Vietnamese, like many languages in Southeast Asia and Chinese, is an analytic (or

isolating) language. As such its grammar highly relies on word order and sentence
structure rather than morphology (word changes through inflection). While most
European languages would use morphology to express tense Vietnamese uses
grammatical particles or syntactic constructions.
Vietnamese is often erroneously considered to be a "monosyllabic" language. It is true
that Vietnamese has many words that consist of only one syllable; however, most
words are indeed bi-syllabic. This is largely because of the many reduplication words
that appear in household vocabulary, or adjectives.
Vietnamese syntax conforms to the Subject Verb Object word order.
Tense
Although it is not usually required, past tense is indicated by adding the particle ,
present progressive tense by the particle ang, and future tense is indicated by the
particle s.
Topic Comment Structure
The topic-comment structure is an important sentence type in Vietnamese. Therefore
Vietnamese has often been claimed to be a topic-prominent language (Thompson
1991). As an example the sentence "ti c sch ny ri" can be transformed into the
following topic prominent equivalent.
Sch ny th ti c ri.
book this (TOPICMARKER) I read already
I already read this book.
Plural
Although it is not usually required, the plural may be indicated by particles
like nhng, cc, chng.
Classifiers
Vietnamese extensively uses a system of classifiers to indicate word classes of nouns.
English classifiers, for example, may be (highlighted in bold) one head of cattle or
three pieces of cheese. Vietnamese's system and usage of classifiers are similar to
Chinese and are more variable than English. Among the most common classifiers are:
~ ci : used for most inanimate objects;
~ con: usually for animals, but can be used to describe some inanimate objects (con
dao = knife, con ng= street, con vt = screw)

~ bi: used for compositions like songs, drawings, poems, essays, etc.
~ cy: used for stick-like objects (plants, guns, canes, etc.)
~ chic: objects that are worn or moved by people (chairs, cars, ear rings, ships, shirts,
shoes)
~ ta: buildings of authority: courts, halls, "ivory towers".
~ qu/tri: used for globular objects (the Earth, fruits)
~ quyn/cun: used for book-like objects (books, journals, etc.)
~ t: sheets and other thin objects made of paper (newspaper, paper, calendar etc.)
~ vic: an event or an ongoing process
The classifier ci has a special role in that it can extend all other classifiers,
e.g. ci con, ci chic.
Pronouns
Vietnamese pronouns are more accurately forms of address. Its concept is different
from that in European languages, so its forms of address do not neatly fall into the
grammatical person classifications created by European grammarians. For example, the
same word can be used as a first-, second-, or third-person pronoun, depending on the
speaker and the audience. The sentence:
ng i v nh.
Grandfather go return home.
can be translated as:
~ I (your grandfather) go home.
~ You (old man/my grandfather) go home.
~ He (the old man) goes home.
The most common forms of address are kinship terms, which might differ slightly in
different regions. Most of them derived from Chinese loanwords, but have acquired the
additional grammatical function of being pronouns over the years.
When addressing an audience, the speaker must carefully assess the social relationship
between him/her and the audience, difference in age, and sex of the audience to
choose an appropriate form of address. The following are some kinship terms of
address that can be used in the second-person sense (you). They all can also be used in
the first-person sense (I), but if they're not marked by (S) the usage is limited to the
literal meaning:
~ ng: grandfather, used as a term of respect for a man senior to the speaker and who
is late middle age or older
~ B: grandmother, used as a term of respect for a (usually married) woman senior to

the speaker and who is late middle age or older

~ C: father's sister, used to address a younger woman or a woman as old as one's
father.
~ Ch: father's younger brother, used to address a younger man or a man slightly
younger than one's father.
~ Bc: father's older brother, used to address a man slightly older than one's father.
~ Anh: older brother, for a slightly older man, or for the man in a romantic relationship.
(S)
~ Ch: older sister, for a slightly older woman. (S)
~ Em: younger sibling, for a slightly younger person, or for the woman in a romantic
relationship. (S)
Other pronouns in use for the most part conform to the European idea of grammatical
person. Some are even gender-neutral and relationship-neutral:
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~
~

Ti: I, (literally servant)

