by Don Sena

A complementive is a set of one or more modifiers that can occur just both before and just after the sequence of [subject + verb(s) + object(s)]. A complementive is usually an adverbial or adverbial-like structure made up of one or more modifiers. It can occur either just before the subject – call it “compl-L” (‘L’ for “leading”) – or just after the sequence of subject + verb (phrase) + (any) object(s) – call it “compl-F” (‘F’ for “following”).

So, {topic} {compl-L} [subject + verb(s) + object(s)] {compl-F}, where the { … } means the “…” are optional and the [ ... ] simply group the “…” collectively.

True to its name, the complementive “complements” this central structure [subject + verb(s) + object(s)].

(The optional topic is a noun, noun phrase or noun clause that serves as an introduction to the sentence by referring to something or to someone already understood in context.)

Most such modifiers in this position are adverbs and prepositional phrases which, as a whole, are being used as adverbs. Some adverbs can only occur in the compl-L position, and some in the compl-F. Some, including prepositional phrases, can occur in either compl-L or compl-F.

There are several different subtypes of complementives, depending on how certain adverbial modifiers combine with each other (and sometimes with other items).

Complementives that occur only in the compl-L position include:

บังเอิญ, เผอิญ ‘accidentally, by chance’ (See example above.)

บางที ‘perhaps; sometimes’ (Use of sentence particle มั้ง‘could be’ in same sentence with บางที selects ‘perhaps’; see entry 2F in the paper on the codaphrase: http://www.thai-language.com/ref/codaphrases.)

ธรรมดา, ปกตี ‘normally, generally, ordinarily’

อยู่ดีๆ ‘suddenly, unexpectedly, from out of nowhere, abruptly, without warning’

(ถี่ๆ ‘at close intervals, repeatedly, frequently’ and ซ่ะงั้น ‘unexpectedly, just like that’ occur in the compl-F slot.)

อย่างมาก, อย่างน้อย ‘at most, at least (respectively)’

โดยเฉพาะ(อย่างยิ่ง) ‘in particular, especially;

โดยมาก, ส่วนมาก ‘usually, for the most part’

เสร็จแล้ว ‘after that, subsequently, once that was done’

เพราะฉนั้น ‘consequently, because of that’

มิฉนั้น, ไม่งั้น, ไม่ยังงั้น, เดี๋ยว ‘otherwise, except for that’

ถึงนั้น, (ถึง)ยังไงก็ตาม, (ถึง)ยังไงก็ดี (more formally, อย่างไรก็ตาม, อย่างไรก็ดี)

‘nonetheless, in spite of that, even at that’

ด้วยกัน ‘along with or together with others, in company’

อีก ‘in addition, further, still’

The subject slot is empty, as it often is in Thai, when the subject can be identified in context. (The “null subject” is not unique to Thai, but is found in other, mutually unrelated languages, as well – as in Italian and Japanese, for example.)

เท่านั้น ‘only, no more than that’

Preposition แต่ ‘only/just [that thing]’ and เท่านั้น often occur in the same sentence clause.

ด้วย ‘also, in addition to doing some other thing (as another action performed by the same subject)’

ครู, the topic, here is “set off’ by a rhythmic pause and what is called “normal sustained stress.” (See the paper on the prosodic features of Thai.)

เหมือนกัน ‘too, as did (or as does) someone else, likewise (in comparison with someone else doing more or less the same thing); anyway, even at that’

ต่างหาก ‘on the contrary, instead’

อยู่ดี ‘in spite of everything, contrary to expectations, paradoxically’

ทันที ‘immediately, right away’

เลย, affirmative sentence: ‘directly (without stopping on the way), absolutely, simply *that* just stated’; negative sentence: ‘at all, whatever’

ที, ทีนึง ‘this one time, for once (at least)’

ซะ is the same trailing auxiliary as under the example for เอง above, and described further below.

ไปซะทีซิ่
‘Why don’t you go?!’ (ซิ่ is a variant of the particle ซิ mentioned above under the example for ทันที.)

หน่อย ‘this little thing, no big deal here, for just a moment’

Notice that the use of the verb แวะ ‘to stop along the way (and possibly call on someone or get something at a store)’ is mutually exclusive with เลย in the compl-F position.

ก็แล้วกัน ‘so let’s just settle on that or leave it at that, and let’s just be done with it’

A special subset of complementives (“specific adverbs”) that occur only in the compl-F are these ten, headed by แล้ว:

แล้ว ‘already; (as of) now (from what has just happened)’

ซะ is a trailing auxiliary, following the main verb ทำงาน. ซะ affects the aspect of the verb such that the action of “working” is treated or viewed as a unit, or as an action that is done as a simple fact, without belaboring the action of the main verb. ซะ is derived from เสีย and is often followed by แล้ว.

(One other main function of แล้ว  is its use as a member of a certain subclass of conjunctions. แล้ว, in that use, introduces an independent sentence clause without being part of the clause. See first example under อีก above.)

เรื่อย ‘continuously, continually’ เสมอ ‘always’ บ่อย ‘often’ แย่ ‘excruciatingly, with unbearable difficulty, having a hard time’ เพลิน ‘delightfully, with pleasurable absorption’ ยุ่ง ‘unpleasantly involved’ (as adjective, ‘in disorder; overly busy’) เบื่อ ‘boringly’ (as adjective, ‘bored’) จริง ‘really’ (as adjective, ‘true, real’) ก่อน : ‘previously, firstly, (now) before doing anything else’

Compare the two ideas of “now” under แล้ว above with a third notion of “now” expressed by ก่อน in:

In a negative sentence, … ไม่ … ก่อน says that the subject is not going to do something just yet:

In general, แล้ว can be directly preceded by any of the nine listed beneath it just above to form a larger adverbial phrase:

The set of specific adverbs above (the list of nine + แล้ว) is further identified by the ability of each member of the set to be immediately preceded by อยู่ (as in มีคนนั่งอยู่ก่อนแล้ว just above).

