Vietnamese Verbs

Welcome to the 10th lesson about verbs in Vietnamese. We will first learn about the present tense, followed by the past tense, and future tense. We will also analyze some grammar rules, and finally practice how to ask for direction in Vietnamese.

Verbs are used to express an action (I swim) or a state of being (I am). The present tense in Vietnamese conveys a situation or event in the present time. Here are some examples:

Present Tense - Vietnamese
I speak English tôi nói tiếng anh
you speak French bạn nói tiếng pháp
he speaks German ông ta nói tiếng đức
she speaks Italian cô ấy nói tiếng ý
we speak Arabic chúng tôi nói tiếng ả rập
they speak Chinese họ nói tiếng trung quốc

The past tense in Vietnamese conveys a situation or event in the past time. Here are some examples:

Past Tense - Vietnamese
I visited France tôi đã đến thăm pháp
you visited Italy bạn đến thăm italy
he visited Morocco ông ta đã đến thăm nước ma-rốc
she visited China cô đã đến thăm trung quốc
we visited Mexico chúng tôi đã đến thăm nước mễ tây cơ
they visited Kenya họ đã đến thăm kenya

The future tense in Vietnamese conveys a situation or event which is anticipated to happen in the future. Here are some examples:

Future Tense - Vietnamese
I will drink milk tôi sẽ uống sữa
you will drink coffee bạn sẽ uống cà phê
he will drink tea ông ta sẽ uống trà
she will drink water cô ấy sẽ uống nước
we will drink apple juice chúng tôi sẽ uống nước táo
they will drink tea họ muốn uống trà

Now let's take a break and refresh our vocabulary by learning the body parts.

ear tai

eye mắt

mouth miệng

nose mũi

hair lông

face khuôn mặt

head đầu

heart tim

hand tay

fingers những ngón tay

leg chân

feet bàn chân

Travel Phrases in Vietnamese

Imagine yourself in some Vietnamese speaking country. The following travel phrases are highly important and can help you avoid misunderstanding. Try to memorize them and practice!

English - Vietnamese
Can you help me? bạn giúp tôi được không?
Can I help you? tôi có thể giúp bạn được không?
Where is the airport? phi trường ở đâu?
Go straight đi thẳng
Then rồi
Turn left quẹo trái
Turn right quẹo phải

I hope this lesson about the verbs in Vietnamese was not hard for you. Please check out our main menu here for more lessons: homepage. To see the full menu, you can also click on the "Menu" icon on the left side.