Basic Sentence Structure in Vietnamese for English Speakers

Understanding Vietnamese Sentence Structure

Vietnamese sentence structure is quite different from English, but it follows a logical and consistent pattern. For English speakers learning Vietnamese, understanding the basic sentence structure is essential to communicate effectively.

Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) Order

Like English, Vietnamese generally follows the Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order. This means the subject comes first, followed by the verb, and then the object. For example, in English: "I eat rice," the Vietnamese equivalent is "Tôi ăn cơm." Here, Tôi is the subject (I), ăn is the verb (eat), and cơm is the object (rice).

No Conjugation of Verbs

One of the simplest aspects of Vietnamese sentence structure is that verbs do not conjugate. Unlike English, where verbs change form depending on tense or subject, Vietnamese verbs remain the same. Instead, time and aspect are indicated by adding time words or particles.

Using Time Words to Indicate Tense

Since verbs do not change, Vietnamese uses time words to show when an action happens. For example, đã indicates past tense, đang indicates present continuous, and sẽ indicates future tense. For example:

- Tôi đã ăn cơm. (I ate rice.)
- Tôi đang ăn cơm. (I am eating rice.)
- Tôi sẽ ăn cơm. (I will eat rice.)

Adjectives Follow Nouns

In Vietnamese, adjectives usually come after the noun they describe, unlike English where adjectives come before nouns. For example, "a big house" in Vietnamese is "ngôi nhà lớn," where ngôi nhà means "house" and lớn means "big."

Question Formation

To form yes/no questions, Vietnamese often adds the particle không at the end of a statement. For example, "Bạn có khỏe không?" means "Are you well?" For question words like "what," "where," or "when," the question word replaces the part of the sentence being asked about.

Basic Sentence Examples

• Tôi học tiếng Việt. (I study Vietnamese.)
• Cô ấy thích cà phê. (She likes coffee.)
• Chúng tôi đang đi chợ. (We are going to the market.)
• Anh ấy sẽ đến hôm nay. (He will come today.)
• Bạn có khỏe không? (Are you well?)

Summary of Key Points

• Vietnamese follows Subject-Verb-Object order.
• Verbs do not conjugate; tense is shown with time words.
• Adjectives come after nouns.
• Yes/no questions use the particle không.
• Question words replace the part being asked about.