Breakdown of Tôi đã nhận gói hàng hôm qua.
tôi
I
hôm qua
yesterday
đã
(past marker)
nhận
to receive
gói hàng
the package
Questions & Answers about Tôi đã nhận gói hàng hôm qua.
What is the function of đã in this sentence?
đã is the perfective/aspect marker that indicates the action is completed or happened in the past. It doesn’t translate to a single English word but shows that “receiving” is already done. Without đã, the verb would be in a general or present context.
Why is hôm qua placed at the end? Can it go elsewhere?
In Vietnamese you can put time expressions like hôm qua (“yesterday”) at the beginning or end of a sentence.
- At the end: “Tôi đã nhận gói hàng hôm qua.” (common in speech)
- At the beginning: “Hôm qua, tôi đã nhận gói hàng.” (adds emphasis to the time)
Do I need a classifier before gói hàng?
No additional classifier is needed because gói itself is both the noun “package” and the classifier for “package.” If you insert a numeral, you say, for example, một gói hàng (“one package”).
What is the difference between nhận and lấy?
- nhận means “to receive” (something sent or given to you).
- lấy means “to take” or “to pick up” (emphasizes the act of physically collecting).
So if a courier delivers it, you say nhận gói hàng; if you go to the post office yourself, you might say lấy gói hàng.
Can you omit Tôi in this sentence?
Yes. Vietnamese often drops the subject when it’s clear from context. So you could say
- “Đã nhận gói hàng hôm qua.”
in an informal setting. Including Tôi makes it explicitly “I” and is common in writing or more polite speech.
How do you express “I have already received the package” more emphatically?
You can add rồi after the verb or at the end for emphasis:
- “Tôi đã nhận gói hàng rồi.”
This mirrors the English “already” and stresses completion.
Is there any nuance if I say Tôi nhận gói hàng hôm qua without đã?
Dropping đã makes the sentence sound more like a simple narration, less focused on completion:
- “Tôi nhận gói hàng hôm qua” still means “I received the package yesterday,” but omitting đã gives it a more neutral or casual tone, as if you’re listing events.
Why is the word order Subject–Aspect–Verb–Object–Time in this example?
Vietnamese basic word order is S V O. Aspect markers (like đã) come before the verb. Time adverbials are flexible but often follow the object. So:
- Subject: Tôi
- Aspect: đã
- Verb: nhận
- Object: gói hàng
- Time: hôm qua
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