# Đã: did / has done in Vietnamese (A1)

> Vietnamese verbs never change for time. Tôi ăn can mean "I eat" or "I ate"; the situation, or a time word, tells you which.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/da-past/ · Updated 2026-11-10

**did / has done**

Pattern: `[person] + đã + [verb or adjective]`

Level: A1 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: da

Vietnamese verbs never change for time. *Tôi ăn* can mean "I eat" or "I ate"; the situation, or a time word, tells you which. *Đã* before the verb says clearly that it happened, or has happened: *Tôi đã đặt bàn.* I've booked a table.

You don't need *đã* in every past sentence. When a time word already says when, people usually leave it out: *Hôm qua tôi đi Vũng Tàu.* Use *đã* when nothing else shows it's past, or to stress that it really did happen.

In everyday speech, especially in the South, *rồi* at the end is the more common way to say "already": *Tôi ăn rồi.* The two often go together: *Em đã gửi email rồi.* Before an adjective, *đã* means something has become so: *Em đã khỏe hơn rồi.* I'm feeling better now.

*Đã* can't stand alone as an answer: for "yes, I have", use *rồi*. For "not yet", use *chưa*. For "didn't", *không* before the verb is usually enough, with no *đã*: *Hôm qua tôi không đi làm.* For something that has only just happened, use *vừa* or *mới*: *Tôi mới về.* *Đang* and *sẽ* do the same job as *đã* for now and for later. At the very end of a sentence, *đã* means something else, "first": *Chờ chút đã.* Wait a moment first.

## A common mistake

✗ Dạ, em đã.

✓ Dạ, em ăn rồi.

*Đã* as "already" can't stand alone as an answer. To say "yes, I have", use *rồi*: *ăn rồi*, or just *Rồi*.

## Examples

- Tôi đã đặt bàn cho bốn người. — I've booked a table for four.
- Hôm qua tôi đi Vũng Tàu. — I went to Vũng Tàu yesterday.
- Em đã gửi email cho chị rồi. — I've already sent you the email.
- Em đã khỏe hơn rồi. — I'm feeling better now.
- Hôm qua tôi không đi làm. — I didn't go to work yesterday.

## Words in this pattern

- [đã](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/da-past/#lx_da_past): in the past

## Compare

- [Saying it is happening now: đang](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/dang-ongoing/): is doing
- [Saying it will happen: sẽ](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/se-future/): will
- [Just happened: vừa / mới / vừa mới](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/vua-moi-just/): has just
- [No đã or sẽ needed when a time word says when](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/time-word-no-marker/): time from time words
- [Already: … rồi, and Rồi as the yes to 'yet?'](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/roi-already/): already
- [Where không goes with đã, đang, sẽ](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/negation-tense-order/): negation with time words

Previous in Time and when things happen: [Often: hay before the verb, and có hay … không?](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/hay-often/)
Next in Time and when things happen: [Saying it is happening now: đang](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/dang-ongoing/)

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