[jackbl]

37 – Negative sentence with đâu
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You know how to create a negative sentence with không (no, not) – place it before the verb in the sentence: subject + không + verb/adjective (see # 1 – Basic Sentence)

In Vietnamese, to emphasize that you don’t do something, put đâu at the end of your sentence. There are 3 variations – they’re slightly different from one another.

subject + có + verb/adjective + đâu
The implication is that you don’t have a duty to do something, or someone was supposed to do something, but s/he didn’t do it.

Anh có phải rửa bát đâu!
I (male) có have to wash dishes đâu!
I don’t have to do the dishes! (it’s not my turn today!)

Nó có đi học đâu!
He/she có go to school đâu!
He/she didn’t go to school!
(The kid played truant and his parents are mad that he did not go to school)


subject + không + verb/adjective + đâu
Generally, use this to talk about something you don’t like to do

Em không ăn hành đâu
I don’t eat scalion
I don’t eat scalion (in my Phở because I don’t like it)

Mặc cái áo đó không đẹp đâu
Wear (classifier) shirt that not good-looking
Wearing that shirt doesn’t look good (you shouldn’t wear it)


subject + chưa + verb/adjective + đâu
Chưa means yet in a question (see #29 – chưa – yet – rồi – already), and not yet in a sentence (as in you haven’t done something yet).
Suppose your dog hasn’t been fed, but your sister said she fed him already.

You say

Nó chưa ăn đâu
He not yet eat

Your sister says
Chị cho nó ăn rồi
I (older sister) give him eat already