Tôi gấp áo.

I fold the shirt.

Breakdown of Tôi gấp áo.

• tôi: I
• áo: the shirt
• gấp: to fold

Questions & Answers about Tôi gấp áo.

What does each word in Tôi gấp áo. mean?

• Tôi = I
• gấp = fold
• áo = shirt / top / garment for the upper body

So the sentence structure is very straightforward: I + fold + shirt.

Is the word order the same as in English?

Yes. Vietnamese usually uses Subject + Verb + Object, just like English in a simple sentence.

So:

• Tôi = subject
• gấp = verb
• áo = object

That is why Tôi gấp áo. matches English word order very closely.

Why is there no word for a or the before áo?

Vietnamese does not use articles like English a, an, and the.

So áo can mean:

• a shirt
• the shirt
• sometimes just shirt/shirts in a general sense

The exact meaning depends on context.

For example, if the situation is already clear, Tôi gấp áo can naturally mean I’m folding the shirt or I fold shirts.