([pˤ]) ([tʷ]) ([kʷ] [kˤ]) ([bˤ]) ([dʷ]) ([gʷ] [gˤ]) ([pˤʼ]) ([tʷʼ]) ([kʷʼ] [kˤʼ]) ([qʷʼ] [qˤʼ]) ([t͡sʷ]) ([t͡ɬʷ]) ([t͡ʃʷ]) ([q͡χʷ] [q͡χˤ]) ([t͡sʷʼ]) ([t͡ɬʷʼ]) ([t͡ʃʷʼ]) ([sʷ]) ([ɬʷ]) ([ʃʷ]) ([χʷ] [χˤ]) ([ħʷ]) ([hʷ] [hˤ]) ([zʷ]) ([ʒʷ]) ([ʁʷ] [ʁˤ]) ([mˤ]) ([aː] ā а̄) The syllable structure is generally CV(C).

Suffixes are either C, V, CV, VC or C+CV (where the first consonant belongs to the preceding syllable), depending on the structure of the stem.

[citation needed] Tsez is an ergative–absolutive language, which means that it makes no distinction between the subject of an intransitive sentence and the object of a transitive one.

For example, the word for "language" or "tongue" is mec, but its oblique stem is mecre-, hence its plural is mecrebi, the ergative mecrā and so on.

The epenthetic vowel o in parentheses is used after noun stems ending in a consonant; thus, "next to the bull" is is-xo, while "next to the fish" is besuro-x.

They are prefixes that are attached to verbs, adjectives, adverbs, several postpositions like -oƛƛʼo ("between") or -iłe ("like") and the emphatic particle -uy to show agreement with the noun.

Class IV originally included abstract words, collective and mass nouns, such as water, salt, sky or wind.

Experiments have shown that Tsez speakers do not assign any noun classes to new words for objects or places with which they are unfamiliar.

There are five tense forms in the indicative mood, shown in the following table with examples for verbs with vocalic and consonantal stem endings.

With the example verb -ikʼi- ("to go"), the following forms are possible: Participles behave like adjectives and only vary according to the class agreement, which gets attached to them as prefixes.

The neutral order of modifiers is usually: Note that the order of element number 4, 5 and 6 may vary: sidenianotherʕaƛ-āvillage-IN:ESSb-iči-xosiIPL-be-PRSPRTnesi-she-GEN1b-aqʼˤuIPL-manyžuka-tʼa-nibad-DISTR-RESTRʕagarłirelativesideni ʕaƛ-ā b-iči-xosi nesi-s b-aqʼˤu žuka-tʼa-ni ʕagarłianother village-IN:ESS IPL-be-PRSPRT he-GEN1 IPL-many bad-DISTR-RESTR relative"his many unpleasant relatives who live in the next village"Modifiers can also include oblique noun phrases, which then take one of the two genitive suffixes depending on the case of the head noun: -si for absolutive, -zo for oblique head nouns.

In Tsez this is expressed by the verbal suffix -ł; the subject of the clause then takes the possessive case (-q(o)) instead of the ergative, while the object of the verb is in the absolutive.

If a ditransitive verb is formed from a transitive one, the causee (i.e. the argument that is subject and object at the same time) appears in the possessive case (-q(o)); see the example below (the e before the causative suffix is an epenthetic vowel): aħ-āshepherd-ERGčanaqan-qohunter-POSS:ESSzeybear:ABSžekʼ-er-sihit-CAUS-PSTWITaħ-ā čanaqan-qo zey žekʼ-er-sishepherd-ERG hunter-POSS:ESS bear:ABS hit-CAUS-PSTWIT"The shepherd made the hunter hit the bear.

Noun phrases are coordinated by adding the suffix -n (after vowels) or -no (after consonants) to all items of the enumeration, thus "the hen and the rooster" is onuču-n mamalay-no.

In conditional sentences the conjunction "then" may be expressed by the word yołi: tatanuwarmɣudiday:ABSr-oq-siIV-become-PSTWITyołiCONDeli1PL:ABSker-āɣorriver-IN:ALLesanad-abathe-INFb-ikʼ-aIPL-go-INFzow-sibe-PSTWITtatanu ɣudi r-oq-si yołi eli ker-āɣor esanad-a b-ikʼ-a zow-siwarm day:ABS IV-become-PSTWIT COND 1PL:ABS river-IN:ALL bathe-INF IPL-go-INF be-PSTWIT"If the day had become warm, (then) we would have gone to bathe in the river.

Temporal adverbial clauses describe a chronological sequence of two actions, as in English "Before it started to rain, we were home."

There are more kinds of adverbial clauses, see the part "Non-finite forms" in the verb morphology section for more example suffixes.

Verbal nouns or "masdars" (formed by the suffix -(a)ni) can be used instead of infinitive verbs; they express purpose more strongly.

The clause belongs to noun class IV, then: obi-rfather-DAT[uži-r[boy-DATmagalubread:ABSb-āti-ru-łi]III-want-PSTPRT-NMLZ]r-iy-siIV-know-PSTWITobi-r [uži-r magalu b-āti-ru-łi] r-iy-sifather-DAT [boy-DAT bread:ABS III-want-PSTPRT-NMLZ] IV-know-PSTWIT"The father knew [that the boy wanted bread].

It is remarkable that the point of view and the tense of the original utterance is maintained, hence the only difference between direct and indirect speech is the particle ƛin.

However, attempts have been made to develop a stable orthography for the Tsez language as well as its relatives, mainly for the purpose of recording traditional folklore; thus, a Cyrillic script based on that of Avar is often used.

Fluency in Avar is usually higher among men than women, and the younger people tend to be more fluent in Russian than in Tsez, which is probably due to the lack of education in and about the language.

These factors may eventually lead to the decline of use of the Tsez language, as it is more and more replaced by Avar and Russian, partly due to loss of traditional culture among the people and the adoption of Western clothing, technology and architecture.

Cardinal numbers (as in English "one, two, three") precede the nouns, which then do not stand in their plural forms but in the singular instead; e.g.: uyno is ("four oxen").

Sidaquł šigoħno sadaqorno boyno ħukmu: yaqułtow begira bocʼi ħonƛʼār miƛʼeł xizāz xizyo rišʷa yoł.

Zirus uhi-ehi teqxoy, ɣʷaybi kʼoƛin elār, bocʼi buq bātuzāzarno boqno bikʼin reqenyoƛer, besurno ƛʼarayaw miƛʼi.

Dicce rˤuƛʼno zirun qayno, amma biyxoy kʼetʼu yāłru, xizyo łˤonon zenzi rikʼin raħira reƛ.

Bˤeƛo buqełno bičin ažoz kʼodrexāzay, rołikʼno aħyabin kecno, kʼetʼu tataniłxo zewno cʼidox.

Bocʼezno qayizno, ziruzno rokʼƛʼor rayno baysi bāsu ixiytow ħaywan šebin, nełoq že riqičʼey kʼiriłno roxin.

Since they heard the fox's moaning, the dogs ran in that direction and the wolf went towards the flock from the west and found a fat ram.