Teaching the verb phrase to english majored freshmen at can tho in service university

Comparatively, the researcher contrasted 1 the result of the diagnostic test with that of the achievement test to see the students’ progress in identifying as well as using various Engli

Vietnam National University of Ho Chi Minh City University of Social Sciences & Humanities

_

TEACHING THE VERB PHRASE TO MAJORED FRESHMEN AT CAN THO IN-SERVICE

ENGLISH-UNIVERSITY

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements

for the degree of Master of Arts (TESOL)

SUBMITTED BY

THÁI THỊ BÍCH PHƯỢNG

Under the supervision of

TÔ MINH THANH, Ph.D

Ho Chi Minh City, April 2012

i

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

I certify that this thesis entitled “TEACHING THE VERB PHRASE TO ENGLISH-MAJORED

FRESHMEN AT CAN THO IN-SERVICE UNIVERSITY” is my own work

This thesis has not been submitted for the award of any degree or diploma in any other

institution

Ho Chi Minh City, April 2012

Thái Thị Bích Phượng

RETENTION AND USE OF THE THESIS

I hereby state that I, Thái Thị Bích Phượng, being the candidate for the degree of Master

of Arts (TESOL), accept the requirements of the university relating to the retention and

use of Master’s Thesis deposited in the University Library

I agree that the original of my Master’s Thesis deposited in the University Library should

be accessible for the purposes of study and research, in accordance with the normal

conditions established by the Library for the care, loan and reproduction for theses

Ho Chi Minh City, April 2012

Thái Thị Bích Phượng

iii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and above all, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to my wholehearted thesis supervisor, Ms Tô Minh Thanh, Ph.D for her constant enthusiastic guidance, enormously helpful advice, careful proof-reading and line-by-line comments on my writing Without her help, this M.A thesis would still be far from finished

My special thanks go to all my teachers in the TESOL program Also, I am grateful to

my colleagues at Can Tho In-Service University for their support as well as their contributing ideas to the completion of this thesis

I also owe sincere thanks to 53 English-majored freshmen in the academic year of

2010-2011 at Can Tho In-Service University for their cooperation and willingness of answering the questionnaires

Last but not least, I am greatly indebted to my beloved family for their warm love, unending help and support

ABSTRACT

The study done for and reported in this M.A thesis aims at empowering English-majored freshmen at Can Tho In-Service University (abbreviated to CIU) with the ability firstly to identify various English verb patterns and then to use these patterns properly in speech as well as in writing To accomplish this, the researcher did the study with recourse to a combination of three different research designs called descriptive research, experimental research and comparative research

Descriptively, the researcher processed the data from the results of the diagnostic test and the achievement test, the feedback from the three questionnaires delivered to 53 students and 8 teachers, and the responses from the interview for the students, she interpreted all the statistics to come up with the nature of the issue in question

Experimentally, the researcher designed 4 lesson plans and instructed the English verb phrase to English-majored freshmen of two different classes in eight forty-five-minute periods during the second semester of the academic year 2010-2011 at CIU

Comparatively, the researcher contrasted (1) the result of the diagnostic test with that of the achievement test to see the students’ progress in identifying as well as using various English verb patterns, and (2) the students’ responses from the first set of questionnaires with those from the second set of questionnaires in order to see whether or not the students had changed their attitude towards the roles of teaching the English verb phrase

in Grammar 1

The study’s major findings then revealed that teaching of the English verb phrase in a systematic and communicative manner to English-majored freshmen at CIU have positively contributed to enhancing the students’ ability to recognize English verb patterns of different kinds and to employ these patterns properly in their speech and writing What’s more, the study’s findings indicated that there was a sweeping change in the students’ attitude towards the roles of teaching the English verb phrase in the process

of the students’ acquiring English as a major at university

v

LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

Adj Adjective Adv General Adverb AdjP Adjective Phrase AdvP Adverb Phrase

CIU Can Tho In-Service University Deg Degree Adverbs

dO Direct Object EFL English Foreign Language ELT English Language Teaching

iO Indirect Object

oC Object Complement obA Obligatory Adverbial Adjunct opA Optional Adverbial Adjunct

PP Prepositional Phrase PrepO Prepositional Object

Vcomplex- Complex-transitive Verb

Vdi- Ditransitive Verb

Vdi-prep Ditransitive prepositional Verb

Vi Intransitive Verb

Vintens- Intensive Verb

Vmono- Mono-transitive Verb

Vmono-prep Monotransitive prepositional Verb

ditransitive verb + indirect object + direct object

Pattern 3: Vdi- dO to/for iO

ditransitive verb + direct object + to/for + indirect object

Pattern 4: Vmono- dO

monotransitive verb + direct object

Pattern 5: Vmono- dO obA

monotransitive verb + direct object + obligatory adverbial adjunct

Pattern 6: Vintens- sC

intensive verb + subject complement

Pattern 7: Vmono-prep prepO

monotransitive prepositional verb + prepositional object

Pattern 8: Vdi-prep dO prepO

ditransitive prepositional verb + direct object + prepositional object

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LIST OF CHARTS

Chart 5.1: Students’ responses to the question “Have you learnt the English

VP?” 44

Chart 5.2: Students’ understanding of what the English VP is like 44

Chart 5.3: Students’ understanding of what the clause elements are like 44

Chart 5.4: Students’ distinguishing obligatory elements from optional ones in the English clause 45

