Breakdown of เขา โดน ตำรวจ ปรับ แล้ว
เขา
he, she, they
ตำรวจ
police officer
แล้ว
already
โดน
to be subjected to
ปรับ
to fine
Questions & Answers about เขา โดน ตำรวจ ปรับ แล้ว
How does the passive voice work in this sentence using โดน?
In Thai, the passive voice is usually reserved for unpleasant or negative experiences. The word โดน acts as the passive marker meaning 'to suffer' or 'to be subjected to.' The sentence structure is: [Victim] + โดน + [Doer] + [Action]. So it literally translates to 'He was subjected to the police fining him.'
If I don't know who fined him, can I leave ตำรวจ (police) out?
Yes! The 'doer' of the action is completely optional. If you just want to say 'He was already fined,' you can drop the police and say เขาโดนปรับแล้ว. In our sentence, ตำรวจ is included right after โดน to specify exactly who handed out the fine.
I thought ปรับ meant 'to adjust.' Why does it mean 'fined' here?
You are correct! ปรับ is commonly used for 'to adjust' (like adjusting a mirror or the air conditioning). However, in legal or rule-breaking contexts, it means 'to fine.' The use of the negative passive marker โดน is a big hint that he received a penalty, not an 'adjustment' from the police!
Does แล้ว at the end of the sentence make it past tense?
Thai doesn't change verbs to show past tense like English does. While context often makes it clear enough that an event happened in the past, adding แล้ว (already) at the end emphasizes that the action is fully completed.
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