Vietnamese 'có ... không' Usage (Whether/Have or Not)
'có ... không' is commonly used to form yes/no questions and is a fundamental Vietnamese structure for English speakers to learn first.
Quick explanation
Quick explanation
'có ... không' is commonly used to form yes/no questions and is a fundamental Vietnamese structure for English speakers to learn first.
English meanings
- whether or not
- have or not
Grammar pattern
Examples
1
Bạn có thích phở không?
Do you like pho?
2
Bạn có đi làm hôm nay không?
Did you go to work today?
How to use it
'có ... không' is a common Vietnamese yes/no question framework. The content to confirm is placed before 'không' at the end of the sentence.
- Basic structure: Có + clause + không?
- In daily speech, 'có' can sometimes be omitted, keeping only 'không' at the end.
- Do not place 'không' incorrectly in the middle of the sentence.
Compared with English
Compared with English
In English, yes/no questions often rely on intonation or auxiliary verbs. Vietnamese uses 'có ... không' to explicitly mark yes/no questions.
Common mistakes
Bạn có thích không phở?
Bạn có thích phở không?
'không' should be at the end to close the yes/no question, not inserted between verb and object.
Có bạn thích phở không?
Bạn có thích phở không?
The subject usually comes before 'có' to form 'Bạn có...', not placing 'có' at the very start.
Commonly confused grammar
No closely confused forms are listed for this point.
Practice
Multiple choice
'có ... không' is used to form what kind of question?
Show answer
Multiple choice
'có ... không' is used to form what kind of question?
- yes/no question
- comparative
- possessive
Answer: yes/no question
Explanation: It corresponds to asking "is it or not" or "have or not".
Fill in the blank
Fill in the blank: Bạn ____?
Show answer
Fill in the blank
Fill in the blank: Bạn ____?
Answer: có thích phở không
Explanation: Basic structure is Có + clause + không?.
English to Vietnamese
Translate "Do you like pho?" into Vietnamese.
Show answer
English to Vietnamese
Translate "Do you like pho?" into Vietnamese.
Answer: Bạn có thích phở không?
Explanation: Use có ... không in the same structure as the example.
True or false
Is this sentence correct? Bạn có thích không phở?
Show answer
True or false
Is this sentence correct? Bạn có thích không phở?
Answer: False
Explanation: 'không' should be at the end to close the question, not between verb and object.
Correction
Correct this sentence: Bạn có đi làm không hôm nay?
Show answer
Correction
Correct this sentence: Bạn có đi làm không hôm nay?
Answer: Hôm nay bạn có đi làm không?
Explanation: Time expressions can be placed at the start; 'không' stays at the end.