Editing Berber languages (section)

=== Verbs ===
Verb bases are formed by stems that are optionally extended by prefixes, with mood, aspect, and negation applied with a vocalic scheme. This form can then be conjugated with affixes to agree with person, number, and gender, which produces a word.<ref name="Kossmann-2012c">{{Cite book |last=Kossmann |first=Maarten |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/795895594 |title=The Afroasiatic languages |date=2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |editor-first1=Zygmunt |editor-last1=Frajzyngier |editor-first2=Erin |editor-last2=Shay |isbn=978-1-139-42364-9 |location=Cambridge |pages=36 |chapter=Berber |oclc=795895594}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Kossmann |first=Maarten |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/646569109 |title=Morphologies of Asia and Africa |date=2007 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |others=Alan S. Kaye |isbn=978-1-57506-566-3 |location=Winona Lake, Ind. |pages=435 |chapter=Berber Morphology |oclc=646569109 |access-date=24 December 2022 |archive-date=26 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526085809/https://search.worldcat.org/title/646569109 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Different linguists analyze and label [[aspect (linguistics)|aspect]]s in the Berber languages vary differently. Kossman roughly summarizes the basic stems which denote aspect as follows:<ref name="Kossmann-2007e">{{Cite book |last=Kossmann |first=Maarten |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/646569109 |title=Morphologies of Asia and Africa |date=2007 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |others=Alan S. Kaye |isbn=978-1-57506-566-3 |location=Winona Lake, Ind. |pages=436–438 |chapter=Berber Morphology |oclc=646569109 |access-date=24 December 2022 |archive-date=26 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526085809/https://search.worldcat.org/title/646569109 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* [[Aorist]], also called aoriste, without a preceding particle:
** [[Imperative mood|imperative]]
** unmarked (taking aspect from preceding verb)
* Aorist, with the preceding article ''ad:''
** [[Irrealis mood|irrealis]]  (adhortative, future)
* Preterite, or accompli:
** past tense, in dynamic use
** states (such as "to want, to know"), in stative use
* Intensive Aorist, also called habitative or inaccompli:
** dynamic present
** habitative and iterative
** habitative imperative
** negation of any imperative
Different languages may have more stems and aspects, or may distinguish within the above categories. Stem formation can be very complex, with Tuareg by some measures having over two hundred identified conjugation subtypes.<ref name="Kossmann-2007e" />

The aspectual stems of some classes of verbs in various Berber languages are shown as follows:<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kossmann |first=Maarten |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/795895594 |title=The Afroasiatic languages |date=2012 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |editor-first1=Zygmunt |editor-last1=Frajzyngier |editor-first2=Erin |editor-last2=Shay |isbn=978-1-139-42364-9 |location=Cambridge |pages=39 |chapter=Berber |oclc=795895594}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!
! Figuig
! Ghadames
! Ayer Tuareg
! Mali Tuareg
|-
|Aorist
|''əlmədatəf''
|''ălmədatəf''
|''əlmədatəf''
|''əlmədaləm''
|-
|Imperfective
|''ləmmədttatəf''
|''lămmădttatăf''
|''--''
|''lămmădtiləm''
|-
|Secondary imperfective
|''--''
|''--''
|''lámmădtátăf''
|''lámmădtiləm''
|-
|Negative imperfective
|''ləmmədttitəf''
|''ləmmədttitəf''
|''ləmmədtitəf''
|''ləmmədtiləm''
|-
|Perfective
|''əlmədutəf''
|''əlmădutăf''
|''əlmădotăf''
|''əlmădolăm''
|-
|Secondary perfective
|''--''
|''--''
|''əlmádotáf''
|''əlmádolám''
|-
|Negative perfective
|''əlmidutif''
|''əlmedutef''
|''əlmedotef''
|''əlmedolem''
|-
|Future
|''--''
|''əlmădutăf''
|''--''
|''--''
|}
Verb phrases are built with verb morphology, pronominal and deictic clitics, pre-verbal particles, and auxiliary elements. The pre-verbal particles are ''ad'', ''wər,'' and their variants, which correspond to the meanings of "non-realized" and "negative" respectively.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Kossmann |first=Maarten |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/646569109 |title=Morphologies of Asia and Africa |date=2007 |publisher=Eisenbrauns |others=Alan S. Kaye |isbn=978-1-57506-566-3 |location=Winona Lake, Ind. |pages=77 |chapter=Berber |oclc=646569109 |access-date=24 December 2022 |archive-date=26 May 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240526085809/https://search.worldcat.org/title/646569109 |url-status=live }}</ref>