Free lesson Level A1 · Lesson · Unit: Every day

A verb that never changes

One shape for every subject

A Vietnamese verb has exactly one shape. ăn stays ăn after tôi, after anh ấy, after bạn. Nothing is added to the end of the word and nothing is put in front of it. What other languages do with endings, Vietnamese does with word order.

SubjectSentenceMeaning
tôiTôi ăn cơm.I eat rice.
anh ấyAnh ấy ăn cơm.He eats rice.
chị ấyChị ấy ăn cơm.She eats rice.
bạnBạn ăn cơm.You eat rice.

Subject + verb + object

The order is fixed: who does it, then the verb, then what the action falls on. There is no article in front of the noun, so cơm is simply cơm.

Chị ấy học tiếng Việt.She studies Vietnamese.

Anh Nam uống cà phê.Nam drinks coffee.

Now and every day – the same sentence

Tôi ăn cơm can mean I am eating and I eat, as a rule. Vietnamese does not choose between the two here – the situation does. When the difference really matters, a word for time or for how often is added, and that is what the next two lessons are about.

Words in this lesson

WordMeaningExample
ănto eatChị ấy ăn cơm ở nhà.
She eats at home.
uốngto drinkBố tôi uống cà phê.
My father drinks coffee.
đito goAnh ấy đi làm.
He goes to work.
làmto do; to makeMẹ tôi làm cơm.
My mother cooks the meal.
họcto studyEm học tiếng Việt.
I study Vietnamese.
ngủto sleepCon chó ngủ ở đây.
The dog sleeps here.
cơmcooked rice; a mealCơm này là của em.
This meal is mine.
làm việcto workChị tôi làm việc ở nhà.
My older sister works at home.
đi họcto go to schoolCon trai tôi đi học.
My son goes to school.
động từverbĂn là một động từ.
Ăn is a verb.

Exercises

This lesson has 10 exercises in the app:

  • multiple choice: 3
  • match the pairs: 1
  • fill the gap: 2
  • build the sentence: 1
  • translate the sentence: 2
  • listen and type: 1

Try the first one

Which sentence is built in the right order?

  1. Chị ấy học tiếng Việt
  2. Chị ấy tiếng Việt học
  3. Học chị ấy tiếng Việt
  4. Chị ấy là học tiếng Việt

The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.

All lessons of this course