Word
พวก เขา แต่งงาน เมื่อไร ครับ
Meaning
When are they getting married?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of พวก เขา แต่งงาน เมื่อไร ครับ
ครับ
polite particle (male)
เขา
he, she, they
พวก
plural marker
เมื่อไร
when
Questions & Answers about พวก เขา แต่งงาน เมื่อไร ครับ
Why is เมื่อไร (when) at the end of the sentence?
In Thai, question words like เมื่อไร usually go exactly where the answer would go in a normal statement, instead of moving to the front like in English. Since you might answer 'They are getting married next year', the Thai question is essentially asked as 'They are getting married when?'.
Does เขา mean 'he', 'she', or 'they'? Why is พวก added here?
By itself, เขา usually means 'he' or 'she', though it can sometimes mean 'they' depending on context. Adding พวก (which means a group or cluster) in front makes it perfectly clear that you are talking about multiple people. พวก เขา specifically means 'they'.
How do we know this means 'are getting married' (future) and not 'got married' (past)?
Thai verbs like แต่งงาน (to get married) don't change their form to show past or future tense. Without a specific time word like 'yesterday' or 'tomorrow' added to the sentence, the time is understood entirely from context. Depending on the conversation, this exact same sentence could also be translated as 'When did they get married?'.
What do the two parts of the word แต่งงาน mean on their own?
It is a combination of แต่ง (to decorate, to compose, or to dress up) and งาน (work, job, or event). Put them together, and it creates the word for 'to marry' or 'wedding'.