Vietnamese verbs: one form, many meanings

Vietnamese verbs stay in a single form. They do not change for person, number, or time. This makes verbs feel stable on the surface, while meaning comes from context and surrounding words.

A verb looks the same whether the subject is “I,” “she,” or “they,” and whether it refers to now, before, or later.

How verbs work in sentences

The verb itself does not show tense. Instead, time and aspect are understood from context, time words, or small helper words placed around the verb.

The verb can stand directly as the predicate. There is no need for a linking verb like “to be.”

Tôi đi.
(I go / I’m going.)

Cô ấy đi.
(She goes / She’s going.)

The verb đi stays exactly the same in both sentences.

Time comes from outside the verb

Time is usually clear from the situation or from time expressions, not from changing the verb.

Hôm qua tôi ăn phở.
(Yesterday I ate phở.)

Bây giờ tôi ăn.
(Right now I’m eating.)

Mai tôi ăn phở.
(Tomorrow I’ll eat phở.)

(yep, we eat Phở all day)

The verb ăn does not change. Words like hôm qua, bây giờ, mai guide how the sentence is understood.

Verbs as direct descriptions

Verbs can describe actions or states without any extra linking word.

Tôi chạy nhanh.
(I run fast / I’m running fast.)

Trời mưa.
(It’s raining.)

Here, the verb itself carries the core meaning of the sentence.

Notes

Because verbs do not show tense on their own, Vietnamese relies heavily on context. In conversation, time is often understood without being stated. When needed, speakers add time words or small markers to make things clearer, but the verb form itself stays the same.