Verbs in Penang Hokkien

1. Verbs in Penang Hokkien are quite regular compared to English. Tenses, in the sense of English grammar, do not exist in Penang Hokkien. (There is no declension of the verbs to show numbers (buy, buys) or frame of time (buy, bought, buying).) The same verb is used throughout.

2. Time References in Penang Hokkien

Penang Hokkien employs a selection of particles and time adverbs to show the various frames of time.

The time adverbs are usually inserted after the subject, unless there is an auxiliary verb, in which case the time adverb comes after it. 2.1 General Actions
General actions do not exhibit any particular time frame. It can correspond to the present, past or future tense of English grammar. The verb does not indicate when the action is carried out. Wah1 co1kang1.
I work.

Ah3 Leong2 khee1 ok3tng2.
Ah Leong goes to school.

Ee1 beh4 cit3-teng1 chia3.
She bought a car. 2.2 Actions in the Present
To show an action happening in the present, insert a word(s) that refers to a present time, such as tha1na1 and tong3kim1, both meaning "now", into the sentence. Wah1 tong3kim1 kio33 ie1.
I call him now.

Lu1 tiok3boek1 tha1na1 lai2.
You must come now. 2.3 Actions in the Past
To show an action happening in the past, insert a word(s) that refers to a past time, such as ta3ma1 (just now), ca1khi4 (this morning), ca33hnui1 (yesterday), ca33meh2 (last night), teng1 leh1pai3 (last week), teng1 guek1. Wah1 ca33hnui1 khee1 gin3hang2.
I went to the bank yesterday.

Wah1 cit1 ca1khi4 ciak3 na3si3 le3mak1.
This morning I had nasi lemak. 2.4 Actions in the future
To show an action that will happen in the future, insert a word(s) indicating a future action, such as kin3meh2 (tonight), ma1cai3 (tomorrow), au33jit3 (day after tomorrow), au33 leh1pai3 (next week), au33 ko1 guek1 (next month), mae3 ni2 (next year). Wah1 au33 leh1pai3 khee1 Teong3 Kok3.
I go to China next week.

Wah1 ma1cai3 kho1chaek3.
I have exam tomorrow. 2.5 Actions that are on going
To show an action that is on-going, insert "tua1" which means "in the midst of". It corresponds to the continuous participle in English. Wah1 tua1 ciak1.
I'm eating.

Ee1 tua1 khoon3.
She is sleeping. 2.6 Actions that are completed
To show an action that has been completed, place the particle liau4 at the end of the sentence. Being a particle, liau4 does not affect the word before it, meaning the word before it remains in the citation form. Wah1 ciak3 liau4.
I have eaten.

Ee1 khoon3 pa4 liau4.
She has slept fully. 2.7 Actions that have not been completed
To show an action that has not been completed, place the verb in between "a1boey3" and "gok3". These two words in combination means "not ... yet". Wah1 a1boey3 ciak3 gok3.
I have not eaten yet.

Ee1 a1boey3 khoon3 pa4 gok3.
She has not slept fully yet. 3.0 Imperative Mood
The imperative mood is a grammatical mood that forms commands or requests. The verb in the imperative mood remains in the citation form in Penang Hokkien. Thau4 lu1-eh3 eh2.
Remove your shoes.

To3long3 jip1 lai2.
Please come in.

Penang Hokkien Grammar

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