Intensifiers

A1 — Tính từ & Mô tả

Intensifiers: rất, lắm, quá

Can use intensifiers correctly

Examples

Cà phê sữa đá ngon lắm! — Iced milk coffee is SO delicious!
Đắt quá! Rẻ hơn được không? — Too expensive! Can it be cheaper?
Trời rất nóng hôm nay. — It's very hot today.

AdjectivesA1

Intensifiers

Intensifiers: rất, lắm, quá

Learning Goal

Can use intensifiers correctly

Exam Skills:WritingSpeaking

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

Cà phê sữa đá ngon lắm!

Iced milk coffee is SO delicious!

Đắt quá! Rẻ hơn được không?

Too expensive! Can it be cheaper?

Trời rất nóng hôm nay.

It's very hot today.

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

Từ "rất/lắm/quá" — Intensifiers

Vietnamese has several ways to say 'very/so/too', differing by position and nuance.

Word	Position	Meaning	Example
rất	BEFORE adj	very (neutral)	rất đẹp (very beautiful)
lắm	AFTER adj	very (emphatic)	đẹp lắm! (SO beautiful!)
quá	AFTER adj	too/so (exclamation)	đắt quá! (Too expensive!)

rất vs lắm: rất is neutral/factual. lắm is emotional/emphatic. Cô ấy rất đẹp = She's very beautiful (statement). Cô ấy đẹp lắm! = She's SO beautiful! (exclamation).

quá: Can mean 'too' (excessive) or 'so' (exclamatory). Đắt quá! = Too expensive! / So expensive!

Apply this grammar in A1 course exercises

Practice Exercises

Mixing up positions (rất before, lắm/quá after). 🇬🇧 English speakers: Put lắm before adjective like English 'very': *lắm đẹp instead of đẹp lắm.

Common Error Patterns

Put lắm/quá before adjective or rất after

rất goes BEFORE: rất đẹp. lắm/quá go AFTER: đẹp lắm, đắt quá.

Cà phê sữa đá ngon lắm!

Iced milk coffee is SO delicious!

ngon lắm = SO delicious (emphatic). lắm after adjective adds emotional emphasis.

Đắt quá! Rẻ hơn được không?

Too expensive! Can it be cheaper?

đắt quá = too expensive! Essential shopping phrase. quá after adjective = too/so much.

Trời rất nóng hôm nay.

It's very hot today.

rất nóng = very hot. rất BEFORE adjective = neutral 'very'. Compare: nóng lắm = SO hot! (emphatic).

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Frequently asked questions

When do you use Intensifiers?: Vietnamese has several ways to say 'very/so/too', differing by position and nuance.
How do you form Intensifiers?: rất vs lắm: rất is neutral/factual. lắm is emotional/emphatic. Cô ấy rất đẹp = She's very beautiful (statement). Cô ấy đẹp lắm! = She's SO beautiful! (exclamation). quá: Can mean 'too' (excessive) or 'so' (exclamatory). Đắt quá! = Too expensive! / So expensive!
What are common mistakes with Intensifiers?: Mixing up positions (rất before, lắm/quá after). 🇬🇧 English speakers: Put lắm before adjective like English 'very': *lắm đẹp instead of đẹp lắm.

Word

Position

Meaning

Example

rất

BEFORE adj

very (neutral)

rất đẹp (very beautiful)

lắm

AFTER adj

very (emphatic)

đẹp lắm! (SO beautiful!)

quá

AFTER adj

too/so (exclamation)

đắt quá! (Too expensive!)

Frequently asked questions

When do you use Intensifiers?

Vietnamese has several ways to say 'very/so/too', differing by position and nuance.

How do you form Intensifiers?

rất vs lắm: rất is neutral/factual. lắm is emotional/emphatic. Cô ấy rất đẹp = She's very beautiful (statement). Cô ấy đẹp lắm! = She's SO beautiful! (exclamation). quá: Can mean 'too' (excessive) or 'so' (exclamatory). Đắt quá! = Too expensive! / So expensive!

What are common mistakes with Intensifiers?

Mixing up positions (rất before, lắm/quá after). 🇬🇧 English speakers: Put lắm before adjective like English 'very': *lắm đẹp instead of đẹp lắm.