A number of reduplicated adjectives, nouns and verbs occur in the compl-F slot with adverbial force. Certain adjectives, when reduplicated, must be prefixed by อย่าง or แบบ in order to function as complementives. Some of the non-reduplicated complementives in the compl-F slot shown above area among those that can be reduplicated. Most such reduplications occur only in the compl-F:
จริงๆ ‘truly, really true, actually so’

แบบจริงจัง, อย่างจริงจัง, เอาจริงเอาจัง ‘in earnest, seriously (without humor)’

(Adjective: จริงจัง, ‘earnest, earnest, serious (about it, not in jest)’; จริงจัง is a quasi-reduplication, in which จัง is an alliterative re-duplicator.)

อย่างสนุกสนาน, สนุกสนาน ‘joyful, cheerful, enjoyable, delightful’ (as adjective, in which สนาน is an alliterative re-duplicator):

รอบๆ ‘(moving or positioned) around, all around, round and round ’ (as compl-F):

อย่างเพลิดเพลิน ‘with pleasure, pleasurably, pleasingly’

เนิ่นๆ ‘very early; very soon; as early as possible’ แต่เนิ่นๆ ‘earlier (than initially planned)’ มาแต่เนิ่นๆ ‘to come earlier’; ตื่นแต่เนิ่นๆ ‘to rise/awaken earlier’ นานเนิ่นไกล ‘far into the future’ เนิ่นนาน ‘for a long time’ ช้าๆ ‘slowly, unhurriedly, leisurely’ เร็วๆ ‘quickly, (at a) fast (rate of movement)’

ชัดๆ ‘clearly’ เขียนชัดๆ ‘Write clearly!’

สม่ำเสมอ ‘normally, regularly, ordinarily, commonly; always; ceaselessly, over and over again’

ถี่ๆ ‘at close intervals, repeatedly, frequently’ ซ่ะงั้น ‘unexpectedly, just like that’

คาที่ ‘(right) on the spot’, คามือ ‘in the act, red-handed; in hand, ’, คาตา ‘with one’s own eyes’

There are a number of complementives that can occur in either the compl-L or compl-F slot.

Prepositional phrases that indicate location or time, like ในเมืองนี้ and ต่อจากนี้ไป can, in general, occur as either leading or following complementives. Occurrence as compl-L is incidental (ในเมืองนี้ or ต่อจากนี้ไป something happens/happened/will happen) and as compl-F is distinctive (with action happening specifically ในเมืองนี้ or ต่อจากนี้ไป).
Complementives that occur in either position include locational and time expressions (like ในเมืองนี้ and ต่อจากนี้ไป above), and various interrogatives or indefinites that resemble adjectives, pronouns and adverbs.

ทำไม ‘why, for what reason, how come, what for?’

อย่างนี้, ยังงี้; อย่างนั้น, ยังงั้น ‘(in) this way; (in) that way’

อย่างไร, ยังไง ‘How, in what way?’

เมื่อไหร่, เมื่อไร, เมอะไร ‘When?’

ที่ไหน ‘Where?’

ที่นี้; ที่นั่น; ที่โน่น ‘here’; ‘there (nearby)’; ‘(over) there (afar off)’

พอดี ‘just then, at that very moment; just right’

เดี๋ยวนี้, ตอนนี้; ตอนนั้น ‘now; then, at that time’

ต่อไป (นี้), (ในเวลา) ต่อมา ‘from now on, from then on’

A certain subset of Thai prepositions – ten in number – are frequently compounded (and prefixed) with the noun ข้าง ‘side’ to make nouns with meanings related to the prepositions prefixed by ข้าง. These nouns are also complementives that fill either the compl-L or compl-F slot in the Thai sentence.

นอก มีน้ำอยู่ข้างนอก ‘…………… outside.’
บน ………ข้างบน ‘…………… up on top, upstairs.’
ล่าง ………ข้างล่าง ‘…………… down below/stairs.’
เหนือ ………ข้างเหนือ ‘…………… ([t]here) up above.’
ใต้ ………ข้างใต้ ‘…………… underneath.’
หน้า ………ข้างหน้า ‘……………… at/up front.’
หลัง ………ข้างหลัง ‘……………… in back.’
ข้าง ………ข้างๆ ‘……………… alongside.’
กลาง ………ข้างกลาง ‘……………… in the middle.’

The nouns เบื้อง ‘side’, ภาย ‘place, side, time, scope’ and ทาง ‘way, route’ combine with certain members of this subset of prepositions. The resulting derivatives are like those built upon ข้าง above. The prepositions that combine with each of these nouns differ, in general, according to the specific co-constituent noun.

เบื้องหลัง ‘in/to/at the rear; in the past’ เบื้องหน้า ‘in front; in the future’ เบื้องล่าง ‘down below, on the lower side’ เบื้องบน ‘up above, on the upper side’ ภายใน ‘(from) within’ ภายนอก ‘(from) without’ ภายหน้า ‘in the future’ ภายหลัง ‘afterwards’ ทางเหนือ ‘northward’ ทางใต้ ‘southward’

All of the compounds with the ten simple prepositions listed above are also prepositions themselves, as well as nouns and complementives.