information:extraction, linguistic:translation
Verb phrase

Khmer verbs are completely uninflected, and once a subject or topic has been introduced or is clear from context the noun phrase may be dropped. Thus, the simplest possible sentence in Khmer consists of a single verb. For example, /tɨw/ 'to go' on its own can mean "I'm going.", "He went.", "They've gone.", "Let's go.", etc. This also results in long strings of verbs such as:

/kʰɲom

I

cɑng

to want

tɨw

to go

daə

to walk

leːng/

to play

/kʰɲom cɑng tɨw daə leːng/

I {to want} {to go} {to walk} {to play}

'I want to go for a stroll.'

Khmer uses three verbs for what translates into English as the copula. The general copula is /ciə/; it is used to convey identity with nominal predicates. For locative predicates, the copula is /nɨw/. The verb /miən/ is the "existential" copula meaning "there is" or "there exists".

/piəsaː

language

ciə

copula

kaː

NMLZ

sɑmdaeŋ

to express

cət

heart

kumnɨt

thought

krŏəp

all

jaːŋ/

kind

/piəsaː ciə kaː sɑmdaeŋ cət kumnɨt krŏəp jaːŋ/

language copula NMLZ {to express} heart thought all kind

'Language is the expression of all emotions and ideas'

/ʋiə

he

nɨw

copula

cɪt

close

ʋŏət/

temple

/ʋiə nɨw cɪt ʋŏət/

he copula close temple

'He is close to the temple.'

/miən

to

pʰaen

exist

kaː/

plan

/miən pʰaen kaː/

to exist plan

'There is a plan.'

Negation is achieved by putting មិន /mɨn/ before the verb and the particle ទេ /teː/ at the end of the sentence or clause. In colloquial speech, verbs can also be negated without the need for a final particle, by placing ឥត /ʔɑt/~/ʔət/ before them.

Past tense can be conveyed by adverbs, such as "yesterday" or by the use of perfective particles such as /haəj/

/kŏət

he

tɨw

to go

msəlmɨɲ/

yesterday

/kŏət tɨw msəlmɨɲ/

he {to go} yesterday

'He went yesterday.'

/kŏət

he

tɨw

to go

haəj/

pfv

/kŏət tɨw haəj/

he {to go} pfv

'He left.' or 'He's already gone.'

Different senses of future action can also be expressed by the use of adverbs like "tomorrow" or by the future tense marker /nɨŋ/, which is placed immediately before the verb, or both:

/sʔaek

tomorrow

kʰɲom

I

nɨŋ

FUT

tɨw

to go

saːlaː riən/

school

/sʔaek kʰɲom nɨŋ tɨw {saːlaː riən}/

tomorrow I FUT {to go} school

'Tomorrow, I will go to school.'

Imperatives are often unmarked. For example, in addition to the meanings given above, the "sentence" /tɨw/ can also mean "Go!". Various words and particles may be added to the verb to soften the command to varying degrees, including to the point of politeness (jussives):

/cou

IMP

saːk

try

lbɑːŋ

try

kʰluən

you

aeŋ

REFL

coh/

IMP

/cou saːk lbɑːŋ kʰluən aeŋ coh/

IMP try try you REFL IMP

'Go ahead and try it yourself.'

/soum

please

tʰʋəː

do

taːm

follow

bɑndam

instruction

kŏət

he

tɨw/

IMP

/soum tʰʋəː taːm bɑndam kŏət tɨw/

please do follow instruction he IMP

'Please follow his instructions.'

Prohibitives take the form " /kom/ + verb " and also are often softened by the addition of the particle /ʔəj/ to the end of the phrase.

/kom

PROH

nɨw

to be

tiː

place

nih

DEM

ʔəj/

COHORT

/kom nɨw tiː nih ʔəj/

PROH {to be} place DEM COHORT

'Don't stay in this place.'