Breakdown of เขา ซื้อ หนังสือ กี่ เล่ม คะ
หนังสือ
book
เขา
he, she, they
ซื้อ
to buy
คะ
female question particle / polite particle (female)
กี่
how many
เล่ม
classifier for books / classifier for knives
Questions & Answers about เขา ซื้อ หนังสือ กี่ เล่ม คะ
Why does กี่ (how many) come after หนังสือ (book) instead of before it?
In Thai, the question word กี่ doesn't go at the beginning. The pattern for asking for quantities is always [Noun] + กี่ + [Classifier]. So in this sentence, you are literally saying 'he buy book how many (classifier)'.
What is the word เล่ม doing in this sentence?
เล่ม is a classifier (a special counting word). Because Thai nouns don't have plural forms like adding an 's' in English, you must use a classifier alongside กี่ when asking for amounts. เล่ม is the specific classifier used for books.
Why is the polite particle คะ used here instead of ค่ะ?
คะ (with a high tone) is the polite particle used by female speakers specifically for questions. Because you are asking 'how many', คะ is required. You would use ค่ะ (with a low tone) when answering a question or making a regular statement.
There are no words for 'does' or 'did' here. How do we know the tense?
Thai verbs like ซื้อ (buy) do not change to show past, present, or future. You usually know if the buying already happened based on the context of your conversation, or if specific time words (like 'yesterday' or 'tomorrow') are added to the sentence.
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