Vietnamese Grammar

Latin-based alphabet with 29 letters, 6 tones marked by diacritics. Vowels: a, ă, â, e, ê, i, o, ô, ơ, u, ư, y. Special consonants: đ.

6 tones: ngang (level), huyền (falling), sắc (rising), hỏi (dipping-rising), ngã (rising-glottalized), nặng (low-glottalized). Tone changes meaning.

Pronouns based on age, relationship, formality. Common: tôi (I-neutral), bạn (you-friend), anh/chị/em (based on relative age), ông/bà (elderly).

Là = 'to be' for identity/definition: Tôi là giáo viên. Not used with adjectives (adjectives are stative verbs). No conjugation.

Có = 'to have' or 'there is/are'. Existential: Có người đến (someone came). Possession: Tôi có xe (I have a car). Also 'yes' answer.

Verbs don't conjugate. Tense shown by time words or markers: đang (continuous), đã (past), sẽ (future). Word order: Subject + Verb + Object.

Adjectives function as verbs: đẹp = 'is beautiful', tốt = 'is good'. Follow nouns in noun phrases: xe đẹp (beautiful car).

Negation with không before verb/adjective. không phải for 'is not' with nouns. chưa = 'not yet'. Also: chẳng, đừng (don't-imperative).

Yes/no questions with không/chưa at end or có...không pattern. Question words: gì (what), ai (who), đâu (where), khi nào (when), sao/tại sao (why), thế nào (how).

Classifiers required with nouns: cái (general objects), con (animals), người (people), cuốn/quyển (books), chiếc (vehicles). Number + classifier + noun.

Numbers 0-100. một, hai, ba, bốn, năm, sáu, bảy, tám, chín, mười. Telling time: mấy giờ (what time). Currency: đồng.

Location prepositions: ở (at/in), trên (on), trong (in/inside), dưới (under), cạnh (beside), trước (in front), sau (behind).

Demonstrative words: này (this), đó/kia (that), đây (here), đấy/đó (there). Follow the noun: cái bàn này (this table), người đó (that person).

Using kinship terms as pronouns: anh (older brother/you), chị (older sister/you), em (younger sibling/you), cô (aunt/you-female), chú (uncle/you-male).

Essential everyday verbs: đi (go), đến (come/arrive), ăn (eat), uống (drink), ngủ (sleep), làm (do/make), nói (speak), viết (write), đọc (read).

Essential time expressions: hôm nay (today), hôm qua (yesterday), ngày mai (tomorrow), bây giờ (now), sáng/trưa/chiều/tối (morning/noon/afternoon/evening).

Possession with của: sách của tôi (my book). Often của is dropped: sách tôi. Possessive follows noun. của ai? (whose?).

Simple conjunctions: và (and), hoặc/hay (or), nhưng (but), vì (because), nên (so/therefore), rồi (then/and then).

Common adverbs: rất (very), quá (too much), lắm (very-end of sentence), cũng (also), đều (all/both), chỉ (only), còn (still).

Essential daily expressions: xin chào (hello), tạm biệt (goodbye), xin lỗi (sorry), không sao (it's okay), vâng/dạ (yes-polite), ơi (calling particle).

Simple imperatives and polite requests: đi (go), lại đây (come here), ngồi (sit). Softened with hãy, xin, or final particles nhé/đi.

Vietnamese consonant clusters and digraphs: ng/ngh (velar nasal), nh (palatal nasal), tr/ch distinction, gi, qu. Regional pronunciation differences (North vs South).

12 vowel phonemes with short/long distinction: a/ă, ơ/â, o/ô. Diphthongs and triphthongs: ai, ao, ươi, uây. Vowel combinations in spelling.

Essential place vocabulary: nhà (home), trường (school), chợ (market), bệnh viện (hospital), nhà hàng (restaurant). Used with ở/đi/đến.

Basic colors: đỏ (red), xanh lá (green), xanh dương (blue), vàng (yellow), trắng (white), đen (black). Colors follow nouns: áo đỏ (red shirt).

Family vocabulary doubling as social pronouns: bố/ba (father), mẹ/má (mother), anh (older brother), chị (older sister), em (younger sibling), con (child).

Expressing preferences and needs: thích (like), muốn (want), cần (need), ghét (hate). Followed directly by verb or noun, no infinitive marker.

Knowledge verbs: biết (know a fact/skill), hiểu (understand), quen (know a person/be familiar). Biết + verb = know how to.

Multifunctional word được: ability (nói được = can speak), permission (được phép), result (mua được = managed to buy), and as a positive passive marker.

Days of the week: thứ hai (Monday) through chủ nhật (Sunday). Months: tháng một through tháng mười hai. Date format: ngày/tháng/năm.

Past: đã (completed). Progressive: đang. Future: sẽ. Perfect: đã...rồi. Experience: từng. Habitual: hay, thường.

Multiple verbs in sequence: đi ăn (go eat), đến ngồi (come sit), đi ra (go out). Very common pattern in Vietnamese.

Modals: được (can/able), phải (must), nên (should), có thể (might/can), muốn (want to), cần (need to).

Comparative: A + adj + hơn + B. Superlative: adj + nhất. Equality: A + adj + bằng/như + B.

More classifiers: tờ (flat paper), miếng (pieces), đôi (pairs), bộ (sets), nơi/chỗ (places), lần (times/occasions).

Complex prepositions and prepositional phrases: từ...đến (from...to), giữa (between), xung quanh (around), đối với (regarding), theo (according to).

Quantity words: nhiều (many/much), ít (few/little), mỗi (each), tất cả (all), một số (some), vài (a few), đủ (enough).

Time connectors: khi (when), trước khi (before), sau khi (after), trong khi (while), ngay khi (as soon as), từ khi (since).