Chart 5.5: Students’ responses to whether or not a verb with various complementation types can belong to different sub-categories 46

Chart 5.6: Students’ responses to verb patterns in English taught in class 47

Chart 5.7: Students’ responses to the amount of time spent in class on teaching the English VP 48

Chart 5.8: Students’ responses to how important the teaching of the English VP is in their recognizing various verbs patterns in English……… 48

Chart 5.9: Students’ responses to how important the teaching of the English VP is in improving their ability to express properly in speech as well as in writing 49

Chart 5.10: Students’ responses to the assumption that CIU English-majored freshmen should learn the English VP in Grammar 1 50

Chart 5.11: Students’ responses for the time needed for the English VP to be taught in Grammar 1 50

Chart 5.12: Teachers’ qualifications 52

Chart 5.13: Teachers’ years of teaching English 52

Chart 5.14: Teachers’ responses to the question “Have you taught the English VP to your students?” 53

Chart 5.15: Teachers’ responses to what English verb patterns have been taught in Grammar 1 53

Chart 5.16: Teachers’ choice of classroom activities employed in teaching the English VP 54

Chart 5.17: Teachers’ viewpoints on the teaching of the English VP…… 55

Chart 5.18: Teachers’ viewpoints on the time needed for the English VP to be taught in class 55

Chart 5.19: Students’ results from the diagnostic test’s Section I 57

Chart 5.20: Students’ results from the diagnostic test’s Section II 58

Chart 5.21: Students’ results from the achievement test’s Section I 59

Chart 5.22: Students’ results from the achievement test’s Section II 60

Chart 5.23: Students’ compared groups from the two tests’ Section I 63

Chart 5.24: Students’ compared groups from the two tests’ Section II 63

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1.1: Grammar 1 3

Table 1.2: Grammar 2 3

Table 1.3: Grammar 3 3

Table 1.4: Grammar 4 3

Table 4.1: Teachers’ personal information 37

Table 4.2: Schedule for the experimental teaching 40

Table 5.1: Students’ gender 42

Table 5.2: Students’ age 42

Table 5.3: Students’ years of learning English as a foreign language 43

Table 5.4: Students’ reasons for the answer “No” 46

Table 5.5: Teachers’ age 51

Table 5.6: Students’ mistakes found in the diagnostic test’s Section I 57

Table 5.7: Students’ mistakes found in the diagnostic test’s Section II 58

Table 5.8: Students’ mistakes found in the achievement test’s Section I 60

Table 5.9: Students’ mistakes found in the achievement test’s Section II 61

Table 5.10: Students’ results of the achievement test (compared with those of the diagnostic test) 62

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Statement of authorship i

Retention and use of the thesis i

Acknowledgements iii

Abstract iv

List of abbreviations v

List of English verb patterns vi

List of charts vii

List of tables viii

Table of contents ix

Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1

1.1 Background of the study 1

1.2 Description of the grammar course for CIU English-majored freshmen 3

1.3 Rationale of the study 4

1.4 Significance of the study 4

1.5 Aims of the study 5

1.6 Research Questions 5

1.7 Limitation 5

1.8 Organization of the thesis 6

Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 7

2.1 Linguistic notions 7

2.1.1 Descriptive approach to grammar 7

2.1.2 Phrase structure in the light of descriptive grammar 7

2.1.2.1 The English noun phrase 8

2.1.2.2 The English verb phrase 9

2.1.2.3 The English adjective phrase 9

2.1.2.4 The English adverb phrase 10

2.1.2.5 The English prepositional phrase 10

2.1.3 Clause structure in the light of descriptive grammar 11

2.1.3.1 The Subject element 11

2.1.3.2 The Verb element 11

2.1.3.3 The Object element 13

2.1.3.4 The Complement element 14

2.1.3.5 The Adjunct element 14

2.2 Pedagogical notions 14

2.2.1 Approaches in teaching language 14

2.2.1.1 The Communicative approach to teaching language 15

2.2.1.2 Explicit teaching vs Implicit teaching 16

2.2.1.2.1 Explicit teaching 16

2.2.1.2.2 Implicit teaching 17

2.2.2 Common ways of teaching grammatical features 17

2.3 Related studies 19

2.4 Summary 21

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Chapter 3:

