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Dictionary Of Vietnamese Grammar

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Table Of Content

Concepts

Concept Usage
Chỉ just, only, nothing but
một “one” to denote “a student” = "một học sinh"
"các" and "những" to denote the plural “students" = ” (những/các) học sinh"
Cả conveys two meanings
“all” and “even.”:
E.g:
1. Cả nhà anh ấy đang đi nghỉ.
All his family is on vacation.
2. Hôm qua mưa cả ngay.
It was raining the entire day yesterday.
3. Bạn phải làm cả ngày à?
Do you have to work all day?
Tất cả implies people or items considered individually:
E.g:
Tất cả các ngọn đen trong phòng được bật sáng.
All the lights in the room are on.
Mọi conveys two meanings, with each of which it functions very differently.
Cô ấy hiểu biết về mọi lĩnh vực.
She is knowledgeable in all the areas.
Mỗi each
Cô ấy đi làm mỗi ngày
Từng means “every,” but emphasizes the idea that each individual person
Toàn coveys the same meaning as "cả" and "tất cả" when used before a noun which refers to a group of people or a set of items, but toàn is chiefly used in formal Vietnamese.
Toàn bộ whole, all, entire
Toàn bộ cuộc đời “all the life, one’s whole life,”
Đều (1) both, all, in both cases;
Như like, for example, as, such as, similar
Hãy làm đúng như tôi dặn"
Do as I say.
Hơn additional, more than, -er
Anh ấy cao hơn tôi (He's taller than I am)
Nhất one; (the) first, most
▸ Đây là cái hợp với tôi nhất (This is what suits me best)
▸ Chị thích phim nào nhất? (Which film did you like best?)
Rất very
một ngôi nhà rất đẹp (“a very beautiful house”).
Một bản nhạc rất hay (“a very good musical work.”).
Lắm much; many; very; a lot (denotes a higher degree of quality than "rất")
một ngôi nhà đẹp lắm (“a really beautiful house,”).
Một bản nhạc hay lắm (“a really good musical work.”)
Khá fairly (denotes a lower degree of quality than "rất")
một ngôi nhà khá đẹp (“a fairly beautiful house,”)
một bản nhạc khá hay (“a fairly good musical work.”)
Hơi “rather” (is used before “unfavorable” adjectives only:)
Một chiếc xe hơi đắt “a rather expensive car (or motorbike).”
Đủ “enough”
một quyển từ điển đủ lớn (để đọc báo) “a dictionary big enough (to read newspapers).”
Tương đối “relatively”
sức khoẻ tương đối tốt “fairly good health,”
bài thi tương đối khó “a relatively difficult exam.”
Này here; this, these;
Cái áo này = This shirt
Kia that
Cái kia (That thing)
Ấy that, those
Khi ấy In that moment
nó làm gì ấy
Đó that, those, there, that
hôm đó anh đi đâu? = where did you go that day?
is the equivalent of the English “what,”
Anh tên gì? (What's your name?)
Nào is the equivalent of “which.”
quyển sách nào? (“which book?”)
Của (1) (possessive marker), of;
(2) property, possessions, belonging;
(3) belong to
Nhà bạn tôi (“my friend’s house,”)
Bố (của) anh ấy là kỹ sư tin học (His father is a computer engineer)
Bạn "you" lit. meaning “friend”
Bạn tên gì? Bạn mấy tuổi? Nhà bạn ở đâu? Bạn khoẻ không? (What's your name? How old are you? Where do you live? How are you?)
Gấp to be X times more than;
▸ Sản lượng đã tăng gấp năm lần Production has increased five times
Nửa half
Rưỡi half
that; to be, is used as predicate.
Bạn tôi la giáo viên (My friend is a teacher.).
Vừa just
mới just
vừa mới just
Sắp "be going to", "be about to", to denote an action which will take place in the immediate future.
Sắp đến quốc khánh rồi! (It'll soon be the National Day)
Chưa “not yet”
▸ Chưa ai tới cả Nobody has come yet
▸ Anh chuẩn bị xong chưa? Are you ready yet?
