Syntactic and semantic features of ditransitive verbs in english and their vietnamese equivalents in a literature work

2.2.4 Classification of sentences in terms of sentence patterns, sentence elements and verb complementation 10 Chapter 3: SYNTACTIC AND SEMANTIC FEATURES OF DITRANSITIVE VERBS IN ENGLIS

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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

M.A THESIS

SYNTACTIC AND SEMANTIC FEATRURES OF DITRANSITIVE VERBS IN ENGLISH AND THEIR VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS IN A

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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING

HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY

M.A THESIS

SYNTACTIC AND SEMANTIC FEATRURES OF DITRANSITIVE VERBS IN ENGLISH AND THEIR VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS IN A

Hanoi - 2020

EQUIVALENTS IN A LITERATURE WORK

ĐẶC ĐIỂM CẤU TRÚC VÀ NGỮ NGHĨA CỦA NGOẠI ĐỘNG TỪ KÉP TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ TIẾNG VIỆT TƯƠNG ỨNG TRONG TÁC

PHẨM VĂN HỌC submitted in partial fulfillment of requirements for the degree of Master in English Linguistics Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without acknowledgement in the text of the thesis

Date submitted: November 26th, 2020

Đỗ Viết Định Approved by

SUPERVISOR

Lê Văn Thanh Date:………

I would also like to acknowledge my debt of gratitude to Assoc Prof

Dr Hoang Tuyet Minh and the staff members of Post-graduate Department and the lecturers at Faculty of Foreign Languages – Ha Noi Open University for their valuable lectures, which laid the foundation of this thesis, and for their knowledge as well as their sympathy

I am also grateful to the Thanh Hoa students in group of English language courses K18M , who helped me overcome difficulties to complete my thesis

Last but not least, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my beloved parents, my wife, my brothers, whose support and continual encouragement have been indispensable for the fulfillment of this challenging work

This thesis cannot avoid limitation, so I wish to receive comments and opinions to make it better

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 4

2.6 2.2.4 Classification of sentences in terms of sentence

patterns, sentence elements and verb complementation

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Chapter 3: SYNTACTIC AND SEMANTIC FEATURES

OF DITRANSITIVE VERBS IN ENGLISH AND THEIR

VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS IN A LITERATURE

WORK

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3.1 Ditransitive verbs – their syntactic features 19

3.2 Ditransitive verbs – their semantic features 21

3.3 The ditransitive verbs in English and their Vietnamese

equivalents

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3.3.2 Ditransitive complementation in English and the

3.2.3.2 Idiomatic expressions consisting of verb + noun

phrase + prepositional phrase

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3.3.3 Realization of Ditransitive complementation in English

and their Vietnamese equivalents

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3.3.3.1 Expressions of Indirect Object of Ditransitive verbs

and their Vietnamese equivalents

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3.3.3.2 Expressions of Direct Object of Ditransitive verbs

and their Vietnamese equivalents

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3.4.1 Examples in “A tale of two cities” written by Charles

3.5 Errors and mistakes in using ditransitive verbs in

English and their Vietnamese equivalents

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3.5.2 Possible mistakes in using prepositions 54 3.5.3 Possible mistakes in identifying sentence elements 55

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Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 RATIONALE

English is generally acknowledged to be the world’s most important language It is an international language in our integrated world and today more than 80% of all the information in the world’s computers is in English So if we do not know English, we will fail to keep pace with the progressive force of the world Many foreign guests and delegates who come to our country do not know our mother tongue And English becomes the bridge language and device to connect with people Statistics show about 350 million people speak English as a first language and another 300 million use it as a second language From this we can say that we need to learn English to join the advanced Then we can say that English is

a passport to our successful future

In English grammar, the English Verb has always been the element that causes much more trouble to language learners than any other ones in the sentence because it provides the power of the sentence In fact, it is said that the verbs are very complicated but important Being aware of its importance will help Vietnamese learners overcome difficulties when learning and using English verbs

In terms of their complementation, verbs are divided into intensive verbs and extensive verbs Extensive verbs consist of transitive and intransitive ones Transitive verbs include Monotransitive verbs, Ditransitive verbs and Complex transitive verbs Among them, Ditransitive verbs and complex transitive verbs often make Vietnamese learners confused

Consider the following sentences: “He painted the house green” and “They are driving me crazy” Both “green” and “crazy” are adjective complements But the question here is whether both of them belong to SVOC or SVOA And how can you give explanation for your choice?

Let us consider another case: “I couldn't get the old car going again.” and

“He can’t stop the car going” Does “going” in the two sentences play the same semantic role?

Therefore, it is important to help students to understand ditransitive verbs and its complementation clearly

For all the above reasons, the topic of the paper is chosen with the hope that it will help us have detailed information of this kind of verbs in both languages and overcome difficulties when using It is also hopeful that the minor thesis will be of

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some help to those who are interested in this aspect of English Grammar

1.2 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

AIMS: To help learners of English master ditransitive verbs in English and

their Vietnamese equivalents in terms of syntactic and semantic features effectively

2 What are the similarities and differences between ditransitive verbs

in English and their Vietnamese equivalents in a literature work?

