Breakdown of บริษัท นี้ ถูก ฟ้อง ค่ะ
ค่ะ
polite particle (female)
บริษัท
company
นี้
this (modifier)
ถูก
passive marker
ฟ้อง
to sue
Questions & Answers about บริษัท นี้ ถูก ฟ้อง ค่ะ
How does ถูก work to make this a passive sentence?
In Thai, placing ถูก directly before a verb makes it passive, meaning the subject receives the action instead of doing it. It is specifically used for negative or unpleasant events. Since getting sued is bad news for the company, ถูก is the perfect word to use here.
I learned before that ถูก means 'cheap' or 'correct'. How do I know it is being used as a passive marker here?
You can tell by looking at the word that comes right after it. Here, ถูก is followed by the action verb ฟ้อง (to sue). When ถูก is placed right before another verb, it acts as the passive marker. When it means 'cheap' or 'correct', it usually acts as a descriptive adjective at the end of a clause.
The sentence says the company was sued, but does not say by whom. Where would I put the person suing them if I wanted to?
You would insert the person doing the suing right after ถูก and before the verb. For example, if 'he' sued the company, you would say บริษัทนี้ถูกเขาฟ้อง (This company was sued by him). In our sentence, the doer is just left out because it is unknown or implied.
Just as a refresher, why is the word order บริษัท นี้ instead of นี้ บริษัท?
Remember that in Thai, modifiers always come after the noun they describe. This includes pointing words like นี้ (this) and นั้น (that). So, 'this company' translates literally to 'company this'.
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