Pointing Frame

In Vietnamese, when you want to point to a specific object (like 'this book' or 'that cat'), you use a demonstrative word. The most common are này (this/these), đó or đấy (that/those), ấy (that/those - often referring to something already mentioned), kia (that/those over there), and nọ (that / the other - often used for things in the past or unspecified distant things, e.g., ngày nọ, người nọ). Note some regional differences: Southern speakers almost exclusively use đó for 'that', whereas đấy and ấy are heavily used in the North. Additionally, Southerners often use nầy instead of này.

There are a few foundational rules to build this pattern:

• The pointing word goes after the noun: It comes after the noun and any adjectives. It can come before or after possessives (e.g., quyển sách của tôi này or quyển sách này của tôi - this book of mine). Note that quyển sách này của tôi can be used as a standard noun phrase within a larger sentence, or as a complete sentence meaning 'This book is mine' (with the verb 'là' dropped).
• Physical objects usually take a matching classifier: To point to a specific physical object, a classifier is typically used, matching the noun's category (e.g., con for animals, cái for inanimate objects). If you drop the classifier, the meaning can shift from the physical object to the abstract concept or content, though in casual everyday speech, phrases like sách này are still commonly used to refer to the physical object. Many abstract concepts or time words do not take classifiers at all (e.g., vấn đề này - this problem). Note that for certain time words, này shifts to nay (e.g., năm nay - this year, hôm nay - today).
• Self-classifying nouns: Some nouns act as their own classifiers and do not need an extra one (e.g., người này - this person, ngày này - this day).
• Emphatic 'cái': In casual speech, you can add the word cái before another classifier to add emphasis or express emotion (e.g., cái con mèo này! - this darn cat!).

The Formula:
(Plural Marker / Number) + (Classifier) + Noun + (Adjective) + (Possessive) + Demonstrative
*Note: The possessive and demonstrative can swap places.

For example, to say 'this specific physical book', you use the classifier for books: quyển sách này. If you just say 'sách này', it can refer to the text or story itself, though in casual speech it is still frequently used for the physical object. (To say 'this kind of book', you would use loại sách này).

Note that Vietnamese demonstratives do not inherently mark plural. 'Quyển sách này' means 'this book', and 'những quyển sách này' or 'các quyển sách này' means 'these books'. You can also use numbers, such as hai quyển sách này (these two books). The word 'này' stays exactly the same.