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เขา　วาด　รูป　เป็น　ไหม　คะ

เขา　วาด　รูป　เป็น　ไหม　คะ
Does she know how to draw?
From Lesson 30:Knowing how to do something (เป็น)·Thai

Questions & Answers about เขา　วาด　รูป　เป็น　ไหม　คะ

I thought เป็น meant "to be". Why is it translated as "know how to" here?
You are right that เป็น often means "to be" (like in "I am a student"). However, when you place it at the end of an action, like วาด รูป เป็น, it acts as a skill indicator. It tells us that the person has learned the skill to do that action. This is how you say "know how to" in Thai.
Why do we need the word รูป (picture)? Can I just say เขา วาด เป็น ไหม คะ?
In Thai, action verbs are usually paired with a "default" object. วาด means "to draw", and รูป means "picture". While people might understand you if you drop it, it sounds much more natural to say วาด รูป (draw a picture) rather than just leaving the verb hanging.
The translation says "she", but doesn't เขา mean "he"?
เขา is actually a gender-neutral pronoun. While early lessons sometimes introduce it as "he" to keep things simple, in everyday spoken Thai, เขา is heavily used for "he", "she", and "they". You figure out exactly who is being talked about from the context.
Could I use ได้ (can) instead of เป็น in this sentence?
You could, but it changes the meaning slightly! If you ask เขา วาด รูป ได้ ไหม คะ, you are asking if she can draw right now (maybe asking if she has a pen, or if she has free time). By using เป็น, you are specifically asking if she possesses the actual artistic skill to draw.

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