แล้ว

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Level 1

แล้ว (laew) often follows the predicate and any object. It can show that an action is completed or that a situation is true now, in contrast with an earlier or expected situation. Read the complete sentence to choose the English tense.

How It Works

The word แล้ว has several related uses. Interpret it with the whole predicate and context:

  • Completion: With an action such as eating, it can show that the action is completed. Kin khao laew can be rendered 'I have eaten' in a suitable context. The Thai string does not name the subject, and context supplies the English subject and tense.
  • Changed Situation: With a state or an unfolding event, it can contrast the current situation with an earlier or expected one. Fon tok laew can mean 'It is raining now'; this does not say that the rain has stopped.
  • Impending Action: With จะ (will), the pattern จะ...แล้ว can present an action as impending. Ja pai laew can mean 'I'm about to go' in a departure context. Do not assign every such combination an English future-perfect tense or a fixed time interval.
  • Not Anymore: With ไม่ (not), ไม่...แล้ว can give a 'not anymore' reading. Mai kin laew can mean 'I'm not eating anymore' when the context supports a change. It does not by itself prove what someone previously wanted.
  • Sequence: The word can also connect clauses in a sequence. แล้วก็ can introduce the next clause as 'and then'. Distinguish this linking use from the post-predicate marker practiced here.

Position: In the completion pattern shown here, use [Subject] + [Verb] + [Object] + แล้ว. A final particle or an 'or yet?' question phrase may follow the marker, as the examples show. This is not a ban on its separate clause-linking use before a later predicate.

Time: A word such as 'yesterday' can establish past time without this marker. Adding it can contribute a completed or changed-situation reading. Both versions of the bank example below are grammatical; choose according to the meaning you intend, rather than adding it to every past event.

Examples (5)

  1. กินข้าวแล้ว

    I have eaten already.

    Word by Word: Eat rice already

    In this context, the eating is completed. The Thai sentence does not name a subject; 'I' is supplied by the English rendering.

  2. เข้าใจแล้ว

    I understand now.

    Word by Word: Enter heart already

    Here the speaker understands now, in contrast with the earlier situation. The state of understanding can continue; the natural meaning comes from the whole verb, rather than its word-for-word literal gloss.

  3. ไม่เอาแล้ว

    I don't want it anymore.

    Word by Word: Not take already

    Here ไม่ with แล้ว expresses a changed decision about taking or accepting something: 'I don't want it anymore'. The context supplies that rendering; the marker alone does not prove a previous desire.

  4. ไปแล้วนะ

    I'm leaving now.

    Word by Word: Go already [softener]

    In a departure context, this can announce 'I'm leaving now'. Do not assume from the completion marker alone that the person has already left; the final softening particle follows it in this example.

  5. อาบน้ำแล้วหรือยัง

    Have you showered yet?

    Word by Word: Bathe water already or not yet

    This asks whether showering is already completed or not yet completed. In the question ending, ยัง contributes the 'yet' contrast; the displayed word is part of the question, not the complete pre-predicate negative pattern linked here.

Common Mistakes

  • Putting the completion marker before the verb in the simple pattern practiced here.

    ผมแล้วกินข้าว
    ผมกินข้าวแล้ว

    For the intended 'I have eaten' reading in this exercise, put 'laew' after the verb and object as shown. The first string is not the ordinary order for that reading. This does not prohibit the word's separate use to link a following clause.

  • Treating the completion or change marker as a required ending for every past event.

    เมื่อวานผมไปธนาคารแล้ว
    เมื่อวานผมไปธนาคาร

    Both displayed sentences are grammatical. The version without 'laew' states the visit with 'yesterday' supplying past time. The version with it can add a completed or changed-situation reading. This is a meaning-and-context comparison, not a claim that adding the marker after 'yesterday' is always an error.

How It Connects

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แล้วLevel 1Already Done

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