Câu đơn giản

A1 — Đại từ & Cơ bản

Basic SVO sentence structure: Tôi là sinh viên

Can form basic SVO sentences in Vietnamese with correct use of là vs direct adjectives

Basic SVO sentence structure: Tôi là sinh viên

Examples

Tôi ăn cơm. Anh ăn cơm. Họ ăn cơm. — I eat rice. You eat rice. They eat rice.
Trời đẹp quá! — The weather is so beautiful!
Tôi là bác sĩ. — I am a doctor.

Đại từ & Cơ bảnA1

Basic Sentences

Basic SVO sentence structure: Tôi là sinh viên

Learning Goal

Can form basic SVO sentences in Vietnamese with correct use of là vs direct adjectives

Exam Skills:Đọc hiểuNóiViết

Look at these examples. Can you spot the grammar pattern?

Tôi ăn cơm. Anh ăn cơm. Họ ăn cơm.

I eat rice. You eat rice. They eat rice.

Trời đẹp quá!

The weather is so beautiful!

Tôi là bác sĩ.

I am a doctor.

Pay attention to the highlighted parts. What do they have in common?

Câu đơn giản — Basic Sentences

Vietnamese basic sentence order is SVO (Subject-Verb-Object), just like English! This is great news for learners. And even better: verbs never conjugate — no endings, no changes, ever!

Structure	Vietnamese	Literal	English
S + V	Tôi đi.	I go.	I go / I'm going.
S + V + O	Tôi ăn cơm.	I eat rice.	I eat rice.
S + Adj	Cơm ngon.	Rice delicious.	The rice is delicious.
S + là + N	Tôi là giáo viên.	I am teacher.	I am a teacher.

No conjugation! The verb stays the same for ALL subjects: Tôi ăn, anh ăn, họ ăn (I eat, you eat, they eat). No -s, -ed, -ing endings!

No articles! No 'a', 'an', 'the'. Context tells you which: Tôi mua sách = I buy a book / I buy the book / I buy books.

Adjectives WITHOUT là: Do NOT use là (to be) with adjectives! Cô ấy đẹp = She (is) beautiful. NOT *Cô ấy là đẹp.

Trying to conjugate verbs or adding articles. 🇬🇧 English speakers: Add 'is/are' before adjectives (*Nó là đẹp instead of Nó đẹp). Try to conjugate verbs (*Tôi đis). Add articles (*Tôi là một cái giáo viên — too many classifiers). 🇩🇪 German speakers: Try to add articles and verb endings from German habit. May try to put verbs in second position (V2 rule) in complex sentences.

Common Error Patterns

Used là before an adjective (e.g., *Cô ấy là đẹp)

là connects noun = noun (identity). For adjectives, just put them directly after the subject: Cô ấy đẹp (She beautiful = She is beautiful).

Tried to conjugate a Vietnamese verb

Vietnamese verbs NEVER change form. ăn = eat for all persons, tenses, moods. Tense is shown with separate words (đã, sẽ, đang).

Tôi ăn cơm. Anh ăn cơm. Họ ăn cơm.

I eat rice. You eat rice. They eat rice.

Notice: ăn never changes! No conjugation at all. Compare with the 4 different German forms or 3 Russian forms.

Trời đẹp quá!

The weather is so beautiful!

NO là here! Adjectives attach directly: Trời đẹp = weather beautiful. Adding là would be WRONG (*Trời là đẹp).

Tôi là bác sĩ.

I am a doctor.

là is used for identity/definition (noun = noun): Tôi là bác sĩ. But NOT for descriptions (adjectives) — see the difference!

Practice in course

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

A1 Course

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Put it into practice

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