Thai · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 5
ผมเป็นนักเรียนI'm a student
Adjectives are predicates by themselves — no เป็น/คือ in front: เด็กดี = "the child [is] good". Intensify with มาก after it (ดีมาก). This is the trap for English speakers who use "be + adjective". On the reading side: low consonants + tone marks, which give different results from mid/high — the heart of the Thai tone system.
Dialogue
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เขาสวยมาก— She's very pretty
- Somchaiเพื่อนผมชื่อนกครับ.เขาสวยมาก!My friend is Nok. She's very pretty!
- Maleeเขาเป็นนักศึกษาใช่ไหมคะ?She's a student, right?
- Somchaiใช่ครับ.เขาดีมากครับ.Yes. She's very nice.
Dialogue
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ไม่มี เป็น หน้าคำคุณศัพท์— No เป็น before an adjective
- Maleeเจมส์ครูดีไหมคะ?James, is the teacher good?
- Jamesครูเป็นดีครับ!(wrong) James adds เป็น before the adjective ดี.
- Maleeไม่ใช่"เป็นดี"!"ครูดี"ค่ะ.Not "เป็นดี"! Just "ครูดี" — no เป็น before an adjective.
- Jamesอ๋อ!ครูดีมากครับ.Ah! The teacher is very good.
Vocabulary
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- ผู้ชาย
nounman
- ผู้หญิง
nounwoman
- เด็ก
nounchild
- ดี
adjectivegood
- ใหญ่
adjectivebig
- เล็ก
adjectivesmall
- สวย
adjectivebeautiful
- ใหม่
adjectivenew
- เก่า
adjectiveold (things)
- ชอบ
verbto like
Grammar
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Adjective as predicate (no เป็น)
Explanation
In Thai, an adjective can be a predicate by itself — no เป็น or คือ in front: เด็กดี = "the child [is] good". Put the adjective directly after the noun. Intensify with มาก placed AFTER it: ดีมาก (very good), สวยมาก. The English-speaker trap: don't put เป็น before an adjective ("ผมเป็นดี" is wrong — say "ผมสบายดี"). เป็น is only for nouns (a role).
Examples
- เด็กดี.The child is good.
- ผู้หญิงสวยมาก.The woman is very beautiful.
- เพื่อนผมดี.My friend is nice.
- ครูใหม่.The teacher is new.
Script & tones
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อักษรต่ำ + รูปวรรณยุกต์ (กรณีพิเศษ)— Low Class + Tone Marks (the tricky case)
The same tone marks — different results by class. Compare:
- low + ่ (ไม้เอก)FALLING toneNOT low! e.g. ช + ไม้เอก in ชื่อ (chʉ̂ʉ) = name — falling
- low + ้ (ไม้โท)HIGH tonee.g. ม + ไม้โท in ม้า (máa) = horse — high
- mid/high + ่ (ไม้เอก)low tone(recap) ข่า (khàa) = galangal — low
- mid/high + ้ (ไม้โท)falling tone(recap) ข้า (khâa) = servant — falling
Read by checking the consonant class first, then interpreting the tone mark:
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