Word
ทำไม เขา กลับ บ้าน เร็ว ครับ
Meaning
Why does he return home early?
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of ทำไม เขา กลับ บ้าน เร็ว ครับ
บ้าน
house
ครับ
polite particle (male)
เขา
he, she, they
กลับ
to return
Questions & Answers about ทำไม เขา กลับ บ้าน เร็ว ครับ
I thought Thai question words usually go at the end. Why is ทำไม (why) at the beginning here?
While most Thai question words (like "what" or "where") stay "in-situ" at the end of the sentence, ทำไม is a major exception! It most commonly goes at the very beginning, just like in English.
Does เร็ว mean "early" or "fast"?
It can mean both! เร็ว usually means "fast" or "quick", but it is also the standard word for "early" (doing something ahead of the usual time). Context tells us "early" makes the most sense for returning home.
Why isn't there a word for "to" before บ้าน (home)?
Thai doesn't need a preposition here. Verbs of motion like กลับ (to return) or ไป (to go) connect directly to their destination. You just say "return home" without adding an extra word for "to".
Where is the word for "does" in this sentence?
Thai doesn't use helping verbs like "do" or "does" to make questions. The question word ทำไม combined with the simple subject-verb-object order is all you need to ask the question!