Language/Central-khmer/Grammar/Past-Tense
Central Khmer, also known as Khmer or Cambodian, is the official language of Cambodia. It is a member of the Austroasiatic language family and has approximately 16 million native speakers. In this lesson, you will learn how to form and use the past tense in Central Khmer, including regular and irregular verbs, and proper pronunciation.
After mastering this lesson, these related pages might interest you: Describing People and Things & Pronouns.
Formation of the Past Tense
In Central Khmer, the formation of the past tense depends on the type of verb. There are two types of verbs in Central Khmer: regular and irregular.
Regular Verbs
Regular verbs follow a set pattern for the past tense. To form the past tense of a regular verb, add the suffix -ត់ (-tɑh) to the verb root. The verb root is the base form of the verb without any tense-specific affixes or suffixes.
Here are some examples:
| Central Khmer | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| សួស្តី (suʔdɨ) | soo-dtee | to greet |
| កាច់ (kaɑ) | kaa | to eat |
| ជិត (cət) | jit | to sit |
| ឈប់ (cɔɔp) | cha-ob | to stop |
| ចាប់ (caap) | chaap | to catch |
To form a negative past tense sentence, add the word មិន (min) before the verb root and the suffix -ត់ (-tɑh) to the end of the verb.
For example:
| Central Khmer | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| គាត់សួរឡើងវិញបានដោយសេចក្តីជាក់លាក់។ (kaht soo lerng vei bon dow sʔe-chɑək liəh) | kaht soo ling vey bon doh say-chak liak | He greeted me again with a hidden agenda. |
| ខ្ញុំមិនកែវម្ចាស់។ (khnɨm min kaeo mchas) | k'nhom min kay-owm mchas | I didn't eat anything. |
Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs do not follow the same pattern for the past tense. Here are some examples of irregular verbs:
| Central Khmer | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ចេញ (cɨəng) | ch'eh-ong | to go out |
| មិន (min) | min | to not be |
| មួយ (muəy) | mohy | to have, there is |
| ផ្កាឈូក (pkah chouk) | p'kah ch'ook | to play |
| ធ្វើ (tvay) | tvahy | to do, to make |
To form the past tense of an irregular verb, you will need to memorize the specific form of the past tense. Here are the past tense forms for the irregular verbs listed above:
| Central Khmer | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ចូល (cul) | chol | went in (part of ចូលចិត្ត [chol chit], which means to enter) |
| ក្មេងមិនទាន់បាន (ka-meng min taan bon) | ka-maing min tahn bawn | not yet |
| មាន (meən) | mae-un | had, there was |
| បាន (baan) | baan | did |
Examples of Regular and Irregular Verbs in Past Tense Sentences
Here are some examples of past tense sentences using both regular and irregular verbs:
| Central Khmer | Pronunciation | English |
|---|---|---|
| ខ្ញុំបានសួរវិញវាច្រើនហើយ។ (khnɨm baan soo-ahh vei vaa-cha-ron hey) | k'nhom baan soo-ý vey vaa-chach-ron hey | I greeted him many times already. |
| ខ្ញុំបានចេញពីតំបន់នេះហើយ។ (khnɨm baan cɨəng pii tɑm-baŋ nɨh hey) | k'nhom baan ch'eh-ong pi tam-bann niý hey | I left this area already. |
| ពិភាក្សាខ្ញុំបានបានដោយកំណើតកំណាចក្រុង។ (pih-hahk-sa k'nhom baan baan dow kohm-neəh-tchong) | pi-haak-saa k'nhom baan baan doh kohm-near-tchong | I learned it from the city mayor. |
| អ្នកមានក្រុមអតិថិជនច្រើន។ (nɨk meən kromot rathitʰin chrɑn) | naek mae-un krom-ot ra-thi-chon chrann | You had many customers. |
| ខ្ញុំបានផ្កាឈូកល្អៀង។ (khnɨm baan pkah-chouk laeʼng) | k'nhom baan p'kah-ch'ook la'en | I played well. |
Pronunciation of the Past Tense
In Central Khmer, the past tense is pronounced with a falling tone. This means that the pitch of your voice should start high and then drop suddenly. Make sure to practice the falling tone when you are learning how to form and use the past tense in Central Khmer.
Conclusion
Congratulations! You have now learned how to form and use the past tense in Central Khmer. Remember to practice regularly and use it in your everyday conversations with native speakers. In the next lesson, you will learn how to form and use the future tense in Central Khmer.
Other Lessons
- Personal Pronouns
- Using Conjunctions
- Adjectives
- How to Use Have
- Plurals
- 0 to A1 Course
- Possessive Pronouns
- How to Use Be
- Gender
Sources