Question 1

When is Câu đơn giản used?

Accepted Answer

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!

Question 2

How is Câu đơn giản formed?

Accepted Answer

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.

Question 3

What are common mistakes with Câu đơn giản?

Accepted Answer

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. 🇷🇺 Russian speakers: Russian also drops 'to be' in present tense (Я студент), so the là-less adjective pattern feels natural. But may over-omit là where it IS needed (identity statements). 🇨🇿 Czech speakers: Czech also allows SVO, so word order feels natural.

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.

Basic Sentences

Câu đơn giản — Basic Sentences

Common Error Patterns

Put it into practice

Frequently asked questions