THE ENGLISH VERB PHRASE 22

3.1 Definition 22

3.1.1 Verb complementation 22

3.1.2 Obligatory and optional elements 22

3.1.2.1 Obligatory elements 22

3.1.2.2 Optional elements 22

3.1.3 Verb patterns 23

3.2 Classification 23

3.2.1 The complex transitive verb phrase 23

3.2.1.1 An adjective phrase as object complement [C1] 23

3.2.1.2 A noun phrase as object complement [C2] 24

3.2.1.3 A prepositional phrase as object complement [C3] 24

3.2.1.4 A non-finite clause as object complement 25

3.2.2 The ditransitive verb phrase 26

3.2.2.1 The ditransitive VP includes a ditransitive verb followed by its two obligatory constituents 27

3.2.2.2 Verbs contain to when the participant is Recipient and for when it is Beneficiary 27

3.2.3 The monotransitive verb phrase 27

3.2.3.1 The monotransitive VP includes a monotransitive verb followed by its single obligatory constituent – the direct object 28

3.2.3.2 The direct object is realised differently by different linguists………28

3.2.4 The intensive verb phrase 30

3.2.4.1 The intensive VP includes an intensive verb followed by its single obligatory constituent – the subject complement 30 3.2.4.2 Copular verbs fall into two main classes, according to whether the subject complement has the role of CURRENT ATTRIBUTE orofRESULTING ATTRIBUTE 30

3.2.4.3 There are verbs which have this function with severe restrictions on the words occurring in the complement 31

3.2.5 The prepositional verb phrase 31

3.2.5.1 A monotransitive prepositional verb followed by one and the same element: the prepO 31

3.2.5.2 A ditransitive prepositional verb followed by two elements: the dO and the prepO 32

3.2.6 The intransitive verb phrase 32

3.2.6.1 In its minimal form, the intransitive verb phrase includes only an intransitive verb 32

3.2.6.2 An intransitive verb is frequently modified by one or more optional adverbial adjuncts 33

3.2.6.3 The intransitive verb may require at least an obligatory adverbial adjunct 33

3.3 Summary 34

Chapter 4:

METHODOLOGY……….…… 35

4.1 Research questions 35

4.2 Research design 35

4.3 Participants 37

4.3.1 Student subjects 37

4.3.2 Teacher subjects 37

4.4 Instruments 38

4.4.1 The two tests 38

4.4.1.1 The diagnostic test 38

4.4.1.2 The achievement test 38

4.4.2 The questionnaires 38

4.4.2.1 Students’ two sets of questionnaires 38

4.4.2.2 Teachers’ questionnaire 39

4.4.3 The experimental teaching 39

4.4.4 The interviews with the students 40

4.5 Data collection procedures 40

4.6 Summary 41

Chapter 5: DATA ANALYSIS AND FINDINGS 42

5.1 Responses to students’ questionnaires 42

5.1.1 Responses for background information 42

5.1.1.1 Students’ personal information 42

5.1.1.2 Students’ experience in learning English 43

5.1.2 Responses to research questions 43

5.1.2.1 Students’ responses to their knowledge on the English VP43 5.1.2.2 Students’ responses to the amount of time spent in class on teaching the English VP 47

5.1.2.3 Students’ responses to their attitude towards teaching the English VP 48

5.1.2.4 Students’ responses to the time needed for the teaching of the English VP in Grammar 1 50

5.1.2.5 Brief summary 51

5.2 Responses to teachers’ questionnaire 51

5.2.1 Responses to personal information 51

5.2.2 Responses to research questions 52

5.2.2.1 Teachers’ responses to their teaching of the English VP 52

5.2.2.2 Teachers’ responses to their attitude towards adequately and explicitly teaching the English VP to CIU English-majored freshmen in Grammar 1 55

5.2.2.3 Teachers’ responses to the time needed for instructing the English VP in Grammar 1 55

5.2.2.4 Brief summary 56

5.3 Results of the two tests 56

5.3.1 Students’ results of the diagnostic test 56

5.3.1.1 Diagnostic test’s Section I 57

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5.3.1.2 Diagnostic test’s Section II 58

5.3.2 Students’ results of the achievement test 59

5.3.2.1 Achievement test’s Section I 59

5.3.2.2 Achievement test’s Section II 60

5.3.3 Comparisons of the two tests’ results 61

5.4 Interviews with the student subjects 63

5.4.1 Students’ previous exposure to the teaching of the English VP……….…… 63

5.4.2 Students’ opinions on the experimental teaching and the in-class activities applied in teaching and learning the English VP 64

