Basic Grammar: Pronoun Usage and Basic Sentence Structure

Personal Pronouns – Subject Pronouns and Object Pronouns

Thai pronoun is rather complicated. The choice of word “I” and “you” depends on relationship between
the speaker and the audience, age and gender. As foreign language learner, the first and safest choice is
usually the standard politeness level normally used for speaking to someone you do not know well.
But unlike English and other western languages, there is no distinction between “I” and “me” or “he” and
“him” or “she” and “her”. Whatever your choice of word for “I” is will also be the same word for “me”.

The table shows a list of some commonly used pronouns.

First Person (I - me, we – us) Second Person (you) Third Person (they – them)
ข้า / ข้าพเจ้า kh a / k a-p -c
h
w ท่าน th n ท่าน / แก th n / kɛɛ
ผม / ดิฉนั ph m /d -ch n คุณ khun เขา / เธอ kh w / thəə
ฉัน ch n เธอ thǝǝ เขา kh w
เรา / กู raw / kuu มึง / แก mʉŋ / kɛɛ มัน man

In addition to these words above, very often Thais address one another directly by using name or kinship
words. At a formal level, the prefix คุณ ‘khun’ is usually added to a person’s name, say Mathew, such as
Khun-Mɛɛt-thiw, to address him either as second or third person.

For example, “Khun Mɛɛt-thiw kin kha w rʉ yaŋ khr p/kh ” literally means “Has (Mr.) Mathew eaten?”
It can also mean “(Mr.) Mathew, have you eaten?” if the question is directed at Mathew himself.

Among closed friends, Thai often addresses one another by nicknames. It is not uncommon for people to
know each other for years and yet do not know each other’s full name. It may sound tribal to English
speaker, but it is common for Thai people to call themselves by their own name.

For example, omchaay, whose nickname is K i, is taking a leave. He may say “ pay lɛɛo n ” which
literally means “Kai has to go now.” but it really means “I’ve to go now”, as in “ pay lɛɛo n khr p”.
imilarly, Thai address the other’s party by his or her name directly rather than using the word ‘khun’ or
other Thai words that translated as ‘you’. Using back previous example, omchaay may ask Mathew
whom he is already familiar with: “Mɛɛt-thiw kin kha w rʉ yaŋ?” for ‘Have you eaten?’

Lastly, Thais also often use kinship term to address one another to show respect or intimacy. The words
‘ph i’ and ‘n ŋ’ meaning “brother” or “sister” are used to address even strangers. Mother and father
address themselves as ‘mɛɛ’ and ‘ph ’ when talking to their children whereas children address their
parents or talk to other about their parents, they refer to them as ‘khun mɛɛ’ and ‘khun p ’. Similarly,
teacher is being addressed as ‘khun khruu’ or ‘ʔaa-caan’ and optionally followed by the teacher’s name.

For example, generic polite sentence for ‘how are you?’ is ‘khun sa-baay dii m y (khr p/kh )?’.
tudent to teacher: ‘ʔaa-caan sa-baay dii m y (khr p/kh )?’
Son to father: ‘khun ph sa-baay dii m y (khr p/kh )?’

In conclusion, there is no single word for ‘you’ or ‘me’ in Thai. You have to gauge according to the
situation and relationship with the person you are talking to.
Verbs and Sentence Structure

There is no conjugation in Thai verbs. The word รัก for instance can stand for ‘love’, ‘loves’ ‘loved’ or
‘loving’. Usually, standard Thai sentence is in -V-O pattern.

Subject Pronouns Verbs Object Pronouns

ฉัน ch n (I) รัก r k (love) เธอ thǝǝ (you)
เธอ thǝǝ (you) ชอบ ch p (like) ฉัน ch n (me)
เขา kh w (he/she/they) รู ้จกั r u c k (know) เรา raw (us)
เรา raw (we) คิดถึง khit tʉŋ (think of, miss) เขา kh w (him/her/them)
Subject Nouns มา maa/ไป pay + หา h a (visit) Object Nouns
นักเรี ยน n k rian อาจารย์ ʔaa-caan
จอห์น John แอนน์ Anne

But many times, subjects, and even object pronoun too, are omitted in the sentences, when the speakers
and listeners have already known the context well, unlike English in which the subject is obligatory to
form a complete sentence. In short, VERB is the core of a sentence in any language.

ฉัน คิดถึง เธอ นะ I miss you. คิดถึง นะ (I) miss (you).

เดี๋ยว เขา จะ มาหา ฉัน Later, he will come to look for me เดี๋ยว เขา จะ มาหา
เดี๋ยว ฉัน จะ ไปหา เธอ นะ Later, I will go over to your side, OK? เดี๋ยว จะ ไปหา นะ

Unlike Western languages, which inverse the structure to V-S-O structure for asking yes-no question,
Thai simply adds “–or not?” / “is it so?” to the main sentence itself.

Subject Pronouns Verbs Object Pronouns …or not?

ฉัน ch n (I) รัก r k (love) เธอ thǝǝ (you) ไหม m y
เธอ thǝǝ (you) ชอบ ch p (like) ฉัน ch n (me) หรื อเปล่า rʉ pl aw
เขา kh w (he/she/they) รู ้จกั r u c k (know) เรา raw (us)
เรา raw (we) คิดถึง khit tʉŋ (think of, miss) เขา kh w (him/her/them)
Subject Nouns มา maa/ไป pay + หา h a (visit) Object Nouns Is that so?
นักเรี ยน n k rian อาจารย์ ʔaa-caan หรื อ rʉʉ / rǝǝ
จอห์น John แอนน์ Anne ใช่ไหม ch y m y

A girl asking a boy: เธอ ชอบ ฉัน หรื อ เปล่า Do you like me?
A boy giving present to a girl: ชอบ ไหม (You) like (it)?
Remember that Thai often do omit subject and object in colloquial speech.
Directly asking a question: คุณ รู ้จกั คุณแอนน์ ไหม รู ้จกั คุณแอนน์ไหม
Pointing over to Anne or showing picture of her: คุณ รู ้จกั เขา ไหม รู ้จกั เขา ไหม รู ้จกั
ไหม
Most of the time, the subject in subject-less question is ‘you’ and in the subject in a statement is ‘I’.
Answering Yes-No Questions

There is no definite word for “yes” in Thai.