Vẫn still, yet
Chúng tôi vẫn chưa nhận được gì cả (We still haven't received anything)
Còn still, yet
Anh ta còn mẹ già (He still has his old mother)
vẫn còn still, yet
Tôi vẫn còn đang làm việc (I've not done the work yet)
Đang (present progressive marker)
Cô ấy ngủ gật khi đang làm việc (She fell asleep while on duty)
Tôi đang tập thể dục (I am doing exercise)
Rồi “already”
▸ 11 giờ rồi (It's already eleven 2 last; past)
▸ Rồi bạn cũng sẽ quên thôi (You'll forget it soon)
Xong “finished, done”
Họp xong lúc bốn giờ chiều (The meeting was over at 4 pm)
Hết finished, end
Đọc hết một quyển sách (To read to the end of a book)
Tôi hết kiên nhẫn rồi (My patience is at an end)
Hẳn completely, entirely, definitely, surely
Đợi tàu dừng hẳn đã! (Wait until the train has come to a complete stop!)
Thà rather, better; to prefer
Anh ta thà chết chứ không đầu hàng (He would rather die than surrender)
Thà tôi ngủ còn hơn xem một bộ phim tệ như vậy (I'd rather sleep than see such a bad film)
Luôn luôn “always"
Anh ấy luôn đến đúng giờ (He always comes on time).
Thường “often, frequently,”
Thường xuyên “regularly,” hay “often,”
Thỉnh thoảng “sometimes, occasionally,”
Thỉnh thoảng nó trốn việc (sometimes he slacks off)
Đôi khi “occasionally,”
Ít khi “rarely,”
một / hai / ba lần “once, twice, three times,”
Hiếm khi “seldom,”
Không bao giờ “never,”
Chưa bao giờ “have never yet.”
không phải bao giờ cũng not always
không phải lúc nào cũng not always
Hay 1. adverb of frequency meaning “often,”
▸ Cha tôi hay dậy sớm
My father usually gets up early
2. adj “good, interesting”
Quyển sách này rất hay (This book is very interesting)
3. "or"
Trong bốn hay năm ngày - In four or five days
Đi The basic intransitive verb of motion is đi “go, travel.” This verb may be used either with a preposition or with no preposition.
Đến denotes the movement towards the speaker.
When a learner of Vietnamese is not sure which preposition should be chosen for a particular location in Vietnam, ở is the safest one to use
Hết meaning “have nothing left, run out of” is the opposite of "còn".
Mất
Xuất hiện “appear, show up”:
Xảy ra happen, occur
Diễn ra take place
Biến mất “disappear.”
Trở thành “become,”
Trở nên “become,”
Biến thành "become" is used to emphasize a sudden change:
Có thể means “can,” may,” “be able” and suggests
Cần is equivalent to the English "need".
Dám dare. It is chiefly used in negative statements and questions
Tôi không dám ngắt lời họ khi họ đang nói chuyện với nhau. (I did not dare / dared not interrupt them when they were talking to each other.)
Định “plan to do something” or “intend to do something”:
Muốn want to, would like to
Nên say what you think is right for someone (or you) to do
Phải a modal verbs is used to express1/ someone’s obligation or duty
Làm ơn please
Làm ơn đóng cửa sổ lại. (Please close the window.)
Hãy is placed in front of a verb phrase to express a strong and formal command or request, which the speaker is quite certain will be obeyed:
Làm ơn hãy đóng cửa sổ lại (Please close the window).
Hãy cẩn thận (Be careful).
Cứ to continue; to keep (on) doing something
▸ Cứ đi thẳng cho đến ngã tư! Keep on until you come to a crossroads!
Đi request
Làm việc đi! Học đi! Chạy ngay đi (Work now! Study! Run now!)
Nhé (mild command, request)
Mời please
Mời chị vao đây. Please come in
Đừng do not / don’t
Không
Không được Prohibition
Không được hút thuốc ở đây. Don’t smoke here. (Smoking is prohibited here.)
Không được làm ồn. Don’t make noise.
Chớ Advice given to someone not to do something
Chớ làm như thế (Don’t do that)
Được
Bị
Giỏi "be good (at something)”
Tương đối “relatively,”
Hết sức “extrmely”:
Thật lit. means “true, real.”
