Breakdown of มี พยาบาล ห้า คน ไหม คะ
มี
to have / there is / there are
คน
person
พยาบาล
nurse
ไหม
question particle
คะ
female question particle / polite particle (female)
ห้า
five
Questions & Answers about มี พยาบาล ห้า คน ไหม คะ
How do I use numbers with nouns here? Why isn't the number five before "nurses"?
In Thai, the word order for counting is Noun + Number + Classifier. So instead of saying "five nurses", you say พยาบาล (nurse) + ห้า (five) + คน (the counting word for people).
Does คน just mean "person" in this sentence?
The word คน does mean "person", but here it acts as a "classifier" (a required counting word). Thai requires a classifier whenever you use a number with a noun. Since nurses are people, we use the classifier คน right after the number ห้า (five).
I learned that มี means "to have." Why does it mean "Are there" here?
You're right that มี usually means "to have." However, when มี is placed at the beginning of a sentence without a subject (like "I" or "he"), it means "there is" or "there are." When combined with the question word ไหม at the end, it becomes "Is there?" or "Are there?"
Why are there two particles, ไหม and คะ, at the very end of the sentence?
ไหม is the question word that turns the sentence into a yes/no question. คะ is a polite particle added by female speakers. They work together: ไหม asks the question, and คะ makes asking it polite.
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