In practice, you repeat the whole sentence or just the main verb.

Examples: ชอบ ไหม (You) like (it)? ชอบ (I) like (it).
รู ้จกั ไหม Do (you) know (him)? รู ้จกั (I) do know (him).

Negating verb: All verbs are negated by adding the word ไม่ m y- = not

Examples: ชอบ ไหม (You) like (it)? ไม่ชอบ (I) don’t like (it).
รู ้จกั ไหม Do (you) know (him)? ไม่รู้จกั (I) do not know (him).

Saying things the opposite: ฉัน รัก เขา แต่ เขา ไม่รัก ฉัน
ผม รู ้จกั John แต่ เขา ไม่รู้จกั ผม

The word ใช่ ch y doesn’t mean ‘yes’, but rather it means ‘v. to be (the right one); adj. correct’.
You do not answer the above questions with ch y. It is only used to affirm the other party’s doubt.

Usually, just to open up a conversation topic, หรื อ rʉʉ / rǝǝ is useful in breaking ice. The speaker is not
really serious about wanting to know the answer, but rather just asks as a form of casual greeting.

While chatting about personal hobby, Person A just knew that Person B likes Bird, a Thai famous singer.

A: “B ชอบ Bird หรื อ (ครับ/คะ)” “B ch p Bird rǝǝ (khr p / kh ) “Oh B! You like Bird?”
B: “ครับ /ค่ะ / ใช่ / ใช่ครับ / ใช่ค่ะ” “khr p / kh / ch y (khr p/kh ) “Yup.”

ใช่ไหม ch y m y is a serious about the answer to the question. Suppose A wonders whether B falls for the
same person:
A: “B ชอบ เขา ใช่ไหม (ครับ/คะ)” “B ch p khaw ch y m y (khr p/kh )” B, you like him/her, don’t you?
B: “ใช่ / ใช่ครับ / ใช่ค่ะ” “ch y (khr p/kh )” Yes, I do. (affirm)

Interrogative Questions: khray (who) and ʔa-ray (what)

Unlike English, Thai does not invert sentence, such a way that the interrogative word still remains behind.

A: kh w ch p ʔa-ray? ‘He likes what?’ What does he like?

B: kh w ch p ʔaa-h an thay. He likes Thai food.
A: (khun) maa h a khray (khr p/kh )? ‘You come looking for whom?’ Who are you looking for?
B: (ch n) maa h a ʔaa-caan (khr p/kh ). I’ m here to look for a teacher.
 Basic Grammar: Forming Noun Phrase and/or Compound Word

Previously, we have learned that basic sentence structure of Thai language is Subject-Verb-Object which
may or may not be followed after by adjuncts (location, time, reason, manner, etc) or adverbs. While verb
is the core word of the sentence, subject is also important as it indicates what or who does something, and
object indicates whom or what is the action of the subject is directed at.

Subject and Object can be pronoun, or noun (single word) or noun phrase.

Noun Phrase or Compound Word is a unit composed of more than one word, but still grammatically
function and one unit. For example, consider the word ‘boy’ and the phrase ‘fat American boy’.

What or who did you see? Who was playing game?

N. I saw a boy. The boy was playing game.
NP I saw a fat American boy. The fat American boy was playing game.
Prn. I saw him. He was playing game.

Whether a pronoun, a noun or a noun phrase, all these grammatically function as a single unit for a
subject or an object of a sentence. In this section, we will focus on formation of noun phrase before
building any sentences. Don’t be confused between phrase and sentence! A noun phrase doesn’t tell you
what happens or describes anything. Noun phrase is simply a more detailed version of a single noun word.

Unlike English which the description comes before the main noun, Thai noun phrase starts with the head
noun word being followed by modifier. In other words, you need to say things in the reversed direction
when quoting a Noun Phrase as a subject or an object, in place of pronoun or a single noun word. Note
that some combination will produce compound words which exist as single words in English.

Proper Noun or Common Noun + Country or Proper Noun

Noun (head) Country or Name Overall English Translation

khon (person, human being) thay (Thai) Thai person
pra th et (country) aŋ kr t (English) England (an English Country)
caŋ w t (province) hiaŋ m y (Chiangmai) Chiangmai Province
ʔaa h an (food) Fa r ŋ (westerner) Western Food
Roong rɛɛm (hotel) Maa ri ʔ t (Marriott) Marriott Hotel
tha n on (street / road) s kh m w t (Sukhumvit) Sukhumvit Street
ma h a w t tha yaa lay (University) tham ma s at (Thammasart) Thammasart University
kra p w (bag) i (Louise) LV bag

Noun + Noun

Noun (head) Noun (attribute) Overall English Translation

k w ʔ i (chair) m ay (wood) wooden chair
sa trii (lady) l k (iron) iron lady
r t (vehicle; car) fay f a (electricity) train (an electric car)
kra p u (bag) n ng (leather) leather bag
h ŋ (room) n am (water) toilet, washroom (room of water)
n am (water) s m (orange) orange juice (water of orange)
h ŋ (room) sa m t (record book) library
Noun + Adjective

Noun (head) Adjective Overall English Translation

sʉa (shirt) dɛɛŋ (red) Red shirt
d k (child) ʔu n (fat) fat child
kra p u (bag) n k (heavy) heavy bag
khon (person) l (handsome) handsome man
s aw (young lady) su y (pretty) pretty girl
n am (water) yen (cold) cold water
n am (water) khɛŋ (hard; solid) Ice (solid water)
n am (water) h m (fragrant) Perfume (fragrant water)
kh ŋ (thing, item) w an (sweet) Dessert (sweet item)

Note that some of the combinations may be interpreted as both a noun phrase and a sentence.

ʔu n He is fat.
D k ʔu n fat child / Child is fat.

But generally, while pronoun forms sentence when immediately followed by an adjective, a noun that is
followed by an adjective will likely be interpreted as a noun phrase. Just as in English, we will hardly say
the sentence “ hild is fat” but rather “A child is fat / The child is fat / This child is fat / That child is fat”.
These English pre-noun words ‘a/the/this/that’ are determiners/articles. But in Thai, determiners come
after the noun instead. We will look into determiners in detail afterward, with introduction of classifiers.

