English negative questions in comparisons with vietnamese ones

RESEARCH SCOPE The general research area of this study is grammar The phenomenon is negative questions in comparisons between English and Vietnamese?. He mentions four types of Vietnames

HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY NO.2 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FACULTY -

NGO THI TRANG

ENGLISH NEGATIVE QUESTIONS IN COMPARISONS

WITH VIETNAMESE ONES

(SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF

BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ENGLISH)

SUPERVISOR: NGUYEN THI MEN, M.A

Hanoi, May 2013

PART ONE INTRODUCTION

I RATIONALE

It cannot be denied that nowadays, English is one of the most widely used languages in the world It is the mother tongue of more than 350.000.000 people, and it is also used as a second language by millions of Europeans, Africans, Indians, etc In addition, English is spoken and read by many Asians

as a foreign language Thus, everywhere people speak English Because of its popularity, many famous books and documents are translated into English Many advertisements as well as business contracts are also written in English Obviously, English has a great influence on the socio-economic as well as cultural life worldwide

In Vietnam, the need for integrating into the world has increased since the open-door policy More and more Vietnamese people desire to learn English, some of whom study English for better opportunities The others learn English for further knowledge or for other purposes That is why English is a compulsory subject in many schools and universities, and English centre are mushrooming throughout the country English teaching and learning has become very important and significant to our country’s process of industrialization and modernization

In communicative process in English as well as in other languages, questions play an important role in our daily life We are not able to keep communicating going on well without asking questions We ask in order to exchange information, ideas, feelings and knowledge On the other hand, we sometimes ask questions not for the above purposes but to confirm, refuse irony

or reply avoidance It is undeniable that questions can not be missed in communication There are a lot of types of questions in English but in this paper

I would like to devote all my interest to English negative questions in order to get more understanding of this type of questions and we can be able to use it

flexibly and fluently Moreover, a large number of authors have investigated negative questions in English namely Alexander, L.G (1975), D R Ladd (1981) Finnegan E (2004), Lado, R(1957) and many others But they have discussed the problems of negative questions in English only or in contrastive analyses, in comparison with other languages rather than Vietnamese

In addition, negative questions have been studied in Vietnamese by Diep Quang Ban (2002), Nguyen Tai Can (1999), Cao Xuan Hao (2003), etc and especially there have also been some author theses on negative questions in Vietnamese by Nguyen Phu Phong (2002) and Nguyen Thi Thin (1994) Their contributions are a great help to Vietnamese learners of English However, there are few of writers focused on this theme and this theme make many mistake for Vietnamese learners of English Therefore, I choose this theme and study about this From my experience and knowledge, I will go deep into this matter in a hope of assisting to help people who are interested in the subject matter

II RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Some questions are raised:

1 How are English negative questions formed, used and classified?

2 How are Vietnamese negative questions formed, used and classified?

3 What are the similarities and differences of the negative questions between English and Vietnamese?

4 What are the difficulties in study English negative questions of Vietnamese learners of English?

Base on the questions above, I am eager to learn about the problems and make a comparison analysis in negative questions between English and Vietnamese so that the major similarities and differences may be found

III RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The study is aimed at following goals:

1 To find out the forms, usage and functions of the English negative questions in the grammar system

2 To find out the forms, usage and functions of Vietnamese negative questions

3 To find out the similarities and differences in the negative questions between English and Vietnamese

IV RESEARCH SCOPE

The general research area of this study is grammar

The phenomenon is negative questions in comparisons between English and Vietnamese Others relating to the negative questions are also briefly mentioned

V RESEARCH TASKS

The study involves fulfilling the following tasks:

1 To study the classifications, the characteristics, the uses, and the distinction of the negative questions in English

2 To study the classifications, the characteristics, and the uses of the negative questions in Vietnamese

3 To compare the negative questions in English with Vietnamese ones

On the basic of the findings, teaching implications to this category are sought to clear the student questions

VI RESEARCH METHODS

To achieve the objectives of the study, the following methods have been applied:

