Learn Hardcore Vietnamese: Anh có muốn xem phim thú vị này với gia đình tôi không? - Do you want to watch this interesting movie with my family?

In Vietnamese, personal pronouns change based on age, gender and relative status. Anh literally means “older brother,” but as a pronoun it’s used to address a male slightly older than the speaker (or of a respectful status). Bạn is more neutral (“friend/you”) and suits people of the same age or status. If you were speaking to a female older than you, you’d use chị instead of anh.

How does the có … không structure form a yes-no question here?

Vietnamese often wraps the main verb or predicate with có at the beginning and không at the end to signal “yes or no.” So
• Anh có muốn … không?
literally “You have wanting … or not?” = “Do you want …?”
You can also simply add không at the end (Anh muốn xem … không?), but có … không feels slightly more formal or emphatic.

Why is thú vị placed after phim rather than before, as in English “interesting movie”?

In Vietnamese, adjectives normally follow the nouns they modify. The order is noun + adjective, so phim thú vị means “movie interesting.” In English, adjectives precede nouns, but Vietnamese flips that order.

Where does the demonstrative này (“this”) go, and why is it after phim thú vị?

Demonstratives like này, đó, kia always come after the noun (and any adjective). The full sequence is:
noun → adjective → demonstrative
Hence phim (movie) → thú vị (interesting) → này (this) = phim thú vị này (“this interesting movie”).

Why is it gia đình tôi instead of tôi gia đình or của tôi gia đình?

Vietnamese indicates possession simply by placing the possessor after the possessed noun:
X Y = “X of Y”
So gia đình tôi = “family of me” = “my family.” You can insert của for emphasis or formality (gia đình của tôi), but it’s optional in everyday speech.

Can I omit the first có and just say Anh muốn xem phim thú vị này với gia đình tôi không?

Yes. Dropping có yields Anh muốn … không?, which is perfectly natural in casual conversation. Including có is not grammatically mandatory with muốn, but some speakers use it to soften or emphasize the question.

What’s the difference between với and cùng when saying “with”?

Both mean “together with” or “accompanied by,” but:
• với is neutral and marks simple accompaniment (“with my family”).
• cùng can feel a bit more formal or literary, emphasizing a joint activity (“together with”).
You could say xem phim cùng gia đình tôi and it’s still correct.

How would you make this sentence more formal or polite?

For a very formal tone, you might:
• Replace Anh with ông (sir/Mr.) if speaking to an older man.
• Use cùng instead of với.
• Add the classifier bộ before phim.
Putting it together:
Ông có muốn xem bộ phim thú vị này cùng gia đình của tôi không?