ต่อ (เป้าหมาย)

Toward a Target

Level 5

ต่อ links responsibility with society, an effect with health, and a petition with its receiving court in the displayed examples. In the entrance-fee example, it means per person.

How It Works

1. Read the Named Target
In เราทุกคนมีความรับผิดชอบต่อสังคม, ต่อ links responsibility with society. The English “we” and this Thai sentence alone do not identify the speaker’s group. In the loyalty exercise, the requested phrase is ความซื่อสัตย์ต่อภรรยา. Read each complete relation rather than treating ต่อ as proof of the speaker’s rank or the formality of every utterance.

2. Read Effects and Standards
The retained smoking example links ผลเสีย with สุขภาพ. It is an example assertion whose grammar is being explained, not a separate medical verification. In การกระทำเช่นนี้ถือว่าผิดต่อกฎหมาย, ถือว่า is rendered functionally as is considered, and ผิดต่อกฎหมาย as against the law. The sentence presents a judgment; this lesson does not independently verify the act’s legal status.

3. Distinguish Per
The entrance-fee example uses one hundred baht per person. Read the linked per use with its number and unit. This displayed rate does not establish a measured frequency or a restriction to one register.

4. Identify the Receiving Court
In ทนายความยื่นคำร้องต่อศาล, the court receives the petition. The English “to” preserves that relation; against the court would describe a different relation. The translation selects a completed submission context, without claiming that the unmarked Thai verb itself encodes past tense.

5. Keep the Two Exercises Scoped
The first exercise requests เขามีความซื่อสัตย์ต่อภรรยา. Compare แก่ in its own full recipient examples rather than assigning all recipients to a fixed social hierarchy. The second exercise requests ฉันโกรธกับเธอ with กับ. This selected personal-anger phrasing does not ban ต่อ from every conversation or every expression of feeling. No recording or measured register frequency is evaluated.

6. Compare Other Whole Phrases
Read ทำต่อ for continuing to do something in its linked context. Other lexical phrases such as ต่อมา and ต่อหน้า need their own meanings and examples. The multiple dictionary senses do not establish that one use historically derives from another.

Examples (5)

  1. เราทุกคนมีความรับผิดชอบต่อสังคม

    We all have a responsibility toward society.

    Word by Word: we / all / have / responsibility / toward / society

    ต่อ links responsibility with society. The English “we” and เรา alone do not identify the speaker’s group. Read เรา in the sentence’s context.

  2. การสูบบุหรี่มีผลเสียต่อสุขภาพ

    Smoking has a negative effect on health.

    Word by Word: smoking / have / negative effect / on / health

    ต่อ links the stated negative effect with health. This is the retained sentence’s assertion, not a separate medical assessment by this grammar lesson.

  3. ค่าเข้าชมราคาหนึ่งร้อยบาทต่อคน

    The entrance fee is one hundred baht per person.

    Word by Word: entrance fee / price / one hundred / baht / per / person

    ค่าเข้าชม is rendered as the entrance-fee phrase, and ต่อคน as per person. The displayed amount is an example rate, not a verified current price or a register-frequency measurement.

  4. ทนายความยื่นคำร้องต่อศาล

    The lawyer submitted a petition to the court.

    Word by Word: lawyer / submit / petition / to / court

    The court is the recipient of the petition, so ต่อ is rendered as “to” here. The translation selects a completed submission context; the Thai sentence does not contain an explicit past-tense marker.

  5. การกระทำเช่นนี้ถือว่าผิดต่อกฎหมาย

    An act like this is considered contrary to the law.

    Word by Word: act / like this / be considered / contrary to / law

    ถือว่า is rendered functionally as is considered, not as an act actively considering something. The complete sentence states a judgment about the act; its legal truth is not independently verified here.

Common Mistakes

  • Choosing ต่อ for the requested loyalty-to phrase.

    เขามีความซื่อสัตย์แก่ภรรยา
    เขามีความซื่อสัตย์ต่อภรรยา

    For the requested he is loyal to his wife, choose เขามีความซื่อสัตย์ต่อภรรยา. The retained alternative uses แก่. This exercise targets the displayed ความซื่อสัตย์ต่อ phrase; it does not give a universal hierarchy-based rule for all gifts, benefits, attitudes, or recipients.

  • Choosing กับ for the requested personal-anger phrasing.

    ฉันโกรธต่อเธอ
    ฉันโกรธกับเธอ

    For this requested personal-anger sentence, choose ฉันโกรธกับเธอ. The retained ฉันโกรธต่อเธอ uses ต่อ instead. This exercise selects the displayed กับ phrasing; it does not establish a blanket ban on ต่อ in conversation or declare every ต่อ expression of feeling robotic.

How It Connects

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

ต่อ (เป้าหมาย)Level 5Toward a Target

Learn This First

To understand 'ต่อ' in its formal sense of 'toward', you should be familiar with how Thai creates abstract nouns (using ความ) and how formal prepositions are used to connect these nouns to their targets. It is distinct from the spatial 'to' or the temporal 'per', focusing instead on attitudes, duties, or actions directed at an entity.

Words in This Pattern

ต่อ