Lao Basic Course

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Lao Basic Course

Volume 2

School of Language Studies

East Asian & Pacific Languages

Lao Section September 2014

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About FSI

Established in 1947, the Foreign Service Institute is the United States Government’s

primary training institution for employees of the U.S. foreign affairs community,

preparing American diplomats and other professionals to advance U.S. foreign

affairs interests overseas and in Washington. FSI provides more than 600 courses–to

include training in some 70 foreign languages, as well as in leadership, management,

professional tradecraft, area studies, and applied information technology skills–to

some 100,000 students a year, drawn from the Department of State and more than 40

other government agencies and military service branches. FSI provides support to all

U.S. Government employees involved in foreign affairs, from State Department

entry-level Foreign and Civil Service employees to newly-assigned Ambassadors,

and to our Foreign Service National colleagues who assist U.S. efforts at some 270

posts abroad.

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The prettiest  ¤¾´¡¸ú¾¹´øú The loveliest  ¹-û¾»ñ¡¡¸ú¾¹´øú The ugliest     ¢š»û¾¨¡¸ú¾¹´öú The best-mannered »¼®»ûº¨¡¸ú¾¹´øú The most bashful  ¢šº¾¨¡¸ú¾¹´öú

Which of these three  Ã¦¾´£ôš À¥í¾£ò©¸ú¾-ñ¡¦½Á©¤ຏູໄÃ©

performers do you think is ¤¾´¡¸ú¾¹´úø?

the prettiest? ?

Which of these three  Ã-¦¾´£ôš À¥í¾£ò©¸ú¾-ñ¡¦½Á©¤ຏູໄÃ©

performers do you think is ¹-û¾»ñ¡ ¡¸ú¾¹´øú?

loveliest? ?

Which of these three  Ã¦¾´£ôš À¥í¾£ò©¸ú¾-ñ¡¦½Á©¤ຏູໄເຈ performers do you think is   ¢š»û¾¨¡¸ú¾¹´úø?

the ugliest? ?

Which of these three  Ã¦¾´£ôš À¥í¾£ò©¸ú¾-ñ¡¦½Á©¤ຏູໄÃ©

performers do you think is  »¼®»ûº¨¡¸ú¾¹´úø?

the best mannered? ?



Which of these three  Ã¦¾´£ôš À¥í¾£ò©¸ú¾-ñ¡¦½Á©¤ຏູໄÃ©

performers do you think is   ¢šº¾¨¡¸ú¾¹´úö?

the most bashful? ?

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09/23/2014 7:28 AM 206 M-2

Equally pretty  ¤¾´Àê‣¾¡ï

Equally skilful  À¡„¤Àê‣¾¡ï

Equally nice  ©ñÀê‣¾¡ï

To be educated  Ä©û»ñ®¡¾-¦ô¡¦¾ The same age  ´ñº¾¨õÀê‣¾¡ï

Have a lot of work  ´ó¸¼¡¹ì¾¨

Have salary  ´óÀ¤ò-À©õº-

These three performers are ï¡¦½Á©¤¦¾´£ôš ¤¾´Àê‣¾¡ï.

equally pretty. 

These three performers are  ï¡¦½Á©¤¦¾´£ôš À¡„¤Àê‣¾¡ï.

equally skilful. 

These three performers are ï¡¦½Á©¤¦¾´£ôš ©ñÀê‣¾¡ï.

equally nice. 

These three performers are  ï¡¦½Á©¤¦¾´£ôš Ä©û»ñ®¡¾-¦ô¡¦¾ equally educated. Àê‣¾¡ï.



These three performers are ï¡¦½Á©¤¦¾´£ôš ´ñº¾¨õÀê‣¾¡ï.

the same age. 

These three performers have  ï¡¦½Á©¤¦¾´£ôš ´ñ¸¼¡¹ì¾¨Àê‣¾¡ï.

equal large amount of work. 

These three performers have  -ñ¡¦½Á©¤¦¾´£ö-ຌš ´ñÀ¤ðÀ©óºÀê‣¾¡ï.

equal salaries.   

C-1

A. Of these three performers who do A. 

you think is the prettiest ? ? B. I think these three performers are B. 

equally pretty. 

