Editing Cushitic languages (section)

===Grammar===

====Nouns====
Nouns are inflected for [[Grammatical case|case]] and [[Grammatical number|number]]. All nouns are further grouped into two [[Grammatical gender|gender]] categories, masculine gender and feminine gender. In many languages, gender is overtly marked directly on the noun (e.g. in [[Awngi language|Awngi]], where all female nouns carry the suffix ''-a'').{{sfnp|Appleyard|2012|pp=204–206}}

The case system of many Cushitic languages is characterized by [[Marked nominative language|marked nominative]] alignment, which is [[Linguistic typology|typologically]] quite rare and predominantly found in languages of Africa.{{sfnp|König|2008|p=138}} In marked nominative languages, the noun appears in unmarked "absolutive" case when cited in isolation, or when used as predicative noun and as object of a transitive verb; on the other hand, it is explicitly marked for nominative case when it functions as subject in a transitive or intransitive sentence.{{sfnp|Appleyard|2012|pp=205}}{{sfnp|Mous|2012|p=369}}

Possession is usually expressed by [[genitive case]] marking of the possessor. [[South Cushitic]]—which has no case marking for subject and object—follows the opposite strategy: here, the possessed noun is marked for [[construct case]], e.g. Iraqw ''afé-r mar'i'' "doors" (lit. "mouths of houses"), where ''afee'' "mouth" is marked for construct case.{{sfnp|Mous|2012|pp=373–374}}

Most nouns are by default unmarked for number, but can be explicitly marked for singular ("[[singulative number|singulative]]") and plural number. E.g. in [[Bilen language|Bilin]], ''dəmmu'' "cat(s)" is number-neutral, from which singular ''dəmmura'' "a single cat" and plural ''dəmmut'' "several cats" can be formed. Plural formation is very diverse, and employs [[ablaut]] (i.e. changes of root vowels or consonants), [[suffix]]es and [[reduplication]].{{sfnp|Appleyard|2012|p=204}}{{sfnp|Mous|2012|pp=361–363}}

====Verbs====
Verbs are inflected for person/number and tense/aspect. Many languages also have a special form of the verb in negative clauses.{{sfnp|Mous|2012|p=389}}

Most Cushitic languages distinguish seven person/number categories: first, second, third person, singular and plural number, with a masculine/feminine gender distinction in third person singular. The most common conjugation type employs suffixes. Some languages also have a prefix conjugation: in [[Beja language|Beja]] and the [[Saho–Afar languages]], the prefix conjugation is still a productive part of the verb paradigm, whereas in most other languages, e.g. [[Somali language|Somali]], it is restricted to only a few verbs. It is generally assumed that historically, the suffix conjugation developed from the older prefix conjugation, by combining the verb stem with a suffixed auxiliary verb.{{sfnp|Appleyard|2012|pp=207–208}} The following table gives an example for the suffix and prefix conjugations in affirmative present tense in Somali.{{sfnp|Appleyard|2012|pp=254–255}}

{| class=wikitable style="text-align:center"
! rowspan="2" colspan="3" |
! suffix<br />conjugation
! prefix<br />conjugation
|-
! {{nobold|"bring"}}
! {{nobold|"come"}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | 1st<br />person
! colspan="2" | {{small|singular}}
| {{lang|so|keen-aa}}
| {{lang|so|i-maadd-aa}}
|-
! colspan="2" | {{small|plural}}
| {{lang|so|keen-naa}}
| {{lang|so|ni-maad-naa}}
|-
! rowspan="2" | 2nd<br />person
! colspan="2" | {{small|singular}}
| {{lang|so|keen-taa}}
| {{lang|so|ti-maadd-aa}}
|-
! colspan="2" | {{small|plural}}
| {{lang|so|keen-taan}}
| {{lang|so|ti-maadd-aan}}
|-
! rowspan="3" | 3rd<br />person
! rowspan="2" | {{small|singular}}
! {{small|masc.}}
| {{lang|so|keen-aa}}
| {{lang|so|yi-maadd-aa}}
|-
! {{small|fem.}}
| {{lang|so|keen-taa}}
| {{lang|so|ti-maadd-aa}}
|-
! colspan="2" | {{small|plural}}
| {{lang|so|keen-aan}}
| {{lang|so|yi-maadd-aan}}
|}

====Syntax====
Basic [[word order]] is verb final, the most common order being [[subject–object–verb]] (SOV). The subject or object can also follow the verb to indicate [[Focus (linguistics)|focus]].{{sfnp|Appleyard|2012|pp=210–211}}{{sfnp|Mous|2012|pp=411–412}}