A2 Vietnamese Grammar

'ngoài ra' is commonly used to mean 'besides' or 'in addition', an important connector for learners.

'ngoài ... ra' is commonly used to mean 'except for' or 'besides', an essential structure for learners.

'không những ... mà còn' is commonly used to express 'not only... but also', an essential structure for learners.

'vừa ... vừa' is commonly used to express 'both... and...' or 'at the same time...', an essential structure for learners.

mà còn adds additional information, often paired with không những to mean "not only... but also."

'sau đó' indicates the next step or subsequent event.

'tiếp theo' introduces the next step, part, or topic.

'trước tiên' introduces the first step or main point.

'nữa' means 'more', 'still', or 'another', and is often used in negative sentences to mean 'no longer'.

Thêm indicates adding, supplementing, or doing a bit more.

Còn can mean "still have," "additionally," or introduce a contrasting topic.

'với' can mean 'and' or 'with', and is often used in spoken requests to soften the tone.

'vào' indicates inward movement or adding something into a place or range.

'lên' indicates upward movement or increase, and can also express intensification of a state.

'xuống' indicates downward movement, decrease, or weakening.

The particle lại can indicate repetition, returning to a previous state, or contrast in certain sentences.

Hết indicates something is completely done, used up, or no longer available.

Cho indicates the beneficiary of an action, similar to 'for', 'to', or 'on behalf of'.

'giúp' means to help someone do something, and can also make requests more polite.

'mình' can express a soft first-person 'I', a close-knit 'we', or a reflexive 'myself'.

'luôn' can mean 'continuously' or, in colloquial speech, 'directly' or 'straightaway.'

'cả' can indicate the whole or be combined with 'ngay cả' to mean 'even... also.'

'mới' can indicate recent occurrence or emphasize 'only then' as a focus particle.

'cứ' expresses continuing an action, following through, or a tone of 'just go ahead.'

hoài indicates repeated or continuous action, often with a colloquial sense of "always" or "constantly."

The particle nhé is commonly used to express a soft command or suggestion, similar to "please" or "okay" in English. It is an important structure for learners to master.

The particle nhỉ is commonly used to express "isn't it" or "right" in Vietnamese. It is an important structure for learners to master.

'ạ' is placed at the end of a sentence to make it more polite and respectful, often used when speaking to elders, teachers, guests, or strangers.

'à' placed at the end of a sentence is often used to confirm, question, or express newly learned information.

'á' often placed at the end of a sentence adds a reminder, mild emphasis, or colloquial confirmation tone.

'nha' is a colloquial sentence-final particle often used for reminders, agreements, or gentle requests, softer than commands.

hả is commonly used at the end of spoken questions to directly ask, confirm, or indicate that the speaker did not hear clearly.

When placed at the end of a sentence, sao often expresses surprise, rhetorical questions, or requests for explanation.

vậy placed at the end of a question often indicates follow-up, connection to previous context, or 'so what exactly?'.

đấy placed at the end of a sentence is often used to remind, emphasize, or point out 'that's how it is'.

đó placed at the end of a sentence can indicate reminder, pointing out, or emphasis, with a stronger tone than a plain statement.

cơ can express emphasis, grievance, coaxing, or the tone of 'that's just how it is'.

'chứ' often expresses something obvious, a rhetorical question, confirmation, or urging agreement.

'thôi' can limit something to a certain extent, indicate stopping or giving up, or gently suggest something.

'đi' placed at the end of an imperative sentence often urges, suggests action, or makes the tone more natural.

'nào' at the end of a sentence or in imperatives often invites, encourages, or urges joint action.

'mà' at the end of a sentence often explains, reminds, or expresses a tone like 'I told you so' or a gentle complaint.

The final particle 'đi' is commonly used at the end of a sentence to urge, suggest, or encourage someone to do something.

The final particle 'nào' is often used to encourage, invite, or start doing something, similar to 'come on'.

'trước khi' is commonly used to express 'before', a structure English speakers should prioritize learning.

'sau khi' is commonly used to express 'after', a structure English speakers should prioritize learning.

'trong khi' is commonly used to express 'while' or 'however', a structure English speakers should prioritize learning.

'từ khi' is commonly used to express 'since', a structure English speakers should prioritize learning.

'sắp sửa' indicates that an action is about to happen, with a slightly more complete sense than 'sắp.'

'mới vừa' means something has just happened, with a sense of 'just now.'

'đã ... rồi' marks both that something has happened and that it is completed or has changed, similar to 'already ...' in English.