C-2

A. Of these three performers there's one A. 

who is the prettiest, don't you think? , ? B. No, I think they are equally pretty. B. 



NOTES

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1) The construction for Comparison of Inequality when more than two objects are being compared is:

NP (Number of Objects) + NP (Subjects) + Vs  + 

   

(of these 3 persons which performers pretty more group)

'Which of these three performers is the prettiest?'

'group' always occurs in this construction. The classifier is used before  because it is the classifier for Observe the following construction with a different classifier:



'Which of these three bananas is the most delicious?'

2. The construction of Comparison of Equality when three or more objects are being compared is:

NP (Subject) + Vs + 

  

'These three women are equally tall.'

'equal, equally' may also occur after NP:



(These three women have age equal)

'These three women are the same age.'

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09/23/2014 7:28 AM 208 APPLICATION 1) Complete the following sentences:

(a)       (Which of the four children is the most loveable?)

(b)      (Which of these three women do you think is the most bashful?)

(c)              (These six books are equally priced..)

(d)          (These five boys have equal amounts of money.)

 (e)  

(These two carpenters work equally skillfully.)

(f)       (Which of these three soldiers drives the fastest?

(g)          (Which of these three students is the most studious?)

(h)  

(Which is the biggest of these three chickens?)

(i)              (Those three bottles have equal amounts of water in them.)

(j)  

(Of those three artisans, which can change a tire the fastest?)

_______________________________

Answers: 1 (a) (b)  (c) 

(d)  (e)  (f) 

(g) (h)  (i) 

(j) 

(18)

Cycle 46

M-1

Book, (classifier)  ¯›´, ¹ö¸

Money, kip  À¤ò-, ¡ó®

Rice, bag  À¢í¾, «ö¤

Fish, (classifier)    ¯¾, Âª

Bullet, (classifier)  ìø¡¯õ-, ìø¡

Hand grenade, (classifier)  ì½À®ó©´õ, ìø¡

Beer, bottle    À¹ìí¾À®ງ, ÀÀ¡û¸

Sign, slogan,  ¯û¾¨, £ð¾¢¸ñ-

Sheet (classifier)  ÀÀ°ú-, ຾ຏໃຌ

Now I have two books  ©¼¸š ¢ûº¨¨ñ¤À¹ìõº¯›´µúø ຘບຄນ຺ທ.

left. 

Now I have two million  ©¼¸š ¢ûº¨¨ñ¤À¹ìõºÀ¤ò-µúø ¦º¤ìÉ¾-¡ó®.

kips left.     

Now I have two bags of  ©¼¸š ¢ûº¨¨ñ¤À¹ìõºÀ¢í¾ດúø ¦º¤«ö¤.

rice left. 

Now I have two fish left.  ©¼¸š ¢ûº¨¨ñ¤À¹ìõº¯¾µúø ¦º¤Âª.



Now I have two bottles  ©¼¸š ¢ûº¨¨ñ¤À¹ìõºÀ¹ìí¾À®ງµúø¦º¤ÀÀ¡û¸.

of beer left.    

Now I have two slogan  ©¼¸š¢ûº¨¨ï¤À¹ìóº¯û¾¨£ð¾¢¸ñ-ດູໃ signs left.     ¦º¤ÀÀ°ú-.

(19)

09/23/2014 7:28 AM 210 M-2

Money, dollar  À¤ò-, Â©ì¾

Sack, (classifier)  «ö¤, (¹-ú¸¨) Banana, (classifier)  ¹´¾¡¡É¸¨, (¹-ú¸¨) Article, story  ®ö©£¸¾´, Àìœº¤

Member, person  ¦½´¾§ò¡, £ö- People, family  £ö-, £º®£ö¸

Towel (classifier)  °û¾À§ñ©¹-û¾, (°õ-) Brush, brush teeth  ຾¯¤, «øÀÀ¢û¸,

(classifier)  ºñ-

How many dollars do you  À¥í¾¨ñ¤À¹ìõºÀ¤ò-µ úø¥ñ¡Â©ì¾?

have left? ?

How many sacks do  À¥í¾¨ñ¤À¹ìõº«ö¤µúø ¥ñ¡¹-ú¸¨?

you have left? ?