5.5 Summary 65

Chapter 6: RECOMMENDATIONS RECOMMENDATIONS ……….……… 66

6.1 Summary of findings 66

6.2 Recommendations 68

6.2.1 To CIU English-majored freshmen 68

6.2.2 To CIU teachers of English 69

6.2.3 To the syllabus of Grammar 1 and teaching materials at CIU 69

6.3 Teaching implications 70

6.4 Limitations 70

6.5 Summary 71

CONCLUSION 73

BIBLIOGRAPHY 75

APPENDICES 80

Appendix 1: The diagnostic test 80

Appendix 2: Answer keys of the diagnostic test 82

Appendix 3: The achievement test 83

Appendix 4: Answer keys of the achievement test 85

Appendix 5A: Students’ results from the diagnostic test 86

Appendix 5B: Students’ results from the diagnostic test 87

Appendix 6A: Students’ results from the achievement test 88

Appendix 6B: Students’ results from the achievement test 89

Appendix 7A: Students’ questionnaire 1 (written in Vietnamese and delivered before the experimental teaching) 90

Appendix 7B: Students’ questionnaire 1 (translated into English from the Vietnamese version) 92

Appendix 8A: Students’ questionnaire 2 (written in Vietnamese and delivered after the experimental teaching) 94

Appendix 8B: Students’ questionnaire 2 (translated into English from the Vietnamese version) 95

Appendix 9: Teachers’ questionnaire 96

Appendix 10A: Interview for the student subjects (before the experimental teaching) 98

Appendix 10B: Interview for the student subjects (after the experimental teaching) 99

Appendix 11: Handouts 100

xiiiAppendix 12: Lesson plans 128

1

Chapter 1

INTRODUCTION 1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Teaching grammar is an indispensable part of ELT in an English Foreign Language (abbreviated to EFL) context Compared with classroom teaching innovations in the four basic language skills, i.e listening, speaking, reading and writing, those for grammar teaching have often been forgotten “Traditional lessons” are often given during in-class periods for grammar at colleges and universities in Vietnam The teaching and learning

of grammar at the colleges and universities has been, in fact, nothing but the teaching of

a new grammatical point, its forms/structures and rules for students to learn by heart; moreover, an emphasis on communicative language skills is not considered as the focus The teaching and learning of grammar in general and of the English verb phrase (abbreviated to the English VP) in particular at Can Tho In-Service University (abbreviated to CIU) is not an exception According to a recent interview conducted for CIU students, the teaching of the English VP at this university is often presented in a deductive way: CIU teachers provide their students with some examples of the English

VP to illustrate its patterns; the students are the requested either to apply the learned patterns to do such kinds of exercises as blank-filling, sentence-rewriting, sentence-completing, or to do multiple choice exercises As a result of such a traditional lesson, the teachers do not create a teaching and learning setting in which the students can actively take part in communicative activities though they all know for sure that a meaningful context for language use created via in-class activities does contribute to their students’ communicative competence Furthermore, CIU English-majored freshmen have difficulty in understanding many structures, especially those related to the English VP

As asserted by Biber et al [1999: 384]:

It is common for grammarians to use terms like ‘intransitive verbs’ and ‘transitive verbs’, as if one verb normally takes just one pattern However, the reality is different from this Most common verbs allow more than one pattern, and some allow a wide range More surprisingly, verbs that have the same potential range of valency patterns are often used in very different ways That is, there are important differences in the extent to which a verb actually occurs with one or another pattern

In the same vein, Burton-Roberts [1997: 80] adds that “verbs are sub-categorized according to what other elements must appear with them in the verb phrase In other

2

words, they are sub-categorised in terms of their complementation types (in terms of what complement they must take).”

The verb “consider” can be found in at least three different patterns:

The intransitive pattern (S Vi-)

The complex transitive pattern (SVcomplex- dO oC)

2 You CONSIDER it the safest and most prudent course for the men [5:387]

The monotransitive pattern (SVmono- dO)

3 Now CONSIDER three contrasting experiments [5:387] The verb “show” occurs in a number of patterns:

The intransitive pattern (S Vi-)

4 I could hear the letter-crackling in my pocket and wondered if it SHOWED [5:391]

The intensive pattern (SVintens- sC)

5 In one particular quarter it SHOWED black against a silvery climbing phosphorescence

[5:391]

The monotransitive pattern (SVmono- dO)

6 We SHOULD SHOW understanding for the fear of our neighbours

(with a noun phrase as direct object) [5:391]

7 Gamow SHOWED that the quantitative formalism accounted for the experimental results

(with a complement clause as direct object) [5:391]

The ditransitive pattern (S Vdi- iO dO)

8 I want to SHOW him the cover (with a noun phrase as direct object) [5:391]

9 Another glance SHOWED me that it was carried on a stick by a man

(with a complement clause as direct object) [5:391]

The ditransitive pattern (S Vdi- dO to/for iO)

The complex transitive pattern (SVcomplex- dO oC)

11 Even the ladies of our party, sitting in front, SHOWED themselves mildly interested as

Ted came by (with an adjective phrase as object predicative) [5:391]

12 But they still SHOW boardroom salaries growing faster than middle management’s

(with a complement clause as object predicative) [5:391]

On that account CIU students are discouraged to study the English VP Consequently, it

is almost impossible for the students to acquire the VP, applying it properly in speech as well as in writing Therefore, efforts have been made to carry out this M.A thesis entitled

“Teaching the verb phrase to English-majored freshmen at Can Tho In-Service University.”

