grammar1

GRAMMAR LESSON 1

I.	Basic Sentence in Khmer Language
II.	Khmer Present Tence
	1.	Affirmative Sentence
		a.	Simple Sentence with Intransitive Verb
		b.	Simple Sentence with Intransitive Verb and Adverb
		c.	Simple Sentence with Transitive Verb and Follow by Object
	2.	Negative Sentence
	3.	Interogative Sentence
III.	Present Tense: Sentence with Connecting Verb (Ca ) + (Noun)
	1.	Affirmative Sentence
	2.	Negative Sentence
	3.	Interogative Sentence
	4.	Note on Connecting Verb

I. Basic Sentence:

Similar to English, a basic sentence in Khmer is comprised the subject and predicate. The subject is a noun or a noun phrase that is the first unit of elements in the sentence. The predicate is everything after the main verb of the sentence inclusively. In its simplest form, a basic sentence is composed of a noun, a verb, and optionally followed by a noun. There are four important tenses in Khmer language: Present Tense, Past Tense, Present Progressive, and Future Tense. Khmer tense is not as important as in English. Each of the tense is identified by its tense marker.

II. Present Tense:

1. Affirmative Sentence

Unlike English, Khmer verbs do not take inflection in the present tense.

a. Simple Sentence with Intransitive Verb:

Subject

Verb (intransitive)

Example:

Kat' y? .		He cries.
sisS esIc.		Student laughs.
BYkeK edIr .		They walk.
xj7? edk .		I sleep.

b. Simple Sentence with Intransitive Verb and Adverb:

Subject

Verb

Adverb

Example:

ekMg[ edIr tamdgp,Uv.		Children walk on the street.
s? rs'enA k67gTIRkug .		Sam lives in the city

c. Simple Sentence with Transitive Verb and follow by Object:

Subject

Verb

Object

Example:

xM?7 s6ak'enA sN&aKarGasIu .		I stay in Asie Hotel.
xM?7 CYb Kat' .		I meet him.
ekMg[ cUlcit5 Ep,eQI .		Children like fruit.
eyIg RsLaBaj' sn5iPaB .		We love peace.

2. Negative Sentence

The negative sentence in Khmer is formed by inserting of a negative word ( min )

or ( Gt' )

between the subject and the main verb of a sentence and ( eT )

at the end of that sentence. Particle ( eT ) can be deleted from the negative sentence, but it doesn't sound natural.

Subject	+	min	or	Gt'	+	Verb (intransitive)			+	eT
Subject	+	min	or	Gt'	+	Verb	+	Adverb	+	eT
Subject	+	min	or	Gt'	+	Verb	+	Object	+	eT

Example:

Kat' min y? eT.	or	Kat' Gt' y? eT.
He doesn't cry.
sisS min esIc eT.	or	sisS Gt' esIc eT.
Student doesn't laugh.
BYkeK min edIr eT.	or	BYkeK Gt' edIr eT.
They don't walk.
xj7? min edk eT.	or	xj7? Gt' edk eT.
I don't sleep.
ekMg[ min edIr tamdgp,Uv eT.	or	ekMg[ Gt' edIr tamdgp,Uv eT.
Children don't walk on the street.
s? min rs'enA k67gTIRkug eT.		s? Gt' rs'enA k67gTIRkug eT.
Sam deosn't live in the city
xM?7 min s6ak'enA sN&aKarGasIu eT.	or	xM?7 Gt' s6ak'enA sN&aKarGasIu eT.
I don't stay in Asie Hotel.
xM?7 min CYb Kat' eT.	or	xM?7 Gt' CYb Kat' eT.
I don't meet him.
ekMg[ min cUlcit5 Ep,eQI eT.	or	ekMg[ Gt' cUlcit5 Ep,eQI eT.
Children don't like fruit.
eyIg min RsLaBaj' sn5iPaB eT.	or	eyIg Gt' RsLaBaj' sn5iPaB eT.
We don't love peace.

3. Interogative Sentence:

The question particle (etI) are always occours at the beginning of an interrogative clause in formal questions. When the question particle (etI) is used, it signal the fact that a question follows and the rising and falling intonation of question is not necessary.

