Vietnamese · KNLTV Bậc 1 (A1) · Chapter 34
Hôm qua bạn đã làm gì?What did you do yesterday?
Talking about what happened in the past. Vocabulary: hôm qua, hôm kia, tuần trước, tháng trước, năm ngoái, sáng nay, lúc nãy, đã, rồi, vừa, xong. Key grammar: to mark a completed action, put "đã" RIGHT BEFORE the verb: "Tôi đã ăn phở" (I ate pho), "Cô ấy đã đi Hà Nội" (she went to Hanoi), "Chúng tôi đã xem phim" (we watched a film). You can add "rồi" at the end for emphasis: "Tôi ăn rồi" (I have eaten). Vietnamese verbs do NOT change form; "đã" alone is enough. English speakers, used to the "-ed" ending attached AFTER the verb, tend to put "đã" after the verb: "Tôi ăn đã phở" ✗ → "Tôi đã ăn phở" ✓. Tone corner: "đã" (ngã), "rồi" (huyền), "vừa" (huyền).
Dialogue
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Tôi ăn đã phở / Tôi đã ăn phở
- NamTom ơi, hôm qua cậu làm gì?Tom, what did you do yesterday?
- TomTôi ăn đã phở ở quán gần nhà.I ate pho at the shop near my house. (slip: "đã" goes before the verb → tôi đã ăn phở)
- Nam"Đã" đứng TRƯỚC động từ: "Tôi đã ăn phở"."Đã" goes BEFORE the verb: "Tôi đã ăn phở".
- TomÀ, tôi đã ăn phở. Tôi cũng đã uống cà phê.Ah, I ate pho. I also drank coffee.
- NamChính xác! "đã" trước động từ. Cậu có thể thêm "rồi": "Tôi ăn phở rồi".Exactly! "đã" before the verb. You can add "rồi": "Tôi ăn phở rồi".
- TomHiểu rồi. Tuần trước tôi đã đi Đà Nẵng!I get it. Last week I went to Đà Nẵng!
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Cuối tuần của Linh— Linh's weekend
- TomLinh ơi, cuối tuần trước cậu đã làm gì?Linh, what did you do last weekend?
- LinhTôi đã về quê thăm ông bà.I went back to my hometown to visit my grandparents.
- TomCậu đã đi bằng gì?How did you travel?
- LinhTôi đã đi bằng tàu hỏa. Sáng nay tôi mới về.I went by train. I only got back this morning.
- TomCậu đã ăn gì ở quê?What did you eat in your hometown?
- LinhBà đã nấu phở. Ngon lắm! Tôi ăn hai bát rồi.Grandma cooked pho. So delicious! I already ate two bowls.
Vocabulary
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- hôm qua
nounyesterday
- hôm kia
nounthe day before yesterday
- tuần trước
nounlast week
- tháng trước
nounlast month
- năm ngoái
nounlast year
- sáng nay
nounthis morning
- lúc nãy
nouna moment ago, just now
- đã
particle(past marker: did, already)
- rồi
particlealready (sentence-final)
- vừa
adverbjust (recently)
- xong
verbto finish, be done
Grammar
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"Đã" before the verb for the past
Explanation
Vietnamese verbs do not change form for tense. To say an action HAS happened and is complete, put "đã" RIGHT BEFORE the verb: "Tôi đã ăn phở" (I ate pho), "Cô ấy đã đi Hà Nội" (she went to Hanoi), "Chúng tôi đã xem phim" (we watched a film). The order is: subject + đã + verb. You can add "rồi" at the end to stress completion: "Tôi đã ăn phở rồi" (I have already eaten pho). When a past-time word is present (hôm qua, tuần trước), Vietnamese often drops "đã" because the context is clear — but using "đã" is always correct. Typical mistake: in English the past marker "-ed" attaches AFTER the verb (walk → walked), so English speakers put "đã" after the verb: "Tôi ăn đã phở" ✗ → "Tôi đã ăn phở" ✓. "Đã" always comes BEFORE the verb, never after.
Examples
- Hôm qua tôi đã ăn phở.Yesterday I ate pho.
- Cô ấy đã đi Hà Nội tuần trước.She went to Hanoi last week.
- Chúng tôi đã xem phim đó rồi.We have already watched that film.
- Sáng nay anh ấy đã uống cà phê.This morning he drank coffee.
Script & tones
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Thanh ngã trong "đã"— The ngã tone in "đã"
Read aloud, hearing the tones clearly:
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