The tables below give more detailed information on what to be taught to CIU majored students in the four grammar courses each of which lasts 45 periods:

English-Unit 1 Verb patterns

Unit 2 Sentence types (declarative, interrogative,

imperative, and exclamatory sentences) Unit 3 Grammatical forms

Unit 1 Verb tenses

Unit 2 Subjunctive mood

Unit 3 Conditional sentences

Unit 4 Infinitives, gerunds and participles

Table 1.2: Grammar 2

Unit 1 Passive voice

Unit 2 Prepositions

Unit 3 Phrasal verbs

Unit 4 Modal verbs

Table 1.3: Grammar 3

Unit 1 Adverbs

Unit 2 Reported speech

Unit 3 Noun, adjective and adverb clauses

Unit 4 Sentence structures

Table 1.4: Grammar 4

4

As shown above, English verb patterns are only mentioned in the first forty-five-period

course called Grammar 1 in which there is the introduction of many other lessons

including sentence types, grammatical forms, nouns, articles, adjectives and pronouns It

is obvious that little time is dedicated to the English VP Therefore, seldom do the students have the actual practice with interest in order to help them to achieve a good performance of the English VP, both productively and perceptively Even worse, no supplementary materials on the English VP are included in the grammar syllabus That explains why CIU English-majored freshmen have poor understanding of the English

VP, which negatively affects their expressions, either in speech or in writing

1.3 RATIONALE OF THE STUDY

The explicit teaching of the English VP to English-majored freshmen at CIU is of significance because of the following reasons:

Firstly, while English-majored freshmen are expected to apply various verb patterns properly and effectively in their speech or written papers, they are normally not good at the English VP

Secondly, no official grammar material has been used in the process of teaching the English VP to CIU students up to the present time

Thirdly, CIU students have had neither systematical exposure to the English VP nor ample opportunities to practice using it precisely in real-life context, especially in dealing with troublesome verbs

In summary, there exists a growing need for teaching and learning the English VP at CIU

to help the students overcome their confusion in dealing with English verbs in various patterns so that they can read and write English properly The acquisition of the English

VP may help English-majored freshmen at CIU to translate sentences, especially from Vietnamese into English, effectively This definitely leads to their successful accomplishment of the minimal requirements of the courses concerning translation and interpretation in the impending semesters

1.4 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study done for and reported in this M.A thesis attempts to provide CIU English majors in general and English-majored freshmen in particular with a broad collection of different patterns of the English VP Their knowledge on the English VP helps the

5

students not only to express themselves clearly or understand others properly in face communication but also to enhance their academic writing skills as well as involvement in translation and interpretation Hopefully, the study’s findings and recommendations concerning how to teach the English VP to CIU English-majored freshmen may serve as a useful reference for teachers of English at CIU in particular and other EFL teachers in general, those who would like to teach the English VP communicatively

face-to-1.5 AIMS OF THE STUDY

The study done for and then reported in the M.A thesis focuses on the significance of teaching the English VP to CIU English-majored freshmen in empowering them with the ability firstly to identify various verb patterns in English and then to use these patterns properly in speech or writing In addition, the study has been carried out in hope of drawing attention to the fact that the freshmen’s acquisition of the English VP will help them learn English as a foreign language with relative ease and success and proving that the thesis’s findings and recommendations do contribute something to the improvement

of teaching and learning of the English VP in particular and the English grammar in general at CIU

1.6 RESEARCH QUESTIONS

In order to achieve the set aims, the following research questions are tackled:

(1) What are problems facing CIU English-majored freshmen in learning the English VP?

(2) How should the English VP be taught to the students in Grammar 1?

(3) What benefits can the students gain from the teaching of the English VP in

Grammar 1?

(4) How did the students’ attitude towards the teaching of the English VP in

Grammar 1 change after the experimental teaching?

1.7 ORGANIZATION OF THE THESIS

The M.A thesis consists of six main chapters:

Chapter 1 states the background, description of the grammar course for CIU

English-majored freshmen, rationale, significance, aims, research questions, limitation, and organization of the study

Chapter 2 presents a review of the literature relevant to the study

Chapter 6 offers some recommendations to the students, the teachers, the syllabus as well

as the teaching materials needed This chapter also covers the teaching strategies that can be applied at CIU

is (3) prior research on teaching and learning the English grammar in Vietnam

The review establishes a theoretical background for further discussion on potential problems facing students in dealing with the English VP in the following chapter

2.1 LINGUISTIC NOTIONS

2.1.1 Descriptive approach to grammar

There have been a number of approaches to the English grammar Mentioned in this study is only descriptive approach to grammar aims “to describe the grammatical system of

a language, that is, what speakers of the language unconsciously know, which enables them to speak and understand the language” [Kaplan, 1989: 3]

Similarly, in Fromkin et al’s belief [1999: 10-11], descriptive grammar looks at the way a

language is actually used by its speakers and then attempts to analyze it and formulate rules about the structure “Indeed, there is an internalized, unconscious set of rules that constitute the language we use to communicate In order to understand the nature of language, it is required to understand the set of rules.”

