การที่

Clauses with การที่

Level 5

In these examples, การที่ introduces a clause about an arrival, a policy announcement, someone’s speech, or children receiving nutrients. The whole construction is then discussed in the rest of the sentence.

How It Works

The Whole Clause
In การที่เขามาสายทำให้ทุกคนต้องรอ, the unit การที่เขามาสาย describes his late arrival, and the rest of the sentence says it caused everyone to wait. In the government example, the unit describes a tax-cut announcement; the following statement attributes a positive effect to it. The speech example presents someone’s way of speaking as what is considered impolite. The nutrient example presents a situation before stating a possible effect on growth.

Compare The Constructions
The first exercise asks for การวิ่ง, “running”, with การ and a verb. The second asks for ฉันรู้ว่าเขาจะไป, “I know that he will go”, with ว่า introducing the content known. These are exact task contrasts, not universal bans on clause constructions after every verb of knowledge or speech. Compare ที่ in its own linked examples; the link does not make it an interchangeable replacement for การที่.

What The Examples Claim
The English wording “the fact that” is a translation choice for these situations, not independent evidence that the arrival, policy effect, criticism, or growth claim is true. ถือว่า marks the judgment in the speech example; it does not make that judgment objective or guarantee a particular level of politeness. The displayed statements do not establish frequency, a compulsory formal register, or rules for every subject and predicate combination.

Research Scope
A Journal of Letters research abstract analyzes การที่ and ความที่ as clausal nominalizers and contrasts them with lexical nominalizers การ and ความ. This supports comparing the whole constructions here; the abstract alone does not establish the original universal subject-placement or register claims.

Examples (4)

  1. การที่เขามาสายทำให้ทุกคนต้องรอ

    The fact that he arrived late made everyone have to wait.

    Word by Word: clausal nominalizer | he | arrive | late | cause | everyone | must | wait

    The full unit การที่เขามาสาย is followed by the claim that it caused everyone to wait. The translation selects a past arrival; the Thai clause itself does not mark past tense. ทำให้ is represented functionally as “cause”.

  2. การที่รัฐบาลประกาศลดภาษีส่งผลดีต่อเศรษฐกิจ

    The fact that the government announced a tax cut has a positive effect on the economy.

    Word by Word: clausal nominalizer | government | announce | reduce | tax | have a positive effect | on | economy

    The full การที่ clause describes the announcement; ส่งผลดี expresses a positive effect in the displayed assertion. The selected past announcement and economic claim are translation context, not a verified current policy or outcome.

  3. การที่คุณพูดจาเช่นนี้ถือว่าไม่สุภาพ

    Your speaking like this is considered impolite.

    Word by Word: clausal nominalizer | you | speak | like | this | be considered | not | polite

    พูดจา is represented as “speak”, and ถือว่า as “be considered”. The statement expresses a judgment about the displayed way of speaking; การที่ does not make the criticism automatically objective, formal, or socially appropriate.

  4. การที่เด็กได้รับสารอาหารไม่เพียงพออาจส่งผลต่อการเจริญเติบโต

    The fact that children receive insufficient nutrients may affect growth.

    Word by Word: clausal nominalizer | children | receive | nutrients | not | sufficient | may | affect | action nominalizer | grow

    อาจ preserves a possible effect, not certainty or permission. ได้รับ is represented as “receive”, and ส่งผลต่อ as “affect”. The sentence is a displayed claim used to illustrate the construction, not medical guidance or verification of a particular child’s growth.

Common Mistakes

  • Using การที่ in the task asking for the action noun การวิ่ง.

    การที่วิ่งทุกวันดีต่อสุขภาพ
    การวิ่งทุกวันดีต่อสุขภาพ

    For the requested action-noun wording, retain การวิ่งทุกวันดีต่อสุขภาพ. The exercise compares this exact pattern with การที่วิ่งทุกวันดีต่อสุขภาพ; it does not establish that every การที่ clause must contain an immediately written subject. The health statement is the exercise content, not a verified health recommendation.

  • Replacing ว่า in the task asking for “I know that he will go.”

    ฉันรู้การที่เขาจะไป
    ฉันรู้ว่าเขาจะไป

    For this task, retain ฉันรู้ว่าเขาจะไป with ว่า introducing the content known and จะ retaining prospective departure. The pair compares the requested response with ฉันรู้การที่เขาจะไป; it does not establish a universal ban on nominalized clauses after every cognition or speech verb.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

การที่Level 5Clauses with การที่

Learn This First

To understand การที่, you first need to know how the prefix การ turns a single verb into a noun (like 'running' or 'eating'). การที่ takes this a step further by turning an entire sentence or fact into a noun so that it can act as the subject or object of another verb. You should also be familiar with basic Thai word order and how clauses are linked.

Words in This Pattern

การที่