Time words and links come first
The word order in Thai is close to English: who — does — what. But Thai puts the time in front of the doer, and this is the one difference you hear at once. For example: “วัน นี้ ผม ทำ งาน ที่ บ้าน” — Today I work at home. A rule from the Thai course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The word order in Thai is close to English: who — does — what. But Thai puts the time in front of the doer, and this is the one difference you hear at once.
วัน นี้ ผม ทำ งาน (ван ний пхом тхам нган) — today I work. English would say "I work today"; Thai names the time first, then the person. The same with ton chao, "in the morning", and phrung nii, "tomorrow".
The link also likes the front seat: paeng tae di — expensive, but good. And the question Thai fastens at the very end: the particle ไหม (май) turns a statement into a question, and nothing else needs moving.
A rule for the first months: time — to the front, question — to the end, verb — never changes.
Table
| What goes in front | Word | Reading | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| the day | วัน นี้ | wan nii | วัน นี้ ทำ งาน — today I work |
| time of day | ตอน เช้า | ton chao | ตอน เช้า อ่าน — in the morning I read |
| order | ก่อน | kon | ก่อน กิน ข้าว — first eat |
| frequency | บ่อย | boi | บ่อย ไป ตลาด — often go to the market |
| a link | แต่ | tae | แพง แต่ ดี — expensive but good |
| question at the end | ไหม | mai | ไป ไหม — are you going? |
| subject after time | ผม | phom | วัน นี้ ผม อยู่ บ้าน — today I am home |
By example
- วัน นี้ ผม ทำ งาน ที่ บ้านван ний пхом тхам нган ти банToday I work at home
- พรุ่ง นี้ เรา เดิน ทางпхрунг ний рао дён таангTomorrow we are going
- ตอน เช้า อ่าน ข่าว ไหมтон чао ан кхао майIn the morning do you read the news?
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Time words and links come first: how does it work in Thai?
The word order in Thai is close to English: who — does — what. But Thai puts the time in front of the doer, and this is the one difference you hear at once.
What does it look like in a Thai example sentence?
“วัน นี้ ผม ทำ งาน ที่ บ้าน” (ван ний пхом тхам нган ти бан) — Today I work at home. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.