3 What implication is drawn for learning ditransitive verbs effectively?

1.4 METHODOLOGY AND METHODS OF THE STUDY

Research Approach

Quantitative research relates to the techniques of using statistics,

variables, reliability of the data of ditransitive verbs, describing and analyzing the expressions of ditransitive verbs

Qualitative research is concerned with qualitative phenomenon of

ditransitive verbs

Methods of the study

- Describing English and Vietnamese ditransitive verbs

- Making contrastive analysis (qualitative and quantitative)

- Anticipating Vietnamese learners’ errors

1.5 SCOPES OF THE STUDY

- To differentiate complex transitive verbs and their equivalents according to their experiential meanings concentrating on the most common structures and patterns of ditransitive verbs

- To make contrastive analysis of English ditransitive verbs and their complementation and the Vietnamese equivalents

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- To evaluate the English - Vietnamese translation in some bilingual books available and teaching English at upper-secondary school

1.6 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

Theoretical: The study provides the detailed information of ditransitive verbs in

both languages for further studies

Practical: The study helps learners and users of English deal with the translation

and learning English

1.7 STRUCTURE OF THE STUDY

The study consists of four chapters namely: Introduction, Literature review, Syntactic and semantic featuures of ditransitive verbs in English and their Vietnamese equivalents in a literature work, and Conclusion, of which major contents are as follows:

Chapter 1 presents the rationale for the research, the aims, the objectives, the

scope of the research, the significances of research as well as the structural organization of the thesis

Chapter 2 discusses some previous studies on different kinds of verb in

English and Vietnamese and the theoretical background about ditransitive verb group

Chapter 3 presents the syntactic and semantic features of ditransitive verb

group in English and Vietnamese and finds out the similarities and differences between them

Chapter 4 makes conclusions on each of the research objectives,

implications, limitations and suggestions for further research

References come at the end of the study

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Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 PREVIOUS STUDIES

In Vietnamese, verbs have been recognized and explained systematically It

should be noticed the works of Diep Quang Ban, who wrote “Ngữ Pháp Tiếng Việt” (NXB Giáo dục, 2005), and Nguyen Huu Quynh, Nguyen Thu Minh with “Ngữ Pháp Tiếng Việt” (NXB Từ điển Bách Khoa, 11/2206” In this book, the author

analyzed Vietnamese verb and show their semantic and syntactic features

Hoàng Phê (1998), Vietnamese dictionary analyzed and improved to the meaning and the structures of ditransitive verbs In addition, some authors of Journal of Science and technology in Da nang and Hai Phong University such as:

Huynh Phan Doan Thuy, a study of linguistic features of result copular verbs in English and In Vietnamese; Vu Thi Ngoc Mai, the passive voice in English through contrastive analysis with Vietnamese These researchers studied about the

distinction between transitive verbs and intransitive verbs in English and Vietnamese translational equivalents

Although all the studies above thoroughly describe about the semantic or the meaning features of the ditransitive verbs, they have not been exploited in terms of both syntactic and semantic features yet Especially, the equivalents between two languages English and Vietnamese has not been implemented yet Moreover, the implications for teaching and learning the ditransitive verbs from English into Vietnamese have not carried out yet

2.2 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

2.2.1 THEORY OF SYNTAX

There are a number of theoretical approaches to the discipline of syntax One school

of thought, founded in the works of Derek Bickerton, sees syntax as a branch of biology, since it conceives of syntax as the study of linguistic knowledge as embodied in the human mind Other linguists (e.g., Gerald Gazdar) take a more Platonistic view, since they regard syntax to be the study of an abstract formal system Yet others (e.g., Joseph Greenberg) consider syntax a taxonomical device to reach broad generalizations across languages

2.2.2 THEORY OF SEMANTICS

A linguistic theory that investigates word meanings This theory understands that the meaning of a word is fully reflected by its context Here, the meaning of a word is constituted by its contextual relations Therefore, a distinction

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between degrees of participation as well as modes of participation are made.[6] In order to accomplish this distinction any part of a sentence that bears a meaning and combines with the meanings of other constituents is labeled as a semantic constituent Semantic constituents that cannot be broken down into more elementary constituents are labeled minimal semantic constituents

2.2.3 OVERVIEW OF ENGLISH VERS

2.2.3.1 Definition of linguists about verbs

• L G Alexander (1988): “A verb is a word or a phrase which express the existence of a state or the doing of an action”

• According to Sidney Grennbaum, the term “verb” is used in two

ways:

(1) A verb is a word that displays contracts such as tense, aspect, mood, voice, number (singular/plural), and person It is generally inflected to offer non-finite form: infinitive (write), -ing participle (writing), -ed participle (written) A non- finite main verb (or lexical verb) may combine with one or more auxiliaries (or auxiliary verbs) in a verb phrase (may write, has been writing, could have written, was being written)

(2) A verb (consisting of a verb phrase) combine with the subject

of the sentence to constitute a minimum sentence: I (subject) won (verb); Dinner (subject) is servered (verb); No complaints (subject) have been received (verb); All the guests (subject) have been complaining (verb) If a

sentence contains more than one clause, it is usual for each clause to have

each own verb (The sun is shining(1) but I predict(2) that it will rain (3)before we leave(4)

