แล้ว and จะ: time brings its own word
The verb in Thai never changes: "eat", "ate" and "have eaten" are one word, kin. The distinction is brought by a word next door. For example: “ผม กิน ข้าว แล้ว” — I have already eaten. A rule from the Thai course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The verb in Thai never changes: "eat", "ate" and "have eaten" are one word, kin. The distinction is brought by a word next door.
Done — แล้ว (лаэо) at the end: kin laeo — have already eaten; ma laeo — has already come. This is not a past tense but "the deed is done". Yesterday's lunch and the coffee you just drank get the same word.
Will — จะ (ча) before the verb: cha pai — will go; phrung nii cha ma — will come tomorrow. About a regular schedule Thai puts no time word at all: tham ngaan thuk wan — work every day.
Two helpers live nearby: กำลัง (камланг) — "now, in progress", and เคย (кхёй) — "have ever been". You know the negation of the latter: mai khoei — never happened.
Table
| Meaning | Word | Reading | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| already done | แล้ว | laeo | กิน แล้ว — already eaten |
| will | จะ | cha | จะ ไป — will go |
| now, in progress | กำลัง | kamlang | กำลัง ทำ — doing now |
| habit | (nothing) | — | ทำ งาน ทุก วัน — works every day |
| have ever | เคย | khoei | เคย ไป — have been |
| never been | ไม่ เคย | mai khoei | ไม่ เคย ไป — have never been |
| stopped | เลิก | loek | เลิก ทำ — stopped doing |
By example
- ผม กิน ข้าว แล้วпхом кин кхао лаэоI have already eaten
- พรุ่ง นี้ เขา จะ มาпхрунг ний кхао ча маHe will come tomorrow
- ฝน หยุด แล้วфон ют лаэоThe rain has already stopped
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 brings its own word: how does it work in Thai?
The verb in Thai never changes: "eat", "ate" and "have eaten" are one word, kin. The distinction is brought by a word next door.
What does it look like in a Thai example sentence?
“ผม กิน ข้าว แล้ว” (пхом кин кхао лаэо) — I have already eaten. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.