Breakdown of มา สาย ถือว่า ไม่ สุภาพ
ไม่
not
มา
to come
สาย
late
สุภาพ
polite
ถือว่า
to consider, to regard as, to count as
Questions & Answers about มา สาย ถือว่า ไม่ สุภาพ
The translation says "Arriving late", but the Thai sentence just says มาสาย (come late). Shouldn't it use การ to make it a noun?
You absolutely can use การ to make it the noun การมาสาย (the act of arriving late), and you will see this in formal writing. But in conversational Thai, it is very common to drop การ and just use the verb phrase มาสาย as the main topic of the sentence.
I learned that ถือ means "to hold" or "to carry". How does it mean "is considered" here?
When combined with ว่า (a word that links to a statement or idea), ถือว่า figuratively means "to hold the view that" or "to hold the belief that". In English, this naturally translates to "it is considered" or "it is regarded as".
The English translation uses the passive voice ("is considered"). Why isn't there a passive marker like ถูก in the Thai sentence?
Thai prefers active sentences. The passive marker ถูก is generally reserved for negative or unpleasant physical actions, like being punished or hit. For a general opinion like this, Thai just uses the active phrase ถือว่า (literally meaning people in general hold the view that), which we translate into English as a passive structure to sound natural.
Why isn't there a word for "is" (like เป็น or คือ) before ไม่สุภาพ?
In Thai, adjectives like สุภาพ (polite) actually function as verbs themselves. Because they already contain the meaning of "to be [adjective]", you never use a connecting verb like เป็น or คือ before them. You just negate the adjective directly with ไม่.
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