According to Quirk et al (1971), “A verb is considered as dynamic or stative

verb according to its occurrence with progressive aspect (He was typing a letter) or not (He was knowing the answer) The distinction between verbs in dynamic use (as with type) and stative use (as with know) is a fundamental one in

English grammar, and it is also reflected in a number of other ways than in the progressive”

2.2.3.2 Classification of verbs

Verbs are classified according to:

+ Their function:

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- Lexical: In linguistics a lexical verb is a member of an open

class of verbs that includes all verbs except auxiliary verbs Lexical verbs typically express action, state, or other predicate meaning In contrast, auxiliary verbs express grammatical meaning The verb phrase of a sentence is generally headed by

auxiliary verbs Auxiliary verbs are also called helping verbs, helper verbs,

or (verbal) auxiliaries

+ Their forms (verb phrase structure):

- Finite: In English grammar, a finite verb is a form of a verb that shows agreement with a subject and is marked for tense

- Non-finite: Nonfinite verbs are not marked for tense and do not show agreement with a subject

+ Their meaning:

- Dynamic verbs: In English grammar, a dynamic verb is a verb used primarily to indicate an action, process, or sensation as opposed to a state Also called an action verb or an event verb Also known as a non-stative verb or action verb

- Stative verbs: Stative verbs describe a state rather than an action They aren't usually used in the present continuous form Stative verbs often relate to: thoughts and opinions: agree, believe, doubt, guess, imagine, know, mean, recognise, remember, suspect, think, understand

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Intensive means to focus on one thing; in this case, the subject The words

or phrases following an intensive verb work as the subject complement This means they apply to the subject, not the verb

Examples: “Rose is a student”

– The focus of this sentence is Rose and what she is “Tomas looks very young for his age”

– The focus of this sentence is Tomas and what he looks like

- Extensive verbs: We use extensive verbs to say what the subject is doing Extensive verbs are most other verbs, they do not have a subject complement Extensive means to cover a wider area, it takes information away from the subject Words or phrases following an extensive verb work as the verb’s object They apply

to the verb, not the subject

Examples: “John runs very fast”

The focus of this sentence is run, and how he does that

“Mary paints quite badly”

The focus of this sentence is paints, and how she does that

- Transitive verbs: A transitive verb is a verb that accepts one or

more objects Transitive verbs can be classified by the number of objects they require Verbs that accept only two arguments, a subject and a single direct object, are monotransitive Verbs that accept two objects, a direct object and an indirect

object, are ditransitive, or less commonly bitransitive.[3] An example of a

ditransitive verb in English is the verb to give, which may feature a subject, an indirect object, and a direct object: John gave Mary the book

Verbs that take three objects are tritransitive In English a tritransitive verb features

an indirect object, a direct object, and a prepositional phrase – as in I'll trade you this bicycle for your binoculars – or else a clause that behaves like an argument – as

in I bet you a pound that he has forgotten Not all descriptive grammars recognize

tritransitive verbs

- Intransitive verbs: An intransitive verb is defined as a verb that does not take a direct object That means there's no word in the sentence that tells who or what received the action of the verb While there may be a word or phrase following

an intransitive verb, such words and phrases typically answer the question "how?"

2.2.3.3 Classification of verbs according to their complementation

Complementation is defined as part of a phrase or clause which follows

adjunct, and when this element can not be dropped without changing the

meaning of the verb The verb in such clause is a copular (or linking) verb For example:

[1] John is only a boy (SVC)

 Complex transitive complementation

Complex transitive complementation represents a fusion of monotransitive and intensitive types of complementation, according to Quirk, R et al (1972:850) For example:

[3] We considered Bill a friend (SVOO)

(Quirk, R et al., 1972:850)

 Ditransitive complementation

Ditransitive complementation in its basic form involves two objects that are not

in a co-referential, intensive relation, according to Quirk, R et al (1972:843) For example:

[4] John offered Mary some help (SVOO)

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between the subject and the subject complementation The verb in sentences with subject complement is a “copular” (or linking verb), which of itself has little meaning but functions as a link between the complement subject

There are two subgroups:

(1) Current intensive: be, appear, look, feel, remain, keep

[5] Her rug is too small for her living room (SVC)

(E Warriner, J & Graham, L.S 1980:108)

(2) Resulting intensive: become, come, get, go, grow, turn

[6] She grew tired of his complaints (SVC)

(E Warriner, J & Graham, L.S 1980:108)

Extensive verbs

Extensive verbs are those that extend their meaning to a new entity, of which the presence helps complete the meaning of the action or a state

[7] I mailed some letters (SVO)

(Andrew, J & Murphy, 1980:69)

[8] She is writing a long letter home (SVOA)

(Leech, G & Svartvik, J 1984:304) Extensive verbs may be intransitive or transitive

 Intransitive verbs

Verbs which do not take object or intensive complements are intransitive

Some are almost always intransitive (snow, vanish) Others represent intransitive uses of basically transitive verbs (eat, drive, read) In some types there is a

corresponding transitive use, in others, not Intransitive verbs take the sentence type SV

