Thai grammar & word usage lessons

Learn everything you need to know about Thai grammar and word usage from telling the time to picking the right words step by step, with in-depth explanations and lots of practical examples.

Every grammar rule you learn comes along with several examples to illustrate how to use it. We break down more complicated concepts into several pieces with individual examples for easy “digestion”. While going over the examples you will also learn new helpful phrases and develop a natural feeling for the Thai sentence structure (which is pretty easy and straight forward once you understand it).

Thai speaking habits and word usage

Not sure when to use a certain word or phrase? If something is appropriate to say? Just started to learn Thai and you want to be confident to form different types of sentences?

Especially in intermediate Grammar & Word Usage lessons we help you to understand when to use a certain word and when not to.

Thai word usage example

The word “ao (เอา)” literally means “to take / to get”.
ex.
Which one will you get?
คุณ จะ เอา อัน ไหน
khun jà ao an năi
you will take “classifier for things” which

The word “ao” also means “to want (something in return)”. You use it with this meaning when you want to clarify the reason of a certain action or the reason why someone does something . In this case, the word “ao” is usually followed by a noun and both appear at the end of a sentence.
ex.
That girl just works to show off.
ผู้หญิง คน นั้น แค่ ทำงาน เอา หน้า
phû-yĭng khon nán khâe tham-ngaan ao nâa
girl “classifier for person” that just work want face

The word “ao” can also mean “to have sex”. In this case the word “ao” is usually followed by the word “kan” (each other) to express that an action involves more than one person. So be careful while using the the word “kan” after the word “ao”.

In the Thai language people usually omit an object when it is obvious what is meant because of the context of the conversation. For example, you and your friends are about to have dinner and want to get the dishes from the kitchen. You might say to one of your friends…

Let’s go get the dishes.
ไป เอา จาน กัน เถอะ
pai ao jaan kan thèr
go get dish “each other” let’s

But if you omit the object “dish”, it will sound like…

Let’s have sex.
ไป เอา กัน เถอะ
pai ao kan thèr
go “have sex” “each other” let’s

Not sure if it is appropriate to say that if you for example visit the family of your Thai partner the first time and just want to be polite and help to carry the dishes… Better get it right!

Review what you have learned

Make sure what you have learned sticks with you. In our review lessons you can test and reinforce what you have learned and see the words, grammar rules and other concepts in a different context.

Beginner review lessons start with a quick practice of the key vocabulary for this lesson and are followed by English – Thai and Thai – English translation exercises.

• Beginner grammar lesson (click to play)
• Intermediate grammar lesson (click to play)

• Beginner grammar lesson (right click and save link / target as)
• Intermediate grammar lesson (right click and save link / target as)

Beginner Grammar Lesson Index:
(41 Lessons / each has a dedicated review lesson about the same topic)
More information about our lessons (including all intermediate and advanced lessons) in our 1 year curriculum.

• 1. Introduction to the Thai Language
• 2. Personal Pronouns
• 3. Conditional Questions
• 4. Confirmation Questions
• 5. Question Words I
• 6. Question Words II
• 7. Question Words III
• 8. Pronunciation I
• 9. Counting Numbers
• 10. Telling the Time I
• 11. Telling the Time II
• 12. Calender
• 13. Family and Kin Terms
• 14. Intermediate Personal Pronouns
• 15. Present Tense
• 16. Future Tense
• 17. Past Tense and Present Perfect Tense
• 18. Negative Sentences
• 19. Verb to be and Stative Verbs
• 20. Modal Auxiliary Verbs I
• 21. Modal Auxiliary Verbs II
• 22. Secondary Verbs
• 23. Pronunciation II
• 24. Adjectives I
• 25. Adjectives II
• 26. Adverbs I
• 27. Adverbs II
• 28. Adverbs III
• 29. Classifiers
• 30. Pronunciation III
• 31. Possessive Adjectives and Possessive Pronouns
• 32. Relative Pronouns and Indefinite Pronouns
• 33. Location Words and Prepositions
• 34. Prepositions
• 35. Comparison I
• 36. Comparison II
• 37. Causatives
• 38. Conjunction “that”
• 39. Subordinate Clauses I
• 40. Subordinate Clauses II
• 41. Pronunciation IV