ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT VIETNAMESE ADVERBS (PART 1)

Vietnamese adverbs are one of the most crucial grammar parts when learning Vietnamese, both in spoken and written language. The relationship among verbs, adjectives and adverbs in Vietnamese is extremely strict so you need to understand the knowledge about adverbs in order to communicate confidently with native speakers. 

In this article, Jellyfish will provide you with all of the knowledge about adverbs helping you better understand and be able to apply immediately. 

1. WHAT IS ADVERB? TYPES OF ADVERBS IN VIETNAMESE 

“Trạng từ” (adverb) also known as phó từ (adverb), is one of the most commonly used words in Vietnamese.

1.1 Function of Vietnamese Adverb

In a sentence, along with providing more information about time, space, place,… adverb also has main functions as follow: 

  • Modifier for verb

Example: Anh ấy nhanh chóng hoàn thành bài thi (He quickly finished the test).

  • Modifier for adjective

Example: Đó là một trận đấu cực kỳ tệ hại (It was an extremely bad match).

  • Modifier for other adverbs

Example: Anh ấy hoàn thành công việc hoàn toàn tốt (He did the work completely well).

Additionally, some other adverbs also have functions such as:

  • Modifier for the whole sentence

Example: Thật không may, chúng tôi bị lỡ chuyến xe bus để về nhà (Unfortunately, we missed the bus to go home).

  • Modifier for other words: noun phrase, preposition phrase, pronoun.

Example: Tôi chỉ mua trái cây thôi (I bought only the fruits).

See more: Grammar in Vietnamese

1.2. Types of Adverbs in Vietnamese

There are various similarities between Vietnamese adverbs and English adverbs, when learning Vietnamese, you can apply the knowledge from English. Vietnamese adverbs are divided into 8 types as follows: 

  • Adverb of degree

Example:  Bạn vừa hoàn thành việc này một cách hoàn hảo (You have done this perfectly).

  • Adverb of manner

Example: Anh ấy có thể học thuộc rất tốt (He can learn by heart very well).

  • Adverb of time

Example: Cô ấy đã gặp anh ta ở quán cà phê vào tuần trước (She met him at a coffee shop last week).

  • Adverb of place

Example: Tôi đi xung quanh để khám phá thành phố này (I go around to explore this city).

  • Adverb of frequency

Example: Cô ấy luôn luôn đi làm đúng giờ (She always go to work on time).

  • Adverbs of quantity

Example: Tôi thích học tiếng Nhật, chủ yếu là để xem những bộ phim tôi thích (I enjoy learning Japanese, mainly to watch the movies that I like).

  • Conjunctive adverb

Example: Cô ấy đến và sau đó chúng tôi cùng nhau ăn tối (She came and then we had dinner together).

  • Interrogative adverb

Example: Có lẽ anh ấy sẽ không đến (Maybe he won’t come).

2. Summary of commonly used adverbs in daily communication 

Since Vietnamese vocabulary is very rich, there are numerous different words that have the same meaning. Therefore, when using adverbs, you need to focus on the meaning and context of the sentence to use correctly.

2.1. Adverbs of degree

Adverbs of degree are used to describe the intensity and showing to what extent the action takes place, these adverbs often stand in front of the adjectives or adverbs more than the verbs. 

Adverbs of degree + Other adjectives/adverbs

Here are some adverbs of degree which are commonly used for your reference: 

Adverbs of degreeExamples
Quá (Too)
  • Đồ ăn quá tệ nên tôi không thể ăn tiếp được (The food was too bad for me to keep eating).
Tuyệt đối (Absolutely)
  • Tôi tuyệt đối sẽ không ăn đêm (I absolutely won’t eat at night).
Hoàn toàn (Completely)
  • Anh ấy hoàn toàn mất niềm tin vào cô ấy (He completely lost faith in her).
Hơi (Slightly)
  • Cái váy này hơi dài so với tôi (This dress is slightly long for me).
Vô cùng (Extremely)
  • Tiếng Nhật là một ngôn ngữ vô cùng khó với người mới học (Japanese is an extremely difficult language for beginners).
Rất (Very)
  • Bộ phim này rất phù hợp với những ai yêu thích thể loại phim tình cảm (This movie is very suitable for those who love the romance genre)

2.2 Adverbs of manner

Adverbs of manner are frequently used to describe how an action is carried out. Used to answer the questions with “How” in English.

