answering questions (exercise 9)

Questions using a verb (which is all you’ve learned so far) are answered by repeating the verb on its own for a positive answer, or the verb preceded by the word mâi for a negative answer, like this:

Question	Yes	No
khun rúu măi?	rúu	mâi rúu
ther khâo jai măi?	khâo jai	mâi khâo jai
phûuak khăo rúu jàk Peter măi?	rúu jàk	mâi rúu jàk
khun dtâwng gaan gin măi?	dtâwng gaan	mâi dtâwng gaan

In the final example there are three possible answers because there are two verbs in the sentence. It can be answered with both verbs or either verb, like this:

Question	Yes	No
khun dtâwng gaan gin măi?	dtâwng gaan	mâi dtâwng gaan
khun dtâwng gaan gin măi?	gin	mâi gin
khun dtâwng gaan gin măi?	dtâwng gaan gin	mâi dtâwng gaan gin

Questions may be asked in a shorter form if you are speaking to someone directly. In this case you can drop the khun and just use the verb with măi. Answering is the same:

Question	Yes	No
rúu măi?	rúu	mâi rúu
khâo jai măi?	khâo jai	mâi khâo jai
rúu jàk Peter măi?	rúu jàk	mâi rúu jàk
dtâwng gaan gin thêe nêe măi?	dtâwng gaan	mâi dtâwng gaan
châwp Phuket măi?	châwp	mâi châwp

Exercise 9

Translate the English statement into a question, then answer in both positive and negative. The first question is completed as an example.

1	he understands
	khăo khâo jai măi?	khâo jai	mâi khâo jai
2	you remember him
3	she sits (and) reads here
4	he spoke with Jane
5	Peter wants to swim here
6	Jane likes pizza
7	she would like to go with us
8	he loves her
9	you like to drink beer
10	you will go with me
11	he will listen to you
12	she will read it
13	he will come with us
14	they will hear us
15	he will write

Scroll down for the answers …

1	khăo khâo jai măi?	khâo jai	mâi khâo jai
2	khun jam khăo măi?	jam	mâi jam
3	ther nâng àan thêe nêe măi?	nâng àan	mâi nâng àan
4	khăo phûud gàp Jane măi?	phûud	mâi phûud
5	Peter dtâwng gaan wâai nám thêe nêe măi?	dtâwng gaan	mâi dtâwng gaan
		dtâwng gaan wâai nám	mâi dtâwng gaan wâai nám
		wâai nám	mâi wâai nám
6	Jane châwp pizza măi?	châwp	mâi châwp
7	ther yàak bpai gàp phûuak rao măi?	yàak	mâi yàak
		yàak bpai	mâi yàak bpai
		bpai	mâi bpai
8	khăo rák ther măi?	rák	mâi rák
9	khun châwp dèuum beer măi?	châwp dèuum	mâi châwp dèuum
10	khun jà bpai gàp phŏm/chăn măi?	bpai	mâi bpai
11	khăo jà fang khun măi?	fang	mâi fang
12	ther jà àan man măi?	àan	mâi àan
13	khăo jà maa gàp phûuak rao măi?	maa	mâi maa
14	phûuak khăo jà dâi yin phûuak rao măi?	dâi yin	mâi dâi yin
15	khăo jà khǐian măi?	khǐian	mâi khǐian

Well done!

You now have a vocabulary of just 45 words (excluding numbers and days of the week), but you can make positive and negative statements, and ask and answer questions. Quite an achievement!