Ngay (Par 2)

Situations

S1: No one knows Nam is married. Even his close friend Tân doesn't know.

Ngay anh Tân cũng không biết Nam đã có vợ.
(Even Tân doesn't know Nam is married.)

Ngay (combined with cũng) shows that "not knowing" is also true of Tân, which is unexpected.

S2: Mrs. Ba hasn't even traveled to a nearby city.

Bà Ba chưa bao giờ đi xa, ngay Mỹ Tho bà ấy cũng chưa đi.
(Mrs. Ba has never left her hometown; she hasn't even gone to Mỹ Tho.)

Ngay highlights a situation where something expected (going to a nearby place) hasn't happened.

Definition

Ngay, as a particle, is used to express an unusual situation in which something expected to have happened or been known is, in fact, not happened or known.

NOTE: Ngay is often combined with cũng.

  • ngay, cả, chính:
[1a] Ngay tôi cũng không biết. (Even I don't know that - unusual/unexpected.)
[1b] Cả tôi cũng không biết. (I don't know either - inclusive.)
[1c] Chính tôi cũng không biết. (I myself don't know - emphasizing the person.)

Cf. cả (p. 23), chính (p. 49).

  • ngay, kể cả, thậm chí, đến: These words indicate a high degree of surprise or inclusion and can sometimes replace ngay.
[2a] Kể cả tôi cũng không biết.
[2b] Thậm chí tôi cũng không biết.
[2c] Đến tôi cũng không biết.

Kể cả is inclusive and may not always be replaceable with ngay.

Combinations

  • ngay đến... cũng...:
[1] Chuyện ấy, ngay đến tôi cũng không biết.
    (Even I didn't know that.)
  • ngay cả... cũng...:
[2] Chuyện ấy, ngay cả tôi cũng không biết.
    (Even I didn't know that; I should have known.)
  • ngay như... cũng...:
[3] Chuyện ấy, ngay như tôi, tôi cũng không biết.
    (I didn't know that either; take me for example.)