Thai · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 38
ฝนกำลังจะตกIt's about to rain
Talking about what is about to happen. Vocabulary: กำลังจะ, ฝน, ตก, รถไฟ, ออก, เริ่ม, รีบ, ทัน, เกือบ, เครื่องบิน. Key grammar: "กำลังจะ + verb" for the near future — something about to happen right now: "ฝนกำลังจะตก" (it is about to rain), "รถไฟกำลังจะออก" (the train is about to leave). In chapter 30 you learned "จะ" for the general future ("พรุ่งนี้ผมจะไป", tomorrow I will go); "กำลังจะ" is narrower — for what will happen in a few seconds or minutes. English speakers often use "จะ" for something imminent, because English uses "will/going to" for both: seeing a train pulling in and saying "รถไฟจะออก" ✗ → "รถไฟกำลังจะออกแล้ว" ✓. Tone corner: กำลัง (gam-lang), จะ (cà, low), ตก (tòk, low).
Dialogue
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รถไฟจะออก? รถไฟกำลังจะออก— รถไฟจะออก? or รถไฟกำลังจะออก
- Somchaiเจมส์รีบหน่อยครับเราอยู่ที่ชานชาลาแล้วJames, hurry a bit; we are on the platform now.
- JamesดูสิรถไฟจะออกLook, the train is leaving. (slip: for something imminent, use กำลังจะ … แล้ว → รถไฟกำลังจะออกแล้ว)
- Somchaiมันกำลังจะออกเดี๋ยวนี้ต้องพูดว่า"รถไฟกำลังจะออกแล้ว"."จะ"เฉยๆใช้กับอนาคตที่ไกลกว่าIt's leaving right now, so you must say "รถไฟกำลังจะออกแล้ว". Plain "จะ" is for a more distant future.
- Jamesอ๋อเข้าใจแล้วรถไฟกำลังจะออกแล้วรีบขึ้นเลย!Oh, I understand. The train is about to leave — get on quickly!
- Somchaiทันพอดี!ส่วนพรุ่งนี้เราจะไปเชียงใหม่ค่อยวางแผนทีหลังนะJust in time! As for going to Chiang Mai tomorrow, we'll plan that later.
Dialogue
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ก่อนหนังเริ่ม— Before the film starts
- Maleeเจมส์รีบหน่อยค่ะหนังกำลังจะเริ่มแล้วJames, hurry; the film is about to start.
- Jamesผมกำลังจะนั่งแล้วครับขอน้ำหน่อยก่อนนะI'm about to sit down. Let me get some water first.
- Maleeเร็วนะคะเดี๋ยวไฟกำลังจะดับแล้วBe quick; the lights are about to go out.
- Jamesทันพอดีครับ!สุดสัปดาห์หน้าเราจะไปดูหนังอีกไหมครับJust in time! Shall we go to a movie again next weekend?
- Maleeดีค่ะ!สัปดาห์หน้าเราจะไปดูด้วยกันอีกเงียบก่อนนะคะหนังเริ่มแล้วSounds good! Next week we'll go watch together again. Quiet now — the film has started.
Vocabulary
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- กำลังจะ
auxiliaryabout to, on the point of
- ฝน
nounrain
- ตก
verbto fall (rain, etc.)
- รถไฟ
nountrain
- ออก
verbto leave, depart
- เริ่ม
verbto begin, start
- รีบ
verbto hurry
- ทัน
verbto be in time, catch
- เกือบ
adverbalmost, nearly
- เครื่องบิน
nounairplane
Grammar
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Near future: "กำลังจะ + verb"
Explanation
In chapter 30 you learned "จะ + verb" for the general future: "พรุ่งนี้ผมจะไปทำงาน" (tomorrow I will go to work). Now use "กำลังจะ + verb" for the near future — something on the point of happening right now: "ฝนกำลังจะตก" (it is about to rain), "รถไฟกำลังจะออก" (the train is about to leave), "หนังกำลังจะเริ่ม" (the film is about to start). "กำลัง" by itself means "in the middle of (doing)"; combined with "จะ" it means "on the point of / about to happen". You often add "แล้ว" at the end to stress it is very close: "รถไฟกำลังจะออกแล้ว!" (the train is about to leave!). Compare: "พรุ่งนี้ผมจะไป" (sometime in the future) ≠ "ผมกำลังจะไปแล้ว" (I am leaving right now). Typical mistake: English uses "will / going to" for both, so learners use plain "จะ" for something imminent: seeing a train pull in and saying "รถไฟจะออก" ✗ → "รถไฟกำลังจะออกแล้ว" ✓.
Examples
- ฝนกำลังจะตกแล้ว รีบเข้าบ้านเถอะIt's about to rain, hurry inside.
- เร็วเข้า! รถไฟกำลังจะออกแล้วHurry! The train is about to leave.
- พรุ่งนี้ผมจะไปเชียงใหม่ แต่ตอนนี้เครื่องบินยังไม่ออกTomorrow I will go to Chiang Mai, but right now the plane hasn't left yet.
- หนังกำลังจะเริ่มแล้ว เรารีบไปให้ทันนะThe film is about to start; let's hurry so we make it.
Script & tones
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จังหวะของ "กำลังจะ"— The rhythm of "กำลังจะ"
Read aloud, letting "กำลังจะ" flow as one chunk:
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