2.1.2 Phrase structure in the light of descriptive grammar

In Burton-Roberts’view [1997: 14], a phrase is “a sequence of words that can function as

a constituent in the structure of a sentence” The woman in that 1978 Lincoln Continental

is therefore a phrase because it can be the subject in (13)a and the direct object in (13)b:

(13)a The woman in that 1978 Lincoln Continental

is possibly wanted by the police [59:15]

(13)b Do you see the woman in that 1978 Lincoln Continental? [59:15]

In more detail, Finch [2000: 112] defines a phrase as “a syntactic unit which typically consists of more than one word, and is intermediate between WORD and CLAUSE level

in SENTENCES In a phrase the individual words cohere together to form a single

8

syntactic entity, capable of being moved around and also of being substituted by another word.”

b Down the hill went the man (movement) [16:112]

c The man went there (substitution) [16:112]

 Types of phrases

Corresponding to each type of lexical word, there is a major type with the lexical word as head and a number of accompanying elements Such phrase types are noun phrases, verb phrases, adjective phrases, adverb phrases, and prepositional phrases

2.1.2.1 The English noun phrase

A noun phrase (abbreviated to NP) in English consists of a nominal head (normally a

noun or a pronoun) with or without the modifiers that accompany it, before or after (15) the blue cotton shirt that I borrowed from my brother [59:18]

In the noun phrase marked (15), shirt constitutes the head; the, blue and cotton belong to

the pre-modification; and that I borrowed from my brother is the post-modification

The word blue is called a modifier because it describes the shirt: it limits by excluding other colours and it adds to the plain meaning of shirt

A modifier may sometimes be separated from the head by intervening words, like the

relative clause in (16):

(16) a butterfly in the garden which was fluttering among the flowers [59:18]

The position of the pre-modification in a noun phrase is commonly filled by a number of word classes or sub-classes in a specific order as illustrated by (17): identifier1 - numeral/quantifier - adjective - noun modifier [Jackson, 1980: 13]:

(17) these five charming country cottages [25:13]

Commonly found as the post-modification are relative clauses, non-finite clauses, and

prepositional clauses, as in (18-20) Also, it is possible for an adjective2 or an adverb to function as a post-nominal modifier, as in (21-22):

(19) the woman expected to arrive at any moment [25:15]

9

2.1.2.2 The English verb phrase

The one constituent that a verb phrase (abbreviated to VP) must contain is the verb group

(abbreviated to Vgrp) [Burton-Roberts, 1997:78] The Vgrp, in its turn, contains one

lexical verb and “may have up to four auxiliary verbs, besides the negative word not:

may not have been being interrogated.” [Jackson, 1980: 18]

In other words, the English VP consists of a Vgrp and all the words and word groups

which belong with the Vgrp and cluster around it The Vgrp itself is called the head, and

the other words and word groups are the modifiers and/or the complements of the head

In the case of the English VP, the modifier is the generic term for all the adverbial

adjuncts that optionally provide circumstantial information about the action, the process,

the event, etc talked about in the clause in which they occur Soundly and beside a

stream, for example, are the two adverbial adjuncts that can be omitted without

disturbing the proposition of (23)a-b

b Phil had lost his leather wallet (beside a stream) [59:19]

The complement is the generic term for all the completers of the verb [Stageberg, 1965:

165], which are usually known as the direct object, the indirect object, the subjective

complement, and the objective complement They are not optional but required

components of the English VP

2.1.2.3 The English adjective phrase

As far as its internal structure is concerned, a typical adjective phrase (abbreviated to

AdjP) has as its head an adjective An adjective (abbreviated to Adj) is the minimal form

of an AdjP; indeed many adjective phrases occur in the minimal form: very enthusiastic

 enthusiastic

The head adjective (abbreviated to headAdj) may optionally be pre-modified by:

 Degree adverbs (abbreviated to Deg), also called intensifying adverbs: ly or without

-ly adverbs which specify the degree of the attribute expressed by the adjective): very, highly, extremely, terribly, awfully, completely, much, quite, so, too, rather, somewhat, hardly, fairly, moderately, partially, slightly, increasingly, incredibly, etc

 General adverbs (abbreviated to Adv), also called non-intensifying adverbs: -ly

adverbs which typically have other adverbial functions as well: frankly, potentially, enthusiastically, immediately, annoyingly, oddly, disgustingly, amazingly, suspiciously, awkwardly, beautifully, etc [Jackson, 1980: 25]

