Language/Central-khmer/Grammar/Negation

Central Khmer Grammar - Negation

Hi Central Khmer learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn how to negate sentences in Central Khmer. Negation is an essential concept of grammar in any language, and Central Khmer is no exception. Mastering negation will allow you to express negative thoughts, feelings, and ideas in conversation. Consequently, you will have broader communication capabilities and a richer experience interacting with native speakers of Central Khmer.

Negation with "មិន"

In Central Khmer, the most common way of negating a sentence is to use the particle "មិន" (min). "មិន" is always placed before the verb and serves as a negation indicator. The verb doesn't change, and the sentence structure remains the same.

Example:

Central Khmer	Pronunciation	English
ខ្ញុំមិនចូលបានសាលា។	knhom min chol ban sala.	I don't go to school.
ប្រុសមិនបានកកស៊ី។	brohng min ban kakhi.	He doesn't play video games.

In the example above, "មិន" (min) negates both "ចូលបាន" (chol ban) and "បាន" (ban), indicating that the action of going to school and playing video games didn't happen.

Note that "មិន" (min) is not the only way of negating sentences in Central Khmer. There are several other methods, such as using "គ្មាន" (kmey) or using the negative particle "ទេ" (te) at the end of the sentence. However, for intermediate learners, mastering "មិន" (min) will cover most of their communication needs.

Negation with Questions

In Central Khmer, there is an interesting way of negating a sentence by turning it into a question. The negative particle "មិន" (min) is placed at the beginning of the sentence to indicate negation. Then, the sentence becomes a question, with the tone of voice going up at the end.

Example:

Central Khmer	Pronunciation	English
មិនកូនបានធ្វើកម្មសិក្សាមេរៀនទេ?	min kun ban tvea kmom saeksa meren te?	Did the child not study homework?
មិនមែនចូលបានទេ?	min men chol ban te?	Didn't you go in?

In the example above, "មិន" (min) indicates negation, and the sentence becomes a question. The tone of voice must go up to indicate that it is a question. This is an interesting way of negating sentences in Central Khmer and can add a variety to your communication skills.

Negation with "ទេ"

"ទេ" (te) is another way of negating sentences in Central Khmer, but this method is much more limited. It's only used as a negative particle at the end of the sentence, and it's used mostly in informal language.

Example:

Central Khmer	Pronunciation	English
ខ្ញុំមិនចូលបានសាលា ទេ។	knhom min chol ban sala te.	I didn't go to school, no.
ប្រុសមិនបានកកស៊ី ទេ។	brohng min ban kakhi te.	He didn't play video games, no.

In the example above, "ទេ" (te) is used at the end of the sentence to indicate negation, but it also adds the meaning of "no" or "not at all." It's an informal way of negating sentences and is typically used in spoken language.

Practice Dialogue

• Person 1: បើមិនលែងបានខ្លាំងណាស់ តើអ្នកនឹងរត់ភ្ជាប់បានទេ? (be min leng ban klang nhas, touy neak neng rot phtrap baen te?) (If you're not strong enough to play, will you be able to join?)
• Person 2: ខ្ញុំមិនលែងបានខ្លាំងណាស់ មានក្រុមងាយមិនមែន ទេ។ (knhom min leng ban klang nhas, mean krom ngay min men te.) (I can't play very strong and my team is not really, no.)

Interesting Fact

Did you know that Central Khmer is the official language of Cambodia and is spoken by approximately 15 million people worldwide? Besides Cambodia, Central Khmer is also spoken in Vietnam, Thailand, and Laos.

Sources

• Khmer Language - Wikipedia
• Cambodia - Wikipedia
• Negation - Wikipedia

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