Bây giờ là trưa, tôi muốn ăn trưa.

I

Breakdown of Bây giờ là trưa, tôi muốn ăn trưa.

• là: to be
• muốn: to want
• bây giờ: now

Questions & Answers about Bây giờ là trưa, tôi muốn ăn trưa.

What does Bây giờ mean and how is it used?

Bây giờ is an adverbial phrase meaning now or right now. You put it at the beginning of a sentence to situate your statement in the present moment.

Why is là used in Bây giờ là trưa?

In Vietnamese, là is the copula “to be.” It links the subject (here Bây giờ) and the predicate noun (trưa). The structure is equivalent to “It is noon now.” In casual speech you can drop là and say “Bây giờ trưa rồi.”

Why does trưa appear twice?

The first trưa names the time of day (“It is noon”). The second is part of the verb phrase ăn trưa, which literally means “eat noon” and idiomatically means “have lunch.”

What exactly does ăn trưa mean?

ăn trưa = to have lunch. Vietnamese typically forms meal expressions by combining ăn (eat) with the meal time: ăn sáng (breakfast), ăn trưa (lunch), ăn tối (dinner).

Why include tôi? Can it be omitted?

tôi is the first-person pronoun “I.” Vietnamese often drops subjects when they’re clear from context, so tôi is optional here. With , it’s unambiguous: “I want to have lunch.”