LinguaIs there one? Có ... không?
có says that something exists or that somebody has it. To ask whether a place has something, name the place first, then có, then the thing, and close the sentence with không. You already met this frame in Anh có khỏe không? – the same two words wrap around whatever is being asked about.
Ở đây có nhà vệ sinh không?Is there a toilet here?
The answer is short. Có. on its own means yes, there is. Không. means no. A fuller no puts không back in front of the verb: Không, ở đây không có. Vietnamese has no separate words for yes and no here – you answer with the verb of the question.
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| gần | near | Nhà tôi gần chợ. |
| xa | far | Chợ rất xa. |
| gần đây | near here; around here | Gần đây có chợ. |
| ngã tư | crossroads | Ở ngã tư kia. |
| đường | road; street | Bên kia đường. |
Near and far
gần and xa need no verb between them and what they describe: Nhà tôi gần chợ. is a whole sentence. After ở they behave like the position words of the last lesson: Bưu điện ở gần chợ.
Chợ có xa không?Is the market far?
Put the two halves together and you can ask the way with what you already have: Bưu điện ở đâu ạ? – and the answer comes back as a place: Ở ngã tư kia. or Ở bên kia đường. The polite ạ at the end is what makes the question sound right to a stranger.
Words in this lesson
| Word | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| có | there is; to have | Gần đây có một quán cà phê. There is a café near here. |
| gần | near | Nhà tôi gần trường. My house is near the school. |
| xa | far | Chợ xa nhà tôi. The market is far from my house. |
| gần đây | near here | Gần đây không có chợ. There is no market near here. |
| ngã tư | crossroads | Quán cà phê ở ngã tư này. The café is at this crossroads. |
| đường | road; street | Nhà tôi ở đường Lê Lợi. My house is on Le Loi street. |
| bên kia | the other side | Chợ ở bên kia đường. The market is on the other side of the street. |
| bưu điện | post office | Bưu điện ở gần chợ. The post office is near the market. |
| bệnh viện | hospital | Bệnh viện không xa nhà tôi. The hospital is not far from my house. |
| nhà vệ sinh | toilet | Nhà vệ sinh ở bên kia. The toilet is over on the other side. |
Exercises
This lesson has 11 exercises in the app:
- multiple choice: 3
- match the pairs: 2
- fill the gap: 2
- build the sentence: 1
- translate the sentence: 2
- listen and type: 1
Try the first one
Which question asks whether there is a market around here?
The answer, the other exercises, the audio and your progress are in the app – free at A0 and A1.