Many language learning materials describeđã as "past tense". This is however not the way "past tense" is normally understood: before the present moment. The word instead indicates the action took place before the moment implied by the context: if the context is present tense,đã can indicate past tense, but if the context is past tense,đã would indicate an even earlier moment. A narration of a series of past events does not requiređã the way past tense would normally be used in English:
1970, Nguyễn Tấn Long, Phan Canh,Thi ca bình dân Việt Nam, volume III Vũ trụ quan, NXB Xuân Thu, page34:
Lúc sinh ra loài người, Ngọc-hoàng dùng đất sét nặn hình, đem phơi cho khô, bỗng gặp một trận mưa to, Ngọc-hoàng vội đem tượng cất đi,[…]
When He created humans, the Jade Emperor used clay to form shapes; Heput them out to dry; suddenly therewas heavy rain and the Jade Emperor hurried to put the statues away;[…]
The use ofđã before an action or state often conveys surprise at how fast the action was finished or the state came to be. Compare:
Bằng giờ này ngày mai, tôiđã ở Huế rồi. ―Can you believe that tomorrow at this time, I'll already be in Huế? (suggests surprise)
Bằng giờ này ngày mai, tôiđang ở Huế rồi. ―Tomorrow at this time, I'm already in Huế. (simple fact)
Bằng giờ này ngày mai, tôisẽ ở Huế rồi. ―Tomorrow at this time, I'll already be in Huế. (describes a plan)