We will have to look into the context of the sentences to interpret the meaning or translate the phrase or
sentence. But generally, a single noun word followed by a single adjective word will produce a Noun
Phrase, while Phrase and Noun combination (noun phrase followed by adjective or noun followed by
adjectival phrase) will generally produce a complete sentence. (See section on “adjective” later.)

Noun + Verb Phrase (a verb OR a verb + an object) [Something unusual to English speaker]

Noun (head) Verb Phrase Overall English Translation

h ŋ (room) rian (study) Classroom
h ŋ (room) r p khɛɛk (receive guest) Living room
th i (place) tham ŋaan (do work) Office
th : (place) c t r t (park car) Parking lot
khon (person) kh p (drive) Driver; pilot
khon (person) kh p r t (drive car) Driver (person driving car)
khon (person) dǝǝn tha n n (walk along street) pedestrian
ʔaa caan / khruu (teacher) s n phaa s a thay (teach Thai) Thai language teacher
khruu (teacher) fʉk (train) instructor; trainer
khrʉ ŋ (machine, tool) bin (fly) airplane
khrʉ ŋ (machine, tool) s k ph a (wash clothes) washing machine
ph a (cloth) ch t n a (wipe face) handkerchief
ph a (cloth) ch t tua (wipe body) towel
ph a (cloth) ch t t (wipe table) table cloth
wɛn (spectacles, eye wear) kan dɛɛt (block sunlight) sunglasses
khon (person) s y wɛn (wear glasses) people who put on glasses
khon (person) taay (die) dead person
m a (dog) h w (bark) barking dog
Again, some of these phrases will sound like a sentence if you translate directly. Remember that pronouns
and nouns are different in the role of forming sentences or phrases.

Example: kh p r t I drive. (I drive car).

kh p r t He drives.
but khon kh p r t a driver (NOT Person drives car)

Some combinations are pretty obvious.

ch t t I clean the table.

ch t t He cleans the table.
but khon ch t t a table cleaner (a person who cleans table)
ph a ch t t table cloth (obviously a cloth can’t wipe table on its own)

As Thai verb is not conjugated like English, there is no distinction between simple present/past tense and
participle. You will need to see the context to judge the meaning.

m ah w Dog barks. / barking dog

m ah wm yk t Barking dog doesn’t bite.
d y yin m a h w (I) heard a dog bark. / (I) heard some dogs barking.

*Usually, an auxiliary third person pronoun in used after the noun and before the verb to stress a sentence,
and not just a noun phrase, more like typical French sentences.

m a man h w
The dog is barking. (The dog, it barks! Le chien, il aboie.)

ʔaa caan s n phaa s a thay - a Thai Language teacher / Teacher teaches Thai.
ʔaa caan s n phaa s a thay
The teacher teaches Thai. (The teacher, he teaches Thai. Le professer, il enseigne le thai.)

*Beginner must take note not to be confused with the colloquial possessive pronoun, as this
example sentence may also mean “His teacher teaches Thai”. The prosody (rhythm) of the
sentence will likely tell you the difference. Listen to the timing of the slight pause carefully.

Possessive

Possessive are formed by adding the word ของ kh ŋ before a noun or pronoun. The word literally means
‘n. thing; v. belonging to, owned by’. Possessive are placed after the head noun. In other words, ‘my, your,
his, her, our’ do not exist in Thai, but rather said as ‘of mine’, ‘of yours’, ‘of his’, ‘of hers’, ‘of ours’.

ch n = I, me kh ŋ ch n = mine khun = you kh ŋ khun = yours

kh w = he, him kh ŋ kh w = his/hers/theirs raw = we, us kh ŋ raw = ours
ʔaa caan = teacher kh ŋ ʔaa caan = teacher’s c n = John kh ŋ c n = John’s
In colloquial speech, when possessive follows after a noun or noun phrase, the word ‘kh ŋ’ is dropped.
kra p w kh = bag of mine kra p w = my bag
n ŋ sʉʉ kh ʔaa caan = n ŋ sʉʉ ʔaa caan = tea er’s book
ph a ch t n a kh ray = ph a ch t n a khray = whose handkerchief
The possessive pronoun is reflexive for an object noun phrase and there is no need to repeat the subject
pronoun again when it is so obvious.

Example: h a kh w too His head is big. (Subject noun)

But kh w kaw h a He scratches (his) head. (Object noun)
Don’t say kh w kaw h a kh w He scratches his (whose?) head. (RETARDED!)
BUT say kh w kaw h a tua ʔeeŋ He scratches his own head.
But it’s OK for kh w kaw h a ch n He scratches my head.
ch n r k mɛɛ I love (my) mother.
But NOT ch n r k mɛɛ ch n I love my mother. (correct but no one says it)

Noun / Noun Phrase + Preposition + Location Object

Noun Preposition Location English Translation

thoo ra s p (telephone) bon (on) t (table) a telephone on a table
r t fay (train) t ay (under) din (soil, ground) underground metro
kaaŋ keeŋ (pants) nay (in) underwear, panty
s ŋ kh ŋ (things) nay (in) ba n objects in the house
khon (person) n k (outside) outsider
s n kh a (product) n k (outside) pra t et goods outside the country
ʔaa h an (food) kh aŋ (beside) tha n n (street) Street-side food
kh aw (rice) k p (and, with) p t (duck) rice with duck
kwaam r u (knowledge) r p (around) tua (oneself) general knowledge
c t m ay (letter) c ak (from) khun mɛɛ (mother) a letter from (one’s) mother

*Be careful the usage of prepositional phrase especially in a long sentences, because prepositional phrase
can be either a noun modifier or a verb complement, or even both, just in the same way as in English.

Examples: 1. Maa-nii kin m m Manee ate mango.

2. Maa-nii kin m m nay caan Manee ate mango in a plate.
3. Maa-nii kin m mu ŋ nay h Manee ate mango in (the/her) room.

Starting with the first sentence which simply says who eats what. The subject is Manee (a girl)
and what is being eaten by her is the mango. The word m m alone does not tell us much about the
mango itself. Is the mango ripe or raw? How big is the mango? No one knows.
With the phrase ‘nay caan’, we roughly know that the mango have been sliced and put onto a
plate. Therefore m m nay caan means ‘mango in a plate’ as opposed to just the vague term ‘mango’.
However, the phrase ‘nay h ’ does not really connect with the noun word ‘m mu ŋ’. Rather, it
exists as an adjunct of location, telling you where Manee ate her mango rather than describing the mango.
But you may still interpret that the mango as mango inside her room and not bought from outside.

