Learn Hardcore Vietnamese: Tôi sửa máy tính cũ trước khi gửi email. - I fix the old computer before sending an email.

In Vietnamese, attributive adjectives typically follow the noun they describe. So máy tính cũ literally means “computer old.” Placing cũ before máy tính (as in English “old computer”) would be ungrammatical.

What does trước khi do in this sentence?

trước khi is a subordinator meaning “before.” It links two actions, showing that the first action (sửa máy tính cũ) happens prior to the second (gửi email). You’ll often see it followed by a verb phrase in its base form, as here with gửi email.

How do we know this happened in the past? There’s no tense marker like in English.

Vietnamese does not conjugate verbs for tense. Time is inferred from context or added words. If you want to make the past explicit, you can insert đã before the verb: Tôi đã sửa máy tính cũ… Likewise, sẽ indicates future.

Can I move trước khi gửi email to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Vietnamese allows fronting time or adverbial clauses. You can say:
Trước khi gửi email, tôi sửa máy tính cũ.
This is perfectly grammatical and sometimes more formal or emphatic.

What exactly does sửa mean? Can I use it with other nouns?

sửa means “to fix,” “to repair,” or “to mend.” It’s a transitive verb, so you can fix various things:
• sửa xe (fix a bike/car)
• sửa quần áo (mend clothes)
• sửa bài (revise/edit a piece of writing)

Why is email not translated into Vietnamese?

Many modern or technical terms are borrowed directly from English in everyday Vietnamese. While thư điện tử is the formal Vietnamese term for “email,” email is far more common in speech and informal writing.

I notice there’s no classifier between máy tính and cũ. When do classifiers appear?

Classifiers are required when you quantify or specify a noun (e.g., with numbers or demonstratives). Here máy tính cũ is an unquantified noun phrase. If you wanted “an old computer,” you could say một chiếc máy tính cũ or chiếc máy tính cũ.

What if I add đã to make the past clearer, like Tôi đã sửa máy tính cũ trước khi gửi email? Does it change the meaning?

Adding đã simply marks that the action is completed in the past. Without đã, the sentence can still imply past because of context. With đã, there’s no ambiguity: “I had fixed the old computer before sending the email.”

Is it okay to drop Tôi and just say Sửa máy tính cũ trước khi gửi email?

Yes, subject pronouns can be omitted when context makes the subject clear. In conversation or notes, Sửa máy tính cũ trước khi gửi email is fine. In formal writing or when you need clarity, keep Tôi.

What is the basic word order in this Vietnamese sentence?

It follows the Subject–Verb–Object pattern, same as English:
Subject: Tôi
Verb: sửa
Object: máy tính cũ
Then comes the time clause: trước khi gửi email.