Question requiring yes- or-no answer require a final question particle eT (tee) . The full form of particle (tee) is b/eT (rhh tee) .

etI	+	Subject	+	Verb (intransitive)			+	b/eT	/
etI	+	Subject	+	Verb	+	Adverb	+	b/eT	/
etI	+	Subject	+	Verb	+	Object	+	b/eT	/

Example:

etI Kat' y? b/eT /	or	etI Kat' y? eT /
Deos he cry?
etI sisS esIc b/eT /	or	etI sisS esIc eT /
Does the student laugh?
etI BYkeK edIr b/eT /	or	etI BYkeK edIr eT /
Do they walk?
etI xj7? edk b/eT /	or	etI xj7? edk eT /
Do I sleep?
etI ekMg[ edIr tamdgp,Uv b/eT /	or	etI ekMg[ edIr tamdgp,Uv eT /
Do children walk on the street?
etI s? rs'enA k67gTIRkug b/eT /	or	etI s? rs'enA k67gTIRkug eT /
Do Sam live in the city?
etI elak s6ak'enA sN&aKarGasIu b/eT /	or	etI elak s6ak'enA sN&aKarGasIu eT /
Do you stay in Asie Hotel?
etI elak CYb Kat' b/eT /	or	etI elak CYb Kat' eT /
Do you meet him?
etI ekMg[ cUlcit5 Ep,eQI b/eT /	or	etI ekMg[ cUlcit5 Ep,eQI eT /
Do children like fruit?
etI eyIg RsLaBaj' sn5iPaB b/eT /	or	etI eyIg RsLaBaj' sn5iPaB eT /
Do we love peace?

III. Present Tense with Connecting Verb (Ca ) + (Noun),

1. Affirmative Sentence with Connecting Verb (Ca ) + (Noun):

The meaning of connecting verb (Ca) is (be, is) as in the sentence below:

Subject

Connecting verb (Ca )

Noun

Example:

xj?j7 Ca CnCati Gaemrik .		I am an American
Kat' Ca saRs5acar< .		He is a professor.
xj?j7 Ca RKUbeRgon .		I am a teacher.
BYkeK Ca ksikr .		They are famers.
GaKarenH Ca bN^al=y .		This building is a library

2. Negative Sentence with Connecting Verb (Ca ) + (Noun)

The negative sentence of simple sentence, with connecting verb (Ca ), is form by inserting the negative word ( minEmn ) or ( Gt'Emn ) between the subject and the main verb of a sentence and ( eT ) at the end of that sentence. Particle ( eT ) can be deleted from the negative sentence, but it doesn't sound natural.

Subject

minEmn

Gt'Emn

Connecting verb (Ca )

Noun

Example:

xj?j7 minEmn Ca CnCati Gaemrik eT.	or	xj?j7 Gt'Emn Ca CnCati Gaemrik eT.
I am not an American
Kat' minEmn Ca saRs5acar< eT.	or	Kat' Gt'Emn Ca saRs5acar< eT.
He is not a professor.
xj?j7 minEmn Ca RKUbeRgon eT.	or	xj?j7 Gt'Emn Ca RKUbeRgon eT.
I am not a teacher.
BYkeK minEmn Ca ksikr eT.	or	BYkeK Gt'Emn Ca ksikr eT.
They are not famers.
GaKarenH minEmn Ca bN^al=y eT.	or	GaKarenH Gt'Emn Ca bN^al=y eT.
This building is not a library

3. Interogative Sentence with Connecting Verb (Ca ) + (Noun)

The interogative clause, with connecting verb (Ca ), is form by adding particle (etI) at the beginning of the clause and follows by ( EmneT ) at the end of the clause.

etI

Subject

Connecting verb (Ca )

Noun

EmneT

Example:

etI elak Ca CnCati Gaemrik EmneT /		Are you an American?
etI Kat' Ca saRs5acar< EmneT /		Is he a professor?
etI nag Ca RKUbeRgon EmneT /		Is she a teacher?
etI BYkeK Ca ksikr EmneT /		Are they famers?
etI GaKarenH Ca bN^al=y EmneT /		Is this building a library?

4. Note on Connecting Verb (Ca )

The connecting verb (Ca ) can be dropped in from the affirmative, negative, or interogative sentence in the spoken form and the sentence still carries the same meaning.