Breakdown of ไม่ มี ใคร สอน เขา งม เอา คนเดียว
เขา
he, she, they
มี
to have / there is / there are
ไม่
not
ใคร
who
สอน
to teach
คนเดียว
alone, by oneself
เอา
to rely on doing it oneself (post-verbal)
งม
to figure out by trial and error
Questions & Answers about ไม่ มี ใคร สอน เขา งม เอา คนเดียว
How does เอา change the meaning of งม here?
In this lesson's pattern of Verb + เอา, the word เอา shows that the person relied entirely on themselves to get the action done. Instead of just meaning to grope or fumble (งม), งม เอา means he took it upon himself to fumble through it and achieve the result by his own effort.
I thought งม meant to dive or search for something underwater. How does it mean to figure something out?
You are right that งม literally means to grope or feel around for something you cannot see, like feeling for something underwater. In a figurative sense, it is commonly used for figuring things out by trial and error, as if you are blindly feeling your way through a new problem.
Is it redundant to use both เอา (doing it oneself) and คนเดียว (alone) in the same sentence?
It is not redundant; it is highly emphatic. While งม เอา already shows he relied on himself to do the action, adding คนเดียว at the end emphasizes the complete isolation of his effort. It perfectly contrasts with the first half of the sentence to highlight that he had zero teachers and did it with completely solo effort.
Why is there no connecting word like 'so' or 'but' between the two halves of this sentence?
Thai often drops conjunctions when the logical flow between two clauses is obvious. ไม่มีใครสอน (nobody taught him) naturally sets up the condition for เขางมเอา (he figured it out by himself). You do not need extra words to link them in everyday spoken Thai.
Learn ไม่ มี ใคร สอน เขา งม เอา คนเดียว and more in Thai
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free