Basic Word Order and Pronouns
Thai sentences follow a Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) word order, just like English. To build a basic sentence, you need a pronoun, a verb, and a noun.
Here are the core personal pronouns:
- ผม (I, used by male speakers)
- ฉัน (I, used by female speakers or neutrally)
- คุณ (you)
- เขา (he, she, they)
- มัน (it)
| I eat rice. | ผม กิน ข้าว ครับ |
| She eats rice. | เขา กิน ข้าว ค่ะ |
| She has water. | เขา มี น้ำ ค่ะ |
| It likes fish. | มัน ชอบ ปลา ค่ะ |
Plural Pronouns
To make a pronoun plural, place the word พวก in front of it. For example, พวก (group) + เขา (he/she) becomes พวกเขา (they).
| They watch the cat. | พวก เขา ดู แมว ครับ |
| They drink water. | พวก เขา กิน น้ำ ค่ะ |
Pronouns as Objects
Thai pronouns do not change their spelling or form when they become the object of a sentence. For example, มัน means "it" whether it is doing the action or receiving it.
| The cat likes it. | แมว ชอบ มัน ค่ะ |
Dropping Subjects (The "Zero-Pronoun")
In English, you must always state the subject of a sentence. In Thai, if it is obvious who or what you are talking about, you can simply omit the subject (and sometimes even the object).
When speaking about yourself in a clear context, it is extremely natural in Thai to drop the word for "I" and jump straight into the verb!
| I eat fish. | กิน ปลา ครับ |
| I have a pen. | มี ปากกา ค่ะ |
| I like it. | ชอบ ค่ะ |
