No sooner … than: vừa … đã, chưa … đã

no sooner … than

Pattern: [person] + vừa (mới) / chưa + [verb 1] + (person 2) + đã + [verb 2] · vừa + [verb 1] + thì + [verb 2] (just as)

B2 · estimate

Typed without accents: vua … da, chua … da, vua … thi

Vừa … đã says the second thing came almost at once after the first, like English "no sooner … than" or "had barely … when": Thằng nhỏ vừa ăn xong đã đòi đi chơi, the little boy had barely finished eating when he asked to go out and play. Vừa (or vừa mới) goes before the first verb, đã before the second. With two people, the second person goes before đã: Anh vừa tới, chị ấy đã về, no sooner had I arrived than she left.

Chưa … đã goes a step further: the second thing happened before the first was even done. Chưa tới giờ mở cửa đã thấy khách xếp hàng, before opening time there was already a queue. Both often carry surprise or a mild complaint: too soon, too fast.

Mới … đã is common in speech for something that comes earlier than expected: Mới đầu tháng mà em đã hết tiền, it's only the start of the month and I'm already out of money.

When the second thing simply happened at that moment, often something nobody planned, use vừa … thì: Em vừa ra khỏi nhà thì trời đổ mưa, I'd just stepped out when it started pouring.

All of these are everyday in speech, and news reports use them too for events that followed quickly.

Examples

Highlighted words are what Saigon and Hà Nội say differently.

  • Saigon

    Thằng nhỏ vừa ăn xong đã đòi đi chơi.

    Hà Nội

    Thằng bé vừa ăn xong đã đòi đi chơi.

    The little boy had barely finished eating when he asked to go out and play.

  • Saigon

    Chưa tới giờ mở cửa đã thấy khách xếp hàng dài.

    Hà Nội

    Chưa đến giờ mở cửa đã thấy khách xếp hàng dài.

    Before opening time there was already a long queue of customers.

  • Mới đầu tháng mà em đã hết tiền.

    It's only the start of the month and I'm already out of money.

  • Em vừa ra khỏi nhà thì trời đổ mưa.

    I'd just stepped out of the house when it started pouring.

Compare

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