1 Collecting materials from books and references

2 Consulting the supervisor, experienced teachers and friends

3 Synthesizing theoretical documents on English grammar

4 Personal observation

VII SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH

The same category grammar in two languages always has similarities and differences It will get mislead for learners if they cannot distinguish the differences in classifications, functions, and even uses of that category It is, therefore, essential for teachers to have a better solution After the research, it is hoped that the result will be helpful to provide:

1 Input for the learners of English in order to clearly describe the negative questions in the comparisons

2 Input for teacher of English with teaching implications of the negative questions

This study is also beneficial to anyone who is interested in the negative questions in English

VIII DESIGN OF THE RESEARCH WORK

The research work has three main parts, namely: Introduction, Development, Implication for teaching and learning and Conclusion

Part 1: Introduction

This part mentions to rationale, research objectives, research questions, research scope, research tasks, research method, and significances of the proposed research

Part 2: Development

This part consists three chapters

Chapter 1: chapter 1 is entitled “theoretical background” It consists two sections

The first part in chapter 1 is reviews literature in brief

The second part in chapter 1 is named “The negative questions in English” It has been one section It has things related to the negative questions

in English such as classification, characteristics and uses

The third part in chapter 1 is named “The negative questions in Vietnamese” It has been four sections They are Negative structure in Yes/No questions, Negative structures in Tag- questions, Negative structures in Wh- questions, Negative structures in alternative questions

Chapter 2 is named “the negative questions in comparisons with Vietnamese” It has three sections Section one is studied to the similarities The second deals with the differences

Chapter 3 is devoted to the teaching implications The last one is part four: conclusion

Part 3: Conclusion

This part is a summary of all main contents

PART TWO DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER ONE THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

I LITERATURE REVIEW IN BRIEF

Negative questions stand in place of questions, important part of the English grammar Negative questions are used to indicate the speaker’s idea(what he/she believes is or is not true) and attitude (surprise,

anger,…).Many grammarians have described negative questions like L.G

.Alexander (1990), Betty Scrapper Azar (2002), Anne Seaton( 2007), & Randolph Quirk (1973) and so on They each have their own way to describe the

negative questions Fundamentally, they concentrate their attention on the definition, formation, functions of the negative questions, types of negative questions and their uses Moreover, negative questions in Vietnamese are also

described by some authors such as Diep Quang Ban (2002), Nguyen Tai Can (1999), Cao Xuan Hao (2003) and Nguyen Phu Phong (2002)

L.G Alexander (1990) in Longman English Grammar constantly concerns

with basic different uses between some questions He focuses on Yes/ No questions, negative statements, yes/ no answers He only doesn’t deal with the formation of ways of making yes/ no questions, forms of yes/ no questions He also introduces alternative negative forms and negative questions In negative question, he describes about the full form and the short form Furthermore, he describes how to use stress and intonation in negative questions

Betty Schrampfer Azar (2002) in Understanding and Using English Grammar refers to the background knowledge of negative questions He gives

specific details for each negative question He introduces more about forms of

yes/ no and information questions, wh- negative questions, tag- negative questions He specifies forms of avoiding double negatives

In the book Basic English Grammar book 1, Anne Seaton (2007) only

focuses on his attention on two kinds of questions They are yes/ no questions and wh- questions He gives some more simple uses, functions and positions of them In addition, he pays much attention to uses with some negative questions such as yes/ no negative questions and wh- negative questions

Randolph Quirk (1973) in the book A University Grammar of English

gives some materials about several features of negative questions or specific details of relationship between subjects, predication with negative questions In his opinion, assertion and non- assertion are some major types of sentence

In the book Ngu Phap Tieng Viet, Diep Quang Ban and Hoang Van

Thung (2010) deals with specific characteristics, classifications and description

about negative questions He mentions four types of Vietnamese negative questions such as negative structure in Yes/No questions, negative structures in Tag- questions, negative structures in Wh- questions, negative structures in alternative questions

Language group of philology faculty, Hanoi Pedagogical University (2006) in the textbook Ngu Phap Tieng Viet part 1 gives basic features and

kinds of negative questions They pay attention to classify negative questions by functions and intended uses

In short, much research has been done on the negative questions but they don’t point out comparison between them in English and Vietnamese In fact, there are similarities and differences between them Consequently, it is very essential to have a comprehensive study of negative questions in English comparison with that in Vietnamese

II NEGATIVE QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH

II.1 Negative questions – Definition

According to John Eastwood in the book Oxford Practice grammar with

answers, negative questions are interrogative sentences with the presence of

negative marker They ordinarily do not accomplish questioning in the sense of information seeking

E g: Does not she understand?

