Breakdown of เขา ยังไม่ ตัด ไม้ ของ ผม ครับ
ครับ
polite particle (male)
ผม
I (male)
เขา
he, she, they
ของ
of (belonging to)
Questions & Answers about เขา ยังไม่ ตัด ไม้ ของ ผม ครับ
This lesson is about using เสร็จ (to finish), but it isn't in this sentence. How would I add it to say 'He hasn't finished cutting my wood yet'?
To say he hasn't finished cutting it, you add เสร็จ after the verb and its object. The sentence would become เขายังไม่ตัดไม้ของผมเสร็จครับ. In the original sentence, ยังไม่ตัด just means he hasn't cut it at all yet.
Can I just say ไม่ (not) instead of ยังไม่ (not yet)?
You could say เขาไม่ตัดไม้ของผม, but it changes the meaning from 'He hasn't cut my wood yet' to a flat 'He does not cut my wood' or 'He will not cut my wood.' Using ยังไม่ shows that you still expect the cutting to happen.
Do I always need to use ของ to say 'my wood'?
Yes, usually. While in some close relationships (like 'my mother' = แม่ผม) you can drop ของ, for ordinary physical objects like ไม้ (wood), you should keep ของ to clearly show possession: ไม้ของผม (wood of mine).
Both ไม่ and ไม้ look very similar. How do I tell them apart?
They are a classic minimal pair! Both are pronounced 'mai', but ไม่ (not) has a falling tone, while ไม้ (wood) has a high tone. Pay close attention to the tone so your listener knows which one you mean.