Họ nói rằng cuộc phỏng vấn bắt đầu sớm.

Họ usually means they. In this sentence, it refers to some group of people who said something.

Like English they, họ can sometimes be vague:

• Họ nói rằng... = They say that...
• In some contexts, it can feel a bit like people say...

So the exact reference depends on context.

Rằng means that in the sense of introducing reported speech or a clause:

• Họ nói rằng cuộc phỏng vấn bắt đầu sớm.
• They said that the interview started early.

You do not always have to use it. In everyday Vietnamese, it is often omitted:

• Họ nói cuộc phỏng vấn bắt đầu sớm.

Both are correct. Rằng sounds a bit more formal or written.

Cuộc is a noun classifier-like word often used for events, activities, or occurrences.

So:

• phỏng vấn = interview / to interview, depending on context
• cuộc phỏng vấn = the interview event

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about the event itself, so cuộc phỏng vấn is very natural.

Similar examples:

• cuộc họp = meeting
• cuộc thi = competition
• cuộc trò chuyện = conversation

Yes. Phỏng vấn can be both:

• a noun: interview
• a verb: to interview

Examples:

• Cuộc phỏng vấn bắt đầu sớm. = The interview started early.
• Họ phỏng vấn cô ấy hôm qua. = They interviewed her yesterday.

Vietnamese often uses the same word in more than one grammatical role, and context tells you which meaning is intended.

The word order is very similar to English:

• cuộc phỏng vấn = the interview
• bắt đầu = start / begin
• sớm = early

So literally:

• the interview began early

Vietnamese commonly follows:

• Subject + Verb + Adverb/Complement

Here:

• cuộc phỏng vấn = subject
• bắt đầu = verb
• sớm = adverb-like word describing when it started

It can mean either early or soon, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• bắt đầu sớm = start early

Examples:

• Tôi dậy sớm. = I wake up early.
• Hẹn gặp lại sớm. = See you soon.

So sớm is a flexible time word, and the surrounding words tell you how to understand it.

Vietnamese often does not mark tense the way English does. Time is usually understood from context, or from time words and particles.

So:

• bắt đầu can mean start, started, or will start, depending on context.

If you want to make past time clearer, you could say:

• Họ nói rằng cuộc phỏng vấn đã bắt đầu sớm.

Here đã marks past/completed action.

But without đã, the original sentence is still perfectly normal if the context already makes the time clear.

Sometimes in casual speech, people do say nói là. For example:

• Họ nói là cuộc phỏng vấn bắt đầu sớm.

This is common in spoken Vietnamese.

But:

• rằng is more formal and more traditionally tied to reported speech
• là is more conversational in this pattern

So both may be heard, but rằng is especially appropriate in careful or written Vietnamese.

Not always. It can mean:

• they said that...
• people say that...
• it is said that... in a looser sense

So the phrase can be either:

1. a specific report about what some people said, or
2. a general hearsay expression

Context decides which reading is intended.

Vietnamese does not use articles like the and a/an the way English does.

So:

• cuộc phỏng vấn can mean the interview or an interview, depending on context

If the interview is already known in the conversation, English will often translate it as the interview. Vietnamese simply relies on context rather than an article.

Sometimes yes, but the meaning or style may change.

• Họ nói rằng cuộc phỏng vấn bắt đầu sớm.
  This clearly refers to the interview event.

• Họ nói rằng phỏng vấn bắt đầu sớm.
  This is less natural in many contexts, because phỏng vấn without cuộc can sound more like the activity of interviewing in general, not a specific interview event.

So for a specific scheduled interview, cuộc phỏng vấn is the safer and more natural choice.

A very natural spoken version would be:

• Họ nói cuộc phỏng vấn bắt đầu sớm.

This drops rằng, which is common in conversation.

Depending on context, a speaker might also say:

• Nghe nói cuộc phỏng vấn bắt đầu sớm. = I heard the interview started early.
• Người ta nói cuộc phỏng vấn bắt đầu sớm. = People say the interview started early.

So the original sentence is correct, but everyday speech often becomes a bit shorter.