Vietnamese grammar, point by point

100 grammar points from beginner up. Each one has the pattern, a plain explanation, the mistakes learners make, examples with translation and exercises with answers.

A1 — Beginner

Pronouns and kinship terms

1. tôi and bạn: saying I and you
2. Kinship terms as pronouns: anh, chị, em, cô, chú, ông, bà
3. Plural pronouns: chúng tôi, chúng ta, các bạn, họ
4. Third person: anh ấy, cô ấy, nó
5. Possession with của: sách của tôi

Saying what something is

1. là: A is B (with nouns)
2. không phải (là): A is not B
3. Adjectives as predicates: Tôi mệt, rất đẹp
4. có… không?: yes/no questions
5. (có) phải… không? / phải không?: is it…? right?

Questions and negation

1. không + verb: saying 'do not'
2. gì: asking 'what'
3. ai: asking 'who'
4. ở and đâu: where somebody or something is
5. nào: asking 'which'

Numbers, classifiers and this/that

1. Classifiers cái, con, chiếc: counting things
2. này, kia, đó/ấy: this and that
3. mấy and bao nhiêu: how many, how much
4. Plural with các and những
5. có: to have / there is

Time: past, present, future

1. đang: happening now
2. đã: something happened
3. sẽ: will, future
4. Time words instead of tense: hôm qua, bây giờ, ngày mai
5. muốn and thích: want and like + verb

A2 — Elementary Vietnamese

Already, not yet, still, soon

1. rồi: already, done
2. chưa: not yet, …yet?
3. vẫn, còn: still
4. sắp: about to, soon
5. vừa, mới: just (happened)

Can, must, should

1. có thể: can, may, possibly
2. V + được: can, be able to, be allowed
3. biết + V: know how to
4. phải: must, have to
5. nên: should, ought to

Commands, requests and suggestions

1. hãy: do (imperative)
2. đừng, không được: don't
3. V + đi: go on, urge or invite
4. nhé (nha): OK?, softening
5. mời and xin: polite invitations and requests

Comparing and degree

1. hơn: comparatives (bigger than)
2. nhất: superlatives (the biggest)
3. bằng, như, giống: as … as, the same as
4. cũng: also, too
5. hơi, khá, quá, lắm: a bit, quite, too

Linking ideas

1. và, với, cùng: and, with
2. nhưng: but
3. hay and hoặc: or
4. vì… nên: because… so
5. khi, lúc: when (time clauses)

B1 — Intermediate Vietnamese

Passive, experience and giving

1. bị: passive for bad things
2. được: passive for good things, get to
3. do and bởi: 'by' in formal passives
4. đã từng / từng: have ever, used to
5. cho: give, for, let

Sentence-final particles

1. à and hả: surprised or checking questions
2. nhỉ: seeking agreement, wondering
3. mà: but I told you, insisting
4. chứ: of course, surely, right?
5. đấy / đó: pointing out, informing

Conditions, contrast and purpose

1. nếu… thì: if… then
2. tuy… nhưng, mặc dù: although
3. để: in order to, so that
4. thì: topic marker (as for…)
5. đều, cả… lẫn: all, both… and

Time clauses and sequence

1. trước khi, sau khi: before, after
2. đến khi, cho đến khi: until
3. trong khi: while
4. rồi: and then (sequence)
5. mỗi, mọi, từng: each, every

Emphasis and focus

1. chỉ… thôi: only
2. ngay: right away, right (here)
3. lại: again, back
4. càng… càng: the more… the more
5. ai cũng, gì cũng, đâu cũng: everyone, everything, everywhere

B2 — Upper Intermediate

Nuanced particles and tone

1. cơ: insisting, 'actually, I mean'
2. không… đâu: definitely not (emphatic negation)
3. chăng, hay sao: wondering, rhetorical doubt
4. vậy / thế: so, then, like that
5. kìa and đấy: look!, there it is

Building arguments

1. không những… mà còn: not only… but also
2. chẳng, chả: colloquial 'not'
3. dù… cũng, dù sao: no matter what, anyway
4. thà… còn hơn: would rather
5. miễn là: as long as, provided that

Cause, result and consequence

1. nhờ, tại, do: thanks to, because of (good vs bad)
2. vì vậy, do đó, cho nên: therefore
3. kẻo, không thì: or else, otherwise
4. đến nỗi, đến mức: so… that
5. hễ… là: whenever, every time

Formal and written style

1. mà as 'that, which' (relative clauses)
2. việc and sự: turning verbs into nouns
3. được coi là, được xem là: be regarded as
4. hầu hết, hầu như: most, almost
5. nhằm, nhằm mục đích: aiming to (formal purpose)

Fine shades of meaning

1. phải… mới: only if, need X before Y
2. hóa ra, thì ra: it turns out
3. suýt (nữa): almost (something bad)
4. tự and nhau: oneself, each other
5. Reduplication: đo đỏ, xinh xinh (softening and vividness)