# Có: do (emphatic) in Vietnamese (A2)

> Có before a verb, said with a little stress, insists that something really happens or happened: Em có đi học mà! I did go to class!

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/co-emphatic/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**do (emphatic)**

Pattern: `[person] + có + [verb] (stressed)`

Level: A2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday · Medium: spoken

Typed without accents: co

*Có* before a verb, said with a little stress, insists that something really happens or happened: *Em có đi học mà!* I did go to class! It's how you answer when someone doubts you, like English "I did" or "I do".

It usually comes up when you put someone right: *Hôm qua em có gọi cho anh, mà anh không nghe máy.* I did call you yesterday, but you didn't pick up. *Mà* at the end often goes with it, adding "I'm telling you": *Chị có nói với anh rồi mà!* I did tell you!

You know *có* + noun as "have" (*có xe*) and *có … không* for questions. Here *có* comes before a verb in a statement. It never means "have to"; that's *phải*. Out of the blue, *Tôi có thích phở* sounds as if someone had doubted it; the plain statement is *Tôi thích phở*.

For the opposite, "but I didn't!", use *có … đâu*: *Em có nói đâu!* I never said that!

In the South you'll also hear *không có* before a verb: *Em không có đi.* I didn't go. It's common in Saigon speech, and can sound a little firmer than plain *không*.

## Examples

- Hôm qua em có gọi cho anh mà. — I did call you yesterday!
- Chị có nói với anh rồi mà! — I did tell you!
- Em có làm bài rồi, cô ơi. — I did do my homework, miss.
- Anh có ăn, nhưng ăn ít thôi. — I did eat, just not much.

## Words in this pattern

- [có](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/co-have/#s_co_did_indeed): did indeed

## Compare

- [Have: có](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/co-have/): have
- [But I didn't! có … đâu, đâu có](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/co-dau-denial/): denying what was said

Previous in Là, có, and how verbs work together: [Called, regarded as: gọi … là, coi … là](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/goi-coi-la/)
Next in Là, có, and how verbs work together: [Doing X is …: a verb phrase as the subject, no 'to' or '-ing' (Học tiếng Việt khó)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/verb-subject/)

---

Add to Vietnamese Buddy: https://app.vietnamesebuddy.com/waitlist?source=grammar%3Au_co_emphatic
In the app, the grammar points from your own class material are kept with their status, and any word you meet while reading can go into your lexicon with its audio, ready to study.