Examples: . kh w kin ha w He ate rice.

. kh w kin ha w t He ate rice with duck.
. kh w kin ha w an He ate rice with (his) friend(s).
. kh w kin ha w t p ph an He ate rice with duck with (his) friend(s).

The entence simply says “He ate rice” but we do not know what exactly he ate. entence
gave us the insight that he ate a dish called ha w t - rice with duck. Obviously he could not be
sitting down eating together with a duck next to him. Sentence 3 tells us more that he was eating
accompanied by his friend, but just eating rice. Sentence 4 tells us all. He ate rice with duck. He was not
alone but he was with his friend(s).
Classifiers

While Thai does not possess article ‘a/an/the/some’ like English, there is a different concept not existing
in English called classifiers. Its usage may be comparable to concept of articles in English though.

When you learn each noun word, you also have to learn its associated classifier(s), akin to learning the
gender/case articles and the plural form of each word in European languages. Classifiers are rather
arbitrary but there is a general trend to learning them. Below is the list of some common classifiers.

Classifiers Generally for Examples

khon Any form of human ph i n ŋ (siblings) ph u chaay (men) ph u y ŋ (women)
th n Respectable figures khɛɛk (guests), ʔaa-caan (teachers)
raay victimized people khon kh y (patient) n k tho t (prisoners) yʉa (victims)
tua animals, clothes, furniture m a (dog), kaaŋ keeŋ (trousers), t (table), k w ʔ i (chairs)
bay light object kra p w (bags), kɛɛw (glasses), caan (plate) chaam (bowl)
phɛɛn disc, thin layer kra d at (papers), Sii Dii (CDs)
ch n pieces, slices kh ek (cake), kha n m (snacks), ma mu ŋ (mangoes)
k n whole solid piece kh ek (cake), h n (stones)
m t seeds, pills, buttons yaa (pills), kra dum (buttons) kha w (rice seeds)
l uk spherical object b n (ball), s m (oranges), ʔɛɛp pǝn (apples)
krʉ ŋ machines tho ra s p (telephone), w t tha y (radio), tho ra th t (TV)
ʔan generic unknown item

Determiners (Articles / Demonstratives / Quantifiers)

First we can form something equivalent to ‘a/an’, although it is not often used as in English. To form this
article, place the classifier of the noun after the noun itself, followed by the word nʉŋ ‘ ’.

Chaay khon nʉŋ a man m a tua nʉŋ a dog

y ŋ khon nʉŋ a lady ʔɛɛp pǝn nʉŋ an apple

In Thai, there is no word equivalent to ‘the’ in English. Whenever possible, Thai will use ‘that’ instead,
although it is not as often as English, in order to stress on the definite object. Below is the list of
determiners. Just like n , determiners are placed right after the classifiers too.

n i นี้ This (near to speaker, may be far to audience)

n n นั้น That (1. Far from the speaker)

‘the’ (2. not physically seen within sight, something abstract)
on โน้น That, over there (far from both speaker and listener, but still
within the eye sight)
n y ไหน which (1. Question 2. Unspecified)

Day ใด any, whichever, whatsoever (more formal than n y)

tho ra s p kr ni this telephone kra p w bay n n that bag

k w ʔ i tua no n that chair ʔaa-caan khon n y which teacher?

With determiner fixed to the noun, the subject or topic of the sentence is now clearer. Simply complete
the sentence by adding a suitable Predicate. Eg. kra p w bay phɛɛŋ = That bag is expensive.
Numbers / Plurality / Quantity

When no number is added before the classifier, it is usually assumed as ‘one’. lassifier with determiner
can be used like a pronoun ‘one’ as well.

ʔaw sʉa tua n y Which shirt do (you) want?

ʔaw sʉa tua n i (I am) taking this shirt.
ʔaw tua n i (I’m) taking this one. [We still can infer that the person is buying shirt.]
ʔaw tua n n (I’m) taking that one. [We still can infer that the person is buying shirt.]
ʔan n i this one (general object, we don’t know what the exact object is)
ʔan n n that one (general object, we don’t know what the exact object is)
ʔan n y which one?

Now we add in the number to specify the quantity. Note that quantity comes after the head noun.

kh ek n One piece of cake [ ote: kh ek = a piece of cake]

mɛɛw s t a two cats
ph u y ŋ s a three women kra p w s ay four bags
sii dii a n 5 CDs yaa t six pills

Please note that some nouns may have more than one associated classifiers, and that the meaning or
quantity may be different when different quantity is used.

klu y s 2 bananas s p pa r t t 7 slices of pineapples

klu y s 2 combs of bananas s p pa r t t 7 (whole) pineapples
klu y s 2 kilograms of bananas s p pa r t t 7 kg of pineapples

Like in English, uncountable nouns make use of container or measurement unit to specify quantity.

bia s a t 3 liters of beer bia s a t 3 bottles of beer

kaa fɛɛ s w 2 cups of coffee kha n m p t t 8 packets of chips
kha w s t 10 rice (seeds) kha w s ra s p 10 sacks of rice

When the number is unknown…

n ŋ sʉʉ how many books? n ŋ sʉʉ a y many books

n ŋ sʉʉ aa some books n ŋ sʉʉ y a few books
n k rian t every student th ŋ s ŋ khon both of them
s m each kg of oranges th ŋ s p khon all ten of them

Determiners can also be added after the quantity

ph u y ŋ khon this woman ph u y ŋ s a these 3 women

bia t this bottle of beer bia a t these 5 bottles of beer
Ordinal number

Ordinal numbers are formed by adding the word ‘th :’ before the cardinal numbers.
nʉŋ = one th : nʉŋ = first OR rɛɛk = first (lit. beginning)
s ŋ = two th : s ŋ = second s am = three th : s am = third
si = four th : s i = fourth h a = five th : h a = fifth
h k = six th : h k = sixth c t = seven th : c t = seventh
pɛɛt = eight th : pɛɛt = eighth k aw = nine th : k aw = ninth
sp = ten th : s p = tenth s t tha y = last
th w r y = how much th : th w r y = which position?
Ordinal numbers have to be used with the classifier after the noun.

fɛɛn khon r k first lover lu k t s a third child

kh aw aa t : s second plate of rice b n t :p t eighth ball
ŋaan s tt a y last piece of work

It is also possible to use cardinal number, just similar to English.

