Thai word order: subject-verb-object as in English, but adjectives, owners, numbers and demonstratives all follow the noun, with no articles or plural endings.
Can build simple Thai sentences in the right order and describe a noun with an adjective, a number and this or that after it.
Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?
ผมกินข้าวผัดครับ
I eat fried rice.
อาหารไทยอร่อยมาก
Thai food is very delicious.
วันนี้ผมไปตลาดน้ำครับ
Today I go to the floating market.
เมื่อวานผมซื้อเสื้อสีแดงสองตัวที่ตลาดจตุจักร
Yesterday I bought two red shirts at Chatuchak market.
Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?
The basic order of a Thai sentence is the same as in English: subject, verb, object. ผมกินข้าวผัด (phǒm kin khâao phàt) is "I eat fried rice", word for word. Since Thai has no endings, the order is what tells you who does what to whom. The surprise for English speakers is inside the noun phrase: everything that describes a noun comes after it.
Romanisation used here: long vowels are doubled (aa, ii, ɔɔ) and the tone is marked on the first vowel letter - mid unmarked, low à, falling â, high á, rising ǎ; ph, th, kh are aspirated (with a puff of air, as in "pin"), p, t, k are not (as in "spin"), and j stands for จ.
| Time | Subject | Verb | Object | Describers | Place |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| เมื่อวาน (mʉ̂a-waan) | ผม (phǒm) | ซื้อ (sʉ́ʉ) | เสื้อ (sʉ̂a) | สีแดงสองตัว (sǐi dɛɛng sɔ̌ɔng tua) | ที่ตลาดจตุจักร (thîi tà-làat jà-tù-jàk) |
"Yesterday I bought two red shirts at Chatuchak market." Time words can also go at the end: ผมซื้อเสื้อเมื่อวาน.
| Describer | Thai order | English order |
|---|---|---|
| adjective | บ้านใหญ่ (bâan yài) | a big house |
| owner | รถพ่อ (rót phɔ̂ɔ) | Dad's car |
| demonstrative | คนนี้ (khon níi) | this person |
| number + classifier | กาแฟสองแก้ว (kaa-fɛɛ sɔ̌ɔng kɛ̂ɛo) | two cups of coffee |
| intensifier after the adjective | ดีมาก (dii mâak) | very good |
| adverb after the verb | พูดเร็ว (phûut reo) | speak fast |
They stack in a fixed order: noun, adjective, number and classifier, demonstrative: เสื้อสีแดงตัวนี้ (sʉ̂a sǐi dɛɛng tua níi) "this red shirt".
Thai can also put a topic first and then comment on it: ข้าวผัดร้านนี้อร่อยมาก (khâao phàt ráan níi à-rɔ̀i mâak) "The fried rice here is really good" (literally "fried rice, this shop, very tasty").
Read and build Thai noun phrases from the inside out: the noun first, then what kind, how many, which one. If you find yourself putting a word in front of the noun, stop and move it behind.
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises
Practice ExercisesAdjective placed before the noun
Thai: noun + adjective. อาหารอร่อย (food delicious), not อร่อยอาหาร.
Number placed before the noun, without a classifier (*สองกาแฟ)
Noun + number + classifier: กาแฟสองแก้ว.
มาก placed before the adjective (*มากดี)
The intensifier follows: ดีมาก, ร้อนมาก.
ผมกินข้าวผัดครับ
I eat fried rice.
Subject ผม (I) + verb กิน (eat) + object ข้าวผัด (fried rice): the English order.
อาหารไทยอร่อยมาก
Thai food is very delicious.
The adjective follows the noun: อาหารไทย (Thai food) + อร่อย (delicious) + มาก (very).
วันนี้ผมไปตลาดน้ำครับ
Today I go to the floating market.
A time word such as วันนี้ (today) can open the sentence; the rest is subject-verb-place.
เมื่อวานผมซื้อเสื้อสีแดงสองตัวที่ตลาดจตุจักร
Yesterday I bought two red shirts at Chatuchak market.
Time, subject, verb, object, then everything that describes the shirts (colour, number, classifier), then the place.
The check for this topic is still being prepared
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Practice in course
Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises