Lesson 5: Adjectives as stative verbs (states)

In Vietnamese, describing a person or an object is remarkably straightforward. You don't need to juggle different forms of the verb "to be" (am, is, are) because the descriptive words themselves already do that work for you. We call these stative verbs because they describe a state of being rather than an action.

No “to be,” no là

Because words like đẹp (beautiful), cao (tall), or mệt (tired) already include the meaning of “is / am / are” (or: the “to be” meaning is already inside the adjective), you do not use là. “Subject + adjective” is already a complete sentence.

Em đẹp.
(You’re beautiful.)

Cô ấy cao.
(She’s tall.)

Trà nóng.
(The tea is hot.)

Using là here (Em là đẹp) sounds unnatural, because nothing extra is needed to link the subject and the description.

States, not actions

These words describe how someone or something is, not what they are doing.

Em đói.
(I’m hungry.) → a state

Em ăn.
(I eat / I’m eating.) → an action

Even though they feel different in English, Vietnamese treats both in a similar sentence pattern.

Negation works like verbs

Adjectives are negated directly with không, just like verbs.

Cô ấy không mệt.
(She isn’t tired.)

Phòng này không lớn.
(This room isn’t big.)

Nothing changes in the adjective itself; không simply comes before it.

Topic–comment feel

Often, the sentence feels like “as for X, here’s how it is.” The adjective functions as the comment about the topic.

Trời lạnh.
(It’s cold.)

Tiếng Việt khó.
(Vietnamese is difficult.)

The description alone completes the idea. No object is needed.

Note: These adjective sentences are naturally simple and complete on their own. In real speech, speakers may add small words for emphasis or tone, but the core pattern stays the same: the adjective directly describes the subject, without là and without changing form.