[9] Quick! The train has arrived (SV)

(Alexander, L.G.1998:6) There are two subclasses of intransitive verbs:

+ Common intransitive verbs:

- Simple: come, go, work,

- Derived: return, retire,

+ Phrasal V intransitive: take off, set up, come to

 Transitive verbs

Verbs which take objects or complements are transitive

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2.2.4 CLASSIFICATION OF SENTENCES IN TERMS OF SENTENCE

PATTERN, SENTENCE ELEMENTS AND VERB COMPLEMENTATION 2.2.4.1 Sentence patterns

There are four Basic Patterns:

Every sentence pattern below describes a different way to combine clauses When you are drafting your own papers or when you’re revising them for sentence variety, try to determine how many of these patterns you use If you favor one particular pattern, your writing might be kind of boring if every sentence has exactly the same pattern If you find this is true, try to revise a few sentences using a different pattern

NOTE: Because nouns can fill so many positions in a sentence, it’s easier to analyze sentence patterns if you find the verbs and find the connectors The most common connectors are listed below with the sentence patterns that use them

In the descriptions below, S=Subject and V=Verb, and options for arranging the clauses in each sentence pattern given in parentheses Connecting words and the associated punctuation are highlighted in brown Notice how the punctuation changes with each arrangement

Pattern 1: Simple Sentence

One independent clause (SV.)

Mr Potato Head eats monkeys

I refuse

Pattern 2: Compound Sentence

Two or more independent clauses They can be arranged in these ways: (SV, and SV.) or (SV; however, SV.)

Connectors with a comma, the FANBOYS: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so (See our

handout on commas for more info.)

Connectors with a semicolon and comma: however, moreover, nevertheless,

nonetheless, therefore

Example compound sentences:

Mr Potato Head eats them for breakfast every day, but I don’t see the attraction Eating them makes him happy; however, he can’t persuade me

Pattern 3: Complex Sentence

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One independent clause PLUS one or more dependent clauses They can be arranged in these ways: (SV because SV.) or (Because SV, SV.) or (S, because SV, V.)

Connectors are always at the beginning of the dependent clause They show how the

dependent clause is related to the independent clause This list shows different types of relationships along with the connectors that indicate those relationships:

 Cause/Effect: because, since, so that

 Comparison/Contrast: although, even though, though, whereas, while

 Place/Manner: where, wherever, how, however

 Possibility/Conditions: if, whether, unless

 Relation: that, which, who, whom

 Time: after, as, before, since, when, whenever, while, until

Examples of complex sentences:

He recommends them highly because they taste like chicken when they are hot

Although chicken always appeals to me, I still feel skeptical about monkey Mrs Potato Head, because she loves us so much, has offered to make her special monkey souffle for us

She can cook it however she wants

Although I am curious, I am still skeptical

Pattern 4: Compound-Complex Sentence

Two or more independent clauses PLUS one or more dependent clauses They can be arranged in these ways: (SV, and SV because SV.) or (Because SV,

SV, but SV.)

Connectors: Connectors listed under Patterns 2 & 3 are used here Find the

connectors, then find the verbs and subjects that are part of each clause

Mr Potato Head said that he would share the secret recipe; however, if he does, Mrs Potato Head will feed him to the piranhas, so we are both safer and happier if I don’t eat monkeys or steal recipes

2.2.4.2 Sentence elements

Parts of Sentences: Subject, Predicate, Object, Indirect Object, Complement

Every word in a sentence serves a specific purpose within the structure of that particular sentence According to rules of grammar, sentence structure can

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sometimes be quite complicated For the sake of simplicity, however, the basic parts

of a sentence are discussed here

The two most basic parts of a sentence are the subject and predicate

SUBJECT

The subject of a sentence is the person, place, or thing that is performing the action of the sentence The subject represents what or whom the sentence is

about The simple subject usually contains a noun or pronoun and can include

modifying words, phrases, or clauses

The man

PREDICATE

The predicate expresses action or being within the sentence The simple predicate

contains the verb and can also contain modifying words, phrases, or clauses

The man / builds a house

The subject and predicate make up the two basic structural parts of any complete sentence In addition, there are other elements, contained within the subject or predicate, that add meaning or detail These elements include the direct object, indirect object, and subject complement All of these elements can be expanded and further combined into simple, compound, complex, or compound/complex

sentences (See TIP Sheet on "Sentence Type and Purpose.")

