Questions & Answers about แรงงาน จาก ต่างประเทศ ทำงาน ที่นี่ หลาย คน
Why is หลาย คน (many people) at the very end of the sentence instead of next to the word for workers?
In Thai, quantifiers (like หลาย) and classifiers (like คน) often float to the end of the sentence. Instead of saying "Many workers work here," the Thai phrasing is more like "Workers work here, many people." You could put them next to the subject as แรงงานหลายคนทำงานที่นี่, but putting the quantity at the very end is extremely common and natural in conversational Thai.
Why does it say จากต่างประเทศ (from a foreign country) instead of just an adjective for foreign?
Thai does not have a single adjective for "foreign" that works in all contexts. To say "foreign workers", you literally say "workers from" (จาก) "a foreign country" (ต่างประเทศ). Another very common way to express this is using ต่างชาติ (foreign nationality).
Both the word for workers and to work share the word งาน. What does แรง mean in แรงงาน?
งาน means work or job. In the verb ทำงาน, it combines with ทำ (to do) to mean "to work". In the noun แรงงาน (labor or worker), it combines with แรง, which means strength, force, or energy. So physical strength plus work creates the word for labor!
Is คน acting as the main noun meaning people or as a classifier here?