Vietnamese Grammar Bank
VIETNAMESE PRESENT TENSE
Unlike English, the Vietnamese language doesn’t have specific verb conjugations to indicate tenses.
Instead, time adverbs are used to indicate when the action is occurring.
We teach you a few time adverbs and the marker “đang”.
AFFIRMATIVE – PRESENT SIMPLE
Present simple tense is considered the default tense in Vietnamese.
The typical sentence structure for a present simple tense phrase is as follows:
PATTERN
Subject + Verb + (present time adverb)
Here are few common time adverbs which are used to describe an action in a present tense:
| Hôm nay | Today |
| Mỗi ngày | Every day |
| Mỗi tháng | Every month |
| Mỗi năm | Every year |
| Lúc + number + giờ | At + hour |
NOTE || Learn more time adverbs in our lesson about Time in Vietnamese.
| Tôi ăn cơm mỗi ngày | I eat rice every day |
| Tôi uống nước mỗi ngày | I drink water every day |
View More Examples:
| Anh ấy đi ngủ lúc 10 giờ tối | He goes to bed at 10 pm |
| Cô ấy làm việc hôm nay | She goes to work today |
| Chị ấy học bài mỗi tháng | She studies every month |
Using đang
To express that the action is occurring right now, you can use “đang” which means “being/be doing”:
PATTERN
Subject + đang + verb + (present time adverb)
To say that the action is occurring right now, you can use any time adverbs from the table below:
| Bây giờ | Now |
| Hiện tại | At the present |
| Ngay lúc này | Right now |
Let’s see some sentence examples:
| Bây giờ, tôi đang ăn cơm | I am eating rice now |
| Hiện tại, tôi đang uống nước | At present, I am drinking water |
View More Examples:
| Anh ấy đang ngủ ngay lúc này | He is sleeping now |
| Cô ấy đang làm việc bây giờ | She is working now |
| Chị ấy đang học bài ngay lúc này | She is studying now |
NEGATIVE – PRESENT SIMPLE
In the present tense, you just need to add “không” (“not”) before the verb to make a negative sentence:
PATTERN
Subject + (đang) + không + Verb + (present time adverb)
NOTE || Review the Vietnamese negative form in this lesson.
| Tôi không ăn cơm mỗi ngày | I don’t eat rice everyday |
| Tôi không uống nước | I don’t drink water yet |
View More Examples:
| Anh ấy đang không ngủ | He is not sleeping |
| Cô ấy không làm việc hôm nay | She doesn’t work today |
| Chị ấy không học bài | She doesn’t study |
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FAQs
How to use the Vietnamese present tense?
Present simple tense is considered the default tense in Vietnamese.
The typical sentence structure for a present simple tense phrase is as follows:
Subject + Verb + (present time adverb)
Tôi ăn cơm mỗi ngày
I eat rice every day
Tôi uống nước mỗi ngày
I drink water every day
What is a time adverb in Vietnamese?
A time adverb is a type of adverb that provides information about when an action takes place or for how long and how often it occurs.
In Vietnamese some of the most common time adverbs are:
Hôm nay – Today
Mỗi ngày – Every day
Mỗi tháng – Every month
Mỗi năm – Every year
How to make a negative sentence?
This is one of the easiest ways to make a negative sentence in Vietnamese.
You only need to add “KHÔNG” in front of the verb or adjective, or “KHÔNG PHẢI LÀ” in front of the noun.
#1 không + Verb / Adjective
#2 không phải là + Noun
For example:
Tôi không thích mưa. I don’t like rain
Anh ấy không ăn kem. He doesn’t eat ice cream
Chị ấy không có tiền. She doesn’t have money
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Learn more about the Vietnamese Negative Form here.
Is Vietnamese SVO or SOV?
The Vietnamese language structure is SVO, meaning sentences are built according to Subject + Verb + Object.
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Learn more about the Vietnamese Sentence Structure here.
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