Generally standing in the middle or at the end of a sentence, in case placing in the middle, adverbs of manner regularly stand behind verbs or objects.

Verb + adverb of manner

Here are some adverbs of manner which are commonly used in Vietnamese people’s conversation: 

Adverbs of mannerExamples
Cẩn thận (Carefully)
  • Cô ấy làm việc rất cẩn thận (She works very carefully).
Lưu loát (Fluently)
  • Anh ấy nói tiếng Pháp một cách lưu loát (He speaks French fluently).
Hạnh phúc (Happily)
  • Em ấy cười hạnh phúc khi nhận được phần thưởng từ cô giáo (She smiled happily when she received an award from her teacher).
Tốt (Well)
  • Anh ấy đối xử rất tốt với vợ mình (He treats his wife very well).
Bất lịch sự (Impolitely)
  • Anh ấy nói chuyện bất lịch sự với bác bảo vệ (He spoke impolitely to the security guard).
Bất ngờ (Suddenly)
  • Mẹ tôi bất ngờ trở về nhà khi tôi đang ngồi học (My mother suddenly came home while I was studying)
Tức giận, Giận dữ (Angrily)
  • Anh ấy nói chuyện một cách giận dữ với nhân viên (He talks angrily to the staff)

2.3. Adverbs of time

Adverbs of time are used to describe time, actions happened or have been performed, used to answer the questions with “Khi nào?” (When)

Adverbs of time generally stand at the end or at the beginning of the sentence to emphasize time: 

Adverb of time + clause

Clause + Adverb of time 

Here are some adverbs of time that you need to use when communicating with native speakers for your reference: 

Adverbs of timeExamples
Ngay bây giờ (Now, Right now)
  • Tàu hoả sẽ rời khỏi ga ngay bây giờ (The train will leave the station now/ right now).
Hôm qua (Yesterday)
  • Anh ấy vừa từ nước ngoài về hôm qua (He just returned from overseas yesterday).
Ngày mai (Tomorrow)
  • Tôi sẽ có một bài kiểm tra quan trọng vào ngày mai (I will have an important test tomorrow).
Gần đây (Lately, Recently)
  • Gần đây cô ấy có vẻ tăng cân hơn so với trước (She seems to have gained more weight recently/ lately than before).
Cuối cùng (Eventually)
  • Cuối cùng anh ấy đã nghỉ ngơi sau khi làm việc hơn 10 giờ (He eventually rested after working for more than 10 hours).
Sau đó (Then)
  • Tôi đi mua quần áo cho bố mẹ, sau đó sẽ mua giày cho em trai tôi (I’m going to buy clothes for my parents, then I will buy shoes for my brother).
Ngay lập tức (At once)
  • Chiếc ô tô ngay lập tức dừng lại khi thấy có con mèo đi qua đường (The car stopped at once when it saw a cat crossing the road)

2.4. Adverbs of place

Adverbs of place are used to describe the place that things happen, and used to answer the questions with “Ở đâu?” (Where)

Normally, each adverb of place has both a fixed meaning and direction. 

In a sentence, adverbs of time generally stand in the middle, behind the main verb or the clause it modifies.  

Verb/Modified clause + adverb of place

Here are some adverbs of place for your reference: 

Adverbs of placeExamples
Ở đây, Đến đây (Here)
  • Bạn có sống ở đây không? (Do you live here?)
Ở đó, Đến đó (There)
  • Cô ấy đã từng sống ở đó (She used to live there).
Ở gần đây (Nearby)
  • Xin lỗi, cho tôi hỏi có hiệu thuốc nào ở gần đây không? (Excuse me, is there a pharmacy nearby?)
Mọi nơi (Everywhere)
  • Sóng điện thoại đã được phủ sóng ở mọi nơi (Phone waves are covered everywhere).
Bất kỳ đâu (Anywhere)
  • Bạn có thể tìm thấy cửa hàng của KFC ở bất kỳ đâu trên thế giới (You can find a KFC store anywhere in the world).
Trên lầu, Lên lầu (Upstairs)
  • Họ đang làm gì ở trên lầu vậy? (What are they doing upstairs?)
  • Hãy đi lên lên lầu (Please go upstairs).

Note: There are a number of prepositions that can play as adverbs of place, such as: in, on, off, around, behind, inside, up, down, over.

Courses for you:

In this first part, you learned the basics of adverbs in Vietnamese, including their definition, usage, and categorization. Let’s go through part 1 with Jellyfish again and then look forward to part 2 of this article!

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