.5 Participles (subject relatives) 501

For the Im dialect, I recorded a positive future participial construction

with he-η, i.e. Participial -n added to the (noninitial) Future particle. The

following verb is in invariant 3MaSg subject form (528).

(528) Definite Future Participles (Im Dialect)

a. w-α he-η 0-aemmaet

Ma-Dem.Sg Fut-Partpl 3MaSgS-die.ShImpf

'he who will die'

b. t-α he-η 0-aemmaet

Fe-Dem.Sg Fut-Partpl 3MaSgS-die.ShImpf

'she who will die'

c. w-i he-η 0-aemmaet

Ma-Dem.Pl Fut-Partpl 3MaSgS-die.ShImpf

'they-Ma who will die

The future negative for this dialect simply adds Neg wsr before the same
invariant he-n (529).

(529) Definite Future Negative Participles (Im)

a. w-α waer he-η 0-aemmaet

Ma-Dem.Sg Neg Fut-Partpl 3MaSgS-die.ShImpf

'he who will not die'

b. w-i wasr he-η 0-aemmaet

Ma-Dem.Sg Neg Fut-Partpl 3MaSgS-die.ShImpf

'they-Ma who will not die'

The indefinite participial construction is illustrated in (530). The T-ka
example (530.a) is of the same structure as the definite construction (523),
except that the demonstrative is missing and (therefore) the clitic is hosted by
the head noun. The R example (530.b) shows mar-sen followed by Fut e. The
R informant was the same who gave the rather different definite participial
type (526).

(530) a. a2-habs-\ad mar-sen 0-as
Sg-man-\Centrip Fur-Partpl.MaSg 3MaSgS-arrive.ShImpf
'a man who will come' [T-ka]

b. mi mar-asn e 0-aemmae-t

who? Fut-Partpl.MaSg Fut 3MaSgS-die.ShImpf-Aug

'Who will die?' [R]