# Hearing this, seeing that in Vietnamese (B2)

> Vietnamese can open a sentence with a short verb phrase and no linking word: Nghe tin, cô ấy khóc. Hearing the news, she cried.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/fronted-verb-phrase/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**on hearing / seeing …, the subject …**

Pattern: `[verb phrase], [subject] + [verb 2] · Thấy + [sentence], [subject] + (liền) + [verb]`

Level: B2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Vietnamese can open a sentence with a short verb phrase and no linking word: *Nghe tin, cô ấy khóc.* Hearing the news, she cried. The first action happens just before the second, or it's the reason for it, and the same person does both. English uses an -ing phrase or "when"; Vietnamese simply puts the verb phrase first, then a comma, the subject and the main verb.

*Thấy* (see, notice) is the most common opener, and a whole sentence can follow it: *Thấy trời mưa, tôi ở nhà luôn.* Seeing it was raining, I just stayed home. The one who sees is still the subject after the comma: *Thấy mẹ về, thằng nhỏ chạy ra cửa.* Other everyday openers are *nghe* (hear), *về tới nhà* (getting home) and a verb with *xong* (finished): *Ăn cơm xong, tụi mình đi coi phim nha.*

To show the second action came at once, add *liền* (right away). In stories it goes before the second verb, *liền chạy ra*; in Saigon speech it more often comes at the end, *chạy ra liền*.

News reports use the pattern all the time: *Nhận được tin báo, lực lượng cứu hộ …* On receiving the report, the rescue team …

*Khi* (when) and *sau khi* (after) say the link outright: *Khi nghe tin, cô ấy khóc* means the same, a little more spelled out. The bare verb phrase is tighter, and it suggests the second action follows directly from the first. Keep the opener short; a long one reads better with *khi* or *sau khi*.

## Examples

- Saigon: Nghe tin bà ngoại bệnh, chị Lan bỏ hết công việc về quê liền. | Hà Nội: Nghe tin bà ngoại ốm, chị Lan bỏ hết công việc về quê ngay. — When she heard her grandmother was ill, Lan dropped everything and went straight home to the countryside.
- Thấy trời mưa, tôi ở nhà luôn. — Seeing it was raining, I just stayed home.
- Saigon: Thấy mẹ về, thằng nhỏ chạy ra cửa. | Hà Nội: Thấy mẹ về, thằng bé chạy ra cửa. — When he saw his mum coming home, the little boy ran to the door.
- Saigon: Ăn cơm xong, tụi mình đi coi phim nha. | Hà Nội: Ăn cơm xong, bọn mình đi xem phim nhé. — Let's go and see a film after we eat.
- Nhận được tin báo, lực lượng cứu hộ đã có mặt sau 15 phút. — On receiving the report, the rescue team arrived within 15 minutes.

## Compare

- [When: khi … (thì)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/khi-when/): when (+ sentence)
- [Before and after doing: trước khi / sau khi](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/truoc-khi-sau-khi/): before / after (+ action)
- [Doing X is …: a verb phrase as the subject, no 'to' or '-ing' (Học tiếng Việt khó)](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/verb-subject/): verb as subject
- [Finished doing: verb + xong](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/xong-finished/): finish doing

Previous in Là, có, and how verbs work together: [Happen, take place: xảy ra, diễn ra, with the event after the verb](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/xay-ra-dien-ra/)
Next in Là, có, and how verbs work together: [là before an adjective for emphasis or in formal writing](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/la-adj-emphatic/)

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