Why don’t you listen to me?

II.2 Negative questions – Forms

In the book Oxford Practice grammar with answers, John Eastwood

wrote that

We make a question negative by putting n’t after the auxiliary (e g have, does)

Have you done it yet? Haven’t you done it yet?

What does the advert tell you? What doesn’t the advert tell you?

According to L.G Alexander in the book Longman English Grammar,

the word order of the full form is different from the short form:

Full form: Did he not explain the situation to you?

Short form: Didn’t he explain the situation to you?

We normally use the short form in conversation and the full form only for emphasis

II.3 Negative Questions – Functions

In the book Longman English Grammar, the author wrote:

Depending on the stress and intonation we use, we can:

- Express disbelief, surprise: Can’t you really ride a bicycle?

- Invite the answer “Yes”: Don’t you remember our holiday in Spain?

- Persuade: Won’t you please help me?

- Express annoyance: Can’t you ever shut the door behind you?

- Make exclamations: Isn’t it hot in here!

(L.G Alexander, 1990: 198)

II.4.Negative Questions – How to Answer

When replying to a negative question, you answer a negative question the same as a regular question There is no difference

A: Haven't you gone to the doctor?

B: No, I haven't yet I'm too busy

A: Don't you brush your teeth every day?

B: Yes, of course do

II.5 Negative questions – Classification

II.5.1 Negative Yes/No Questions

II.5.1.1 Definition of negative Yes/No Questions

Definition of Yes/ No questions:

“Those expect the answer Yes or No are Yes/ No question”

Therefore, the negative yes/ no questions are so called because they expect the answer Yes or No and contain a negative form of one kind or another

(Quirk & Green Baum, 1973: 192)

E g:

Don’t you meet her?

Can’t you sing any song?

Will no one help me?

II.5.1.2.Forms of negative Yes/No Questions

According to Alexander (1992; 255) in the book Longman English

Grammar, negative Yes/No question can appear in a post subject position in its

full form not, or in pre-subject position in its clinic-contracted form n’t We can

say that contracted and subcontracted negative questions appear in either short negative form or long negative form, or in other words, it can appear in different word order

Subcontracted form Contracted form

Did she not come to the party? Didn’t she come to the party? II.5.1.3 Functions and intonation of negative Yes/No Questions

When the speaker wants to express surprise, disappointment, annoyance

or he wants to persuade someone, negative Yes/ No questions employed

The first function is that negative Yes/No Questions can be used to convey something that make us surprised when it has not happened, or is not happening

E g:

Don’t you remember my name?

Haven’t you put those shelves up yet? (= I am surprised that you haven’t yet.)

Don’t the children want the ice- cream? (= I am surprised that they don’t want it.)

The next function is that when we want to persuade someone we can use negative Yes/ No questions For example:

Don’t you believe me?

In this example, the speakers want to persuade the listeners to believe them

Moreover, when the speaker wants to express annoyance negative Yes/

No questions can be used For example:

Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?

Besides, we can use negative yes/ no questions to express disappointment For example:

Haven’t you got any money?

A question with can’t can be a complaint or an impolite request

Can’t you sit down?

Also, when negative oriented questions are raised, the speaker is said to

be expecting or hoping the answer “Yes”

E g:

Haven’t you seen that film already?

Don’t you need some money?

II.5.2 Negative Tag questions

II.5.2.1 Definition of negative Tag questions

According to B.S Azar in the book Understanding and Using English

Grammar,

“A tag- question is a negative question added at the end of a sentence.”

E g:

She is a teacher, isn’t she?

According to Michael Swan(2004; 487-488) in the book Practical

English usage,

“Negative tag questions consist of negative question tags which are used after affirmative sentence, but not after questions”

E.g:

You’re the new secretary, aren’t you?

“To check information or ask for agreement, we most often put negative tags after affirmative sentences”

E.g:

It’s cold, isn’t it?