How many bananas do you  À¥í¾¨ñ¤À¹ìõº¹´¾¡¡û¸¨µúø

¥ñ¡¹-ú¸¨?

have left? ?

How many articles (a c À¥í¾¨ñ¤À¹ìõº®ö©£¸¾´µøú

¥ï¡Àìœº¤?

written) do you have ? left?

How many members do  À¥í¾¨ñ¤À¹ìõº¦½´¾§ò¡µúø

¥ñ¡£ö-?

you have left? ?

How many towels do you  À¥í¾¨ñ¤À¹ìõº°û¾À§ñ©¹-û¾µúø

¥ñ¡°õ-?

have left? ?

How many tooth brushes  À¥í¾¨ñ¤À¹ìõºÀÀ¯¤«øÀÀ¢û¸µøú

¥ñ¡ºñ-?

do you have left? ?

(20)

C-1

A. Now they have two sacks of rice A. 

left, isn't that right ? ?

B. Yes, that's right, now they have B. 

two sacks (of rice) left. 

C-2

A. How many bananas do you have A. 

left ? ?

B. I have five bananas left. B. 



C-3

A. Of what objects of cloth do A. ? you have two left ?

B. I have two towels left. B. 

  ?

NO APPLICATION

(21)

09/23/2014 7:28 AM 212 Cycle 47

M-1

Rice  À¢í¾

Pepper  ¹´¾¡À°ñ©

Fish sauce  ຌ ໄາ¯¾

Salt  À¡õº

Sugar  -Õª¾-

Black pepper  ²ò¡ແê

Bread  À¢í¾¥†

Meat  §š

Our rice is all gone.  À¢í¾À»ö¾¹´ö©ÀÀìû¸.

Our (green, red) pepper  ¹´¾¡À°ñ©À»ö¾¹´ö©ÀÀìû¸.

is all gone.

Our fish sauce is all gone.  -Õ¯¾À»ö¾¹´ö©ÀÀìû¸.

Our salt is all gone.  À¡õºÀ»ö¾¹´ö©ÀÀìû¸.

Our sugar is all gone. . -Õª¾-À»ö¾¹´ö©ÀÀìû¸.

Our black pepper is all gone. . ²ò¡ÄêÀ»ö¾¹´ö©ÀÀìû¸.

Our bread is all gone. . À¢í¾¥†À»ô¾¹´ô©ÀÀìû¸.

Our meat is all gone.  §šÀ»ô¾¹´ô©ÀÀìû¸.

(22)

M-2

Rice  À¢í¾

Butter  ຌ ໄາ´ñ-À®ó Lard  ນ ໍ້ າ´ñ-¹´ø Salad dressing  ນ ໍ້ າ´ñ-¦½¹ìñ©

Onion  °ñ¡-®‣¸

Garlic  °ñ¡ê¼´

Cucumbers  ¹´¾¡ÀÀª¤

Beans  ¹´¾¡«‣¸

Our rice is almost gone.  À¢í¾À»ö¾Ã¡ûຆິ¹´ö©ÀÀìû¸.

Our butter is almost  ໍ້ ານ ´ñ-À®óÀ»ö¾Ã¡ûຆິ¹´ö©ÀÀìû¸.

gone. 

Our lard is almost gone.  ໍ້ ານ ´ñ-¹´øÀ»ö¾Ã¡ûຆິ¹´ö©ÀÀìû¸.



Our salad dressing is  ໍ້ ານ ´ñ-¦½¹ìñ©À»ö¾Ã¡ûຆິ¹´ö©ÀÀìû¸.

almost gone. 

Our onions are almost  °ï¡®‣¸À»ô¾ເກໄຆິ¹´ö©ÀÀìû¸.

gone.    

Our garlic is almost  °ñ¡ê¼´À»ö¾Ã¡ûຆິ¹´ö©ÀÀìû¸.

gone. 

Our cucumbers are  ¹´¾¡ÀÀª¤À»ö¾Ã¡ûຆິ¹´ö©ÀÀìû¸.

almost gone 

Our beans are almost  ¹´¾¡«‣¸À»ô¾Ã¡ûຆິ¹´ö©ÀÀìû¸.

gone. 