AdjP AdjP

very enthusiastic beautifully cool

2.1.2.4 The English adverb phrase

As far as its internal structure is concerned, a typical adverb phrase (abbreviated to AdvP)

has as its head an adverb (abbreviated to Adv) In other words, an adverb is the minimal form of an adverb phrase; indeed many adverb phrases occur in the minimal form: very enthusiastically  enthusiastically

An adverb may, however, be pre-modified; though post-modification is not found in all adverb phrases The only kind of pre-modifier occurring in adverb phrases is another

adverb, usually of the same restricted set of adverbs of degree, which are also called

intensifying adverbs, as found in the pre-modification of the English adjective phrase:

very quickly, quite wonderfully, somewhat fleetingly, extremely faithfully, etc

However, as with adjectives, other adverbs may function as pre-modifiers in adverb

phrases: amazingly well, understandably badly, horribly fast, incredibly gracefully This

kind of modifying adverbs appears to be either directly (amazingly) or indirectly (horribly) an expression of personal evaluation

AdvP AdvP

very enthusiastically understandably badly

2.1.2.5 The English prepositional phrase

A preposition (abbreviated to P) is normally used before a noun, an NP or a pronoun

which is called object of a preposition3 [Azar, 1989; Collins, 1990; Fromkin et al, 1999;

and Stageberg and Oaks, 2000] The unit of preposition-plus-object of preposition is

3

also called complement of a preposition by Burton-Roberts [1997], Jackson [1980] and Biber et

al [1999]

called a prepositional phrase (abbreviated to PP): to Bill, to us, for her parents, for two

years

2.1.3 Clause structure in the light of descriptive grammar

A clause is the construction with one phrase constituent, typically a noun phrase that bears

the subject relation, and another constituent, the verb phrase, bearing the predicate4

relation [Jacobs, 1995: 49; Oshima and Hogue, 1998: 152]:

(24)a

b

The boy

Whether or not I made a promise

kicked the ball over the fence [16:88]

is irrelevant [42:256]

A clause structure in English can be seen as alternatively comprising five elements,

called subject, verb, object, complement, and adjunct [Leech and Svartvik, 1975: 211;

Jackson, 1980: 29] These elements will be presented in details below

2.1.3.1 The subject element (abbreviated to S)

As Quirk and Greenbaum [1987: 170] and Alexander [1992: 3] hold, the traditional

definition of a subject is “what the clause is about.” The realization of a subject can be an

NP, an AP, the anticipatory it, the existential there, a PP or a clause with nominal

function (both finite5and non-finite6):

(25)a Tom and Mary are ready [33:221]

b Sam having to go back for the tickets was a nuisance [13:35]

c It is true that rain may fall in deserts [59:77]

d How they managed to survive is a mystery [59:74]

e For Sharon’s car to break down would be unfortunate [59:62]

g There is a reason for my absence [51:10]

Syntactically, most subjects precede their predicates

2.1.3.2 The verb element (abbreviated to V)

The verb is categorised into two main groups, namely lexical and auxiliary

 Auxiliary verbs 7

4

something that is said or predicated about the subject [Chalker, 1992 :16]

5A finite clause contains a finite verb which is marked for tenses and modality and there is

person and number concord between the subject and the finite verb as in (25)a [Quirk and

Greenbaum, 1987: 38; Biber et al, 1999: 193]

6

A non-finite clause, regularly a dependent clause, contains a non-finite verb which is not

marked for tenses and modality and often lacks an explicit subject The non-finite form of a

verb can be the infinitive ((to) call), the -ing participle, the gerund (calling) or the -ed participle

(called) [Quirk et al, 1987: 38; Biber et al, 1999: 93]

7

also called helping verbs by Quirk et al [1985: 120], Leech and Svartvik [1975: 207] and Seaton

[2007: 144]

“Auxiliaries express meanings such as necessity or possibility We use these verbs to tell or

allow people to do things, or we use them to tell how certain or uncertain we are”

[Eastwood, 1994: 113] The verbs of this type are important in forming negatives,

questions, tags and the like; nonetheless, they can’t stand alone in a clause except when

the verb phrase including an auxiliary is elliptical [Quirk and Greenbaum, 1987: 38;

Alexander, 1992: 207]:

(26)a Sally is working as a hairdresser [47:144]

b You may leave now [47:144]

c Did you see the shooting star? [47:144]

d She could have been being beaten [16:130]

Auxiliaries can be sub-divided into two groups, modal auxiliaries8 and primary

auxiliaries9

 Lexical verbs

“Lexical verbs (also called full verbs) comprise an open class of words that function only

as main verbs” [Biber et al, 1999: 358]:

(27) Children and dogs ran from side to side almost underfoot [5:358]

A number of subgroups can be observed within lexical verbs:

Intransitive verbs (abbreviated to V i) are those which do not take an object or a

complement; therefore, when an action, an event, a state or a process is mentioned, no

one or nothing but the agent as the subject is involved [Quirk and Greenbaum, 1987: 347;

