Chúng tôi thường ăn tối cùng nhau.

We often have dinner together.

Breakdown of Chúng tôi thường ăn tối cùng nhau.

• ăn: to eat
• thường: often
• chúng tôi: we
• cùng nhau: together

Questions & Answers about Chúng tôi thường ăn tối cùng nhau.

What does “Chúng tôi” mean in this sentence?

Chúng tôi is a way to say we or us in Vietnamese. It’s an exclusive pronoun, meaning it refers to the speaker and at least one other person, but it usually excludes the listener.

Why do we use “thường” here?

thường means usually or often. Its placement after Chúng tôi emphasizes that it’s a habitual action—something that happens regularly.

How would the sentence change if we used “Chúng ta” instead?

Chúng ta is an inclusive pronoun meaning we (including the speaker and the listener). Saying Chúng ta thường ăn tối cùng nhau implies that the speaker is also talking to someone who participates in the dinners, making it clear the listener is involved.

Is “ăn tối” just a literal way of saying “eat evening”?

Yes, in Vietnamese, ăn tối literally means to eat evening, but in context it is understood as to have dinner. Vietnamese often uses ăn (to eat) plus a time-of-day word (e.g., sáng, trưa, tối) to refer to meals.

What does “cùng nhau” mean, and is it necessary?

cùng nhau means together, emphasizing that the action is done collectively. You could drop cùng nhau and say Chúng tôi thường ăn tối and the core meaning would still be We usually have dinner, but adding cùng nhau highlights the idea of doing it as a group.

How does tense work here since I don’t see a past, present, or future marker?

Vietnamese doesn’t use verb conjugations to show tense. Instead, words like đã (for past), đang (for ongoing), or sẽ (for future) can be added if needed. In this sentence, thường already indicates a habitual or repeated present action, so no additional marker is required.