Editing Laal language (section)

===Verbs===
The verb does not vary according to the person or gender of the subject, but some verbs (about a quarter of the verbs attested) vary according to its number: ''no kaw'' "the person eats", ''mùáŋ kɨw'' "the people eat". The plural form of the verb is hard to predict, but is often formed by ablaut (typically raising the vowel height) with or without a suffix ''-i(ɲ)'' or ''-ɨɲ'' and tonal change.  The verb, however, changes according to the [[direct object]]. It takes personal suffixes to indicate a pronominal [[direct object]], and it commonly changes when a non-pronominal direct object is added to a [[transitive verb|transitive]] form with final low tone (formed similarly to the "centripetal", for which see below): ''ʔà ná ká'' "he will do"; ''ʔà ná kàrà mɨ́ná'' "he will do something"; ''ʔà kú na:ra'' "he sees the man"; ''ʔà kúù:rùúŋ'' "he sees you (pl.)".

The verb has three basic forms: simple, "centripetal", and "participative" to [[calque]] Boyeldieu's terminology. The simple form is used in the simple [[present tense]] or the [[imperative mood|imperative]]: ''ʔà duàg jə́w gə̀m'' "he goes down the riverbank" (lit. "he descend mouth riverbank"). The "centripetal" indicates action "hither", either spatially, motion towards the speaker, or temporally, action up to the present moment; it is formed mainly by suffixing a vowel (often, but not always, identical to the last vowel in the word): ''ʔà duàgà jə́w gə̀m'' "he comes down the riverbank (towards me)". The "participative", generally formed like the centripetal but with final high tone, generally indicates an omitted object or instrument:
{{interlinear|indent=2
|ʔà sá ɗa:g ʔà sɨ̀rɨ́ su
|he take calabash he drink-{{gcl|PARTICIP|participative}} water
|"he takes a [[calabash]] and drinks water with it"}}

Immediately before the verb, a particle may be placed to indicate forms other than a simple present tense; such particles include ''ná'' (pl. ''ní'') marking future tense, ''taá:/teé:'' (pl. ''tií:'') marking continuous action, ''wáa:'' (pl. ''wíi:'') marking motion, ''náa:'' (pl. ''níi:'') being apparently a combination of ''ná'' and ''wáa:'', ''mà'' (pl. ''mì'') meaning "must", ''mɨ́'' marking reported speech (apparently an [[evidential]]), ''mɨ́nà'' (pl. ''mínì'') expressing intention, ''kò'' marking habitual action, ''ɓə́l'' or ''ga'' (pl. ''gi'') marking incomplete action, and ''wó'' (always accompanied by ''ʔàle'' after the verb) meaning "maybe".

Mediopassives (see [[passive voice]], [[middle voice]]) can be formed from [[transitive verbs]] by adding a suffix ''-↑ɨ́ɲ'': ''no siár sà:b'' "someone ripped the cloth" > ''sà:b sérɨ́ɲ'' "the cloth ripped".  For the inverse, forming transitive verbs from [[intransitive]]s, changes in tone or to the plural sometimes occur.

[[Verbal noun]]s can sometimes be formed, mainly from intransitives, by the addition of a suffix -(vowel)''l'', sometimes with [[ablaut]] and tone change: ''wal'' "fall" > ''wàlál'' "a fall", ''sùbá'' "lie" > ''sɨ́blál'' (pl. ''súbɨ̀r'') "a lie".  The ''l'' becomes ''n'' near a nasal and ''r'' near ''r'': ''man'' "taste good", ''manan'' "a good taste".

====Adjectives====
Adjectives do not seem to constitute an independent category in Laal; to all intents and purposes, they behave just like verbs: ''gò: ʔì:r'' "the goat is black".  Attributively, they are typically linked as a [[relative clause]]:
{{interlinear|indent=2
|gò: má ʔì:r
|goat which black
|"the black goat"}}