Verb "còn" in Vietnamese, when to use it.
Hello!

The verb "to be" can be translated in many different verbs in Vietnamese, according to what we intend to say. One of them is "còn" and I would like to know when it is proper to use it.

In an online dictionary, I read the sentence:
"Khi tôi còn nhỏ"
which translates to : "when I was little". I know that the verb "là" isn't used with adjectives, so what is the purpose of "còn"? It seems to indicate a previous state, "was".

Thank you :))

Question

Verb "còn" in Vietnamese, when to use it.
Hello!

The verb "to be" can be translated in many different verbs in Vietnamese, according to what we intend to say. One of them is "còn" and I would like to know when it is proper to use it.

In an online dictionary, I read the sentence:
"Khi tôi còn nhỏ"
which translates to : "when I was little". I know that the verb "là" isn't used with adjectives, so what is the purpose of "còn"? It seems to indicate a previous state, "was".

Thank you :))

Answer

I.  CÒN has something to do with NOT ... YET.

1) CÒN + noun: Bạn CÒN tiền không? Do you still have money left? (You have NOT used up you money YET?)

2) CÒN + adj: Khi tôi còn nhỏ. When I was young/little (When I did NOT get old YET)

II. SAO CÒN + verb = DON'T (PERSISTENTLY) =

1) Sao còn đứng đó? Why are you still standing there? (Don't persistently stand there! (just go for example))

Answer

"còn" is used when you want to talk about something in the past: " khi tôi còn nhỏ"
   or about something is still happenning at saying moment,: " tôi vẫn còn/ (đang) học Tiếng Việt", " tôi vẫn còn đói, " tôi còn tiền" ...

Answer

" Còn" has a lot of meanings. I'll show you some examples below so that u can know when u should use this word
1) "How's it going, Quy?, are u still practising English?" The word "Still" in this case means "Còn"; this is the sentence that's written in Vietnamese :" Dạo này thế nào rồi, Quý? Bạn vẫn còn luyện tập Tiếng Anh chứ? "
2) I love watching TV, listening to music, playing games and chatting with my friends"- this sentence can be translated into Vietnamese like this :"Tôi thích xem TV, nghe nhạc, chơi game và tôi còn thích nói chuyện với bạn bè"
3) When I was young, I was a very naughty girl - In Vietnamese: "Khi tôi còn nhỏ (when I was young), tôi là một cô bé rất nghịch ngợm ("cô bé" means a young girl( 0- 12) - to say about boy, u can use the word "cậu bé") 
4) When I worked in that company, I was a hardworking staff. In vietnamese:" Khi tôi còn làm việc ở công ty đó, tôi là một nhân viên chăm chỉ". "Còn" which is used in the case 3 and 4 means u have stopped to do that action- it can be understood similarly to the word "used to" in english. And in this case it is always put in a sentence with 2 clauses. "When-clause, then followed by another clause"

Answer

3. CÒN + verb/be: Khi còn là sinh viên (when I was a student = when I have NOT been a worker YET). Khi còn làm ở đó (When I worked there = When I have NOT work here YET)