Southern Vietnamese grammar

Every grammar guide of Lingora’s Southern Vietnamese A1 course, with examples you can listen to.

01Forming Questions with 'có ... không'To turn a statement into a Yes/No question, Vietnamese uses the construction có ... không. This structure frames the main predicate (verb or adjective)…
02Progressive Tense with 'đang'To describe an action that is happening right now, place the particle đang directly before the main verb. This is the primary way to form the continuous…
03Inclusive vs. Exclusive 'we'Vietnamese distinguishes between two types of "we" depending on whether the person you are speaking to is included in the group. This distinction is…
04Imperative Particle 'nhé'The particle nhé is placed at the end of a sentence to soften the tone. It turns a statement or command into a friendly suggestion, request, or shared…
05ClassifiersClassifiers are words used to count, categorize, or identify specific nouns. While English uses them occasionally (e.g., a head of lettuce, a loaf of…
06Question Marker 'à'The particle à is placed at the very end of a sentence to turn a statement into a question. Unlike a standard "Yes/No" question that seeks new…
07Focus Marker 'thì'The particle thì is a versatile word used to structure sentences, emphasize specific information, or link ideas logically. It often functions similarly…
08Plural Marker 'các'In Vietnamese, nouns do not change their form to indicate whether they are singular or plural. To explicitly mark a noun as plural, you place a marker…
09Plural Marker 'những'Vietnamese nouns do not change their form to indicate number. Unlike English, where an "s" is added to make a noun plural (cat vs. cats), the word mèo…
10Result Complement 'thấy'In Vietnamese, there is a clear distinction between performing an action (like looking or listening) and the successful result of that action (actually…
11Reflexive Pronoun 'mình'The word mình literally means "body" in Vietnamese. Because of this meaning, it is used grammatically to refer to "self" (reflexive), but it also…
12Imperative Particle 'hãy'To create a command, suggestion, or piece of advice, place the particle hãy directly before a verb. This turns a statement into an imperative sentence,…
13The Many Meanings of 'cho'The word cho is one of the most versatile words in Vietnamese. While its primary definition is the verb "to give," it frequently functions as a…
14Existence with 'có'The word có is primarily known as the verb "to have" (indicating possession). However, it also serves a second, equally fundamental function: expressing…
15Perfect Aspect Marker 'đã'The particle đã is placed immediately before a verb to indicate that an action has been completed. While it is frequently used to translate the English…
16Politeness Particles 'ạ' & 'dạ'Vietnamese relies heavily on social hierarchy to determine how speakers address one another. When speaking to someone older, of higher status, or in a…
17Tag Questions with 'nhỉ'The particle nhỉ is placed at the end of a sentence to turn a statement into a tag question. It functions similarly to English phrases like "isn't it?",…
18Personal PronounsVietnamese pronouns function differently than in many Western languages. Rather than using a fixed set of words for I, you, he, or she, speakers select…
19Imperative Particle 'đi'The word đi functions primarily as the verb to go, but it frequently appears at the end of sentences as a grammatical particle. In this position, it…
20Question Marker 'thế'The particle thế is placed at the end of a sentence to turn a statement into a question or to add emphasis to an inquiry. It connects the question to the…
21Focus Marker 'còn'The particle còn is used to shift the topic of conversation from one subject to another. It functions as a conjunction that creates a contrast or a…
22Emphasis Particle 'vậy'The particle vậy is one of the most versatile words in Vietnamese. Depending on its position in the sentence, it can function as a question marker, an…
23Emphasis Particle 'nè'The particle nè is a demonstrative marker placed at the end of a sentence. It is used primarily in spoken language to draw the listener's attention to…
24Question Marker 'sao'The word sao is one of the most versatile question markers in Vietnamese. Depending on its position in the sentence, it can mean "why," "how," "what…
25Emphasis with 'rồi'The particle rồi is placed at the end of a sentence to indicate that an action is finished or that a state has changed. It is most commonly translated as…
26Emphasis Particle 'mà'The particle mà is a versatile word in Vietnamese. When placed at the very end of a sentence, it functions as an emphasis marker. It is primarily used to…
27Passive Voice Marker 'được'The word được is one of the most versatile and frequently used words in Vietnamese. It functions primarily as a passive voice marker, but it also…
28Passive Voice Marker 'bị'The word bị is a passive voice marker used to indicate that the subject receives an action. Crucially, bị is used almost exclusively when the action or…
29Questions and answers with 'phải'The word phải is a versatile term in Vietnamese. Its meaning changes depending on its position in the sentence and whether it is functioning as an…
30Future Tense Marker 'sẽ'To indicate that an action will take place in the future, place the particle sẽ directly before the main verb. This functions similarly to the English…
31Copula 'là'Là is the Vietnamese equivalent of the English verb "to be" when linking a subject to a noun or noun phrase. It identifies or classifies the subject.
32Demonstratives: 'đây', 'đó', 'kia'Vietnamese has three demonstratives that distinguish distance from the speaker: đây — this / here (close to speaker) đó — that / there (moderate…
33Possessive Marker 'của'Của marks possession, similar to English 's or of. It goes between the thing possessed and the owner: Noun + của + Owner Đây là xe của tôi. This is my…
34Indefinite Article 'một'Một means one as a number, but it also works as the Vietnamese equivalent of English a / an. It always appears with a classifier: một + Classifier + Noun…
35Conjunctions: 'và', 'nhưng'The two most common conjunctions connect words, phrases, or clauses just like English and and but.
36Negation with 'không'Không is the main negation word in Vietnamese. Place it directly before the verb or adjective to negate: Tôi không hiểu. I do not understand. Cô ấy không…