Passive Voice with 'ត្រូវ' — Khmer Grammar

Khmer can form a passive — where the subject undergoes the action rather than doing it — with (trəwtrew) (often (trəwtrew) + (baan)) before the verb. It is used far less than the English passive, so prefer an active sentence unless the passive is genuinely natural.

The Pattern

ហាងត្រូវបានបិទ
haang trəw baan bəthaang trew baan bet
The shop was closed.

Here (trəwtrew) signals that the subject (the shop) is on the receiving end of the action rather than performing it.

Same Word as 'Must'

This is the very same (trəwtrew) that elsewhere means "must / have to" — nothing about (trəwtrew) itself marks it as passive or modal, so you read the rest of the clause to tell them apart.

ខ្ញុំត្រូវបិទហាង
khñom trəw bət haangkhnom trew bet haang
I must close the shop.

Here (trəwtrew) is followed by the verb (bətbet) "close" and its own object (haang) "shop": the subject (khñomkhnom) "I" has something to act on, so this reads as an obligation.

ខ្ញុំត្រូវចាប់
khñom trəw capkhnom trew cap
I got caught.

No (baan) appears here either, yet this reads as passive: (cap) "catch" needs something to catch, and none is given, so (khñomkhnom) can only be the one caught, not the one catching. It is this missing object — not the presence of (baan) — that tips the reading toward passive.

When Khmer Prefers It

The passive feels most natural when the event is unwanted or unfortunate, or when the doer is unknown or unimportant. For neutral, everyday statements Khmer speakers usually keep the sentence active, naming who does what.

គាត់ត្រូវបានចាប់
kŏət trəw baan capkoet trew baan cap
He was caught.

Something unwelcome happened to him, and who caught him barely matters — Khmer states the fact and drops the doer.

The Agent Is Often Unsaid

Unlike English "by …", a Khmer passive commonly leaves the doer out entirely — the focus is on what happened to the subject, not on who did it.

គាត់ត្រូវបានដាល់
kŏət trəw baan dalkoet trew baan dal
He was hit.

No "by ..." phrase appears — Khmer simply doesn't say who hit him.

When in doubt, ask who is doing the action: if the subject is the one carrying it out, (trəwtrew) marks an obligation ("must"); if the subject is on the receiving end, it marks the passive.

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