This article describes the grammar of the Khmer (Cambodian) language, focusing on the standard dialect.
There is some derivation by means of prefixes and infixes, but it is no longer always productive,[1] as those elements are often crystallized in words inherited from Old Khmer.
Even in Old Khmer, the same affix could have multiple functions (for example, it could serve as a nominalizer in one word and as a causativizer in another).
A common infix has the form [-ɑm(n)-] or [-ɑn-] (or with other vowels), inserted after an initial consonant, especially to convert adjectives or verbs into nouns.
Reversal of the order can change the meaning: បីɓəjthreeម៉ោងmaoŋhourបី ម៉ោងɓəj maoŋthree hourthree hoursម៉ោងmaoŋhourបីɓəjthreeម៉ោង បីmaoŋ ɓəjhour threethree o'clock Classifying particles for use with numerals and nouns exist but are optional, unlike Thai, except in introductory clauses.
However, the words for multiples of ten from 30 to 90 are not related to the basic Khmer numbers but are probably borrowed from Thai.
Powers of ten are denoted by រយ [rɔːj] (100), ពាន់ [pŏən] (1,000), ម៉ឺន [məɨn] (10,000), សែន [saen] (100,000), លាន [liən] (1,000,000) and កោដិ [kaot] (10,000,000).
The Khmer script includes the symbol ៗ, which indicates that the preceding word or phrase is to be repeated.
As is typical of most East Asian languages,[4] Khmer verbs do not inflect at all; tense and aspect can be expressed using particles (such as កំពុង [kəmpuŋ], placed before a verb to express continuous aspect) and adverbs (such as "yesterday", "earlier", "tomorrow"), or may be understood from context.
In wh-questions, the question word generally remains in its usual grammatical position in the sentence, rather than being brought to the start as in English (that is, wh-fronting does not normally take place).
ខ្ញុំkʰɲomជឿcɨəខ្ញុំ ជឿkʰɲom cɨəI believeខ្ញុំkʰɲomមិនmɨnជឿcɨəទេteːខ្ញុំ មិន ជឿ ទេkʰɲom mɨn cɨə teːI don't believeAnother fairly common way of indicating negation uses អត់ (also spelled ⟨ឥត⟩) "[ɑt]" instead of មិន.
"អត់", as an independent word, means "without" or "lacking" and expresses a similar connotation when used to negate a verb.