DIRECT OBJECT

The direct object receives the action of the sentence The direct object is usually a

noun or pronoun

The man builds a house

The man builds it

INDIRECT OBJECT

The indirect object indicates to whom or for whom the action of the sentence is

being done The indirect object is usually a noun or pronoun

The man builds his family a house

The man builds them a house

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The man seems kind (kind = adjective which describes the subject)

Note: As an example of the difference between parts of speech and parts of a

sentence, a noun can function within a sentence as subject, direct object, indirect object, object of a preposition, or subject complement

For more information on the structure and formation of sentences, see the following TIP Sheets:

Sentence Types and Purposes

Sentence Fragments

Independent and Dependent Clauses: Coordination and Subordination

Prepositions and Prepositional Phrases

Other Phrases: Verbal, Appositive, Absolute

Comma Splices and Run-on Sentences

The Eight Parts of Speech

be affected by the verb either directly or indirectly

The indirect object is that clause constituent which immediately follows

the Predicator in clauses with two objects It can become the subject in a passive clause and have a prepositional paraphrase

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2.2.6 OVERVIEW OF TRANSITIVE VERBS

2.2.6.1 Definition of the transitive verbs

A transitive verb is a verb that requires a direct object, which is a noun,

pronoun, or noun phrase that follows the verb and completes the sentence's meaning by indicating the person or thing that receives the action of the verb The

direct object typically answers the question what? or whom?:

- The kids like pickles

- That really annoys me

- Have they sold their house yet?

2.2.6.2 Classification of transitive verbs

Transitive verbs are divided into monotransitive, ditransitive, and

complextransitive verbs:

• Monotransitive verbs

Verbs with one extensive complement are called monotransitive The complement is a direct object or a prepositional object Its sentence type is SVO

Verbs used in monotransitive function require a direct object, may be a noun phrase, a finite clause, or a non-finite clause In addition to these categories the verb may be a prepositional verb or phrasal prepositional verb, which for our present purposes will be treated as analogous to a verb with a direct object

+ Simple: ask, answer, build, buy, do, speak, cut

[10] She cut a cake with a knife (SVOA)

(Leech, G & Svartvik, J 1984:299) + Phrasal: give up, make up, set off, switch on, switch off, turn down

[11] Hazel is out We set off early (SVA)

(Alexander, L G 1998:157) + Prepositional: depend on

[12] The price depends on when you travel (SVA)

(Wood, E J 1994:308) + Phrasal prepositional: cut down on, get on with, catch up with [13] Jack has cut down on smoking He only smokes five cigarettes a day now

(Wood, E J 1994:308)

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 Ditransitive verbs

All transitive verbs take a direct object; some, in addition, permit an indirect object, and these will be distinguished as ditransitive Ditransitive verbs take the sentence type SVOO

+ Simple verb ditransitive: buy, bring, make, lend, find, pay

[14] I have paid George the whole sum

(Quirk, R & Greenbaum, S 1973:119) + Prepositional verb ditransitive: accuse of, aware of, inform of, compare to, provide with, remind of

[15] They accused me of telling lies

(Raymon, M 1994:120)

 Complex transitive verbs

All transitive verbs take a direct object; a few verbs take an object complement and these will be referred to as complex transitive The direct object generally represents a person or thing, and the object complement adds the information about the entity from the standpoint of the subject This information can describe or identify the referent of the direct object by means of some attribute; or express a circumstance or situation in which the referent is said to be Complex transitive verbs take the sentence type SVOC and SVOA

+ With SVOC type:

- Factual verbs: imagine, like, find, think

[16] I found her to be an entertaining partner

(Leech, G & Svartvik, J 1984:297

- Causative verbs: have, let, make

[17] Miss Prouty made the boys stay in after school

(Alexander, L G 1998:300)

- Verbs of perception: notice, observe, watch

[18] I saw two men cutting down a tree

(East Wood, J 1994:173)

- Other verbs: elect, consider, interpret, class, accept

[19] They considered him the best player on the team

(Leech, G & Svartvik, J 1984:303) + With SVOA type: put, place, stand

[20] She put the coat over his arm

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(East Wood, J 1994:12)

2.3 OVERVIEW OF VIETNAMESE VERBS

2.3.2 DEFINITION OF A VIETNAMES VERB

A verb in Vietnamese is a word (sentence component) used to express activity (chạy, đi , đọc), status (tồn tại, ngồi)

2.3.2 CLASSIFICATION OF VIETNAMESE VERBS

2.3.2.1 Independent verbs

An independent verb means a full meaning, which can take on the grammar

function alone in a phrase or sentence For example, đi, làm, chạy, nhảy, múa

Independent phrases can be classified into smaller groups such as: an action/activity expression, a state expression, a move that expresses a position, an admed word that shows the process

The distinction between groups of words is usually based on two criteria: synology and grammar criteria For example, in terms of expressing grammar meaning, it is first necessary to distinguish two important groups of words:

– A verb sign physical actions/activities such as ăn, uống, đánh, đẩy, cắt, kéo, chạy, nhảy, leo, trèo

– A verb expresses activity or psychological state such as: thích thú, biết, hiểu, cảm thấy, lo lắng, sợ, tôn trọng, do dự, hồi hộp, mong ước, mơ ước, kính nể

The distinction of different types of verbs is associated with their ability to

combine verbs that sign represent physical activity can be combined with verbs that

represent the results of the action, which work as: rồi, but the majority of verbs that

sign represent activity or psychological state often cannot be combined with those verbs, or can only be combined very limitedly and will give a different meaning For example: I can say: Tôi ăn xong rồi, but I can't say: Tôi tôn trọng xong rồi When you say, “Tôi sợ anh rồi.” the verb “rồi” indicates a different meaning.

