A Grammar of Tamashek (Tuareg of Mali)

682 13 Clausal subordination

b. qjiid t-aehonas-d t-arhe-d

if 2S-move.out.Reslt-2SgS 2S-want.Reslt-2SgS

a-\d t-akka-d se-salwa

DemAComit 2S-go.to.ShImpf-2SgS Sg-soathern.Gourma

'If (=when) you-Sg move out and you want to go to the

southern Gourma'

c. fael t-snhaey [a t-arha]

if 3FeSgS-see.PerfP [Dem 3FeSgs-want.Reslt]

[wser t-ajrew],

[Neg 3FeSgs-get.PerfN],

Iba ras [a t-akka]

loss only [Foe 3FeSgS-go.to.PerfP]

'If she sees something she wants and doesn't get it, (her) death

[focus] is what she goes to.'

It is not possible to add a second verb under the scope of a Negative
particle in the first clause. In such contexts, the second verb has its own
Negative particle (830.a). This is true even in (830.b) where the second verb is
in PerfN form, i.e. is indexed as negated. However, if the second clause is
positive and already effectively subordinated to a preceding clause, so that the
two form a single proposition, it may remain attached without change when the
first clause is negated; in (830.c), the final LoImpfP clause is a kind of serial
adjunct to the 'go to' clause and is therefore included in the scope of the higher
negation.

(830) a. [wser n-sksa] [wser n-aswa]
[Neg lPlS-eat.PerfP] [Neg lPlS-drink.PerfP]
'We didn't eat or drink.' (lit. "we didn't eat we didn't drink")

b. [waerAd i-jjes]

[NegACentrip 3MaSgS-enter.PerfN]

[war i-zjer]

[Neg 3MaSgS-go.out.PerfN]

'He didn't come in or go out.' (lit. "he didn't enter he didn't

exit")

c. neekk [war akke-r eeddinaet

lSg [Neg go.to.PerfN-lSgS people

[t-addal-aeq Aqaen] ]

[LoImpf-beg.LoImpfP-lSgSA3MaP10]]

'Me, I didn't (ever) go to people and be begging from them.'

[K]