'vẫn đang' shows that an action is still ongoing up to the present moment.

Lâu rồi indicates that a state or event has lasted for a long time.

'chưa bao giờ' means that something has never happened up to now.

'đã bao giờ' is used to ask if someone has ever had a certain experience.

'mới đây' indicates something that happened recently, usually already completed.

'từng' indicates that someone has had a past experience, emphasizing 'have done before'.

'đã từng' expresses 'have done before', more explicitly marking past experience than 'từng' alone.

'chưa từng' means 'have never experienced' something up to now.

'vừa mới' indicates an action that happened very recently, stronger than 'vừa' or 'mới' alone.

'mới' can indicate an action just happened or express 'only' in terms of quantity or time.

'sắp' indicates that something is going to happen very soon, closer to the present than 'sẽ'.

'định' expresses the speaker's intention or plan, focusing on the plan rather than certainty of occurrence.

'vẫn' indicates continuation of a state or action, meaning 'still' or 'yet'.

đừng is used to advise or request someone not to do something, similar to the English 'don't'.

không được indicates prohibition or inability due to rules or conditions, similar to 'cannot' or 'not allowed'.

không thể expresses objective inability or impossibility, similar to 'cannot' or 'unable to'.

không cần means 'do not need', negating necessity rather than the action itself.

không nên expresses advice against doing something, similar to 'should not' or 'better not'.

'không còn' indicates that something that used to exist or happen no longer does.

'không bao giờ' means 'never' or 'not ever', negating frequency.

'không ai' means 'no one' and is often used as the subject or object to negate people.

hết rồi indicates that something is used up, a state has ended, or an action is completed with nothing left.

đâu có is a colloquial negation often used to refute someone’s assumption.

Có phải ... không is used to confirm whether something is true or correct.

'có đúng không' is used to confirm if a statement is correct.

'phải không' is placed at the end of a sentence to confirm the preceding statement.

'đúng không' is a common colloquial question tag used to confirm correctness.

'được không' is used to ask for permission, agreement, or if something is possible.

'được chưa' asks if something is ready, acceptable, or completed to a sufficient degree.

'bao lâu' is used to ask about the duration of time.

'tại sao' is a common way to ask "why" to inquire about reasons.

'ai vậy' is a natural colloquial way to ask 'Who is it?' or 'Who?' in Vietnamese.

'gì vậy' is a common colloquial way to ask 'What is it?' or 'What's going on?' in Vietnamese.

'sao lại' is used to express surprise, confusion, or rhetorical questioning about something unexpected.

'là sao' is used to ask for the meaning of a phrase, word, or situation.

'càng ... càng' is commonly used to express 'the more... the more...', an essential structure for learners.

'hơn' is commonly used to express 'more than...', an essential structure for learners.

'bằng' is commonly used to express 'as... as' in Vietnamese, a structure English speakers should prioritize learning.

'như' is commonly used to express 'like' or 'as', a structure English speakers should prioritize learning.

'không bằng' expresses that A is not as [adjective] as B, similar to 'not as... as' in English.

'giống' means 'like' or 'similar to,' expressing resemblance or sameness.

'khác' means 'different' and can also follow a noun to mean 'other' or 'another'.

'nhất' is placed after adjectives to form the superlative, similar to 'most' in English.

'ngày càng' expresses a gradual increase or trend, similar to English 'more and more'.

'kém hơn' indicates that A is worse or lower than B.

hơn nhiều indicates a large difference in comparison, equivalent to "much more."

So với trước is used to compare the present with the past.

Bằng nhau indicates that two or more subjects are equal in degree, quantity, or size.

'nếu ... thì' is commonly used to express conditional sentences, essential for learners.

'nếu mà' is the colloquial emphatic form of 'nếu', commonly used in spoken hypothetical situations.

Thì mới indicates that the result only happens if the preceding condition is met.

nếu như is a more complete form of nếu, used to introduce hypothetical conditions.

'nếu không thì' means 'otherwise' or 'or else', introducing the consequence if the previous condition is not met.

'chỉ cần' expresses the minimum condition required, similar to 'as long as' or 'only need to' in English.

'vì ... nên' is commonly used to express cause and effect, an important structure for learners.

'bởi vì' is a common way to say "because," slightly more complete than 'vì,' and used in both spoken and written language.

'tại vì' is commonly used in spoken language to express reasons, often with a negative or defensive tone.

cho nên is used to introduce a result, similar to "so."

'tuy ... nhưng' is commonly used to express contrast or concession, essential for learners.