In both of these types of phrases, we can distinguish intranitive and transitive verbs + Intransitive verbs defer actions, activities, or states that cannot directly affect another object, e.g ngủ, nằm, đi, đứng, suy nghĩ.

+ Transitive verbs sign an action, activity, or state that can directly impact another object or create another object, e.g đào, tìm, bắt, xây, viết, mua, sản xuất.

When it comes to the passive voice, we can only use transitive verbs For

example, Họ đang đào đường → Đường đang bị họ đào

However, in Vietnamese, some verbs can be both intransitive and

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transitive For example: The verb đi, chạy in principle is not a foreign word but the Vietnamese still use it as a foreign word (e.g “Nó đi quân mã để ra xe cho nhanh.”, or: “Hai vợ chồng đang bận chạy trường tốt cho con.”

– State verbs: These are verbs that express subjective relationships (attitudes, assessments, wills, wills ) of the person with the content of the sentence or with objective realism The following groups of state verbs can be distinguished:

+ The word signs an assessment of the degree of necessity: nên, cần, phải, cần phải

+ The verbs sign an assessment of the possibility: có thể, không thể/chưa thể

+ The verbs sign the assessment of misfortune: bị (tai nạn), được (nhà), mắc, phải (ví dụ: mắc căn bệnh nhà giàu, phải một trận đòn)

+ The verbs sign the desired attitude: trông, mong, chúc, ước, cầu, muốn

+ The verbs sign the level of will, will: dám, định, nỡ, buồn (often used more with the negative meaning), thôi, đành

– Verbs showing existence: These are verbs that show the actual existence of things or phenomena Belonging to this group there are 3 verbs:

+ The verbs sign the additional or continued existence of things, phenomena: Còn For example:

– Trong nhà còn hai người nữa

– Trong túi tôi còn tiền

+ The verbs sign existence: Có For example:

– Trên đỉnh núi có một ngôi chùa

– Trong nhà có tiếng khóc

+ The verbs sign the end of existence of things, phenomena: hết For

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example:

– Trong nhà hết sạch tiền rồi

– Relative verbs (Động từ quan hệ): These are verbs used to express

the relationship between things and the nature or function of things: là, làm

For example:

– Im lặng là vàng

– Hồi làm giám đốc, ông ấy đã từng mắc tội tham nhũng

It should be added that the above distinction is sometimes only

relative, because in reality some Vietnamese verbs can be both independent

and non-independent ones, such as có, làm

2.4 SUMMARY

This chapter has just investigated the concepts of verbs, sentence patterns,

sentence elements, objects, and transitive verbs in English This study basically

bases on L.G Alexander`s points of view

In Vietnamese, there are different kinds of verbs that can be transitive,

transitive or both transitive and intransitive ones

All the investigations are the sources for the following chapters in this study

3.1.1 FORMATION OF DITRANSITIVE VERBS

All transitive verbs follow a direct object; some, in addition, permit an indirect object, and these will be distinguished as ditransitive Ditransitive verbs help form the sentence type SVOO In terms of their word formation, there are five subclasses of ditransitive verbs, namely:

(i) Simple ditransitive verbs: buy, bring, make, lend, find, pay, give, offer… [21] I have paid George the whole sum

(Quirk, R & Greenbaum, S 1973:119)

[22] Will you find me a seat?

(ii) Derived ditransitive verbs: reassign, recharge, remake, overpay, oversell,

oversupply, uncap (something for somebody), unhook (something for somebody), undercharge, undersell, understate (something for someone), undertake, etc

[23] He makes her the happiness of women

[p.40, A tale of two cities, Charles Dicken]

[24] She undertook herself to complete the work in time

(iii) Ditransitive phrasal verbs: (often used with the transformed SVOA,

hence mixed with complex transitive verbs): get through….for, give back…to/for…, take in…for…, etc

[25] Please get through the work for me soon

[26] I’ll give back the book to him as soon as possible

(iv) Prepositional ditransitive verbs: inform…of, supply…with, accuse …of,

provide…with, remind…of, charge…with, compare…to, congratulate…on, convince…of, deprive…of, introduce…to, rob… of,…

[27] Stryer praised him for the rare point of resemblance he had shown that day

[p.25 A tale of two cities, Charles Dicken]

[28] They supplied us with everything necessary

Most of the ditransitive prepositional verbs allow a passive with the direct

object as subject

20

[29]His name was Charles Darner and he had been accused ofbeing a triator against the illustrious King by helping the French ruler time again

[p.19A tale of two cities, Charles Dicken]

(v) Phrasal prepositional ditransitive verbs

Phrasal-prepositional verbs consist of a verb and two particles, the first

an adverb and the second a preposition Ditransitive phrasal-prepositional verbs have two objects

[30] They should be honest about it and put the plant up for sale

[Greenbaum, S 1996:286]

Other verbs of this type are: put (sth) down to, get (sth) across to, fill (sb)

in on…

3.1.2 POSITIONS OF OBJECTS

The direct object normally comes after the verb

[31] She eats berries

[E.Warriner, J & Graham, L.S 1980:99]

In WH-questions and in nominal relative clauses it is fronted

[32]Which books do you want?

but in WH-question it is fronted

[35] Who (O i ) did they give a watch (O d )?

