Online Vietnamese VIETCAFE

In this lesson, we will study the Vietnamese interrogative sentence structure using “có～không?”.

In everyday conversations, questions in the form of “～có～không?” are commonly used. In Lesson 9, we introduced how to use “có～không?” questions to ask about someone’s condition or feelings. In this lesson, we will explore other ways to use this structure in detail.

Basic Structure

Subjects (Nouns or Personal pronouns) + có + Predicates (Verbs or Adjectives) + không?

The word “có” before the Predicates can be omitted.

Example Sentences:

① Thức ăn có ngon không? (Is the food delicious?)

② Anh có hiểu không? (Do you understand?)

③ Anh có nghe được không? (Can you hear?)

④ Chị có biết không? (Do you know?)　

⑤ Mẹ của chị có khỏe không? (Is your mother healthy?)

Adding Complementary Meaning to Sentences

To provide more specific meaning to a sentence, a complement is placed immediately after the predicate (verb or adjective).

Subjects (Nouns or Personal pronouns) + có + Predicates (Verbs or Adjectives) + Complement + không?

Example Sentences:

① Ông có thích món ăn Việt Nam không? (Do you like Vietnamese food?)

② Bạn có nói tiếng Pháp không? (Do you speak French?)

③ Ngày mai, chị có tham gia buổi tiệc không? (Will you attend the party tomorrow?)

Answering Questions

For “có～không?” questions:
✅ Vâng, + (Affirmative sentence)
❌ Không, + (Negative sentence)

Example Conversation:

(Man in his 30s):	Chào em. Em có khỏe không? Hello. Are you well?
(Woman in her 20s):	Chào anh. Vâng, em khỏe. Anh có khỏe không? Hello. Yes, I’m well. How about you?
(Man in his 30s):	Anh không khỏe lắm. I’m not feeling very well.
(Woman in her 20s):	Anh có sao không? What’s wrong?
(Man in his 30s):	Không, anh không sao. No, I’m okay. Anh chỉ cảm nhẹ. I just have a slight cold.
(Woman in her 20s):	Anh giữ sức khỏe nhé! Take care!

Grammar Note:

không + adjective/verb + lắm → “Not very…”

Ex: không hiểu lắm = “Not understand very well”