từng is used when speakers want to say that something happened before in the past, and that experience is relevant now.
Speakers use từng to point to at least one real past occurrence, without saying exactly when or how many times.
The focus is on having the experience, not on time.
Speakers use từng to say they have done something before.
[1] – Tôi từng sống ở Hà Nội. I have lived in Hanoi before.
[2] – Mình từng gặp anh ấy rồi. I’ve met him before.
từng often explains why someone knows something or can do something now.
[3] – Cô ấy từng làm giáo viên. She used to work as a teacher. / She has worked as a teacher before.
[4] – Anh từng học tiếng Pháp, nên hiểu một chút. He studied French before, so he understands a bit.
Speakers use từng to refer to a past situation that may be different from now.
[5] – Nơi này từng rất đông. This place used to be very crowded.
[6] – Hai người từng rất thân. They used to be very close.
từng vs đã
– từng: focuses on past experience at least once – đã: marks past time or completed action
[7a] – Tôi từng ăn món này. I have eaten this dish before (experience).
[7b] – Tôi đã ăn món này rồi. I already ate this dish (completed action).
từng vs xưa / trước đây
– từng: highlights experience, not time – xưa / trước đây: focus on a past period
[8a] – Anh ấy từng rất nghèo. He used to be very poor.
[8b] – Trước đây, anh ấy rất nghèo. In the past, he was very poor.
• từng is placed before the verb or adjective.
• Often used in spoken and written Vietnamese.
• Does not specify when the experience happened.
• Often implies “not necessarily true now”.
• Commonly used with rồi, but rồi is optional.
• từng + verb
– từng đi nước ngoài have been abroad before
• từng + adjective
– từng rất nổi tiếng used to be very famous
• từng … rồi
– Tôi từng nghe chuyện này rồi. I’ve heard this story before.
từng points backward once, then looks at the present: “this happened before, and it matters now.”