[38] People in western countries prefer to travel by public transportation

- Anticipatory it + finite clause:

[39] I find it strange that he refuses to go

- A prepositional group of time or place:

[40] Do not choose by a swamp for a picnic

The indirect object is realized by Nominal groups and Nominal relative clauses:

[41] I love her (Pron)

[42] I know where she has been

3.1.4 SVOO — SVOA TRANSFORMATION

The sentence type SVOO can be easily transformed into SVOA where the Indirect Object is substitued by a prepositional phrase and placed after the Direct Object (i.e with a change of word order)

[43]John gave Jane a card — John gave a card to Jane

Below is the list of some common verbs, which allow the Indirect Object

to be replaced by a prepositional phrase, the preposition concerned, being indicated:

Ask (a question) of John Bring something to somenone

Do a favour for someone Do a disservice to someone

Find a place for them Give a book to someone

3.2 DITRANSITIVE VERBS – THEIR SEMANTIC FEATURES

3.2.1 A BENEFICIARY OR TARGET OF THE ACTION

22

process has an Actor Some processes, but not all, also have a second participant, which is called a GOAL In this type of process, the subject means the Actor, Oi compare with the recipient and Od becomes the Goal of the action

[45] The duke gave my aunt(oi) this teapot(Od)

Actor V Recipient (beneficiary) goal

Verbs belonging to this process are: give someone something, bring

someone something, offer someone something

We have the Vietnamese equivalents:

Ngài công tước tặng tôi cái bình này

Actor V Recipient (beneficiary) goal

Chúng tôi se mua cho anh ấy một chiếc xe mới

Actor V Recipient(beneficiary) goal

Cô ấy đã gửi cho anh ấy bức thư này

[48] We taught him (Oi) this lesson.(Od)

Actor V Recipient phenomenon (goal)

Chúng tôi dã day anh ta bài này

For more examples:

[49] This reminded me (Oi) of my important task.(Od) Actor V Recipient phenomenon (goal) [50] We’re going to translate this most important speech for the president

Chúng tôi đang dịch bài văn rất quan trọng cho ngài tổng thống

3.2.3 VERBAL LEXICAL MEANING

This is the process of saying

[51] We informed her (Oi) of the news (Od)

Sayer verbal Process Receiver verbiage

23

The other verbs used in this type of process are: tell someone something, promise someone something, ask someone something…………

For more examples:

[52] We told him (Oi) this story (Od) Sayer verbal

Process Receiver verbiage Chúng tôi đã kể cho anh ta nghe câu chuyện này

compensation.(Od)

Process Receiver verbiage [54]They asked us (Oi) why we didn’t attend the meeting.(Od) Sayer verbal

Process Receiver verbiage [55] Mr.Lorry told the others that there was nothing to fear

Sayer verbal

Process Receiver verbiage

[p.3 A tale of two cities, C.Dickens] [56] The girl assured him that nothing would be worse than the uncertainty

Sayer verbal

Process Receiver verbiage

[p.7 A tale of two cities, C.Dickens] [57] Please promise me that you will tell no one bout this

The Vietnamese learners often think that the preposition “cho” is “for” and “về is “about”:

24

Cô ấy thông báo cho tôi về tin đó

She informed me about that news [incorrect]

She informed me of that news [correct]

3.3 THE DITRANSITIVE VERBS IN ENGLISH AND THEIR

VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS

3.3.1 IN TERMS OF SYNTACTIC FEATURES

A verb, which can take both a Direct object and an Indirect Object is called a Ditransitive verb

The Indirect Object is put immediately after the verb group, in front of the Direct Object:

[58] Stryver gave him a heap of documents

In Vietnamese sentences, the structure is quite similar, there are two

complements standing after the verb According to Nguyen Kim Than , the above Vietnamese sentences use the pattern N1 + V + N2 + N3 in which N1 is the first noun, N2 is the second noun and N3 is the third noun of the sentence V is the verb of the sentence

According to Nguyen Minh Thuyet and Nguyen Van Hiep (1998, p169), the above Vietnamese sentences use the sentence pattern S + V + C1 + C2 in which S

is the subject of the sentence, V is the verb and C1 is the first complement, C2 is the second complement of the sentence

According to traditional grammar, ditransitive verbs are followed by:

 Indirect Object in prepositional phrases (according to traditional grammar)

Instead of putting the Indirect Object in front of the Direct Object, it is possible to put it in a prepositional phrase that comes after the Direct Object

[60] Robert read a chapter to me

25

(Quirk, R Greenbaum, S 1990:354) Robert đọc cho tôi một chương

Preposition to can be used with some verbs, especially ones where the

Direct Object is something, which is transferred from one to another The

equivalent of to in Vietnamese is cho, đến (tay)

The following verbs can be used with this type of construction:

The preposition for (cho in Vietnamese) can be used in case the action

you are describing involves one person doing something which will benefit another person

[61] He bought a white hat for the girl

(Quirk, R Greenbaum, S 1973:370)

Anh ấy đã mua cho cô gái một cái mũ trắng

S V C1 C2

(Nguyễn Minh Thuyết, Nguyễn Văn Hiệp 1998, p169)

