|
In the grammar section we covered an
introduction to the composition of sentences
in Thai whereby the usual order is:
Subject + verb + object
Simple present: in the simplest
possible manner with few prepositions,
articles, particles, modals or tense
imperfect/perfect modifications (such as
‘will have’), Thais normally converse.
| Example: |
mia glab baan |
(lit; wife
return home). |
Adding adjectives/adverbs: this
can then include an adjective after the verb
and an adverb after the object.
| Example: |
mia ge glab baan cha
cha |
(lit; wife
old, return home slowly). |
Note! An adjective is turned into an
adverb by repeating it (e.g. cha cha)
Tense changes: are made by simply
adding of ja (will) ahead of the
verb, or laeow (already) at the end
of the sentence. Alternatively, you can add
a time stamp to indicate the past such as
mua-wan-nee (yesterday) or mua-gee
(in the past).
| Example: |
mua-wan-nee mia glab baan |
(lit;
yesterday, wife go home) |
| or |
phrung-nee, mia ja glab baan |
(lit;
tomorrow wife will go home). |
Conjunctions: are used in the same
way as they function in English, sandwiched
in between two simple clauses using common
conjunctions such as la (and), rue (or),
laew (then) and others.
| Example: |
rot pai talad, laew
mia glab baan |
(lit;
vehicle go market, then wife go home). |
Interrogatives (questions)
In order to communicate, you will
invariably start by asking a question and
interrogatives almost always come at the end
of the clause, after the situation has been
stated. Here are the most common question
words:
| What |
a-rai |
| Where |
(thee) nai (some times ‘nai’
is used on its own) |
| When |
mua-rai or gee mong
(at what time) |
| How much |
tao rai |
| How many |
gee (comes before the
subject, as an exception to the rule) |
| How (action) |
yaang rai |
| Is (is not) |
mai (rising tone) |
| Can (cannot) |
dai mai (falling then rising
tone) |
| Have (action) |
rue yaang (as in ‘have you
finished?’) |
| Are (to be) |
rue plow (as in ‘are you
Thai?’) |
Here are some examples on how to use
each:
| What: |
talad nee arai |
(lit;
market this is what?) |
| Where: |
talad u thee nai |
(lit;
market is where?) |
| When: |
rot ja pai talad gee mong /
mua-rai |
(lit;
vehicle will go market when?) |
| How much: |
rot nee tao rai |
(lit;
vehicle this how much?) |
| How many: |
Mia mee gee rot |
(lit; wife
has how many vehicles?) |
| How (action): |
Ja pai talad yaang rai |
(lit; will
go market, how?) |
| Is: |
ja pai talad mai |
(lit; go
to the market, no?) |
| Can: |
rot pai talad dai mai |
(lit;
vehicle go market, can, no?) |
| Have: |
mia pai talad rue yaang |
(lit; wife
go market, has she?) |
| Are: |
mia pen kon Thai rue plow |
(lit; wife
is person Thai, is she?) |
Formalities
Thais are very civil and polite by habit
and will always add krup (male) or
ka (female) to the end of the sentence
when addressing others, unless they are very
familiar with them. Often they will also, as
a matter of course, add na in front of this
to soften any commands. It’s important to
get into this habit from the start.
From here, you can start to form basic
sentences using some of the common and
essential vocabulary which we have listed in
the next section.
|
|
