Page:Adapting and Writing Language Lessons.pdf/262

Rh 25. (b) In English, we must show the gender for third person singular pronouns, but not for the first person singular pronoun. In Thai there is no -- distinction but has separate translations for men and women:

For a female Thai speaker to refer to herself by the masculine pronoun  instead of the feminine   would be as great a blunder—as to refer to an English speaker's mother as. (There is a distinction between-- and, but the latter is rarely used. ,,:  .)

26. (c) English sentences must show the time of an action (,, , etc.), while Thai sentences are often noncommittal in this respect.

When time is indicated in a Thai sentence, it is sometimes shown by the choice of a sentence particle which has no direct relation at all to the verb.