II.5.2.2 Form of negative Tag questions

As can be seen from the above examples, a tag question includes two parts: a statement and a tag In addition, a comma “,” is always required before the tag

We can put a tag at the end of a statement to make a question The tag consists of operator plus a subject pronoun, with or without a negative particle

The choice and tense of the operator are determined by the verb phrase in the subordinate clause and the subject pronoun refers to the subject of the statement

Affirmative sentence + Negative tag —>Affirmative answer expected

E g:

Mary is here, isn’t she? Yes, she is

You like tea, don’t you? Yes, I do

They have left, haven’t they? Yes, they have

There have more examples about negative tag questions:

This/ That is your book, isn’t it? The tag pronoun for this/ that = it

These/ Those are yours, aren’t they? The tag pronoun for these/ those =

they

There is a meeting tonight, isn’t there? In sentence with There + be,

There is used in the tag

Everything is okay, isn’t it?

Everyone took the rest, didn’t they?

—> Personal pronoun are used to refer to indefinite pronouns They are

usually used in a tag to refer to everyone, everybody, someone, somebody and

E g:

Everything is all right, isn’t it?

Everybody has left, haven’t they?

+ In some other cases, the tag subject is determined by the context

E g:

This one is a good person, isn’t he/ she?

“This one” here may refer to a male or a female It depends on different context in which the question appears

+ Additionally, the tag “aren’t I” (or sometimes “ain’t I”) for “I am” is also used

E g:

I am beautiful, aren’t I?

+ Sometimes, leaving out pronoun subjects and auxiliaries in sentences with question tag is acceptable Also, a question – tag may be used after an elliptical question

E.g:

(It is) a nice day, isn’t it?

(They are) intelligent pupils, aren’t they?

II.5.2.3 Functions and intonation of negative Tag questions

According to Longman Dictionary, tag questions are used to assert or to check information that we are not sure it is true or false Therefore, negative tag questions also have functions like this The statement and the tag are divided by

a comma and the tense of the statement and the tag is the same It means that if the verb of the statement is an auxiliary verb, the verb of the tag will match it Sometimes we just use them for effect when we are trying to be sarcastic, or to

make a strong opinion When we want to find out the agreement or affirmation

of answers, we use negative tag questions

E.g.1: The concert was boring, wasn’t it?

E.g.2: They did not finish their duty, did they?

According to B.S Azar in the book Understanding and Using English

Grammar, we can use either the falling or the rising tone on the tag in negative

tag questions A tag question may be spoken with a rising intonation if the speaker is truly seeking to ascertain that his/ her information, idea, belief is correct

E g:

Ann lives in an apartment, doesn’t she?

A tag question may be spoken with a falling intonation if the speaker is expressing an idea with which s/he is almost certain the listener will agree

E g:

It is a nice today, isn’t it?

II.5.3 Negative Wh-questions

II.5.3.1 Definition of negative Wh-questions

WH-questions are also called information questions because the answer to the question requires more than just a short answer and more than “Yes” “No” answers (there must be some information in the answer) Most WH-questions begin with words that start with the letters “WH”, and they usually end with falling intonation

E.g.1: Which color do you not like? (Requiring information)

E.g.2: Which color don’t you like?

E.g.3: Why doesn’t Tim give her a gift? (Surprise)

E.g.4: Why didn’t you tell me sooner? (Complaint)

II.5.3.2 Form of negative Wh-questions

They are formed with the aid of the following interrogative words: Who, Whom, Whose, What, Where, When, Why, How, etc In negative Yes/No questions, “not”can be put in a post-subject position in its full form or pre-subject position in its shortform

Negative WH-questions with “who”, “what”, “which”, “when”, “where”,

“how” are only used for requesting information Meanwhile, negative WH- questions with “why” contain much more sense to express speaker’s attitudes II.5.3.3 Functions and intonation of negative Wh-questions

We can use “why don’t …?” As a suggestion

E g:

Why don’t you put the shelves up now? Well, all right

Why don’t we sit on the balcony? Good idea

We can use Why didn’t…? To criticize

We will have to stand now Why didn’t you book seats for us? (= You should have booked seats for us.)

