Questions & Answers about Cái áo màu đỏ này rất sạch.
In the sentence Cái áo màu đỏ này rất sạch., where is the English verb “is”? Why is there no là?
Vietnamese often does not use a separate verb “to be” before adjectives.
- Cái áo màu đỏ này rất sạch.
literally: This red shirt very clean.
Here, rất sạch works like a verb phrase meaning “is very clean”.
You would not say Cái áo màu đỏ này là rất sạch in normal speech; that sounds unnatural or emphatic in a weird way.
là is used mainly:
- before nouns/pronouns:
- Đây là áo của tôi. = This is my shirt.
- sometimes in cleft or emphatic structures.
But with a simple adjective (sạch, đẹp, to, nhỏ), Vietnamese normally drops “to be” and just uses the adjective (optionally with rất, lắm, etc.).
What does cái mean in cái áo? Is it necessary?
cái is a classifier (measure word). Vietnamese usually needs a classifier when a common noun refers to a specific, countable thing.
- áo = shirt / clothing in general
- cái áo = the specific shirt (one item)
In this sentence, you’re talking about this particular shirt, so you use a classifier:
- Cái áo màu đỏ này rất sạch. = This red shirt is very clean.