Breakdown of มี คน สาม คน ใน ห้อง ครับ
ครับ
polite particle (male)
มี
to have / there is / there are
คน
person
ห้อง
room
ใน
in
สาม
three
Questions & Answers about มี คน สาม คน ใน ห้อง ครับ
Why is the word คน used twice in this sentence?
In Thai, when you count things, you must use a 'classifier' (a counting word). The pattern is Noun + Number + Classifier. For people, the classifier happens to be the exact same word as the noun: คน (person). So คน สาม คน literally translates to 'person three person' but means 'three people'.
Doesn't มี mean 'to have'? Why does the English translation say 'There are'?
Yes, มี commonly means 'to have' when it comes after a subject. However, when it is placed at the very beginning of a sentence with no subject in front of it, it means 'there is' or 'there are'.
How does Thai show that it is 'people' (plural) instead of just one 'person'?
Thai nouns don't change their form to become plural. There is no special ending added to words like in English. The number สาม (three) and the classifier together are all you need to show that there is more than one person.
Why isn't there a word for 'the' before ห้อง (room)?
Thai does not use articles like 'a', 'an', or 'the'. The phrase ใน ห้อง literally means 'in room', but is naturally understood as 'in the room' based on the context of the sentence.
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