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Questions & Answers about Tôi sẽ đi chợ vào cuối tuần.
What is the function of sẽ in this sentence?
sẽ is the basic future-tense marker in Vietnamese, equivalent to English “will.” You insert sẽ right after the subject (here Tôi) to indicate you’re talking about something that will happen later.
Why is vào used before cuối tuần?
vào is a preposition used to indicate “at” or “in” when referring to periods of time (e.g. vào buổi sáng, vào tháng 5, vào cuối tuần). You need vào to link the verb phrase đi chợ with the time expression cuối tuần.
What does đi chợ specifically mean? Could I say đi siêu thị instead?
đi chợ literally means “go to the market,” and it usually implies buying groceries at a traditional or open-air market. đi siêu thị means “go to the supermarket” (a modern grocery store). Use whichever fits your shopping context.
Can I omit Tôi and just say Sẽ đi chợ vào cuối tuần?
Yes. Vietnamese often drops the subject pronoun when it’s clear from context. So in a conversation where it’s obvious you’re talking about yourself, Sẽ đi chợ vào cuối tuần is perfectly natural.
How do I pronounce sẽ and chợ? They look tricky with those diacritics.
- sẽ carries the ngã tone (like a rising–falling creak): approximately “seh” with a quick bump in the middle.
- chợ carries the hỏi tone (a dipping tone): “chuh?” starting mid, dipping low, then rising.
Listen to native speakers or use an app to fine-tune those tonal contours.
Why is it cuối tuần and not tuần cuối for “weekend”?
In Vietnamese the fixed collocation for “weekend” is cuối tuần (literally “end of week”). Saying tuần cuối generally means “the last week” of some period (e.g. the final week of the month or year).
Can I place the time phrase at the beginning, like Cuối tuần tôi sẽ đi chợ?
Absolutely. Vietnamese word order for time is flexible. You can say:
• Tôi sẽ đi chợ vào cuối tuần.
• Cuối tuần tôi sẽ đi chợ.
• Vào cuối tuần tôi sẽ đi chợ.
All mean essentially the same thing.
Does vào cuối tuần refer only to this coming weekend, or to weekends in general?
By itself, vào cuối tuần is a bit general and can mean “at the weekend” (habitually or next). If you want to specify this weekend, add này: vào cuối tuần này. For “every weekend,” you’d say cuối tuần nào cũng… or hàng cuối tuần.
What’s the difference between sẽ and định when talking about the future?
- sẽ simply marks the future (“will do”).
- định expresses intention or plan (“intend to do”).
So Tôi sẽ đi chợ = “I will go to the market,” while Tôi định đi chợ = “I intend/plan to go to the market” (possibly less certain).