Learn Vietnamese Past Tense

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Understanding the Past Tense in Tiếng Việt
The past tense in Tiếng Việt is used to talk about actions or events that happened in the past. Unlike English, Tiếng Việt doesn't change the form of the verb to show the past tense. Instead, it uses specific words to indicate that something happened in the past.
Important Points
  • Tiếng Việt uses words like 'đã', 'từng', and 'xưa' to show the past tense.
  • 'Đã' is the most common word used to express that an action has already been completed.
  • 'Từng' is used to indicate that something happened at some point in the past.
  • 'Xưa' is often used in storytelling to describe something that happened long ago.
Examples
  • Tôi đã ăn sáng.
  • Anh ấy từng sống ở Hà Nội.
  • Ngày xưa, bà tôi kể nhiều chuyện cổ tích.
It's important to know the context of the sentence to choose the right word for the past tense. Practice using these words in sentences to get better at recognizing and using the past tense in Tiếng Việt.