27. (d) Most English nouns must show by their form whether they are singular (cow, child, man) or plural (cows, children, men). They must do so even if the matter is obvious or not important in a particular context: I snapped my fingers, bumped my head, The light came through the window(s). In Thai, there is no singular-plural indication in the nouns themselves, though the concept can be put across in other ways when the need arises.
| khruu khon nyŋ | one teacher (teacher person one) |
| phûjǐŋ 2 khon | two women (woman 2 person) |
| nǎ ŋnsy̌y dii dii | good books (book good good) |
| dèk dèk | children (child child) |
The temptation for English speakers here as in the other examples is to overuse the available mechanisms in Thai for specifying plurality and to specify in Thai what Thai speakers leave unspecified.
28. (e) Corresponding to English sentences with he as the main verb, Thai has at least six different constructions. The choice among these constructions depends partly on the subject and partly on the expression that follows be.
| Subject | Verb | Complement | |
| nîl[1] | (khyy) | phŷan kháw | This is his friend. |
| khun cɔɔn | pen | khruu phǒm | John is my teacher. |
| kháw | chŷy[2] | cɔɔn | His name is John. |
| aahǎan | dii[3] | ——— | The food is good. |
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