The following lists give some of the verbs that occur in this type of

construction: Book, bring, build, buy, cash, cook, cut, design, fetch, find, fix, get, guarantee, keep, leave, make, mix…

This structure is used particularly if you want to focus on the indirect object

[62]I paid the money to John

(Quirk, R Greenbaum, S 1990:371)

Tôi đã trả cho John món tiền

S V C1 C2

(Nguyễn Minh Thuyết, Nguyễn Văn Hiệp 1998, p169)

As you can see in Vietnamese sentences, the same inversion is made

and it is possible In Vietnamese we can both say Tôi đã trả cho John món

is not, the Indirect Object is put at the end of the clause

[63] He took the bottle and handed it to his wife

[Cobuild, C 1990:31]

Anh ta cầm cái chai và đưa nó cho vợ của anh ấy

[64] She finished the last letters and passed them to the secretary

[Cobuild, C 1990:32]

In Vietnamese sentences, nó and chúng are used instead of cái chai and những bức thư cuối to avoid the repetition and they both precede cho vợ and cho cô thư ký In English, it is impossible to omit it and them but in Vietnamese nó and chúng can be optional

3.3.2 DITRANSITIVE COMPLEMENTATION IN ENGLISH AND THE EQUIVALENT IN VIETNAMESE

3.3.2.1 Noun phrase as both Indirect Object and Direct Object

Ditransitive complementation involves two objects that are not in a referential, intensive relationship: an Indirect Object (normally animate), which

co-is positioned first, and a Direct Object (normally concrete)

[65] We booked you a double room with bath

S=NP V=VP Oi =NP Od=NP

[Quirk, R & Greenbaum, S 1973:199]

Chúng tôi đã đặt cho anh một phòng đôi có phòng tắm

27

complement, it is a noun or a personal pronoun

In English, Indirect Objects can be omitted without affecting the meaning or function of the rest of the sentence

[66] Someone has just handed (me) this message

[Quirk, R & Greenbaum, S 1973:119]

Ai đó vừa trao (cho tôi) tin nhắn này

[67] Mr.Lorry called him as soon as he could enter and handed him a piece of paper S=NP V=VP Oi =NP Od=NP

Ông Lorry gọi anh ta ngay sau khi ông ta qua đám đông và với tay đưa cho anh

ta một tờ giấy

The same omission can be made for the Vietnamese one without

affecting the meaning of the sentence

In English Indirect Object can take prepositional phrases

[68]Barbara made a beautiful dress for her daughter

[Alexander, L G 1998:8]

Barbara đã may cho con gái bà một chiếc váy đẹp

[69]Mr Lorry, did he recognise the prisioner as one of the passengers in the Dover

Mail

Ông Lorry, ông có nhận ra bị cáo là một trong hai hành khách ở Dover Mail

One upset of verbs with ditransitive complementation is distinguished by a different object relation It includes discourse verbs like ask, teach, tell, as well as owe, pay and show With these verbs either object can be omitted without changing the basic meaning; a prepositional paraphrase is also possible And in Vietnamese, the same omission can be made

[70]I asked John a question

[Quirk, R et al 1972: 844]

Tôi đã hỏi John một câu hỏi

I asked John (Tôi hỏi John)

I asked a question (Tôi hỏi một câu)

When the direct object is omitted with a verb like ask, the verb becomes monotransitive The verbs like give, however, do not become monotransitive [71] I gave Justin some of my shirts

[Quirk, R & Greenbaum, S 1990:354]

28

Tôi cho Justin vài cái áo của tôi

S V C1 C2

[Nguyễn Minh Thuyết, Nguyễn Văn Hiệp 1998, p169]

If the direct object of the above sentence is omitted, the verb give can not become monotransitive

I gave Justin [incorrect] /

I gave some of my shirts [incorrect]

Object and prepositional object

In the ditransitive category, prepositional verbs form an important group with its own sub-division The indirect object is normally animate, and is the recipient or beneficiary of the process described by the verb Unlike ditransitive verbs with non- prepositional objects, ditransitive verbs with a prepositional object normally have only one passive analogue

[72] I discussed the matter with him all the afternoon

[Michael, V 1994:121]

Tôi đã thảo luận với anh ta về vấn đề đó suốt buổi chiều

S V C1 C2 [Nguyễn Minh Thuyết, Nguyễn Văn Hiệp 1998]

The matter was discussed with him all the afternoon

Vấn đề đó đã được thảo luận với anh ta suốt buổi chiều

S V C1

[73] He asked the guard for permission to read

[p.4 A tale of two cities, C.Dickens]

Anh ta cầu xin tên lính cho anh ta đọc

S V C1 C2

[74] His wife implored the King and the court for news of him

[p.7 A tale of two cities, C.Dickens]

Vợ ông ấy cầu xin nhà vua và hội đồng về tin tức của ông ấy

S V C1 C2

[75] Monsieur Defarge took the elderly man and the young lady with him

somewhere

[p.10 A tale of two cities, C.Dickens]

Monsieur Defarge đã mang theo cụ già và cô gái trẻ cùng anh ta đi đâu đó