Editing Tuareg languages (section)

===Syntax===
Tamasheq prefers VSO order; however it contains [[topic–comment]] structure (like in American Sign Language, Modern Hebrew, Japanese and Russian), allowing the emphasized concept to be placed first, be it the subject or object, the latter giving an effect somewhat like the English passive.{{sfn|Sudlow|2001|p=46}} Sudlow uses the following examples, all expressing the concept "Men don't cook porridge" (e denotes Sudlow's schwa):

{| class="wikitable"
|-
| {{lang|tmh|meddăn wăr sekediwăn ăsink}}
| SVO
|-
| {{lang|tmh|wăr sekediwăn meddăn ăsink}}
| VSO
|-
| {{lang|tmh|ăsinkwăr ti-sekediwăn meddăn}}
| 'Porridge, men don't cook it.'
|-
| {{lang|tmh|wădde meddăn {{not a typo|a}} isakădawăn ăsink}}
| 'It isn't men who cook porridge.'
|-
| {{lang|tmh|meddăn a wăren isekediw ăsink}}
| 'Men are not those who cook porridge.'
|}

Again like Japanese, the "pronoun/particle 'a' is used with a following relative clause to bring a noun in a phrase to the beginning for emphasis," a structure which can be used to emphasize even objects of prepositions.{{sfn|Sudlow|2001|p=48}} Sudlow's example (s denotes voiceless palato-alveolar fricative):

{| class="wikitable"
|-
| {{lang|tmh|essensăɣ enăle}}
| 'I bought millet.'
|-
| {{lang|tmh|enăle a essensăɣ}}
| 'It was millet that I bought.'
|}

The indirect object marker takes the form i/y in Tudalt and e/y in Tadɣaq.{{sfn|Sudlow|2001|p=1.1.}}