THAI LANGUAGE LESSONS
L16 - Conjunctions
Conjunctions are words that connect elements of sentences. The three most common are 'and', 'or' and 'but'. There are many other words in the English language that can be used as conjunctions. We will only describe the two other most common ones; 'because' and 'therefore'.
| and | lae |
| or | reu |
| but | dtair |
| because | pror wah |
| therefore | pror cha-nun |
These conjunction words translate quite neatly between English and Thai. The Thai language uses them in very much the same way they are used in English.
and / lae
The pronounciation of 'lae' should be short. The vowel is shortened from the longer vowel sound in 'lair'.
koon steve lae koon john bpai lay-oh - Steve and John have gone already.
pom ja bpai poo-get lae seu korng - I will go to Phuket and go shopping.
or / reu
We have already seen this one in the Thai question form 'reu bplao' - or not. The Thai word 'reu' is used almost identically to the way or is used in English.
rao mee yai reu lek - We have big or small.
but / dtair
The Thai word 'dtair' is used almost identically to the way but is used in English.
pom yahk ja bpai dtair mai mee dtung - I would like to go but I don't have any money.
because / pror wah
'pror wah' translates quite neatly to the English word because. The 'wah' is sometimes dropped in casual speech but for learners it is best to stick with the full phrase.
pom bpai mai dai pror wah mai mee dtung - I cannot go because I don't have any money.
therefore / pror cha-nun
There are a few Thai words that can be used for therefore but 'pror cha-nun' is the most common.
pom mai mee dtung pror cha-nun pom bpai mai dai - I do not have any money therefore I cannot go.
