Đã (Adv)

Situations

S1: Hoa saw a beautiful hat. She wanted to buy it. Her husband said:

Mũ à? Tuần trước em đã mua một cái rồi mà!
(A hat? You bought one last week!)

In this situation, đã is used to indicate that the action mua (buy / bought) is completed.

S2: Mr. Năm had been a driver. This year he is 80 years old and cannot drive anymore.

Ông Năm đã già, không lái xe được nữa.
(Mr. Năm is already old and cannot drive anymore.)

Đã here indicates that the state of being già (old) exists from before the time of speaking, and the fact is that Mr. Năm is now an old man.

S3: John is going back to his homeland. He is very homesick, he says:

Giờ này tuần sau tôi đã ở nhà rồi.
(I will have arrived home by this time next week.)

Đã here indicates the event which is completed before the point of "by this time next week".

Definition

Đã, as an adverb, is used to indicate what happened before a certain point of time. (Normally, this point of time, if not marked by a specific time, will be considered as the present time.)

  • Đã and rồi: Đã, rồi both indicate an event, a state or an action that is completed before a certain point of time. They can be used interchangeably or as a combination đã ... rồi. However, their meaning is different:
    • Rồi is used to emphasize the completion of an event that seems farther away in the past.
    • Cf:
[1a] Ăn cơm chưa? - Ăn rồi.
     (Have you eaten? - I have.)
     (The action of eating came to an end.)
[1b] Ăn cơm chưa? - Đã ăn.
     (Did you eat? - I did.)
     (The action of eating is done.)
  • Rồi usually goes with certain adjectives (đẹp, ốm, già, ngon...) to indicate a quality or state.
  • Cf:
[2a] Nấu như thế này ngon rồi.
     (Cooking like this is tasty already.)
[2b] *Nấu như thế này đã ngon.
  • Đã can also be combined with these adjectives, but this way of speaking expresses a different meaning from the construction adjective + rồi:
  • Cf:
[3a] Nấu như thế này, đối với tôi đã là ngon lắm!
     (Cooking like this, according to me, is very good!)
     (No further additions or requirements.)
[3b] Nấu như thế này, đối với tôi là ngon lắm rồi!
     (Cooking like this, according to me, is very good!)
     (The requirements are satisfied.)

Cf. rồi1 (p. 327).

  • Đã, đang: Because đã expresses the reality of the event, in many cases it can be replaced with đang. Cf:
[4a] Bây giờ đang là mùa mưa.
     (It is now the rainy season.)
[4b] Bây giờ đã là mùa mưa.
     (It is already the rainy season.)

Cf. đang (p. 119).

Combinations

  • đã (...) còn (...):
[1] Bà ấy đã già, lại còn hay bệnh nữa.
    (She is already old and, furthermore, she often falls sick.)
  • đã ... lại càng ...:
[2] Trời đã mưa, lại càng lạnh thêm.
    (It was already raining and, moreover, it became even colder.)
  • chưa ... đã ...:
[3] Anh ta chưa học đã muốn đi làm.
    (He hasn't studied yet but already wants to work.)
  • ... đã ... lại ...:
[4] Nó đã nghèo, lại còn lười nữa.
    (He is already poor and, furthermore, he is lazy too.)
  • ... xong (...) đã: Done / finished ... first.
[5] Ăn xong đã rồi hãy nói chuyện.
    (Finish your dinner first, then talk later.)

The particle đã here is placed at the end of the first clause to indicate the requirement that the first action must be done before the following action starts.

Notes

  • In the Vietnamese language, đã is not used to express past time (tense). Therefore, it is necessary to choose carefully when to use (or not to use) đã when translating from Vietnamese to English or vice-versa. Cf:
[5a] Anh khỏe không? - Cảm ơn, tôi khỏe.
     (How are you? - Thanks, I'm fine.)
[5b] Anh đã khỏe chưa? - Cảm ơn, tôi đã khỏe.
     (Are you feeling better? - Thanks, I feel better.)

(Before I was not well, but now I am no longer ill.)

[6a] Ông ấy là giám đốc.
     (He is a director.)
[6b] Ông ấy đã là giám đốc.
     (He became (and now is) a director.)
  • To determine time, we often use words indicating time like hôm qua (yesterday), tuần trước (last week)... (especially when the context is not clear) without using đã. Cf:
[7a] Tối hôm qua, tôi đã gọi cho cô ấy.
     (I did call her yesterday evening.)
[7b] Tối hôm qua tôi gọi cho cô ấy.
     (I called her yesterday evening.)
[7c] (Anh gọi cho cô ấy chưa?) - Tôi đã gọi, nhưng không có ai trả lời.
     ((Did you call her yet?) - Yes, I did, but nobody answered.)

Đã is used to indicate the reality / status quo, while the words indicating time cannot be substituted for đã. In many situations, đã cannot be exchanged for time words (for example, when đã is followed by a verb indicating a state or quality). Cf:

[8a] Tôi đã yêu anh ấy.
     (I have been / am in love with him.)
[8b] Tháng trước tôi yêu anh ấy.
     (I loved him last month.)
[9a] Bố tôi đã yếu lắm.
     (My father has been / is very weak.)
[9b] Năm ngoái bố tôi yếu lắm.
     (Last year, my father was very weak.)