Reflexive: tự (self-action), tự mình (by oneself). Reciprocal: nhau (each other), lẫn nhau (one another). Also: với nhau (together).

Verb + result complement: ăn hết (eat up/finish), nghe hiểu (hear and understand), nhìn thấy (look and see), tìm được (search and find).

Relative clauses with mà (which/that) or omitted: người đến (the person who came), sách (mà) tôi đọc (the book that I read).

Conditional with nếu (if), giả sử (suppose). Real and unreal conditionals. Result clause: thì.

Passive with bị (for adverse events) or được (positive/neutral). bị đánh (was hit), được chọn (was selected).

Causative/permissive with cho: làm cho (make/cause), bảo cho (tell to), xin cho (request). Also permission: cho...được.

Emphasis patterns: quá (so/too), thật (really), biết bao (how much), mới...làm sao (how...!). Exclamatory structures for expressing emotions.

Purpose clauses with để (in order to/so that): Tôi học để thi (I study to take the exam). Also used for requesting: Để tôi giúp (Let me help).

Placement rules for different adverb types: time (beginning/end), manner (after verb), frequency (before verb), degree (before adjective).

Extended passive with agent: bị/được + agent + verb. Distinguishing bị (adverse) vs được (beneficial) more precisely. Double passive patterns.

Expressing results: nên/cho nên (so/therefore), vì vậy (therefore), do đó (consequently), kết quả là (as a result). Cause-effect structures.

Sequencing events: đầu tiên (first), sau đó (then), cuối cùng (finally), tiếp theo (next). Combining tense markers for narrative flow.

Directional complements: ra (out), vào (in), lên (up), xuống (down), đi (away), lại (toward/back). Combined with main verbs for direction.

Concessive use of mà (but/yet): mặc dù...mà (although...yet), thế mà (and yet), vậy mà (even so). Expressing contrast and unexpected results.

Structures for defining: X là gì (what is X), nghĩa là (means), tức là (that is), gọi là (called). Used in academic and explanatory contexts.

Expressing wishes: ước gì (wish that), giá mà (if only), mong (hope), hy vọng (hope-formal). Both achievable and counterfactual wishes.

Connectors: nhưng (but), và (and), hoặc (or), vì/bởi vì (because), do đó (therefore), tuy nhiên (however).

Reported speech with rằng/là (that): nói rằng (said that), hỏi xem (asked whether). No tense shift needed.

Complex conditionals: nếu không (otherwise), miễn là (as long as), trừ khi (unless), dù/cho dù (even if). Mixed conditional patterns.

Paired structures: càng...càng (the more...the more), vừa...vừa (both...and), không những...mà còn (not only...but also), hoặc...hoặc (either...or).

Chinese-origin words forming ~60% of formal vocabulary: quốc gia (nation), giáo dục (education), kinh tế (economy). Used in academic, official, and literary contexts.

Multi-clause sentences with subordination: vì...nên (because...so), nếu...thì (if...then), tuy...nhưng (although...but), chẳng những...mà (not only...but).

Extended causatives: khiến (cause/make), bắt (force), yêu cầu (request), đề nghị (propose), ra lệnh (order). Formal command/request hierarchy.

Intermediate particles: thôi (just/only/stop), chứ (affirmation/emphasis), mà (soft insistence), cơ (emphasis in Northern dialect), hả (surprise question).

Academic/written connectors: thứ nhất (firstly), ngoài ra (besides), tóm lại (in summary), mặt khác (on the other hand), nói cách khác (in other words).

Complex reported speech: indirect questions, embedded commands, reporting with various speech verbs (thừa nhận, phủ nhận, khẳng định, gợi ý).

Formal registers, official documents, academic writing, Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary, business correspondence.

Sentence-final particles: à (question softener), nhé (suggestion), nhỉ (seeking agreement), đi (urging), đấy/đó (emphasis).

Official/bureaucratic Vietnamese: legal terms, government documents, formal notifications. Heavy use of Sino-Vietnamese compounds.

Formal passive constructions without bị/được in written Vietnamese. Impersonal structures: người ta (one/people), có thể thấy (it can be seen).

Key differences between Northern (Hanoi) and Southern (Saigon) dialects: pronunciation, vocabulary, and particles. Understanding both standards.

Literary register: poetic structures, classical Vietnamese elements, literary Sino-Vietnamese, rhetorical devices, parallelism in prose.

Topic-comment structure: fronting elements for emphasis. Cleft constructions: chính là (it is...that), thì used for topic marking.

Journalistic Vietnamese: headline patterns, reported speech in news, formal attributions, passive constructions common in media.

Vietnamese-specific patterns: double-subject constructions, serial topic structures, ba cái + noun (pejorative classifier), and ellipsis patterns.

Informal speech: slang, regional variations (North/South), youth language, internet language, borrowed words.

Vietnamese proverbs and idioms: nhất cử lưỡng tiện, nước đến chân mới nhảy, ăn cháo đá bát.

Classical Vietnamese vocabulary: old Sino-Vietnamese readings, literary archaisms, words preserved in proverbs and poetry but rare in modern speech.

Vietnamese internet-speak: abbreviated forms, emoji usage patterns, meme language, Vietnamized English terms, social media conventions.

Academic writing style: thesis structures, abstract language, hedging expressions, citing sources, formal argumentation patterns.

Central Vietnamese dialect (Huế/Quảng), ethnic minority influences, regional expressions and vocabulary not covered by the standard North/South distinction.

Vietnamese rhetorical figures: so sánh (simile), ẩn dụ (metaphor), nhân hóa (personification), điệp ngữ (repetition), phép đối (antithesis).