Thai is spoken in the present simple tense, so if we just add a pronoun to a verb (subject + verb) we have a short but correct sentence. Like this:
| subject | + | verb | = | sentence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| khun | + | maa | = | khun maa |
| you | + | come | = | you come |
| ther | + | bpai | = | ther bpai |
| she | + | goes | = | she goes |
It’s normal to speak Thai as simply as this, and context usually helps. There are no verb conjugations to deal with, and tense is achieved by context or by including a time indicator. So all of the following are correct, but can be said in a more precise way when necessary.
| phŏm bpai | : | I go |
| phŏm bpai | : | I went |
| phŏm bpai | : | I will go |
| phŏm bpai | : | I am going |
Look at these examples:
phŏm/chăn bpai · I go
ther gin · she eats
khun maa · you come
phûuak rao tham · we do/we make
khăo dèuum · he drinks
phûuak khăo tham ngaan · they work
You can hear the examples in these videos.
Exercise 1
An easy exercise to get you started. Try translating these into short sentences.
| 1 | I go | 2 | He thinks |
| 3 | you come | 4 | she looks |
| 5 | he drinks | 6 | we read |
| 7 | she eats | 8 | they write |
| 9 | we swim | 10 | I know |
| 11 | they speak | 12 | you work |
| 13 | it sits | 14 | it sleeps |
| 15 | I do | 16 | we make |
Scroll down for the answers …
Answers to exercise 1
| 1 | phŏm bpai / chăn bpai | 2 | khăo khíd |
| 3 | khun maa | 4 | ther duu |
| 5 | khăo dèuum | 6 | phûuak rao àan |
| 7 | ther gin | 8 | phûuak khăo khǐian |
| 9 | phûuak rao wâai nám | 10 | phŏm/chăn rúu |
| 11 | phûuak khăo phûud | 12 | khun tham ngaan |
| 13 | man nâng | 14 | man nawn |
| 15 | phŏm tham / chăn tham | 16 | phûuak rao tham |