Hn: pejorative he
ng ta/ng y: he (see above)
B ta/B y: she (see above)
C ta/C y: she (see above)
Anh ta/Anh y: he (see above)
H: they
N: it (also he or she, when referring to a subordinate; perhaps also pejorative)
Chng ta: we (including audience)
Chng ti: formal I, we (excluding audience)
Chng n: they (pejorative)
B: colloquial, she
My: you singular (to subordinates, or extremely informal)
Qu v: you (formal)
Bn: friend, you

Reduplication
Reduplication (t ly) is found abundantly in Vietnamese. They are formed by repeating
a part of a word to form new words, altering the meaning of the original word. Its effect
is to sometimes either increase or decrease the intensity of the adjective, and is often
used as a literary device (like alliteration) in poetry and other compositions, as well as
in everyday speech.
Examples of reduplication increasing intensity:

~ au au ing: hurt hurt like hell

~ mnh mnh m: strong very strong
~ rc rc r: flaring blazing
Examples of reduplication decreasing intensity:
~
~
~
~

nh nh nh: soft soft (less)

xinh xinh xinh: pretty cute
o : red somewhat red
xanh xanh xanh: blue/green somewhat blue/green

Reduplication of this type, indicating diminished intensity, is also present in Mandarin

Chinese.
A type of assimilation known as tonal harmony is involved in Vietnamese reduplication.

Vietnamese syntax
Vietnamese, like many languages in Southeast Asia, is an analytic (or isolating)
language. [1]Also like other languages in the region, Vietnamese syntax conforms to Subject
Verb Object word order, is head-initial (displaying modified-modifier ordering), and has a
noun classifier system. Additionally, it is pro-drop, wh-in-situ,copula-drop, and allows verb
serialization.
1. Lexical categories
Vietnamese lexical categories (or "parts of speech") consist of nouns, demonstrative noun
modifiers, articles, classifiers, numerals, quantifiers, the focus marker particle, verbs, adverbial
particles, prepositions.
The syntax of each lexical category and its associated phrase (i.e., the
syntactic constituents below the sentence level) is detailed below. Attention is paid to both
form and function.
1. 1. Nouns and noun phrases
Words belonging to the noun (or substantive) lexical category can be distinguished from
verbs syntactically in that the copula l "to be" is required to precede nouns
in predications whereas the copula is not required before verbs.
Mai l sinh vin.
"Mai is (a) student."
In the sentence above, the noun sinh vin "student" must co-occur with the copula. Omitting
the copula, as in *Mai sinh vin results in anungrammatical sentence. [2] In contrast, verbs do
not co-occur with the copula.#
Mai cao.

"Mai is tall."
The verb cao (as in the sentence above) does not require a preceding copula, and thus the
sentence *Mai l cao is ill-formed.
The category noun can be further subdivided into different noun classes according to semantic
and syntactic criteria. Some of the subclasses identified in Nguyn (1997) include:

proper noun

common noun
o

item noun

collective noun

unit (or measure) noun

mass noun

time noun

abstract noun

classifier

locative

Nouns can be modified with other words resulting in complex noun phrases. These modifiers
include demonstratives, quantifiers, classifiers, prepositional phrases, and other attributive
lexical words, such as other nouns and verbs. These modifiers co-occur with the modified noun
(known as the head noun or noun phrase head), but there are restrictions on what kind of
modifiers are allowed depending upon the subclass of noun. The noun phrase has the following
structure:
TOTALITY + ARTICLE + QUANTIFIER + CLASSIFIER + HEAD NOUN + ATTRIBUTIVE MODIFIER(S)
+ DEMONSTRATIVE + PREPOSITIONAL PHRASE
(possessive)
Example:
c hai cun t in Vit Anh ny ca n
c

hai

cun

t in

all

two

clfbook

dictionaryVietnamese prox.dem
-English

totali quantifier classifier head

ty
noun

Vit Anh

ny

ca [n]
of
[3rd.pron]

attributive demonstrativ prep

noun
e
phrase
phrase

"both of these Vietnamese-English dictionaries of his"

1. 1. 1. Article position
Following Nguyn Hng Tng (2004) and Nguyn T. C. (1975), Vietnamese has an article
lexical category slot that occurs before a quantifier.

