Language/Standard-moroccan-tamazight/Grammar/Future-Tense

Standard Moroccan Tamazight Grammar - Future Tense

Hi Standard Moroccan Tamazight learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn how to use the future tense in Standard Moroccan Tamazight. The future tense is used to describe actions that have not yet happened but will happen in the future. We will go through the conjugation of the future tense, and provide you with some examples. We will also provide you with cultural information and interesting facts throughout the lesson, so make sure to read until the end!

Conjugation of the Future Tense

To form the future tense in Standard Moroccan Tamazight, we use a particle /s/, followed by the verb in the present tense. Here is the conjugation of the future tense for the verb "to speak":

Conjugation Example

Standard Moroccan Tamazight	Pronunciation	English
s-kellem	/s-kɛllɛm/	I will speak	s-tekellem	/s-tɛkɛllɛm/	You will speak	is-kellem	/is-kɛllɛm/	He/She will speak	n-kellem	/n-kɛllɛm/	We will speak	t-kellem	/t-kɛllɛm/	You (all) will speak	s-ukkellem	/s-ukkɛllɛm/	They will speak

Note that the particle /s/ is the same for all subjects, except for the third person singular, where we use the particle /is/ instead. Also, notice that the verb stem comes after the particle /s/.

Let's take another example with the verb "to eat":

Conjugation Example

Standard Moroccan Tamazight	Pronunciation	English
s-qeyyed	/s-qɛjjɛd/	I will eat	s-teqeyyed	/s-tɛqɛjjɛd/	You will eat	is-qeyyed	/is-qɛjjɛd/	He/She will eat	n-qeyyed	/n-qɛjjɛd/	We will eat	t-qeyyed	/t-qɛjjɛd/	You (all) will eat	s-uqeyyed	/s-uqɛjjɛd/	They will eat

Congratulations! You now know how to conjugate the future tense in Standard Moroccan Tamazight!

Examples

Here are some examples using the future tense.

Dialogue Example

• Person 1: S-tekkes (You will stay)
• Person 2: N-kkes (We will stay)

Examples

• S-tussna yauum fccur (You will sleep early tomorrow morning)
• S-tqerreb l-bab fayt (You will close the door now)
• Is-teslam marratayn fl-wkta (She will say hello twice in a row)

Cultural Information and Interesting Facts

The Berber people, of which the Amazigh people are the largest ethnic group, have been present in North Africa for several millennia, with some evidence suggesting that they had a presence in the region before the arrival of the Phoenicians around 1000 BCE. The Amazigh people have a rich cultural heritage, which includes a tradition of oral poetry and storytelling, and a cuisine that features couscous, tajine, and other dishes.

Also, did you know that Standard Moroccan Tamazight is one of the two official languages of Morocco, alongside Arabic? Standard Moroccan Tamazight is also spoken in several other countries, including Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.

If you want to further improve your Standard Moroccan Tamazight grammar, you can also use the Polyglot Club website. Find native speakers and ask them any questions!

Sources

• Standard Moroccan Tamazight
• Berbers

Related Lessons

• Plurals
• Verb have in tamazight
• Pronouns
• Adjectives
• How to Use Have
• Conditional Mood
• Masculine and feminine nouns
• Nouns
• Negation