Narration: Verb Modification Review

Unit 10 is a narration and review unit covering verb modification. Instead of a basic dialogue, it presents a connected narrative describing classroom activities from Units 6–9 in third person. The narration reviews translation exercises, pronunciation correction, and question-and-answer drills. New vocabulary focuses on verb modifiers (trəw-tae, craən-tae, kat, chbah, taam) and noun modifiers (khlah, aetiet, thmey). Students practice converting dialogues into narrative form.

Narration

Cambodian (romanized)	English
1. kruu boŋrien prap aoy koun seh bət siew-phiw mədooŋ tiet.	The teacher tells the students to close their books again.
2. mədooŋ nih kruu boŋrien coŋ aoy koun seh thaa cia oŋglee.	This time the teacher wants the students to say (things) in English.
3. tae mian koun seh mənέ kee min yúl, kee thaa taam kruu cia khmae.	But there is one student who doesn’t understand; he repeats in Khmer.
4. haəy kruu prap koun seh téŋ-oh thaa trəw-tae prae, kom thaa taam.	So the teacher tells all the students that they must translate, not repeat.
5. mian koun seh mənέ? tiet dael prae min trəw.	There is another student who translates incorrectly.
6. kruu thaa khlia niŋ cia khmae mədooŋ tiet aoy kee sdap.	The teacher says the Khmer sentence again for him to listen to.
7. mədooŋ nih koun seh nuh prae trəw.	This time the student translates correctly.
8. ruoc haəy, kruu boŋrien prap aoy koun seh chlaəy somnuo dael kót niŋ suo.	After that, the teacher tells the students to answer the questions he is going to ask.
9. koun seh dael chlaəy kat, kruu prap aoy thaa khlia téŋ-oh.	The students who answer briefly are told by the teacher to say the whole sentence.
10. koun seh dael chlaəy trəw, kruu thaa: baan l?oo.	The students who answer correctly are told: ‘That’s good.‘
11. kraoy móo?, kruu aoy koun seh suo somnuo khlah viñ.	Later, the teacher has the students ask questions back.
12. mədooŋ nih, kruu chlaəy somnuo dael koun seh suo tiw kót.	This time, the teacher answers the questions that the students ask him.
13. somnuo dael kee suo khnia kii: ‘khmae sruol rien tee?’ haəy niŋ ‘khmae pibaa? rien tee?‘	The questions that they ask each other are: ‘Is Khmer easy to learn?’ and ‘Is Khmer difficult to learn?‘

Key Vocabulary

Verb Modifiers

Cambodian	English	Example
trəw-tae	must, should	trəw-tae prae — must translate
craən-tae	mostly, usually	craən-tae chlaəy — for the most part answer
kat	short-cut, briefly	chlaəy kat — answer briefly
chbah	clear	thaa min chbah — say unclearly
taam	according to	taam dael… — according to what, in whatever way that

Noun Modifiers

Cambodian	English	Example
khlah	some (pluralizer)	somnuo khlah — (some) questions
khlah tiet	other(s)	koun seh khlah tiet — other students
aetiet	others	pia? aetiet — other words
thmey	new	khlia thmey — new sentences

Grammar Notes

Negative Constructions: Verb Modification Review

Review the relationship between a Cambodian verb and its modifiers. While nouns and adjectives follow a simple head-modifier order, verbs can have modifiers that either precede or follow them:

Noun Predicate: pia? mun kee boŋ-oh kii khmae. — ‘The first word of all is Khmer.’

Adjective Predicate: sra? niŋ khoh tee. — ‘That vowel is wrong.’

Verb Predicate: koun seh bət siew-phiw. — ‘The students close their books.‘

Non-negatable Verb Modifiers

Some verb modifiers do not belong to the major word-classes. They come before or after the verb:

Before the Verb		After the Verb
soum	’please’	haəy	’already’
kom	’don’t’	tee	(emphatic word)
cam	’wait and’	tee?	(question particle)
aoy	’let, have’	viñ	’back, instead’
niŋ	’will’

Practice Drills

Drill A: Negative Formation with /min/ before Predicate

Positive	Negative
khmae sruol rien.	khmae min sruol rien tee.
khmaw-day nih sruol sose.	khmaw-day nih min sruol sose tee.
siew-phiw nih pibaa? meel.	siew-phiw nih min pibaa? meel tee.
khñom coŋ rien khmae.	khñom min coŋ rien khmae tee.

Drill B: Negative Formation with /min/ Splitting Predicate

Positive	Negative
koun seh sdap baan haəy.	koun seh sdap min baan tee.
look kruu sdap look lii haəy.	look kruu sdap look min lii tee.
khñom róo? tumpóa tii-pram kheeñ haəy.	khñom róo? tumpóa tii-pram min kheeñ tee.

Drill C: Forming Negative Questions

Positive Question	Negative Question
look sdap baan tee?	look sdap min baan tee,? (rih?)
look coŋ rien oŋglee tee?	look min coŋ rien oŋglee tee,?
kee chlaəy somnuo trəw tee?	kee chlaəy somnuo min trəw tee,?