nhng

ngh

pl

idea

"(the) ideas"
cc

qu

cam

pl

clf

orange

"(the) oranges"
1. 1. 2. Quantifier position
Quantifiers (also known as numerators) are words that can occur within a noun phrase before a
head noun (with or without a classifier). Quantifiers include cardinal numerals, and other words
which indicate some quantity. (Cardinal numerals are described in the numeral section.)
Examples of quantifiers:
Quantifier

English gloss

mt "one", hai "two",

etc.

cardinal numerals

vi, vi ba

"few"

dm, dm by

"several, few"

mi

"every"

mi

"each"

tng

"each in turn"

my

"few, how much/many"

bao nhiu

"how much/many"

by nhiu

"this much/many"

by nhiu

"that much/many"

Quantifiers directly precede the head noun that they modify when that head noun is of a noun
type that does not require an obligatory classifier:
hai

quan im

two

viewpoint

"(the) two viewpoints"

ba

three

night

"three nights"
dm

ba

few

day

"(a) few days"

my

ngi

how many

people

"how many people?"

When a classifier co-occurs with a following head noun, the quantifier word precedes the
classifier:
hai

cun

t in

two

clf

dictionary

"(the) two dictionaries"

su

bng

hoa hng

kia

six

clf

rose

dist.dem

"those six roses over there"

my

con

few

clf

fish

"(a) few fish"

Mass (such as, tht "meat", t "earth, soil") and collective nouns (such as, tru
b "cattle", rung nng "(rice) fields") cannot be modified with a quantifier. For example, the
following are ungrammatical noun phrases:
*ba

tht

*three

meat

*"three meats"
*mt

con

tht

*one

clf

meat

*"one meat"
*hai

tru b

*two

cattle

*"two cattles"
However, mass nouns can be preceded by a unit noun (such
as cn"kilogram", lng "tael", nm "handful", chn "cupful") that indicates a measurement of
the mass noun, which can, then, be modified with a quantifier. For example, the
ungrammatical *ba tht "three meats" and*mt con tht "one meat" (above) can be rendered as
grammatical phrases with unit nouns present:
ba

cn

tht

three

kilogram

meat

"three kilograms of meat"

mt

lng

tht

one

teal

meat

"one tael of meat"

1. 1. 3. Focus marker position
The optional particle ci is identified as a focus marker by Nguyn Hng Tng (2004). It has
been called by several other names, includinggeneral classifier, general categorical, ''extra"
ci, "extra" general classifier,definite article, superarticle, definite word, demonstrative word,
and ch xut"indexical". Focus ci occurs directly before classifiers or unit nouns and may be
preceded by other pre-noun modifiers such as quantifiers, numerals, and articles. It must
always co-occur with a classifier. [3]
As can be seen by descriptions of focus ci as "general classifier", etc., this particle has often
been analyzed as a classifier. However, it can be distinguished by its different behavior.
Focus ci always precedes a following classifier and may not directly precede the head noun.
The noun phrase
ci

con

ch

ny

foc

clf

dog

dem.prox

"this very dog"

is grammatical, but the phrase
*con

ci

ch

ny

*clf

foc

dog

dem.prox

*"this very dog"

is not grammatical. More than one classifier is not allowed within the same noun phrase,
whereas focus ci does occur along with a following classifier (as can be seen above).
Examples of other modifiers preceding the focus marker are below:
hai

ci

con

ch

en

ny

two (numeral) foc

clf

dog

black

dem.prox

"these very two black dogs"

cc

ci

con

mo

ny

pl (article)

foc

clf

cat

dem.prox

"these very cats"

Again, ci must follow the other pre-noun modifiers, so phrases where ciprecedes a numeral
or article (such as *ci hai ch en ny or *ci cc con mo ny) are ungrammatical.
The focus marker ci is distinct from the classifier ci that classifies inanimate nouns (although
it is historically related to the classifier ci).[4] Thus, classifier ci cannot modify the
noun ch "dog" (in ci ch) sincech is animate (the non-human animate classifier con must be
used: con ch), whereas focus ci can modify nouns of any animacy (with their appropriate
classifier):
c cun
i

sch

ny

fo clf
c

book

dem.prox

sch = inanimate

"this very book"

c con
i

mo

ny

fo clf
c

cat

dem.prox

mo = nonhuman

"this very cat"

c ngi lnh
i
fo clf
c

ny

lnh = human

soldier dem.prox

"this very soldier"