Buổi họp tối qua thật căng thẳng (Last night’s meeting was so tense)
Chúng ta phải đi thật nhanh để kịp chuyến xe buýt (We should walk as quickly as possible to catch the bus).
Sự which is a Chinese borrowing (事) with the meaning “thing,” is placed before a verb or an adjective to turn the verb or adjective into a noun:
Nhà borrowed from Chinese (家), comes before another word to form nouns with the meaning of people connected with a particular occupation or activity.
Cuộc “activity” - comes in front of a verb, an adjective or a noun to turn the verb or adjective into a noun with the meaning of an activity or event, in which a number of people participate
Buổi is placed in front of the nouns to denote different parts of the day
Chủ nghĩa which is a Chinese borrowing (主義 \ 主义) and equivalent to the English suffix -ism of Greek origin, comes before a noun or an adjective to form nouns that refer to doctrines, political beliefs and systems of ideas
Tính which is a Chinese borrowing (性) with the meaning “character, characteristics,” is placed in front of a noun or an adjective to form abstract nouns that denote the characteristics or features of a concept. Tính is kinda similar to -ity and -ness:
Trưởng which is a Chinese borrowing (長 \ 长) with the meaning “chief, head, leader,” comes in front of a noun to form nouns that denote the head of a group or organization:
Học which is a Chinese borrowing (學 \ 学) with the meaning “to study,” comes after a noun to form nouns that indicate an area of knowledge or a field of scientific study. Học is equivalent to the English suffix -logy of Greek origin, or to the word studies
Viên which is a Chinese borrowing (員 \ 员) with the meaning “mem-ber,” comes after a noun to form nouns that denote members of a group or organization:
Hoá which is a Chinese borrowing (化) with the meaning of changing or transforming, comes after a noun or adjective to form verbs with the meaning of causing to conform or transform to a different state. Hoá is equivalent to the English suffix -ize:
Hoàn toàn “completely,”
Thiếu “not enough,”
Hơi “a bit,”
Tuyệt đối “absolutely,”
Gần như “nearly, almost,”
Hầu như “almost,”
Suýt “nearly, almost,”
Suýt nữa thì “nearly, almost,”
Tí nữa thì “nearly, almost,”
Tương đối “relatively, pretty,”
Quá “really, excessively, too”.
Nhờ thanks to
tại because of
Do due to and owing to
Cho
bằng The means
Với
Đấy
Đó
ai đấy / đó “someone,”
cái gì đấy / đó “something,”
ở đâu đấy / đó “somewhere,”
khi nào đấy / đó “sometime,”
nơi nào đấy / đó “somewhere, someplace, in some place,”
người nào đấy / đó “someone.”
Có . . . không This interrogative expression encircles the verbal and adjectival predicate, that is, có is placed in front of the verb or adjective, and không comes last.
có phải . . . không encircles the nominal predicate and the predicate expressed by của.
Vâng/Dạ is the formal positive reply
đã . . . chưa
phải không
à
có phải . . . không
Được không Asking for permissions
hay “or”
hoặc là . . . hoặc là . . . refers to two choices or possibilities (sometimes more than two).
Ở đâu “at what place?” or “in what place” is the questiton word for a location and corresponds to the English question word where
Đâu meaning “to what place”
Vì sao is a formal "Why"
Tại sao Same as above but it sounds neutral
Sao Same as above but it is informal
Để làm gì what purpose
Mấy
Bao nhiêu
Phải chăng Rhetorical questions
Chẳng nhẽ Same as above
Chẳng lẽ Same as above
Lẽ nào Same as above
Thật "thật" là placed before the adjective may be used instead of "quá" in less formal speech. Thật is stressed:
Ơi là
Cũng is used together with a question word to place emphasis on a part of a sentence with the meaning “all,” “every” or “any.".
Bất cứ meaning “any”.
