Breakdown of ฉัน พูด ภาษา ไทย ได้ ค่ะ
ค่ะ
polite particle (female)
ฉัน
I (female)
ไทย
Thai
พูด
to speak
ภาษา
language
ได้
can
Questions & Answers about ฉัน พูด ภาษา ไทย ได้ ค่ะ
Why is ได้ (can) at the very end of the sentence?
In English, we put 'can' before the verb. In Thai, ได้ comes after the action and its object. The pattern for expressing capability is Verb + Object + ได้. So here, it is พูด (speak) + ภาษาไทย (Thai language) + ได้ (can).
Why do we need the word ภาษา (language) here? Can I just say I speak Thai?
You actually can drop it in casual conversation and just say พูดไทยได้ค่ะ! However, adding ภาษา (language) before ไทย (Thai) is the standard and slightly more proper way to say it. Notice that Thai puts the main noun (ภาษา) before the descriptive word (ไทย).
Who is speaking in this sentence, a man or a woman?
Is it okay to drop the word ฉัน (I) if it is obvious who is talking?
Yes! In Thai, it is very common to drop the subject pronoun if the context makes it clear. You can simply say พูดภาษาไทยได้ค่ะ and it will perfectly mean 'I can speak Thai.'
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