Functionally, ci indicates grammatically that an element within a noun phrase is in contrastive
focus. It has been noted by Nguyn . H. (1997) (and others) that ci adds a
pejorative connotation, as in:
c thng chng
i

em

chng ra

fo clf
c

husband kin.term 3rd.sg.pro neg

n

topicalized noun phrase

subj
noun
phrase

turn.out intrg.inanimate.pr
on

predicate

"that husband of mine, he is good for nothing"

##However, Nguyn Hng Tng (2004) claims that the connotation is not always negative
and gives the following positive example [5] :
ti

gp

ci

con

nh

t t

1st.sg.pron

meet

foc

clf

little

kind

subj noun phrase verb

obj noun phrase

"it is the kind-hearted girl that I met"

Phonologically, the focus ci receives an intonational stress, and, in addition, the element
receiving the focus also receives an intonational stress. In the following examples, the stressed
words are indicated with capital letters (also in red font):
ti

thch

CI

con

nga

EN

1st.sg.pron

like

foc

clf

horse

black

subj noun
phrase

verb

obj noun phrase

"I like the BLACK horse" (but not the horse that's
a different color)
In the above sentence, the item in focus is en "black", which receives the stress (as does ci).
Here, it is the feature of the horse's blackness that is being focused on (or singled out) in
contrast to other horses that do not have the feature of blackness. In the sentence
below, nga"horse" receives the focus and stress.
ti

thch

CI con

NGA

en

1st.sg.pron

like

foc

horse

black

subj noun
phrase

verb

obj noun phrase

clf

"I like the black HORSE" (but not the other black
animal)
The focus marker is always stressed and must co-occur with another stressed item;
thus, ci cannot occur without another stressed element within the noun
phrase. [6] Focus ci may focus a variety of noun phrase elements including prepositional
phrases, relative clauses, constituents inside of relative clause modifiers, the head noun (by
itself), the head noun plus preceding classifier, and adjectival verbs.#

1. 1. 4. Unit noun position

1. 1. 5. Classifier position
Vietnamese uses an extensive system of classifiers to indicate word classes of nouns. This may
be superficially compared to English partitive constructions like one head of cattle ("head",
always singular regardless of number, indicates large livestock), two sticks of
dynamite ("stick" indicates something relatively rigid, long and comparatively
thin), threestrands of hair ("strand" indicates something flexible, long and quite thin),
or four bars of gold (a "bar" being similar to a "stick", but comparatively less "thin").
Vietnamese's system and usage of classifiers are similar to Chinese and are more variable than
English. Among the most common classifiers are:

ci : used for most inanimate objects

chic: almost similar to ci, usually more connotative (e.g. when referring to a cute
object, chic might be more suitable than ci)

con: usually for animals and children, but can be used to describe some inanimate
objects (con dao = knife, con ng = street, con vt= screw)

bi: used for compositions like songs, drawings, poems, essays, etc.

cu: sentential constructs (verses, lyrics, statements, quotes, etc.)

cy: used for stick-like objects (plants, guns, canes, etc.)

ta: buildings of authority: courts, halls, "ivory towers".

qu/tri: used for globular objects (the Earth, fruits)

quyn/cun: used for book-like objects (books, journals, etc.)

t: sheets and other thin objects made of paper (newspapers, papers, calendars, etc.)

l: smaller sheets of paper (letters, playing cards)

vic: an event or an ongoing process

chuyn: a general topic, matter, or business

The classifier ci has a special role in that it can extend all other classifiers, e.g. ci con, ci
chic.
1. 1. 6. Attributive modifier position
includes noun phrase modifiers, verb phrase modifiers
1. 1. 7. Demonstrative position
Nouns may be modified by certain demonstratives that follow the noun (see
also demonstrative section below). These demonstratives
include:ny "this", ny "this", nay "this", ni "this", "that", ny "that", y "that",ny "that", ki
a "that yonder", n "that yonder", ka "that yonder (far)",no "which". Examples:
b