VCD ph t s a third disc VCD ph s a Disc Three

n a th : h k sixth page n ah k Page Six
pii th : s : fourth year pii s i Year Four

NOTE: sʉʉ VCD s a ph n (I) bought 3 VCDs.

Kam laŋ duu ph s a watching Disc Three
n ŋ sʉʉ mii h k n a The book contains six pages.
ʔa n n a h k Read Page Six.
(Classifier + Number give the specific position. Number + Classifier give you the quantity.)

fɛɛn k i khon = how many girlfriends? fɛɛn khon th : th w r y = which girlfriend?

When the head noun is dropped, the classifier acts like the pronoun ‘one’.
khon r k (the) first one t s a (the) third one
aa t : s (the) second plate/one t :p t (the) eighth one
s tt a y (the) last one

Now, we put different combinations together

b an y y big house (N. + Adj.)

b an y y l ŋ nʉŋ a big house (N. + Adj. + Cls. + Dem.)
b an y y nʉŋ l ŋ one big house (N. + Adj. + Number + Cls. )
b an y yl ŋn n that big house (N. + Adj. + Cls. + Dem.)
b an y ys ŋl ŋ two big houses (N. + Adj. + Number + Cls.)
b an y y l ŋ th : s ŋ second big house (N. + Adj. + Cls. + Ordinal Number)
b an y ys ŋl ŋni these two big houses (N. + Adj. + Number + Cls. + Dem.)
 ba n y y big house (N. + Adj.)
ba n l ŋ n y which house (N. + Cls. + Dem.)
l ŋn y which one (Cls. + Dem.)
b an l ŋ y y the big house (N. + Cls. + Dem.)
l ŋy y the big one (Cls. + Adj.)
l ŋ n on that one over there (Cls. + Dem.)

Note: ba n y y that big house

But a y y That house is big.

b an m y kh ŋ ch n my new home (N. + Adj. + Poss.)

b an l ŋ m y kh ŋ ch n
b an m y kh ŋ ch n s ŋ l ŋ
b an m y s ŋ l ŋ kh ŋ ch n
b an l ŋ th : s ŋ kh ŋ ch n
b an m y l ŋ th : s ŋ kh ŋ ch
the new home of mine (N. + Cls. + Adj. + Poss.)
my two new homes (N. + Adj. + Poss. + Number + Cls.)
my two new homes (N. + Adj. + Number + Cls. + Poss.)
my second home (N. + Cls + ordinal + Poss.)
n my second new house

Common Prefixes

k- (‘one skilled in’) Rian (to learn) Student

r ŋ (to sing) Singer
don trii (music) Musician
kii laa (sports) Athelete
khi n (write) Writer
th r k t (business) Businessman
r p (to battle) Warrior

Chaw- (‘folk’) naa (rice field) Rice farmer

pr among (fishery) Fisherman
r y (crop plantation) Plantation farmer
ʔa mee ri kan (American) American citizen

h ŋ- (‘technician’) fay f a (electricity) Electrician

th ay r up (to take picture) Photographer
t t ph m (to cut hair) Barber

Rooŋ- (‘large building’) Rian (to learn) School

ʔaa h an (food) Canteen
n ŋ (film, movie) Cinema
rɛɛm (to stay overnight) Hotel
ŋaan (work) Factory

h ŋ (room) Rian (to learn) Classroom

n n (to sleep) Bedroom
th t l ŋ (to experiment) Laboratory
khrua (cook) Kitchen
 Basic Grammar: Verbs of State

Verb is the core word in a sentence. Verbs can be classified into many categories. Most verbs tell us what
happen, what is being done, who did what – Action Verb. Another class of verbs does not tell us any
action, but rather gives a description of certain topic or subject – Verbs of State. Some verbs indicate the
changes in state. Some verbs can be both, depending on the usage. In this section, we will take a look at
these verbs.

First, consider the verb ‘to run’. Is it an action or a description?

He ran. He is running. He ran quickly. He is running very quickly. He runs very fast.
He ran to school. He runs to school every day. Run!

Most of these will fall under action verbs. However, ‘he runs very fast’ can be considered a descriptive
one. It describes the person whose one of his characteristics is his speed in running.

Now we shall first focus on the most basic verb of state ‘to be’, ‘to have’, ‘to exist’ in the Thai context.

Previously we learned about personal pronouns for indicating human subject. For a physical object, we
use demonstrative pronouns ‘this, that’ or ‘it’.

n i นี่ This (near to speaker, may be far to audience)

n n นัน
่ That (1. Far from the speaker)
(2. not physically seen within sight, something abstract)
n on โน่น That, over there (far from both speaker and listener, but still
within the eye sight)
man มัน It (non-relative, for pointing object or abstract concept)

ʔa ray อะไร What?

ow we shall look at the verb ‘to be’ as in ‘am, is, are, equal to someone or something’.

Subject Pronouns / Nouns ‘to be (equal to)’ ‘something’ / ‘someone’ oun or oun Phrase
ฉัน ch n (I) เป็ น pen นักเรี ยน n k rian (student)
เธอ thǝǝ (you) *คือ *khʉʉ คนรักของฉัน khon r k kh ŋ ch n (my lover)
เรา raw (we) คนไทย khon thay (Thai)
เขา kh w (he/she/they)
ไม่ไช่ m y ch y
อาจารย์ ʔaa caan (teacher)
สมชาย m chaay อาจารย์สอนภาษา ʔaa caan (language teacher)
นี่ ni (this) ไม่ได้เป็ น ความรัก khwaam r k (love)
นัน่ n n (that) m y d y pen ปากกา pa k kaa (pen)
โน่น n on (that over there) ปากกาของคุณ pa k kaa kh ŋ khun (your pen)
* The verb khʉʉ means ‘is equal to’ or ‘namely’ and it is used when giving explanations, clarifications
and definitions. Please note that in colloquial speech, especially with demonstrative pronouns, khʉʉ is
often dropped, for example นัน่ คือปากกา = นัน่ ปากกา, except for abstract noun such as ความรัก ‘love’. Also
note that the verb ‘khʉʉ’ does not occur in the negative.

