# Vừa qua: recent / upcoming in Vietnamese (B2)

> News and official reports mark time relative to now with vừa qua for the period just ended, and tới or sắp tới for the one about to start.

Source: https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/vua-qua-toi/ · Updated 2026-10-17

**recent / upcoming**

Pattern: `[period] + vừa qua · trong thời gian tới · [period] + tới`

Level: B2 (our estimate) · Register: formal

Typed without accents: vua qua, thoi gian toi

News and official reports mark time relative to now with *vừa qua* for the period just ended, and *tới* or *sắp tới* for the one about to start.

*Vừa qua* (just past) goes after a period: *tuần vừa qua* (this past week), *tháng 9 vừa qua* (this past September), *năm vừa qua* (the past year). *Thời gian vừa qua* means "recently, over the past while". At the start of a news item, *Vừa qua* alone means "recently": *Vừa qua, Sở Y tế đã …* Recently, the Department of Health …

*Tới* goes after a period for "next, coming": *tuần tới*, *tháng tới*, *năm tới*. *Sắp tới* (upcoming) is vaguer: *kỳ nghỉ lễ sắp tới* (the upcoming holiday). *Trong thời gian tới* (in the coming period) is the stock phrase of government plans: action promised, with no fixed date.

*Vừa qua* fits official writing better than *trước*: a report says *tháng vừa qua*, while in conversation people say *tháng trước*. *Tuần tới* and *tháng tới* are everyday as well as written, alongside *tuần sau* and *tháng sau*; *trong thời gian tới* is the one that marks an official text.

Don't confuse *vừa qua* with *vừa* before a verb, which means "have just": *Sở vừa công bố …* The department has just announced … *Vừa qua* comes after a time word, or at the start.

## Examples

- Trong tuần vừa qua, giá rau xanh tại các chợ đầu mối tăng mạnh. — Over the past week, vegetable prices at wholesale markets rose sharply.
- Tháng 9 vừa qua, thành phố đón gần 800.000 lượt khách quốc tế. — This past September, the city welcomed nearly 800,000 international visitors.
- Trong thời gian tới, Bộ sẽ tiếp tục rà soát các thủ tục hành chính. — In the coming period, the ministry will continue to review administrative procedures.
- Dự báo trong tuần tới, Nam Bộ có mưa rào và dông vào chiều tối. — Over the coming week, the South is forecast to have showers and thunderstorms in the late afternoon and evening.

## Compare

- [This, last, next: tuần này, tuần trước, tuần sau](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/this-last-next/): this / last / next period

Previous in News, official and academic writing: [The following, below: sau đây, dưới đây](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/sau-day/)
Next in News, official and academic writing: [Through, by way of: thông qua](https://vietnamesebuddy.com/grammar/thong-qua/)

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