When to use it
Use it when something you bought is faulty or a service was cancelled and you want your money back.
“How can I get a refund?” — The sentence in English
In “How can I get a refund?” ‘can’ expresses ability, and ‘get a refund’ is the set phrase.
- How
- adverbquestion word asking about the way or manner
- can
- auxiliary verbcan · tense: present · modal verb of ability or permission
- I
- pronounpersonal pronoun, always written with a capital letter
- get
- verbget · form: base form (infinitive without "to") · here it means "obtain"
- a
- determinerindefinite article
- refund
- nounnoun; money given back
“Làm sao để tôi được hoàn tiền?” — The sentence in Vietnamese
In “Làm sao để tôi được hoàn tiền?” ‘làm sao để’ (how, in order to) opens a question about reaching a goal. ‘được’ before ‘hoàn tiền’ (return money) shows the speaker is the one receiving.
- Làm
- verblàm · tense: unmarked · 'do'; làm sao = how
- sao
- pronoun'how', in làm sao
- để
- subordinating conjunction'in order to'
- tôi
- pronoun'I', the one wanting money back
- được
- auxiliary verbđược · tense: unmarked · before a verb: to receive, to get
- hoàn
- verbhoàn · tense: unmarked · 'return'; hoàn tiền = refund
- tiền
- noun'money', given back
English × Vietnamese: What changes from one language to the other
English has the noun ‘refund’; Vietnamese the verb phrase ‘hoàn tiền’, and ‘được’ marks the receiver.
Example conversation
— Làm sao để tôi được hoàn tiền?
— How can I get a refund?
— Anh điền mẫu này, trong một tuần sẽ hoàn tiền.
— Fill in this form and we'll refund you within a week.