Thai language

Grammar

From the perspective of linguistic typology, Thai can be considered to be an analytic language. The word order is Subject-Verb-Object, although the subject is often omitted. As in many Asian languages, the Thai pronominal system varies according to the sex and relative status of speaker and audience.

Related Topics:
Linguistic typology - Analytic language - Word order - Subject - Verb - Object

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Adjectives

Adjectives follow the noun. A duplicated adjective is used for emphasis, e.g.

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คนอ้วนๆ (khon uan uan, IPA {{IPA|}})-

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"a really fat person."

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Comparatives take the form "A X กว่า (kwa, IPA {{IPA|}}) B" (A is more X than B). The superlative is expressed as A X ที่สุด (thisut, IPA {{IPA|}})).

Related Topics:
Comparative - IPA - Superlative

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Verbs

Verbs do not inflect (i.e. do not change with person, tense, voice, mood or number) nor are there any participles. Duplication conveys the idea of doing the verb a lot. The passive voice is indicated by the insertion of โดน (don, IPA {{IPA|}})) or ถูก (thuk, IPA {{IPA|}})) before the verb. Tense is conveyed by tense markers before or after the verb: กำลัง (kamlang, IPA {{IPA|}}) before the verb for ongoing action (like English -ing form) or อยู่ (yuu, IPA {{IPA|}}) after the verb for the present; จะ (cha, IPA {{IPA|}}) before the verb for the future; ได้ (dai, IPA {{IPA|}}) before the verb (or a time expression) for the past.

Related Topics:
Verb - Inflect - Participles - Passive voice - IPA - Tense - Tense marker - Present - Future - Past

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Adverbs

Many adverbs are the same as adjectives. Intensity can be expressed by a duplicated adjective. Adverbs usually follow the verb.

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Nouns

Nouns are uninflected and have no gender; there are no plural forms or articles. Plurals are expressed by adding "nouns of multitude" (ลักษณนาม) or classifiers in the form of

Related Topics:
Noun - Gender - Plural - Article - Classifier

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noun-number-classifier, e.g. "teacher five person" for "five teachers".

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While in English, such classifiers are usually absent ("four chairs") or optional ("two bottles of beer" or "two beers"), a classifier is almost always used in Thai (hence "chair four item" and "beer two bottle").

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Pronouns

Subject pronouns are often omitted, while nicknames are often used where English would use a pronoun. There are specialised pronouns in the royal and sacred Thai languages. The following are appropriate for conversational use:

Related Topics:
Pronoun - Nickname

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Particles

The particles are often untranslatable words added to the end of a sentence to indicate respect, a request, encouragement or other moods (similar to the use of intonation in English), as well as varying the level of formality. They are not used in written Thai. The most common particles indicating respect are ครับ (khrap, IPA {{IPA|}} with a high tone, the "r" sound is usually omitted) for a man, and ค่ะ (kha, IPA {{IPA|}}with a falling tone) for a woman; these can also be used to indicate an affirmative.

Related Topics:
Particle - Intonation - IPA

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Other common particles are:

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