We can also use a wh-question to ask for information

Who hasn’t checked their baggage in? Oh, I haven’t Sorry

What don’t you understand? This paragraph here

Negative Wh-questions (or information questions) are employed to seek information from the listener A falling tones not a rising one is the main characteristic of intonation in Wh-questions and there is always a rising intonation on question-words This means the questions are uttered to emphasize

on the explicit information

E g:

What haven’t you done?

Who didn’t pass the exam?

However, a rising intonation will be presented if the speaker asks the question with eagerness to gain more information

E.g A: Don’t go to that wedding!

B: Why not?

II.5.4 Negative alternative questions

II.5.4.1 Definition of Negative alternative questions

Negative alternative questions (questions with “or”) are “those that expect

as the reply one of two or more options presented in the question and add negative element after auxiliary verb.”

(Quirk and Green Baum, 1975: 192)

E g:

What wouldn’t you like to go, by bus or by train?

II.5.4.2.Formation of Negative alternative questions

An alternative question is a question that expresses more than two answers but only one is true In form, alternative questions are similar to yes/no interrogatives, in beginning with the bounded operator and not containing a question word

When we transform to negative questions, we often add “not” after subject

E.g: Which dress wouldn’t you like, the pink one or the white one?

→ you wouldn’t like the pink dress

→ you wouldn’t like the white dress

Actually, there are two types of Alternative questions: one resembling a Yes/No question and the other is similar to a Wh-question:

II.5.4.2.1 Negative alternative questions resembling yes/ No questions

According to Quirk and Green Baum (1973: 199) “ The structure of

alternative Yes/ No questions follows the pattern of clausal coordination; that is, two or more separate questions are collapsed together, whenever convenient, by ellipsis” ( illustrated hereafter by parentheses):

E.g: Should I come or (should I) not (come)?

We can form negative alternative question from any positive Yes/ No question by adding “or not” or a matching negative clause:

E.g: Yes/ No question: Do you like her?

Alternative question: Do you like her or not?

Do you like her or don’t you (like her)?

This type of Alternative questions differs from Yes/ No questions only in intonation

II.5.4.2.2 Alternative questions resembling Wh-questions

This alternative question type is really a compound of two separate questions: a Wh-question followed by an elliptical alternative question of the first type

E g:

What wouldn’t you like to go, by bus or by train?

Which wouldn’t you prefer, tea or coffee?

II.5.4.3.Functions and intonation of Negative alternative questions

A negative alternative question contains a separate nucleus for each alternative: a rise occurs on an item in the list, except the last, on which there is

a fall

Negative alternative:

Wouldn’t you like h coffee, h beer or ↓ wine?

What wouldn’t you prefer, film h or play ↓?

Both types of negative alternative questions above have the same function The speaker, when asking the question, offer different alternatives or choices and require the addressee to choose one of two or more choices that he doesn’t know

II.5.5 Minor types of negative questions

II.5.5.1 Negative exclamatory questions

II.5.5.1.1.The definition of negative exclamatory questions

The negative exclamatory questions are the same as the exclamatory questions and add negative composition

“The exclamatory question is a question in form, but is functionally like

an exclamation.” (Quirk and Green Baum 1973:199)

E g:

Isn’t it nice today!

Didn’t she come!

In above examples, forms of them are questions (auxiliary verb + subject + verb) and the function of them like an exclamation (express attitude and feeling)

II.5.5.1.2.The Form of negative exclamatory questions

Negative exclamatory questions have the form as negative Yes/ No questions and in this type instead of using the question mark like in other types

of questions, the exclamatory mark is used

E g:

Isn’t it nice today ↓!

Can’t they help ↓ us!

II.5.5.1.3.The Functions and intonation of negative exclamatory questions

The most characteristic negative exclamatory question is an negative exclamatory question resembling a negative Yes/ No question but differing only

in intonation: instead of the final rising tone, it has a final falling one

E g:

Haven’t you finished it? ↓

Wasn’t it a horrible fire? ↓

Didn’t she come? ↓

These kinds of questions have the function of inviting the listener’s agreement to something on which the speaker has strong feelings Contrary to appearances, the meaning is vigorously positive

E g:

Won’t you help me? ↓

(Please help me!)

