Language/Central-khmer/Grammar/Adjectives

Central Khmer Grammar - Adjectives

Hi Central Khmer learners! 😊
In today's lesson, we will be discussing adjectives in Central Khmer. Adjectives are words that describe or modify nouns and pronouns. They can be used to give more information about the noun or pronoun they are modifying. In this lesson, we will look at how adjectives are formed in Central Khmer and how they are used in sentences.

Formation of Adjectives

Adjectives in Central Khmer are formed by adding the suffix -ប្រភេទ (pronounced -prə-teh) to the end of a noun. For example, the word for "book" is សៀវភៅ (siəv-peh), and the adjective form of this word is សៀវភៅប្រភេទ (siəv-peh-prə-teh).

Adjective Placement

In Central Khmer, adjectives usually come after the noun they are modifying. For example:

• សៀវភៅប្រភេទថ្មី (siəv-peh-prə-teh tɑm-nii) - new book
• អត្ថបទប្រភេទចិត្តសម្រាប់ (ət-tɑp-prə-teh cət-sɑm-rɑp) - interesting article

However, there are some exceptions to this rule. For example, when the adjective is used to describe a person, it usually comes before the noun. For example:

• ប្រភេទអានរូបភាព (prə-teh ɑn-ruup-pii) - reading type
• អានរូបភាពប្រភេទថ្មី (ɑn-ruup-pii prə-teh tɑm-nii) - new reading type

Adjective Agreement

In Central Khmer, adjectives must agree with the noun they are modifying in terms of gender and number. For example, if the noun is feminine, the adjective must also be feminine. If the noun is plural, the adjective must also be plural.

For example:

• ប្រភេទអានរូបភាពប្រភេទថ្មី (prə-teh ɑn-ruup-pii prə-teh tɑm-nii) - new reading type (feminine singular)
• ប្រភេទអានរូបភាពប្រភេទថ្មីនានា (prə-teh ɑn-ruup-pii prə-teh tɑm-nii nɑn-nɑ) - new reading types (feminine plural)

Adjective Usage

Adjectives can be used to describe nouns and pronouns in a variety of ways. They can be used to describe size, shape, color, age, origin, material, purpose, and many other qualities.

For example:

• ប្រភេទអានរូបភាពប្រភេទចាប់ផ្តើម (prə-teh ɑn-ruup-pii prə-teh cɑp-təəm) - introductory reading type
• ប្រភេទអានរូបភាពប្រភេទចុចដើម (prə-teh ɑn-ruup-pii prə-teh cəc-dəəm) - basic reading type
• ប្រភេទអានរូបភាពប្រភេទខ្លី (prə-teh ɑn-ruup-pii prə-teh klii) - short reading type

Adjectives can also be used to compare two or more nouns or pronouns. For example:

• ប្រភេទអានរូបភាពប្រភេទថ្មីជាង (prə-teh ɑn-ruup-pii prə-teh tɑm-nii cieŋ) - newer reading type
• ប្រភេទអានរូបភាពប្រភេទចុចដើមជាង (prə-teh ɑn-ruup-pii prə-teh cəc-dəəm cieŋ) - more basic reading type

Finally, adjectives can also be used to make general statements about a group of nouns or pronouns. For example:

• ប្រភេទអានរូបភាពប្រភេទថ្មីគួរឱ្យអាន (prə-teh ɑn-ruup-pii prə-teh tɑm-nii kuur-yəə ɑn) - new reading types should be read
• ប្រភេទអានរូបភាពប្រភេទចុចដើមគួរឱ្យអានច្រើន (prə-teh ɑn-ruup-pii prə-teh cəc-dəəm kuur-yəə ɑn cər-əən) - basic reading types should be read a lot

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