Hello Giang,

Thank you so much for the explanation! I now understand it. :) It is odd how my Vietnamese book does not discuss this.

-Walter

Hi Walter,

Thank you for your question. "Ở đâu bán mũ" is still fine and it has the same meaning as "Ở đâu có bán mũ". But in spoken Vietnamese, we tend to add "có" before the verb to emphasize the affirmative meaning of the sentence (as you know the negative form is "không bán", so here we say "có bán" just to emphasize the opposite)

Here are some more examples:

1. Bạn có ăn cơm không? = Bạn ăn cơm không? (Do you eat rice?)

2. Hôm qua tôi có mua một cái áo mới = Hôm qua tôi mua một cái áo mới. (Yesterday I bought a new shirt)

3. Bạn có muốn uống cà phê không? = Bạn muốn uống cà phê không? (Do you want to drink some coffee?)

Do you find it clearer now? Please let me know if you have more questions.

Cheers,

Giang

Team VietnamesePod101.com

Hello,

I am having trouble understanding the purpose of "có" in the following sentence:

ở đâu có bán mũ?

I was told that it is to emphasize the action "bán". But, why do I need to emphasize it? Can't I just say:

ở đâu bán mũ?

What is the difference in meaning?

Thank you for your time :),

Walter