Wasn’t it a horrible fire? ↓

(What a horrible fire it was!)

Clearly, such questions can only be used when the speaker (or the writer) and the addressee share the same experience and the same context

II.5.5.2 Rhetorical questions

In “A grammar of contemporary English”, Randolph Quirk, Sidney

Green Baum, Geoffrey Leech and Jan Svartvik define rhetorical question as

“The rhetorical question is one which functions as a forceful statement Moreover, a positive rhetorical question is like a strong negative assertion, while

a negative question is like a strong positive one.”

A rhetorical question can resemble a yes/no question and has the normal rising intonation of a yes/no question People use the rhetorical question resembling the yes/ no question form to express a strong feeling, opinion or impression

Negative: Isn’t that an ugly husband?

(That is an ugly husband.)

Hasn’t anyone round here got any sense?

(Surely someone here got some sense.)

A rhetorical question may also resemble a wh- question, which is equivalent to a statement in which the Q- element is replaced by the negative element The intonation is that of an ordinary wh- question except that a rise- fall tone is likely in some cases

What happened? ↓

(Nothing happened.)

What make me different? ↓

(Nothing makes me different.)

II NEGATIVE QUESTIONS IN VIETNAMESE

II.1 Vietnamese negative Yes/ No questions

II.1.1.The definition of Vietnamese negative Yes/ No questions

Vietnamese negative Yes/ No questions were discussed in many grammar books written by such authors as Diep Quang Ban, Cao Xuan Hao, Nguyen Tai Can, etc However, there are still many different points of view of this question type

According to Diep Quang Ban Vietnamese negative Yes/ No questions are questions with usual interrogative particles, and in his opinion, this type is used to get information which calls for Yes or No response The answers to these questions maybe: “ừ/ phải/ vâng/ đúng rồi/ phải rồi, etc.” (Positive answers) or “Không/ không phải/ không đúng, etc.” (Negative answers)

Cao Xuan Hao considers negative Yes/ No questions in Vietnamese as generalized questions that are used to check the degree of reality of the whole clause in the questions

Generally speaking, in most cases, Vietnamese negative Yes/ No questions require Yes or No answer like English negative Yes/ No question

E g:

Cậu không nhận ra tớ ư?

(Don’t you recognize me?)

Có chứ

(Yes, I do.)

II.1.2.The Form of Vietnamese negative Yes/No questions

According to “A descriptive English grammar” written by Ha Van Buu,

Vietnamese tend to express negative questions by adding some negative word

such as:“không”, ,“chưa”, “chẳng” or “chả” which are normally placed after the subject and before the predicate in combination with “ à/ ư/ sao/ hả/ hử/

chứ/ …” which occur in final position Sometimes “chẳng phải/ không phải/ chả phải…” in presubject position is used in combination with “à/ sao/ hay sao/

là gì/ đó sao” in final position

Form:

S + “không”/ “chưa”/ “chẳng”/ “chả” + … + à/ ư/ sao/ hả/ hử/ chứ/ gì/ hay sao/chớ/ chứ gì/ được sao/ được ư/ phải không/ đấy chứ / nhỉ?

E.g.: Em chưa làm bài tập à?

(Haven’t you done your homework?)

Em không yêu anh à?

(Don’t you love me?)

Chẳng phải/ không phải/ chả phải/phải chăng/ chẳng phải là / không phải là / chả phải là + S +…+ à/ sao/ hay sao/ là gì/ đó sao?

E.g: Chẳng phải con đã mở cửa sao?

(Wasn’t it you who opened the door?) Chẳng phải cậu thích cô ấy là gì?

(Isn’t it true that you like her?)

Chẳng lẽ (nào)/(có) lẽ nào/ có đúng là + S+ “không”/

“chưa”/ “chẳng”/ “chả” +… + à/ ư/ sao/ hả/ hử/ chứ/ gì/ hay sao/chớ/ được sao/ được ư/ đấy chứ ?

E.g:

Chẵng lẽ nào tôi yêu anh ấy rồi ư?

(Is it possible that I love him?)

