When to use it
Use it when signing up for a cooking class or asking an elder to teach you family recipes.
The sentence in English: “I want to learn to cook traditional dishes.”
In “I want to learn to cook traditional dishes.” each extra verb needs ‘to’, and the plural is the ‘-es’ of ‘dishes’.
- I
- pronounpersonal pronoun, always written with a capital letter
- want
- verbwant · tense: present · person: first · number: singular · followed by "to" + verb
- to
- particleinfinitive marker before the verb
- learn
- verblearn · form: base form (infinitive without "to") · after "to"
- to
- particleinfinitive marker before the verb
- cook
- verbcook · form: base form (infinitive without "to") · after "to"
- traditional
- adjectiveadjective
- dishes
- nounplural noun; prepared food
The sentence in Vietnamese: “Tôi muốn học nấu các món ăn truyền thống.”
In “Tôi muốn học nấu các món ăn truyền thống.” three verbs, ‘muốn’ (want), ‘học’ (learn) and ‘nấu’ (cook), sit side by side with no linking word. ‘các’ marks the plural, ‘món’ is the classifier for dishes, and ‘truyền thống’ (traditional) follows the noun.
- Tôi
- pronoun'I', the one who wishes
- muốn
- verbmuốn · tense: unmarked · 'want'; followed directly by another verb
- học
- verbhọc · tense: unmarked · 'learn', right after muốn
- nấu
- verbnấu · tense: unmarked · 'cook'; three verbs in a row
- các
- determinerplural marker 'the (various)'
- món
- classifierclassifier for dishes
- ăn
- nounmón ăn = dish
- truyền
- adjectivefirst syllable of truyền thống
- thống
- adjective'traditional', after the noun
What changes from one language to the other: English × Vietnamese
English links verbs with ‘to’; Vietnamese simply lines them up, and uses a plural word plus a classifier.
Example conversation
— Tôi muốn học nấu các món ăn truyền thống.
— I want to learn to cook traditional dishes.
— Bà mình có thể dạy bạn làm chả giò.
— My grandmother can teach you how to make spring rolls.