# Ai … người ấy: whoever / however … that in Vietnamese

> A question word can appear in the first half of a sentence and be picked up by a pointing word in the second, giving "whoever …, that person …" or…

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/qword-correlative/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**whoever / however … that**

Pattern: `Ai + [verb] (thì) người đó + [verb] · [verb] + [noun] nào (thì) [verb] + [noun] đó · … sao, … vậy`

Level: B2 (our estimate) · Register: everyday

Typed without accents: ai … nguoi ay, sao … vay, dau … day

Saigon: sao … vậy | Hà Nội: thế nào … thế ấy

Variants:

- ai nấy (đều) + [verb] (everyone, frequent in news)

A question word can appear in the first half of a sentence and be picked up by a pointing word in the second, giving "whoever …, that person …" or "whichever …, that one". *Ai đến trước thì người đó vào trước* (whoever comes first goes in first). *Em thích cái nào thì lấy cái đó* (take whichever one you like). The first half sets the condition, usually followed by *thì*; the second points back with *người đó*, *cái đó* or *chỗ đó*. In writing and in Hà Nội, *ấy* often replaces *đó*: *người ấy*, *cái ấy*.

With *sao* (how), the partner is *vậy*: *Thầy nói sao, em làm vậy* (I'll do exactly as you say). In Hà Nội you'll also hear *thế nào … thế ấy*.

A few short versions are fixed sayings, with *nấy* as the pointing word: *Ai làm nấy chịu* (whoever does it answers for it), *muốn gì được nấy* (get whatever you want). *Đâu ra đó* means "everything in its place": *Mọi việc đâu ra đó rồi* (everything's sorted). In Hà Nội, *đâu vào đấy*.

On its own, *ai nấy* means "everyone, each and every one", and it turns up in the news as well as in speech: *Ai nấy đều vui* (everyone was happy).

To say "anyone at all" without a second half, use *ai cũng*: *Ai cũng vào được* (anyone can go in). The doubled pattern is for when the second half depends on the first.

## Examples

- Ai đến trước thì người đó được chọn chỗ trước. — Whoever arrives first gets first pick of the seats.
- Em thích cái nào thì lấy cái đó. — Take whichever one you like.
- Thầy nói sao, em làm vậy. — I'll do exactly as you say. (to a man teacher)
- Hết Tết, ai nấy đều quay lại thành phố đi làm. — After Tết, everyone headed back to the city to work.

## Compare

- [Everyone, everything, always: ai cũng, gì cũng, lúc nào cũng](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/qword-cung-every/): every- / any-

Previous in Asking questions: [Who all, what all: những ai, những gì](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/nhung-qword-plural/)

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