Thai grammar

Every grammar guide of Lingora’s Thai A1 course, with examples you can listen to.

01Polite Personal MarkersIn Thai, sentences frequently end with a "politeness particle." These words do not add grammatical meaning to the sentence (like tense or number), but…
02Personal PronounsThai pronouns differ from English in two ways: the speaker's gender often determines the form, and the pronoun chosen reflects the social relationship…
03The Many Usages of 'ที่'ที่ (tîi) is one of the most versatile words in the language. Depending on the context, it can function as a preposition indicating location, a relative…
04Making a Suggestion with 'เถอะ'The particle เถอะ (tə̀) is used at the end of a sentence to turn a statement or a command into a suggestion, invitation, or soft urging. It functions…
05Plural Particle 'กัน'The particle กัน (gan) is a versatile word used to modify verbs to indicate that multiple people are involved in an action. It serves three primary…
06Verbs: Progressive TenseTo indicate that an action is happening right now (similar to the English "-ing" form), Thai uses specific auxiliary words rather than changing the verb…
07Softening Particle 'นะ'The particle นะ (ná) is one of the most frequently used words in spoken Thai. It is placed at the very end of a sentence to modify the emotional tone.…
08The Many Usages of 'แล้ว'The word แล้ว (lɛ́ɛo) is one of the most versatile and frequently used particles in the language. While it is often equated with the English word…
09The Many Usages of 'มี'The word มี (mii) is a fundamental verb that serves two primary functions: indicating possession (to have) and indicating existence (there is/there are).…
10Contradicting a Statement with 'ไม่ได้'The phrase ไม่ได้ (mâi·dâi) is a versatile negation marker. While it is composed of the words ไม่ (mâi), meaning no/not, and ได้ (dâi), meaning…
11Plural Pronouns with 'พวก'The word พวก (pûak) literally means "group", "party", or "gang". In Thai grammar, it functions as a pluralizer. While Thai nouns and pronouns do not…
12Making a Request with 'สิ'The particle สิ (sì) is a versatile sentence-ending word used to modify the mood of a verb. It is pronounced with a low tone. Depending on the context,…
13ClassifiersClassifiers are essential words in Thai used to count, define, or specify nouns. While English uses them occasionally (e.g., a loaf of bread, a pair of…
14Repetition with 'ๆ'The symbol ๆ is a punctuation mark called ไม้ยมก (mái yá·mók). It is placed immediately after a word or phrase to indicate that the preceding element…
15Question Marker 'ไหม'The particle ไหม (mǎi) is the primary grammatical tool for creating simple yes/no questions. It is always placed at the very end of a sentence. Unlike…
16Softening a Request with 'หน่อย'The Thai word หน่อย (nɔ̀ɔi) is a versatile particle primarily used to soften the tone of a command or request. In its literal sense, it means a little, a…
17Emphasizing a Statement with 'เลย'The particle เลย (ləəi) is a versatile word placed at the end of a sentence to modify the tone or intensity of the statement. It does not have a single…
18Verbs: Perfect Tense with 'ได้'The word ได้ (dâi) is one of the most versatile words in the Thai language. While its core meaning is "to get" or "to receive," it functions as a…
19Question Markers 'หรือ' & 'เหรอ'To turn a statement into a Yes/No question in Thai, you often place a particle at the end of the sentence. The two most common particles for this purpose…
20Uses of 'ละ' (Particle and Distributive)The particle ละ (lá) attaches to the end of a clause to signal completion (often translated "already" or "now"), or — paired with กัน (gan) as ละกัน…
21Verbs: Future Tense Marker 'จะ'To indicate that an action will happen in the future, Thai uses the auxiliary word จะ (jà). This word functions similarly to the English "will" or…
22Making a Request with 'ด้วย'The word ด้วย (dûai) is a versatile element in Thai grammar. Depending on its position in the sentence, it can function as a particle to soften a…
23Posing a Question with 'รึเปล่า'To turn a statement into a "yes or no" question, you can add the phrase รึเปล่า (rʉ́·bplàao) to the end of the sentence. This structure literally…
24Possession with 'ของ'ของ (kɔ̌ɔng) marks possession, like English "of" or "'s". It goes between the possessed item and the owner: บ้านของฉัน (bâan kɔ̌ɔng chǎn) — my house.…
25Demonstratives: 'นี่' and 'นั่น'นี่ (nîi) — this/here, and นั่น (nân) — that/there, are used both as standalone pronouns and as determiners. As pronouns they start a sentence:…
26The Verb 'อยู่'อยู่ (yùu) has two main uses. As a main verb it means "to be located at" or "to live": เขาอยู่ที่นี่ (kǎo yùu tîi·nîi) — he is here. As an aspect…
27Conjunctions: 'กับ' and 'และ'Both mean "and" but differ in register and scope. กับ (gàp) is conversational and also means "with": กินกับเพื่อน (gin gàp pʉ̂an) — eat with a friend.…
28Question WordsThai question words go where the answer would be — no word order change needed. The main ones are อะไร (à·rai) — what, ใคร (krai) — who, ไหน (nǎi) —…
29Linking Verbs: 'เป็น' and 'คือ'Both mean "to be" but serve different roles. เป็น (bpen) describes what something is — a role, state, or category: เขาเป็นครู (kǎo bpen kruu) — he is a…
30The Versatile 'ให้'ให้ (hâi) has several uses beyond its core meaning "to give". Before a verb, it means "to let" or "to make someone do something": ให้เขาไป (hâi kǎo…
31The Particle 'ก็'ก็ (gɔ̂ɔ) is a linking particle with several shades of meaning depending on context: "also" — ฉันก็ชอบ (chǎn gɔ̂ɔ chɔ̂ɔp) — I also like it, "then/so" as…
32Sentence-final 'ล่ะ' for Follow-ups and EmphasisThe particle ล่ะ (lâ) attaches to the end of a sentence to ask follow-up questions ("And what about…?"), to add weight to a question, or to mark a…