Có đúng là 2012 sẽ là năm tận thế không?

(Isn’t it true that 2012 year is the end of the world?)

Another difference is also the way of answering which causes learners to make mistakes when they encounter negative questions In English, answering yes or no rely on the fact but in Vietnamese negative particles require yes

E.g:

Cậu không muốn giúp tớ thật à? Ừ, tớ không thể

(Don’t you want to help me? No, I don’t.)

II.1.3.The Function of Vietnamese negative Yes/No questions

According to “A descriptive English grammar” written by Ha Van Buu,

this type of questions is uttered with the same meaning as that of positive oriented questions However, the thing that makes this type different from each other is the speaker’s attitude The addressor when asking negative Yes/ No questions usually suggests something that makes him doubtful The addressee unhesitatingly agrees with the knowledge on the point and the addressor does not show in which way his doubts are to be solved

II.2.Vietnamese negative Tag-questions

II.2.1 Form of Vietnamese negative Tag - questions

In Vietnamese, tag questions are used to confirm speaker’s belief,

sometimes, the fixed expression can be substituted by “(có) đúng không”, “(có)

phải không”, “không phải”, “không đúng” combining with particles like à/ cơ à/ hả/ nhỉ/ đấy hả/ đấy nhỉ/ chứ/ ư/ vậy sao.These questions are formed by

putting “( có) phải không?” “(có) đúng không?” at the end of statements without any change in the structures:

(Diệp Quang Ban, 1998: 231) Positive statement, +“(có) đúng không”/ “(có) phải không” + à/ cơ à/ hả/ nhỉ/ đấy hả/ đấy nhỉ/ chứ/ ư.?

E.g: Cô ấy làm việc rất tốt ( có) phải không?

(She works very well, doesn’t she?)

II.2.2 Functions of Vietnamese negative Tag questions

Generally speaking, this type of questions is used to seek the addressee’s confirmation of the truth- value of the questions The speaker when asking this type treats himself as the one who knows the answer and he wants to search for the agreement of the listener on what he asserts

E g:

Cô ấy rất đẹp có phải không?

(She is very beautiful, isn’t she?)

The expected answer: Ừ, cô ấy rất đẹp

(Yes, she is.)

II.3.Vietnamese negative Wh-questions

II.3.1 Form of Vietnamese negative Wh-questions

In Vietnamese, this type of questions is formed with interrogative pronouns such as: ai (who/ whom), của ai (whose), gì (what), cái nào (which), khi nào (when), đâu, ở đâu (where), như thế nào, bằng cách nào (how), vì sao, tại sao, thế nào (why), bao nhiêu (how much, how many), bao lâu(how long) When making negative questions, people usually add

negative words: không, chẳng, chả … and modal articles: cơ à/ hả/ nhỉ/ đấy hả/

đấy nhỉ/ chứ/ ư…

Structure:

Q-word + S + không /chẳng/ chả +V+ O+ (particle)?

S + không /chẳng/ chả +V+ O+ Q-word +(particle)?

E.g:

Tại sao cậu không nhờ anh ấy sửa hộ máy tính nhỉ?

Sao bạn không đi xe bus tới đó?

II.3.2 Functions of Vietnamese negative Wh-questions

II.3.2.1 Asking for the missing information

The most basic function of a Vietnamese negative Wh- question is to ask for the missing information posited by the interrogative pronoun which needs to

be specified

E g

Sao họ lại không chọn đến thăm Viet Nam?

Why didn’t they choose to visit Vietnam?

II.3.2.2 Minor types of functions

In addition to the functions of asking for the missing information, Vietnamese negative Wh- questions also have the following functions:

a Advising:

An advice in form of a negative wh- question in Vietnamese is broadly used by many people, normally people who have a close relationship

E g

Sao con không đội mũ thường xuyên hơn?

(Why don’t you wear your hat more often? = You should wear your hat more often.)

Sao anh không đi nghỉ sớm đi?

(Why don’t you go to bed early? = You should go to bed early.)

Bạn đang bị cúm, sao không đến viện khám đi?

(You are having a flu, why don’t you go to hospital?)

b Complaining:

People make complaints in form of a wh- question to show their anger or annoyance