A2 · Élémentaire Chapitre 17

Talking About the Past

4 Règles totales
37 exemples
1 min
Règles dans ce chapitre Pratique rapide

Chapter in 30 Seconds

Unlock the ability to recount your personal history and completed actions naturally in Thai.

  • Use 'laew' to show actions are finished.
  • Describe past experiences using 'keuy'.
  • Apply 'dai' to indicate successful completion.
Master the art of storytelling in Thai.

Ce que tu vas apprendre

Using markers like 'laew' and 'dai' to indicate completed actions. Understanding aspect over tense.

  • Le marqueur de passé 'laew' (déjà)
    Add laew after a verb to signal that an action is finished, just like saying 'already'.
  • ...
    Use keuy before a verb to describe an experience you have had in the past.
  • Actions terminées avec `dai`
    Use dai after a verb to confirm you successfully completed an action or managed to do it.
  • ...
    Thai grammar uses specific time markers instead of verb conjugations to indicate past events.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this chapter, you will be able to:

  1. 1
    By the end you will be able to: describe a finished day using the correct past markers.

Exemples clés (8)

1

I ate already.

I have eaten.

Le marqueur de passé 'laew' (déjà)
2

He went already.

He has already gone.

Le marqueur de passé 'laew' (déjà)
3

ผมเคยไปเชียงใหม่

I have been to Chiang Mai.

...
4

คุณเคยกินส้มตำไหม

Have you ever eaten Som Tum?

...
5

chan tham dai

I managed to do it.

Actions terminées avec `dai`
6

phom pai dai

I made it there.

Actions terminées avec `dai`
7

เมือวานฉันไปซูเปอร์มาร์เก็ต

Yesterday I went to the supermarket.

...
8

ฉันกินข้าวแล้ว

I have already eaten.

...

Conseils et astuces (4)

🎯

Context is King

If the context is obvious, you can drop the subject entirely and just say 'Kin laew!'
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Le marqueur de passé 'laew' (déjà)
💡

Placement is Key

Always put keuy right before the verb. Think of it as a prefix for the action.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: ...
💡

Context is King

Don't use dai for simple past tense; it's specifically for achievement.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Actions terminées avec `dai`
🎯

Keep it simple

Don't overthink the verb. If it happened, just tag it with a time word.
frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: ...

Vocabulaire clé (6)

แล้ว (laew) already เคย (keuy) have ever ได้ (dai) to get/succeed เมื่อวาน (meua-wan) yesterday กิน (gin) to eat ไป (bpai) to go

Real-World Preview

utensils

Ordering Lunch

Review Summary

  • Verb + แล้ว
  • เคย + Verb
  • Verb + ได้
  • Time + Subject + Verb

Erreurs courantes

Time markers usually go at the beginning of the sentence in Thai for clarity.

Wrong: ฉันกินแล้วเมื่อวาน (I ate already yesterday)
Correct: เมื่อวานฉันกินแล้ว (Yesterday I ate already)

'Keuy' is for life experiences, not specific past times like 'yesterday'.

Wrong: ฉันเคยไปเมื่อวาน (I have ever gone yesterday)
Correct: ฉันไปมาเมื่อวาน (I went yesterday)

'Dai' for completion often requires context or a result.

Wrong: ฉันได้กิน (I got eat)
Correct: ฉันกินได้แล้ว (I have finished eating)

Next Steps

You've mastered the past! Keep that momentum going as we look toward the future.

Write a diary entry for today

Continue to: Planning for the Future

Pratique rapide (10)

Fill in the blank

Chan ___ pai Thailan.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: keuy
You use keuy to indicate an experience.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: ...

Find and fix the mistake

Find and fix the mistake:

Khao pai keuy Phuket.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Khao keuy pai Phuket.
The marker keuy must precede the verb pai.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: ...

Which sentence is correct?

Choose the grammatically correct one:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: I eat laew.
laew always follows the verb.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Le marqueur de passé 'laew' (déjà)

Fill in the blank with the correct word.

Phom tham ___.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: dai
We use dai to show the action was successfully completed.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Actions terminées avec `dai`

Which sentence is correct?

Choose the grammatically correct sentence:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Phom keuy gin sushi.
Keuy must come before the main verb.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: ...

Which sentence is correct for 'I managed to go'?

Select the correct option:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Chan pai dai
The structure is Subject + Verb + dai.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Actions terminées avec `dai`

Which sentence is correct?

Choose the grammatically correct sentence:

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: chan pai kin khao meua-waan
Thai verbs do not change form in the past tense.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: ...

Find and fix the mistake

Find and fix the mistake:

Chan laew kin.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: Chan kin laew.
The marker laew must come after the verb.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Le marqueur de passé 'laew' (déjà)

Fill in the blank with the correct time marker.

___ chan pai thiao thalay (Yesterday I went to the beach).

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: meua-waan
meua-waan means yesterday, which fits the past tense context.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: ...

Fill in the blank

Chan ___ (ate) laew.

✓ Correct! ✗ Not quite. Correct answer: kin
kin is the verb for eat.

frontend.learn_grammar.from_rule: Le marqueur de passé 'laew' (déjà)

Score: /10

Questions fréquentes (6)

It means 'already' or indicates that an action is completed.
Always place it immediately after the verb.
No, keuy is strictly for past experiences. Use other words for future plans.
It doesn't matter! Keuy just indicates that the experience exists in your life history.
Not exactly. It focuses on the success or possibility of an action, not just the time it happened.
Mostly, yes! Use it whenever you want to highlight that you managed to perform the action.
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Planning for the Future
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