VIDEO: How to Create Complicated Thai Compound Sentences

I practice speaking Thai everyday, so now I speak Thai well.

I practice speaking Thai everyday, so I can speak Thai with my Thai family.

 

The above two sentences sound similar but in Thai we use two complete different words to connect the sentences with the conjunction “so”.

In this lesson you will learn to use this connector “so” correctly as they are used in two different situations:

 

[1] Situation 1 “so” is used to show the reason for something, or to connect cause and effect

ฉันนอนดึก ฉันก็เลยตื่นสาย /chán nawn dùek, chán gâw-leoi dtùen săai/

I went to bed, so I work up late.

 

[2] Situation 2 “so” is used to show the purpose of doing something

ฉับจะนอนเร็ว ฉันจะได้ตื่นเช้าพรุ่งนี้ /chán jà nawn reo, chán jà dâai dtùen cháao prûng-níi/

I will go to bed early so I can wake up early tomorrow.

 

We’ll discuss each one then compare them.

 

Let’s get started with conjunction “so” in situation 1.

When you want to join two complete sentences and shows the result of something in the second sentence the word ก็เลย /gâw-leoi/ is used.

English equivalent would be the word “so”, “therefore” or “for that reason.”

 

The important thing when using the conjunction ก็เลย /gâw-leoi/ is the word order in the clause 2. The word order in Thai is

Clause 1 , subject + ก็เลย /gâw-leoi/ + verb/adjective

 

1. Michael เรียนภาษาไทยกับครูมด เขาก็เลยพูดภาษาไทยชัดมาก!
2. Matt เป็นหอบ เขาก็เลยออกกำลังกายเบาๆ
3. Bob กับ แอน ต้องอยู่ห่างกันเพราะสถานการณ์ Covid แอนทนรักทางไกลไม่ได้เขาก็เลยบอกเลิกกับ Bob

 

Ok, now we move to the conjunction “so” in situation 2

 

When we join two clauses with “so” to show the purpose for the action in the main clause, the word “จะได้ /jà dâai/” is used. In English the word “so” in this context is “so that” or “in order to”.

 

Example:

[1] I will go to bed early so I can wake up early tomorrow.

ฉับจะนอนเร็ว ฉันจะได้ตื่นเช้าพรุ่งนี้

 

[2] แก ต้องไปเล่นโยคะ แกจะได้หายปวดหลัง

/gae dtâwng bpai lên yoo-ká, gae jà dâai hăai bpùad- lăng

You need to practice yoga, so your backache will be cured.

 

Now we will compare two phrases. You will hear two sentences that sound similar but have different meanings:

[1] เขาเป็นคนตลก เพื่อนของเขาก็เลยหัวเราะ

/Káo bpen kon dtà-lòk, pûean kăwng káo gâw-leoi hŭa-ró/

He is funny, so his friends laugh at him.

The meaning here is: He is funny. Therefore, his friends laugh at him.

 

[2] เขาพูดตลก เพื่อนของเขาจะได้หัวเราะ

He makes jokes so his friends will laugh.

The meaning here is: He makes jokes for the purpose of making his friends laugh.

 

Let’s compare one more set to help you examine the meanings:

เขาฝึกพูดภาษาไทยทุกวัน เขาก็เลยพูดภาษาไทยเก่ง

/káo fùek pûu paa-săa tai túk wan, káo gâw-leoi pûud paa- săa tai gèng/

The meaning here is : He practices to speak Thai everyday therefore he speaks Thai well.

 

And the next one:

เขาฝึกพูดภาษาไทยทุกวัน เขาจะได้พูดภาษาไทยเก่ง

The meaning here is : He practices to speak Thai everyday for the purpose of speaking Thai well.

 

Well, I am so happy that you stayed around for today’s lesson. Don’t forget to do the practice so that you can remember what you learned!

 

Let’s practice with these two similar sentences:

She exercises often so she is healthy.

She exercises often so she can be healthy.

 

Please leave your answers in the comments below. 🙂