Questions & Answers about Nước mắm ở trên bàn.
Why isn’t there a word for is in this sentence? Shouldn’t it use là?
In Vietnamese, location sentences usually do not use là.
So:
- Nước mắm ở trên bàn. = The fish sauce is on the table.
Here, ở handles the idea of being located somewhere.
Use là for things like:
- Đây là nước mắm. = This is fish sauce.
- Anh ấy là giáo viên. = He is a teacher.
But for location, là would sound wrong here.
So Nước mắm là trên bàn is not natural Vietnamese.
What do ở and trên each mean, and why are both used?
They have different jobs:
- ở = at, in, located at
- trên = on, above
Together, ở trên means something like is located on.
So:
- ở bàn would mean something like at the table
- trên bàn means on the table
- ở trên bàn makes the location relationship extra clear: is on the table
A very literal breakdown is:
- Nước mắm = fish sauce
- ở = located at
- trên bàn = on the table
Can I say Nước mắm trên bàn without ở?