(23)

09/23/2014 7:28 AM 214 M-3

Fish sauce  ນ ໍ້ າ¯¾

Salt  À¡õº

Black pepper  ²ò¡ແ຋

Onions  °ï¡®‣¸

Bread  À¢í¾¥†

Beef  §š¤ô¸

Fruit  ¹´¾¡Ä´û

We still have fish sauce.  ນ ໍ້ າ¯¾À»ö¾¨ñ¤µøÈ.

We still have salt.  À¡õºÀ»ö¾¨ñ¤ດູໃ. We still have black pepper.  ²ò¡ÄêÀ»ö¾¨ñ¤ດູໃ. We still have onions.  °ï¡®‣¸À»ô¾¨ï¤ດູໃ. We still have bread.   À¢í¾¥†À»ô¾¨ï¤ດູໃ. We still have beef.    §š¤ô¸À»ô¾¨ï¤µöÈ.

We still have fruit.   ¹´¾¡Ä´ûÀ»ö¾¨ñ¤µøÈ.

C-1

A. Are we out of pepper? A. ? B. Yes, we are out of it. B. 

C-2

A. Are we nearly out of salad A. 

dressing ? ?

B. Yes, we are almost out of it. B. 

C-3

A. Are we out of pepper? A. ? B. No, we still have some. B. 

(24)

NOTES

1) means 'to be used up'. It is used to indicate that the supply of something is exhausted:

 ' The fish sauce is all gone.'

When precedes it indicates that the supply is nearly used up.

The manner in which something was consumed can be indicated by putting a verb before

:'eaten up', etc.

2) is used to indicate that something remains from an amount that was originally set-aside for some special purpose.

Observe the use of in sentences:

 'I have two books left.'

(to me still remains book 2) (of the ones I brought back from Germany.)

The classifier phrase indicating the amount is not immediately next to its NP but follows 

3)  is used to indicate that a certain situation still continues to exist. It may be used without but with some difference in meaning. Compare:

      'We still have bananas.'

(There's no need to buy any more).

 'We still have bananas (left over from making a banana cake).'

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09/23/2014 7:28 AM 216 APPLICATION

1. Fill in the blanks:

(a) __________  _________? (How many members do you have left?)

(b)  ___________

(Our butter is almost gone.)

(c) _______________

(Our garlic is all gone.)

(d) _______________

(We still have salt.)

(e)  ____________?

(Are we out of pepper?)

(f) ____________

(We still have beef.)

(g) ,________________

(We're out of it.)

(h) ______________

(I have two fish left.)

(i)    __________ 

(They ate up the food.)

(j) ________  _________

(Now I have two kips left.)

(k) _________________! (Time's up!)

(l)  ___________ ________?

(How many bananas do you have left?)

______________________

Answers: (a)  (b)  (c)  (d)  (e) 

(f)  (g)  (h)  (i)  (j) 

(k)  (l) 

(26)

Cycle 48

M-1

Money  À¤ò-

Will power, encouragement  ¡ð¾ìñ¤Ã¥

Worry, concern    £¸¾´À¯ñ-¹ú¸¤

Time     À¸ì¾

Contract, agreement  ¦ñ-¨¾

Hope  ¹¸ñ¤

idea. 

discouraged. .

concern. .

already over.

(27)

09/23/2014 7:28 AM 218 M-2

Question  £ð¾«¾´

Problem  ¯ñ-¹¾

Relations, one another  £¸¾´¦ð¾²ñ-, ¡ñ-

Love one another  »ñ¡ÀÀ²¤¡ñ-



They still have questions.  À¢ö¾À¥í¾¨ñ¤´ó£ð¾«¾´ດູໃ.

.

They still have problems.   À¢ö¾À¥í¾¨ñ¤´óບñ-¹¾µøÈ.

.

They still have relations  À¢ö¾À¥í¾¨ñ¤´ó£¸¾´¦ð¾²ñ-¡ñ-µøÈ.

with one another. 

another. 

They still love one  À¢ö¾À¥í¾¨ñ¤»ñ¡ÀÀ²¤¡ñ-ດູໃ.

another. 

Lao Basic Course

Lao Basic Course

Volume 2

School of Language Studies

About FSI

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