The question of whether schwas are inserted or present in underlying representations of C 1 C 2 and C 1 C 2 C 3 verb stems in Berber is examined here in detailThis examination consists of proposing, motivating, and evaluating a number of analyses possible within the generative framework It also considers recent proposals concerning " abstract nessand "concreteness" of underlying representations, and alterna tive orderings of phonological rules. It is concluded that a "total ly concreteanalysis s-i.e with underlying schwas - is superior to other less concrete ones, chief among them the" totally abstract analysis with consonants only. The implications of this conclu sion are discussed and suggestions for further research are made.