In the first section, we have learned how to make these into yes-no question type. However, for these
particular two verbs, ไหม m y is not used here. We use หรื อเปล่า rʉʉ pl aw, หรื อ rʉʉ and ใช่ไหม ch y m y,
each with different connotation.

คุณเป็ นคนไทยหรื อเปล่า khun pen khon thay rʉʉ pl aw Are you a Thai? (I don’t know.)

นี่กระเป๋ าคุณหรื อ n i kra p w khun rʉʉ Is this your bag? (I can’t believe.)

นี่กระเป๋ าคุณใช่ไหม n i kra p w khun ch y m y Is this your bag? (Inspector questioning)

The verbs ‘khʉʉ’ and ‘pen’ are irregular. To answer ‘yes’, you say ใช่ ch y or เออ ʔǝǝ or ครับ/ค่ะ khr p/kh

and to answer ‘no’ you say m y ch y ไม่ใช่ or pl aw เปล่า. You can even use the word ใช่ ch y in place
of‘khʉʉ’ and ‘pen’ in forming question.

นี่ใช่กระเป๋ าคุณหรื อ n i kra p w khun rʉʉ Are you sure this is your bag?

ใช่ นี่กระเป๋ าของฉัน ch y, n i kra p w kh ŋ ch n Are you sure this is your bag?
When pen means ‘to be’, unlike other verbs, it cannot be negated by placing the negative word y
immediately before it. Instead, the negative form ‘is not’ is either y y or y y e ; of these,
the former is neutral in tone, while the latter conveys the sense of contradicting a spoken or unspoken
assumption.

ไม่ใช่ นีไ่ ม่ ใช่ กระเป๋ าของฉัน m y ch y, n : y y kra p w kh ŋ ch n

No, this is not my bag.

เขาเป็ นเกย์หรื อเปล่า kh w pen kee rʉʉ pl aw Is he gay?

เปล่านะ เขาไม่ ได้ เป็ นเกย์นะ pl aw n , kh w y y e kee n Nope, he is not.

Asking Interrogative Questions:

Who? เขาคือใคร / เขาเป็ นใคร / นัน่ ใคร kh w khʉʉ khray / kh w pen khray / n n khray

How? เป็ นอย่างไร / เป็ นยังไง pen y aŋ ray / pen yaŋ ŋay

*What? นี่คืออะไร / นี่อะไร / เราคืออะไร n : khʉʉ ʔa ray / n : khʉʉ ʔa ray / raw khʉʉ ʔa ray
* ote that “pen ʔa ray” instead of “khʉʉ ʔa ray”, will mean “what’s wrong’ rather than ‘what’s that?’.
When pen means ‘to be’ it is always followed by a noun or noun phrase; it cannot be followed by an
adjective. There are a few verb phrases showing the state of being which use the word ‘pen’
เป็ นไข้ pen kh y = to have a fever เป็ นโสด pen s ot = to be single
เป็ นฝี pen f : = fester เป็ นห่วง pen hu ŋ = to be concerned
 ince the verb ‘khʉʉ’ gives fixed definition of something, it is always in the present form. To express
something in the past, you can use the modal verb เคย khǝǝy before the word ‘pen’.

ผมเคยเป็ นแฟนเขา ph m khǝǝy pen fɛɛn kh w I used to be her boyfriend.

ผมไม่เคยเป็ นแฟนเขา ph m m y khǝǝy pen fɛɛn kh w I have never been her boyfriend.
เขาเคยเป็ นตารวจ kh w khǝǝy pen tam ru t He was once a policeman.
When the specific time is given in a sentence, the verb automatically becomes past tense.
เมื่อก่อน เขาเป็ นตารวจ mʉa k n kh w pen tam ru t In the past, he was a policeman.
ตอนนี ้ ไม่ใช่ t n n : m y ch y Now, he is not.
ตอนนัน้ เราไม่ได้ เป็ นแฟน t n n n raw m y d y pen fɛɛn At that time, we were not lovers.
Future tense, as in ‘going to’ or ‘will’ is expressed by adding จะ ‘c ’ before the verb.
พรุ่งนี ้ ฉันจะเป็ นแฟนเธอ phr ŋ n : ch n c pen fɛɛn thǝǝ Tomorrow I will be your lover.
นีจ่ ะไม่เป็ นปั ญหา n : c m y pen pan h a This will not be a problem.

Also note that with this verb, we form sentence and not just noun phrase.

ปากกาของเขา p ak kaa kh ŋ kh w his pen

ปากกาเป็ นของเขา p ak kaa pen kh ŋ kh w The pen is his.
นัน่ คือปากกาของเขา n n kh p ak kaa kh ŋ kh w That is his pen.
นีไ่ ม่ ใช่ ปากกาของคุณ n: y y p ak kaa kh ŋ khun This is not your pen.
ปากกาด้ ามนี ้เป็ นของเขา p ak kaa da m n : pen kh ŋ kh w This pen is his.

The word ‘pen’ has a modal function as ‘able to’ or ‘know how to’ when placed behind a verb phrase.

เขาพูดภาษาไทยเป็ น kh w ph ut phaa s a thay pen He is able to speak Thai.

คุณพูดภาษาไทยเป็ นไหม khun ph ut phaa s a thay pen m y Do you know how to speak Thai?
เป็ น pen (Yes, I) can.
ไม่เป็ น m y pen (No, I) cannot.
เจนพูดภาษาไทยไม่เป็ น ceen ph ut phaa s a thay m y pen Jane can’t speak Thai.

Another modal verb ได้ d ay is also used to express ‘able to’ as in ‘allowed to’ or ‘may’ rather than ability.
In some cases, da y and pen are interchangeable.

พูดภาษาไทยได้ ไหม ph ut phaa s a thay d ay m y May (I) speak Thai?