'mặc dù ... nhưng' is commonly used to express 'although... but', an essential structure for learners.

'dù ... vẫn' is commonly used to express 'even if... still', an important structure for learners.

nhưng mà is a very common spoken form of 'but' or 'however'.

'khác với' is used to indicate difference between two things, commonly in comparisons and contrasts.

'thực ra' is used to correct or supplement the real situation, often with a slight contrast.

'để' is commonly used to express purpose, meaning "for" or "so that". It is an essential structure for learners to master.

'cho' is commonly used to express "to give", "to let", or "for". It is an important structure for learners to understand.

'để tránh' is used to express doing something to avoid a problem or issue.

'để có thể' expresses that the purpose of an action is to make the following action possible.

'để không' expresses that the purpose of an action is to avoid the following event.

'cho dễ' means 'to make it easier to ...' and is commonly used in spoken Vietnamese to express purpose.

'dành cho' indicates something (product, time, content) is intended for a specific group or person.

'để làm gì' is used to ask about purpose or function.

'để mà' is a colloquial strengthened form of 'để', used to explain purpose.

'để cho' indicates doing something to cause someone or something to reach a certain state.

'có ý định' indicates having a plan or intention to do something.

'cuối cùng' indicates the final result after a series of events, similar to 'finally' or 'in the end' in English.

thì ra expresses sudden realization or discovery, meaning 'it turns out.'

'phải' is commonly used to express obligation or necessity, meaning "must" or "have to". It is essential for learners to master.

'nên' is commonly used to express advice or recommendation, meaning "should". It is important for learners to understand.

'cần' is commonly used to express need, meaning "need". It is essential for learners to master.

'có thể' is commonly used to express ability or possibility, meaning "can" or "may". It is important for learners to understand.

'được' is commonly used to express 'can', 'be (passive)', or 'receive/get'. It is an essential Vietnamese structure for English speakers to master.

nên làm means 'should do'. nên expresses advice or suitability, softer than phải.

nên means suggestion; phải means must or have to.

'phải làm' means 'must do'. 'phải' expresses obligation or necessity, stronger than 'nên'.

biết cách means knowing the method or how to do something.

định means to intend; sẽ indicates future or will happen.

'quyển' and 'cuốn' are used for books, notebooks, and other bound items, similar to 'volume' or 'book' in English.

'chiếc' is commonly used for vehicles, hats, shoes, bags, watches, and other single items. It is more specific and concrete than 'cái', emphasizing a single, distinct object.

'bức' is used for photos, paintings, letters, and walls. It is similar to 'picture', 'sheet', or 'piece' in English, but only for certain nouns.

'tờ' is used for paper, newspapers, documents, tickets, and other thin, flat items.

'đôi' is used for things that naturally come in pairs, such as shoes, socks, chopsticks, earrings, and can also refer to a pair of people.

vị is a polite and formal classifier used for people, often for teachers, guests, experts, etc.

tấm is used for flat, thin, or board-like objects such as photos, maps, or wooden boards.

bộ is used for sets of things such as clothes, teaching materials, furniture, or movie collections.

cặp indicates paired people or items, often used for couples or paired objects.

chuyến is used for trips, vehicle runs, flights, and similar single journeys.

căn is used for houses, apartments, rooms, and similar living spaces.

tòa is used for large buildings, structures, and institutions like courts.

cây is used for trees and also for long, thin objects like pens and umbrellas.

trái is commonly used for fruits, especially in southern Vietnamese spoken language.

'gói' is used for items packaged in bags, such as cookies, instant noodles, or service packages.

In Vietnamese, many noun modifiers come after the main noun, such as sách tiếng Việt ('Vietnamese book'), người Anh ('English person').

Vietnamese time expressions can be placed at the beginning or end of a sentence, but not usually between the subject and verb.

'clause + rồi' means 'rồi' is usually placed at the end of a sentence to indicate that something has already happened or a state has changed.

When both place and time appear at the end of a Vietnamese sentence, the usual order is place first, then time.

rất là is a colloquial intensifier of rất, meaning "very" or "really."

Thật expresses "really" or "truly" to emphasize feelings or judgments.

'đúng là' is used to confirm or emphasize a judgment, similar to 'really is' or 'indeed is' in English.

'mới' can mean 'only just' or 'just now', often emphasizing a late time, small quantity, or occurrence only after a condition is met.

'đã' not only indicates completion but also emphasizes that something happened earlier than expected, with less quantity or under insufficient conditions.

'chỉ' limits the scope, similar to English 'only' or 'just'.