ny

lady

prox.dem

"this lady"
nm

nay

year

prox.dem

"this year"
lc

moment

medial.dem

"that moment"
ng

gentleman

medial.dem

"that gentleman"
lc

ny

moment

medial.dem

"a moment ago"

ba

day

dist.dem

"one day"
hm

kia

day

dist.dem

"day before yesterday"

ngi

no

person

indef.dem

"which person"
1. 1. 8. Prepositional phrase position
Possession is shown in Vietnamese via prepositional phrases that modify the head noun. These
phrases occur at the far right edge of the noun phrase after the head noun and, if present,
any attributive modifiers or demonstratives.
1. 1. 9. Reference, specificity, definiteness
Vietnamese nouns that standalone are unmarked for number and definiteness. Thus, a noun,
such as sch, may be glossed in English as "a book" (singular, indefinite), "the book" (singular,
definite), "some books" (plural, indefinite), or "the books" (plural, indefinite). It is with the

addition of classifiers, demonstratives, and other modifiers that the number and definiteness
can be specified.

reference
o

specific vs. generic reference generic mood & generic antecedents)

definiteness (identifiability of referent)

count noun vs. mass noun

interaction with classifiers (presence and absence thereof)

see Behrens (2003)

1. 2. Pronouns
Main article: Vietnamese pronouns
Vietnamese pronouns [7] act as substitutions for noun phrases.
Hoan

ch

cm

Hoan

only eat food

subj noun
phrase

predicate

Vit Nam thi

Vietnam

only

"Hoan only eats Vietnamese food"

n

ch

cm

3rd.sg.pron

only eat food

subj noun
phrase

predicate

Vit Nam thi

Vietnam

only

"he only eats Vietnamese food"

co
n

ch

ny

chng bao gi

clf

dog prox.dem neg

subj noun phrase

ever

sa

bark

all

predicate

"this dog never barks at all"

n

chng

bao gi

sa

3rd.sg.pron

neg

ever

bark

all

subj noun phrase

predicate

"it never barks at all"

Thus, the third person singular (arrogant) pronoun n can substitute for a simple noun
phrase Hoan (a personal name) consisting of a single noun or a complex noun phrase con ch
ny consisting of a noun plus modifiers (which, here, are a classifier and a demonstrative).

Note that the pronominal system as a whole also includes kinship terms (see kinship term
section below) and certain demonstratives (seedemonstrative section below), which can also
have a pronominal function.
The pronouns are categoried into two classes depending on whether they can be preceded by
the plural marker chng. Like other Asian pronominal systems, Vietnamese pronouns indicate
the social status between speakers and other persons in the discourse in addition
togrammatical person and number. The table below shows the first class of pronouns that can
be preceded by pluralizer.
Singular

Plural

First ti (inferior to superior) [8] perso

ta (emphatic, superior to ta (emphatic,
n
inferior)
superior to
inferior)
tao [9] (superior to
inferior, familiar)

mnh (intimate)

mnh (intimate)

Seco my [10] or mi or bay(superi bay [11] (superior

nd
or to inferior, familiar)
to inferior,
Perso
familiar)
n
Third n (superior to inferior,
Perso familiar)
n
y (southern dialect only,
see below)

The first person ti is the only pronoun that can be used in polite speech. The second
person ta is often used when talking to oneself as in a soliloquy, but also indicates a higher
status of the speaker (such as that of a high official, etc.). The other superior-to-inferior forms
in the first and second persons (tao, my, mi, bay) are commonly used in familiar social
contexts, such as among family members (e.g. older sister to younger sister, etc.); these forms
are otherwise considered impolite [12] . The third person form n (used to refer to inanimates,
animals, children, and scorned adults, such as criminals) is considerably less arrogant than the
second person forms tao, my, mi, bay. The pronoun mnh is used only in intimate
relationships, such as between husband and wife.
The pronominal forms in the table above can be modified with pluralchng as in chng
my "you (guys)", chng n "them". There is anexclusive/inclusive plural distinction in the first
person: chng ti andchng tao are exclusive (i.e., me and them but not you), chng
ta andchng mnh are inclusive (i.e., you and me). Some of the forms (ta, mnh,bay) can be
used to refer to a plural referent, resulting in pairs with overlapping reference (e.g.,
both ta and chng ta can mean "inclusive we", both bay and chng bay can mean "you guys").