Bất kì meaning “any”
có . . . mới . . . This construction is used to express emphasis on the fulfillment of a requirement in order to perform an action.
vừa . . . đã . . . This construction shows emphasis on the fact that one action took place very soon after another and usually refers to the past tense.
mới . . . đã . . . Same as above
vừa mới . . . đã . . . Same as above
chưa . . . đã . . . Same as above
không những . . . mà còn . . . Not only . . . but also . . .
không chỉ . . . mà còn . . . Not only . . . but also . . .
không chỉ . . . mà cả . . . Not only . . . but also . . .
chính This word is used before a part of a sentence to put emphasis on that part and corresponds to different constructions in English.
ngay This word is placed before the adverbials of place and time to put emphasis on the place or time.
Chúng tôi đi ngay đêm nay. (We are leaving right / just tonight.)
ngay cả "even"
Ngay cả tôi cũng không biết chuyện ấy (Even I didn’t know that).
Mãi “interminable, uninterrupted; interminably, uninterruptedly”
Tận meaning “end; finish, reach the limit” was borrowed from Chinese (盡 \ 尽)
bao nhiêu là
toàn là
Hề is placed after không or chưa to express more emphasis on the negation.
À comes at the beginning of a statement to say that the speaker suddenly recalls something (s)he has nearly forgotten. Often, it is separated from the rest of a sentence by a comma
Ấy Ấy is placed in front of a statement and separated from it by a comma to tell someone not to do something.
Dạ is used as a reply when the speaker is addressed by someone older. The particle expresses respect for the older person. There is no English equivalent to dạ.
is a complicated word due to a variety of functions it performs.
Nào comes first and is separated from the rest of the sentence by a comma to encourage someone to start doing something.
Ơi Although ơi follows a second personal noun or a name, the phrase is fronted and separated from the rest of a sentence by an exclamation mark and is considered an initial particle. It is used to attract somebody’s attention who is some distance away from the calling person. It does not have an equivalent in English.
Thảo nào (no wonder) is used in conversational Vietnamese to connect two statements made by two people. It is fronted in the statement of a second person to refer to the reason for what has been spoken of in the first person’s statement.
Thế à is used in the form of a question. It is the reply to a statement to denote the speaker’s surprise at what (s)he has just heard.
Thế thì “then, well then, in that case.”
Thì as a matter of fact:
Thưa precedes a personal pronoun to show respect for the person the speaker is talking to.
is placed at the end of a sentence to express respect for the person the speaker is talking with.
Ấy is placed at the end of a statement to refer to a particular feature of an action that has just been spoken of.
Đấy
Này is used to call another person’s attention to what the speaker is saying or showing, or to give a caution
Nhỉ is placed at the end of a statement to invite the hearer to agree with the speaker about what is spoken of.
vừa . . . vừa . .
nhưng “but.”
càng... càng... the . . . the . .
lại còn . . . nữa
Từ khi “since”
nơi where (nơi is not a question word)
vì sao
tại sao
Khi or trong khi while
Nếu is the most common conjunction in a subordinate clause of condition. It corresponds to the English if and conveys different meanings.
Giả sử is another way to denote the unreality or a hypothesis, but the conjunction is more formal.
Giá như introduces a subordinate clause that expresses regret about a present or past situation.
Hễ cứ . . . là / thì introduces a subordinate clause that indicates automatic or habitual results.
Kẻo other-wise, or else or if not
Muốn . . . phải . . . connect two clauses, the first of which expresses the goal that needs to be achieved, and the second one refers to the condition that should be fulfilled to achieve the goal.
Nhỡ in case. “for fear that the action or event may happen.”
Bởi vì
Tại vì bởi vì is rather formal, whereas tại vì is informal.
Để “in order to” or “so that”:
Nhằm “with the aim of”:
Bất cứ
Bất kì
Còn as a verb, it means “have something left; there is / are left”
Tôi không còn đồng nào cả. (I don’t have any money left)
Được “receive, get.” The object should be something favorable
Được thăng chức (To get promoted)
Lại “come or go over, usually within a short distance”
Lại đổ bệnh (To become/fall ill again)
Mới As an aspect marker meaning “just”
Chị ấy mới về lúc sáu giờ (She just came back home at 6PM).
Mấy quyển từ điển ấy là những quyển từ điển Việt-Anh mới nhất (Those dictionaries are the newest Vietnamese-English dictionaries).
Anh có thấy ngôi nha cao kia không? (Do you see that tall building? )

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