(Already knowing that the other party is able to speak Thai) Can you speak Thai to me?
Are we allowed to speak Thai?
ได้ d ay (Yes, I) can. (You) may.
ไม่ได้ m y d ay (No, I) cannot. (You) may not.
เจนพูดภาษาไทยไม่ได้ ceen ph ut phaa s a thay m y d ay Jane can’t speak Thai.
 ext, we shall look at the verb ‘to be’ as in ‘am, is, are located somewhere’.

Subject Pronouns / Nouns ‘to be’ Preposition Location object

ฉัน ch n (I) อยู่ ที่นี่ th : n : (here)
เธอ thǝǝ (you) y u ที่นนั่ th : n n (there)
เรา raw (we) ที่โน่น th : n on (over there)
ไม่อยู่ ที่ th : (at)
เขา kh w (he/she/they)
m yy u
บ้าน b an (house)
ใน nay (in)
สมชาย m chaay ห้อง h ŋ (room)
นอก n k (outside)
อาจารย์ ʔaa caan ไม่ได้อยู่ ตึก tʉk (building)
โทรศัพท์ thoo ra s p (telephone) m yd yy u บน bon (on) โต๊ะ t (table)
หนังสื อ n ŋ sʉʉ (book) ใต้ t ay (under) เก้าอี้ k w ʔ : (chair)
ห้องน้ า h ŋ n am (toilet) ทาง thaaŋ (way) ซ้าย s ay (left)

Usually, the words th : n : th n n or th n on ‘here’ and ‘there’ are dropped when asking a question?

คุณอยูท่ ี่ไหน khun y u th : n y Where are you?

ผมอยูท่ ี่นี่ ph m y u th : n : I am here.
เขาอยูท่ ี่นี่หรื อเปล่า kh w y u th : n : rʉʉ pla w Is he here?
เขาอยูห่ รื อเปล่า / เขาอยูไ่ หม kh w y u rʉʉ pla w / kh w y u m y Is he around?
อยู่ y u Yes
ไม่อยู่ m yy u No

Take note that the word อยู่ y u also has other meaning as ‘to stay’, ‘to be alive or still active’.

เขาอยูโ่ รงแรม kh w y u rooŋ rɛɛm He stays (at) a hotel.

ผมอยูท่ ี่โรงแรม ph m y u th : rooŋ rɛɛm I am at a hotel. (not staying)
ผมอยูท่ ี่โรงแรม ph m y u th : rooŋ rɛɛm kh w I am at his hotel. (not staying)

This word also has auxiliary function as ‘to be … ing’ just like English is/am/are before continuous tense
but is placed behind the verb phrase instead. For greater emphasis, you can add ‘kam laŋ’ before the verb.

(จะ)ทาอะไร (c ) tham ʔa ray What will you do?

(จะ)อ่านหนังสื อ (c ) ʔ an n ŋ sʉʉ I am going to read a book.
ทาอะไรอยู่ tham ʔa ray y u What are you doing?
อ่ านหนังสืออยู่ ʔ a s y u reading
กาลังอ่ านหนังสืออยู่ kam laŋ ʔ a s y u in the midst of reading
ขับรถอยู่ r ty u driving
กาลังขับรถอยู่ kam laŋ r ty u in the midst of driving
Like the verb เป็ น pen, อยู่ y u also forms a complete sentence rather than a noun phrase.

โทรศัพท์บนโต๊ ะ thoo ra s p bon t a telephone on a table

โทรศัพท์อยู่บนโต๊ ะ thoo ra s p y bon t A telephone is on a table.
แมวใต้ ต้นไม้ mɛɛw ta y t n m ay a cat under a tree
แมวอยู่ใต้ ต้นไม้ mɛɛw y ta y t n m ay A cat is under a tree.
ของในบ้ าน kh ŋ nay ba n things at home
ของอยู่ในบ้ าน kh ŋ y nay ba n Things are inside the house.

Use the correct classifiers to identify or specify the items you want to stress on.

โทรศัพท์บนโต๊ ะตัวนัน้ thoo ra s p bon t t a a telephone on that table (out of tables)

โทรศัพท์บนโต๊ ะเครื่องนัน้ thoo ra s p bon t kr a That telephone (of phones) on a table

โทรศัพท์อยู่บนโต๊ ะตัวไหน thoo ra s py bon t tua n y On which table is the telephone?

โทรศัพท์อยู่บนโต๊ ะตัวนี ้ thoo ra s py bon t tua n n A telephone is on this table.
โทรศัพท์เครื่ องนันอยู
้ ่ ที่ไหน thoo ra s p krʉaŋ n n y th : n y Where is that telephone?
โทรศัพท์เครื่ องนันอยู
้ ่ บนโต๊ ะ thoo ra s p krʉaŋ n n y bon t That telephone is on a table.

Verbs of perception ‘to see’ ‘to have seen’ ‘to look’ ‘to look at’ ‘to watch’

In addition to asking where something or someone is you may want to include the word เห็น h n.
เห็นกระเป๋ าผมไหม h n kra p w ph m m y Have you seen my bag?
กระเป๋ าผมอยูท่ ี่ไหน kra p w ph m y u th : n y Where is my bag?
เห็นคุณสมชายไหม h n khun s m chaay m y Did you see Somchai?
เขาอยูท่ ี่ไหน kh w y u th : n y Where is he?
เห็นเขาสูบบุหรี่ หน้ าห้ องน ้า h n kh w s up bu r : n a h ŋ n m I saw him smoke in front of toilet.

The word เห็น h n is different from ดู duu and มอง m ŋ which are intentional and not
coincidental.
ฉันเห็นคุณรัตนา ch n h n khun r t-ta-naa I saw Rattana (came across).
ฉันมองคุณรัตนาอยู่ ch n m ŋ khun r t-ta-naa y u I am looking at Rattana.
เราดูหนัง raw duu n ŋ We watch movie.
The word ดู duu means ‘to look at’ before an object noun or noun phrase but it means ‘to look’ or
‘appears to be’ when followed by an adjective.
เสื ้อตัวนี ้ดูสวย sʉa tua n : duu su y This shirt looks beautiful.
อาหารดูนา่ กินจัง ʔaa h an duu n a kin caŋ The food looks nice to eat.
 แม่เธอดูดมุ าก mɛɛ thǝǝ duu d m ak Your mother looks fierce.
ext, we shall look at the verb ‘to be’ as in ‘to exist’ and ‘to have’, ‘to own’, ‘to possess’, ‘to contain’.

