# Verb + mà + verb: to, so as to (spoken) in Vietnamese

> In speech, mà between two verbs can mean "to", in the sense of "and use it to": Con cầm tiền này mà mua sữa. Take this money and buy some milk with it.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/ma-purpose/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**to, so as to (spoken)**

Pattern: `[verb 1] (+ [object]) + mà + [verb 2]`

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

Typed without accents: ma

In speech, *mà* between two verbs can mean "to", in the sense of "and use it to": *Con cầm tiền này mà mua sữa.* Take this money and buy some milk with it. The first verb is about taking, keeping or getting something; the second says what it's for.

You'll hear it mostly in offers and requests, when you hand someone something and tell them what to do with it: *Anh lấy dù của em mà đi.* Take my umbrella (in Hà Nội, *ô*). It sounds warm and practical, the voice of a parent or an older friend. About yourself it's rare: with *tôi* or *em* doing the action, *để* sounds more natural.

*Để* is the general word for "to, in order to", and it fits writing too: *Tôi học tiếng Việt để nói chuyện với ba mẹ vợ.* *Mà* is casual, joins two verbs that sit close together, and never opens a sentence the way *để* can.

*Mà* in the middle of a sentence can also mean "but, and yet". There, the two parts pull against each other; here, the second verb simply says what the first is for.

## Examples

- Con cầm tiền này mà mua sữa. — Take this money and buy some milk.
- Saigon: Anh lấy dù của em mà đi. | Hà Nội: Anh lấy ô của em mà đi. — Take my umbrella.
- Bánh còn nhiều, em lấy về mà ăn. — There's lots of cake left, take some home to eat.
- Saigon: Chị cho em mượn cuốn sách này mà đọc. | Hà Nội: Chị cho em mượn quyển sách này mà đọc. — I'll lend you this book to read.

## Words in this pattern

- [mà](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/words/ma-but/#s_ma_so_that): so that

## Compare

- [In order to: để](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/de-purpose/): in order to / so that
- [But (unexpectedly), and yet: mà](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/ma-but-unexpected/): but / yet

Previous in Linking ideas: [Or in statements: A hoặc B](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/hoac-or/)
Next in Linking ideas: [And so, so then: vậy là / thế là](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/the-la-so-then/)

---

Add to Vietnamese Buddy: https://app.vietnamesebuddy.com/waitlist?source=grammar%3Au_ma_purpose
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.