Vietnamese Verb "mua" — to buy

mua

to buy

Type

Action verb

Patterns

6 tense/aspect forms

Simple / Bare Verb

The bare verb with no marker. Context determines whether it refers to present, past, or habitual action.

Simple statement

Structure: Subject + mua

Tôi mua.

I buy / I bought.

Past / Completed (đã)

The marker "đã" before the verb explicitly marks a completed action or past event.

Completed marker: đã

Structure: Subject + đã + mua

Tôi đã mua.

I bought / I have bought.

Progressive (đang)

The marker "đang" expresses an action currently in progress.

Progressive marker: đang

Structure: Subject + đang + mua

Tôi đang mua.

I am buying.

Future (sẽ)

The marker "sẽ" expresses a future action or intention.

Future marker: sẽ

Structure: Subject + sẽ + mua

Tôi sẽ mua.

I will buy.

Negative (không / chưa)

"Không" negates the verb generally. "Chưa" means "not yet" — implying the action may happen later.

Negative marker: không

Structure: Subject + không + mua

Tôi không mua.

I don't buy / I didn't buy.

Not yet marker: chưa

Structure: Subject + chưa + mua

Tôi chưa mua vé.

I haven't bought a ticket yet.

Experience / Other (đã từng / vẫn)

"Đã từng" marks past experience ("have ever done"). "Vẫn" means "still" for ongoing states.

Experience marker: đã từng

Structure: Subject + đã từng + mua

Bạn đã từng mua ở đây chưa?

Have you ever bought (things) here?

Example Sentences

Tôi muốn mua cái này.

I want to buy this.

Bạn mua ở đâu?

Where did you buy it?

Chúng tôi đã mua nhà.

We bought a house.