A Grammar of Tamashek (Tuareg of Mali)

684 13 Clausal subordination

13.5.1 'prevent' (-vkkvs-)

In the construction glossable 'X prevent [Y do...]', Tamashek expresses the
lower subject (Y) as a main-clause dative. This allows the complement to be
expressed as a VblN with no further marking of the subject. The verb -vkkvs-
has a primary sense 'take out, take away, remove', so the construction is
literally "X take.away [to (=from) X] [doing...]."

(834) a. l-kkaes-\a-s
3MaSgS-take.out.PerfP-\Dat-3Sg
[t-ikaw-t sn bsemako]
[Fe-go.VblN-FeSg Poss Bamako]
'He prevented him from going to Bamako.'
(lit. "He removed for (=from) him [going-to of Bamako].")

b. akkaes-aevAa-s

take.out.PerfP-1 SgS-\Dat-3Sg

[a-Taeras [e "t-ae-haele]]

[Sg-slaughter.VblN [Dat Fe-Sg-sheep]]

Ί prevented him from slaughtering the sheep.'

13.5.2 'cease' (-vbdu-), 'leave' (-uyyu-) and 'begin' (-s-vnti>)

If the complement clause functions as the complement of a preposition in the
main clause, we get constructions like (835). Here the matrix verb is -vbdu-
'be separated from', in context here 'cease'.

(835) war "i-bsddu ad "t-se-haela
Neg 3MaSgS-be.separated.LoImpfN Comit Fe-Sg-weep.VblN
'He isn't separated from (=doesn't stop) crying.'

-uyyu- 'leave, abandon' can also be used in the sense '(sb) cease (doing)'.

(836) a. oyye-r [t-e-taete η n0-s-an]
leave.PerfP-lSgS [Fe-Sg-eat.VblN Poss Pl-meat-MaPl]
Ί have stopped eating meat.' (= Ί no longer eat meat.')

b. oyyae-naet daellol

leave.PerfP-3FePl dance

'They-Fe stopped dancing.'

c. aeyy a-s-ukmss

leave.Imprt Sg-Caus-scratch.VblN

'Stop scratching (your head)!' [K]