The other class of pronouns are known as "absolute" pronouns (Thompson 1965). These cannot
be modified with the pluralizer chng. Many of these forms are literary and archaic, particularly
in the first and second person.

First
person

Singular

Plural

min (familiar, literary)

choa (literary)

qua (male to female,

literary)
thip (female to male,
literary)
Trm (king to subject,
archaic)
thn (subject to king,
archaic)[13]

Second
Person

bu (female to male,
literary)

chng (female to
male, literary)
ngi (subject to king,
archaic)
Third
Person

y (familiar)
hn (familiar)
va

[14]

ngi
ta(generic)

(familiar)

ngi ta (generic)
Unlike third person pronouns of the first type, these absolute third person forms (y, hn, va)
refer only to animate referents (typically people). The form y can be preceded by the pluralizer
in southern dialects in which case it is more respectful than n. The absolute pronoun ngi
tahas a wider range of reference as "they, people in general, (generic) one, we, someone". [15]
As a result of language contact, some linguists have noted that some Vietnamese speech
communities (especially among young college students and bilingual speakers) have borrowed
French and English pronouns moi, toi, I, and you in order to avoid the deference and status
implications present in the Vietnamese pronominal system (which lacks any truly neutral
terms). [16] [17]
. 3. Kinship terms
Kinship terms in Vietnamese have become grammaticalized to a large extent and thus have
developed grammatical functions similar to pronouns [18] and other classifiers. In these cases,

they are used ashonorifics or pejoratives. Kinship terms may also, of course, be used with a
lexical meaning like other nouns.
1. 3. 1. Pronominal function
When used with a pronominal function, kinship terms primarily indicate the social status
between referents in a discourse, such as between the speaker and the hearer, between
speaker and another referent, etc. Included within the notion of social status are classifications
of age, sex, relative social position, and the speaker's attitude.
For example, to say I love you in Vietnamese, one can use one of many translations:

Anh yu em. (male to female lover)

Em yu anh. (female to male lover)

M yu con. (mother to child)

Con yu m. (child to mother)

...

The most common terms of reference are kinship terms, which might differ slightly in different
regions.
When addressing an audience, the speaker must carefully assess the social relationship
between him/her and the audience, difference in age, and sex of the audience to choose an
appropriate form of address. The following are some kinship terms of address that can be used
in the second-person sense (you). They all can also be used in the first-person sense (I), but if
they're not marked by (S) the usage is limited to the literal meaning:

ng: grandfather, used as a term of respect for a man senior to the speaker and who is
late middle age or older

B: grandmother, used as a term of respect for a (usually married) woman senior to the
speaker and who is late middle age or older

B: parent's older sister, used to address a woman slightly older than one's parents or
wife of father's older brother or wife of mother's older brother.

Bc: parent's older brother or sister, used to address a man/woman slightly older than
one's parents or husband of father's older sister or husband of mother's older sister.

C: father's sister, used to address a younger woman or a woman as old as one's father;
also used to address a female teacher regardless of relative age

Cu: mother's brother, used to address a younger man or a man as old as one's mother

D: mother's sister, used to address a younger woman or a woman as old as one's

mother; also used to address one's stepmother

Ch: father's younger brother, used to address a man slightly younger than one's father
or husband of father's younger sister.

Thm: wife of father's younger brother.

M: wife of mother's younger brother.

Dng: husband of father's older sister; also used to address one's stepfather

Anh: older brother, for a slightly older man, or for the man in a romantic relationship. (S)

Ch: older sister, for a slightly older woman. (S)

Em: younger sibling, for a slightly younger person, or for the woman in a romantic
relationship. (S)