The word มี mii functions as ‘to have’, ‘to possess’, ‘to contain’ after a subject.

Subject Pronouns / Nouns ‘to have’ ‘something’ / ‘someone’ oun or oun Phrase
ฉัน ch n (I) มี mii พี่นอ้ งสามคน ph : n ŋ s am khon (3 siblings)
เธอ thǝǝ (you) แฟน fɛɛn (lover)
เรา raw (we)
ไม่มี m y mii
บ้าน b an (house, home)
เขา kh w (he/she/they) เงิน ŋǝn (money)
สมชาย m chaay ไม่ได้มี รถเบ๊นซ์ r t b n (Mercedes Car)
หนังสื อ ni (this) m y d y mii ร้อยหน้า r y n a (hundred pages)
บ้านเขา n n (that) สี่ หอ้ ง s : h ŋ ( rooms)
แมงมุม n on (that over there) แปดขา pɛɛt kh a (8 legs)

The word มี mii functions as ‘to exist’, ‘there is/are’ without a subject or after a prepositional subject.

For example, from previous example

โทรศัพท์อยู่บนโต๊ ะ thoo ra s p y bon t A telephone is on a table.
The topic of interest is the telephone. Where is the telephone? โทรศัพท์อยู่ที่ไหน thoo ra s py th : n y
Now, we can rephrase the sentence to emphasize the table as the topic of interest.
What is on the table? อะไรอยู่บนโต๊ ะ มีอะไรบนโต๊ ะ บนโต๊ ะมีอะไร
บนโต๊ ะมีอะไร bon t mii ʔa ray What is there on table?
บนโต๊ ะมีโทรศัพท์ bon t mii thoo ra s p On table, there is telephone.
บนโต๊ ะมีโทรศัพท์เครื่ องหนึง่ bon t mii thoo ra s p khrʉ ŋ nʉŋ On table, there is a telephone.
บนโต๊ ะมีโทรศัพท์สองเครื่ อง bon t mii thoo ra s p s ŋ khrʉ ŋ On table, there are 2 telephones.

One can assume there are many things and ask อะไรบ้ าง ʔa ray b aŋ instead of just อะไร ʔa ray.
บนโต๊ ะมีอะไรบ้ าง bon t mii ʔa ray b aŋ What are there on table?
ในห้ องมีอะไรบ้ าง nay h ŋ mii ʔa ray b aŋ What are there in the room?
มีโทรศัพท์ มีสมุดสองเล่ม และ ปากกาสีด่ ้ าม mii thoo ra s p, mii sa m t s ŋ l m, lɛ pa k kaa s : d am
There are a telephone, two notebooks and four pens.

If there is only one thing, as opposed to the question, use the word ‘khɛɛ’ ‘tɛɛ’ ‘phianŋ’ to indicate ‘only’.
มีแค่โทรศัพท์เครื่ องเดียว mii khɛɛ thoo ra s p khrʉ ŋ diaw There is only just one telephone.
มีเพียงสมุดสองเล่มเท่านัน้ mii phiaŋ sa m t s ŋ l m th w n n There are 2 notebooks only.

If nothing or no one exists, you use negated verb with a question word.
ไม่มีอะไร(เลย) m y mii ʔa ray (lǝǝy) nothing (at all)
ไม่มีใคร(เลย) / ไม่มีคนเลย m y mii khray / khon (lǝǝy) nobody (at all)
The verb mii can also function like English ‘with’ (not as commutative one, but as in ‘having’). It is
useful to form an adjective/adjectival phrase which eventually forms a noun phrase with head noun.

แอร์ ʔɛɛ n. air-conditioner machine

มีแอร์ mii ʔɛɛ having air-conditioner, with air-conditioner, air-conditioned
ไม่มีแอร์ m y mii ʔɛɛ not having air-conditioner, without air-conditioner
ห้ องมีแอร์ h ŋ mii ʔɛɛ “air-conditioned room”
ห้ องไม่มีแอร์ h ŋ m y mii ʔɛɛ “non air-conditioned room”

In addition this word is usually used to form many more commonly used adjectives from nouns.

น ้าใจ n am cai = heart, helpfulness มีน ้าใจ = generous ไร้ น ้าใจ = not willing to help
การศึกษา kaan sʉk s a = education มีการศึกษา = educated ไร้ การศึกษา = uneducated
มีงานทา mii ŋaan tham = ‘having work to do’; employed ไม่มีงานทา = unemployed
คนมีการศึกษา กับ คนไร้ การศึกษา = educated people and uneducated people
คนมีงานทา กับ คนไม่มีงานทา = employed people and unemployed people

มี or มีอยู่ means ‘to exist’ or ‘available’ when comes after a subject but without any object possessed, and
may be followed by quantity.

เดี๋ยวนี ้ มีเด็กใส่แว่นเยอะ Nowadays, there are many kids wearing spectacles.

ที่นี่ เด็กใส่แว่นมีเยอะมาก “Here, kids wearing spectacles exist in abundance.”
คนไทยพูดภาษาจีนได้ มีน้อย Chinese-speaking Thai are scarcely available.

Again, you should distinguish the function of mii in a sentence whether it acts as main verb or modifier.

มีห้องนอนห้ าห้ อง There are five bedrooms.

ห้ องนอนมีแอร์ มีสามห้ อง There are 3 of them with air-conditioners.
ห้ องนอนไม่มีแอร์ มีสองห้ อง There are 2 of them without air-conditioners.

มี mii can also be used as an auxiliary verb to indicate habitual present tense.
คุณกินเนื ้อไหม You eat meat?
คุณจะกินเนื ้อไหม Will you eat meat?
คุณ(ยัง)กินเนื ้ออยูห่ รื อเปล่า Are you (still) eating meat?
คุณเคยกินเนื ้อไหม Have you ever eaten meat?
คุณมีกินเนื ้อไหม Do you eat meat? (on regular basis) (Are you vegetarian?)
มีกินครับ/ค่ะ Yes, I do eat meat.
ไม่กินเนื ้อครับ/ค่ะ o, I don’t eat meat.