B/Ba/Cha: father

M/M/M: mother

Con: child; also used in some regions to address a person as old as one's child

Chu: nephew/niece, grandson/granddaughter; used to address a young person of

around such relative age

Using a person's name to refer to oneself or to address another is considered more personal
and informal than using pronouns. It can be found among close friends or children.
1. 3. 2. Classifier function
1. 4. Demonstratives
Vietnamese demonstratives (markers of deixis) all have the function of identifying a referent
with respect to another contextual point or position[19] . [20] For example, the
demonstrative ny "this" as in the noun phrase ngi ny "this person" indicates that the
person referred to is relatively close to the speaker (in a context where this noun phrase is
uttered by a speaker to an addressee) while the demonstrative "that" as in the noun
phrase ngi "that person" indicates that the person referred to is further from the speaker.
The demonstratives have a basic three-term deictic system proximal (close - "this, here"),
medial (far - "that, there"), distal (very far - "yonder, over there") plus an indefinite (or
interrogative) term ("which, where"). In addition to their deictic function, different Vietnamese
demonstratives can function variously as noun modifiers, as noun phrases (i.e., a (pro-)
nominal function), or as adverbials.
Function

Proximal

Medial

Nominal

y "here"

y"there" -

Nominal/N oun
modifier

Noun
modifier

"there,
that"

Distal

Indefinite
u "where,
wherever"

kia/ka "over there,

yonder"
(bidirectional
)

ny/ny/nay/ni"thi ny/y"that n "yonder" no"which(ever

s"
"
(unidirectiona)"
l - past)

Proportion by "to this

by "to that extent, to

bao "to

extent"
Manner

such an extent"

what(ever)
extent"

vy "this way,
thus"

4.3.2. Syntax
4.3.2.1. Vietnamese and English have the same basic SVO word order.
Vietnamese is an isolating language in which the relationship between parts of
a sentence is indicated by the word order and auxiliaries. As a result, word
order is critical to convey the meaning of a sentence. Learners should focus
their attention on the following points:
4.3.2.2. A word follows the noun it modifies (sch mi, anh ti, vn u tin,
vn hc Vit Nam hin i), unlike English which has the reverse word order (new
book, my brother, first issue, modern Vietnamese literature). The basic word
order of noun phrases should be stressed:

4.3.2.3. In the basic structure SVP (Subject + Verb + (Subject) Predicative) the
English copular verb to be is used to link 1) a noun to a noun, e.g., My name is
John. 2) a pronoun to a noun, e.g., He is my friend. and 3) a noun or pronoun to
an adjective, e.g., The movie is good. In Vietnamese the sentences of type 3)
do not use the copular verb l, that is 1) Tn ti l John. 2) Anh y l bn ti.
and 3) B phim y ______ hay.
4.3.2.4. In English, interrogative words (who, what, which, how, where, when,
why) are placed at the beginning of a question. In Vietnamese, some
interrogatives are placed at the beginning of questions (v sao, ti sao, sao).
Some others are put at the end of questions (u, u). For instance, V sao
ch khng ng vi chng ti? (Why do you disagree with us?); Anh lm vic
u? (Where are you working?) The position of the interrogative words ai, g,
no depends on their grammatical function in a sentence. Interrogative words
with the meaning of time (bao gi, khi no, ngy no, hm no, lc no, th

my, ngy bao nhiu) refer to the past tense when placed at the end of
questions and indicate the present or future when put at the beginning. For
instance, Bao gi anh y n? (When will he arrive?) vs. Anh y n bao gi?
(When did he arrive?)
4.3.2.5. In interrogative sentences, Vietnamese native speakers distinguish the
purpose and the reason by using different interrogative words, whereas the
context identifies the purpose or the reason in English, for instance: Anh i n
y lm g? (Why do you go there? Literally: For what purpose do you go there?)
vs. V sao anh khng mun i n y? (Why don't you want to go there?)
4.3.2.6. Some words have a position different from the position of English words
with similar meanings and functions. For example: p hn vs. more beautiful,
Quyn sch ny hay hn quyn sch kia nhiu. vs. This book is much better
than that one. Thng sau ti i Vit Nam. vs. I am going to Vietnam next
month. Some words have different meanings when placed in different positions,
for instance: c ngh ba ngy (to be allowed to take three days off) and ngh
c ba ngy (to be able to take three days off).
4.3.2.7. The adverbs of degree rt and lm are used without the adverb nhiu
"much" when the verb conveys the meaning of feeling. The adverb much is
necessary in English: Ti rt thch quyn sch ny. or: Ti thch quyn sch ny
lm. versus I like the book very much.