Alexander, 1992: 7; Downing and Locke, 1998: 73]:

(29)a The boat is sinking [47:44]

b The work had changed in the post-war period [5:386]

Many verbs in English are sometimes intransitive as in (30)a, but sometimes transitive as

in (30)b:

(30)a Martin Wood’s course begins on 1 November [5:386]

b He began to scratch slowly in the armpit of his alpaca jacket [5:386]

8

Modal auxiliaries in English include can, shall, will, may, must, could, should, would, might,

ought to, need, have to, and used to [Quirk et al, 1985: 221-236]

9

Only three English verbs known as primary auxiliaries are be, do and have [Quirk et al, 1985:

120] They are employed to indicate tenses, aspects, voices and concords of number and person

and to fulfill this function; they are certainly inflected as be in (26)a and did in (26)c

Intensive verbs (abbreviated to V intens-) are those which function as a link to connect a

subject complement to the subject element through which an intensive relation is

expressed [Downing and Locke, 1992: 50], as in:

(31)a The traffic turned green and I pulled away [22:42]

b People are getting tired of the constant rise in prices [6:99]

c My computer’s gone wrong again [22:42]

Transitive verbs are those which obligatorily take an object as its complementation;

otherwise, the structure is not grammatically constructed [Downing and Locke, 1998:

75-97; Quirk and Greenbaum, 1987: 348] The English transitive verb is of three subtypes:

the mono-transitive verb (abbreviated to Vmono-), requires a direct object, as in (32)a-b;

the di-transitive verb (abbreviated to Vdi-) requires both a direct object and an indirect

object, as in (32)c-d; the complex-transitive verb (abbreviated to Vcomplex-) requires both

a direct object and an object complement, as in (32)e-f:

(32)a I used to spend all my money on going to the cinema [13:42]

b That might explain why he’s looking unhappy [22:133]

c I built my daughter a doll’s house [22:58]

d He can’t keep a good seat for us [42:259]

e They voted him Sportsman of Year [33:302]

f He found her a very efficient secretary [33:303]

2.1.3.3 The object element (abbreviated to O)

An object is a vital ingredient of a clause which is affected by the extension of a transitive

verb and can become Subject in a passive clause [Quirk and Greenbaum, 1987: 358;

Alexander, 1992: 5; Downing and Locke, 1992: 41] The English object is of three

subtypes: the direct object (abbreviated to dO) is affected by the action of a transitive

verb directly, i.e not being mediated by a preposition, as in (33)a-b; the indirect object

(abbreviated to iO) is affected by the action of the verb indirectly, i.e being mediated by

either to or for, as in (33)c-d; the prepositional object (abbreviated to prepO10) is

mediated by a preposition usually other than to or for, as in (33)e-f:

b We couldn’t see that he was injured [22:135]

(33)c He bought a gold watch for his wife [33:302]

d Give the best tickets to whoever comes first [54:17]

(33)e He agreed to the change of plan [13:48]

10

The fact that it can become Subject in a passive clause distinguishes the prepO from other

clause constituents which may be realized by aprepositional phrase

f You can count on Jane to help make the sandwiches [13:48]

2.1.3.4 The complement element (abbreviated to C)

A complement can be a NP, an AP, a pronoun or a clause which has a co-referential function with the subject or the direct object to refer to someone or something in the possible or imaginary world or an abstraction [Alexander, 1992: 5; Downing and Locke,

1998: 50-55] The English complement is of two subtypes: the subject complement11

(abbreviated to sC) “follows a copular verb”, “is linked in an intensive relationship to the subject” and “cannot be made Subject in a passive clause” [Downing and Locke, 1992:

50], as in (34)a-b; the object complement12 (abbreviated to oC) attributives a property to

the direct object, not the subject, as in(34)c-d:

(34)a His latest novel has become a best-seller [13:99]

d Many students thought the exam rather unfair [33:303]

2.1.3.5 The adjunct element (abbreviated to A)

Adverbial adjuncts “provide circumstantial information about the action, process or event talked about in the clause in which they occur Circumstantial information includes information about the place, time, manner, etc of the action, process or event” [Jackson,

1980: 25] They commonly are in form of adverbs or adverb phrases, prepositional

phrases, infinitive phrases, participial phrases and subordinate clauses

The English adjunct is of two subtypes: the obligatory adjunct (abbreviated to obA)

“whose presence is grammatically essential” [Quirk et al, 1985: 505], as in (35)a-b; the

optional adjunct (abbreviated to opA) “can be omitted without affecting the

grammatically of the clause [Downing and Locke, 1998: 58], as in (35)c-d

(35)a We went to a pub [11:189]

 A method “is an overall plan for the orderly presentation of language material, no part of which contradicts, and all of which is based upon, the selected approach

An approach is axiomatic, a method is procedural.” [Richards and Rodgers, 1986: 15]

 A technique is “implementational - that which actually takes place in a classroom” and “a particular trick, stratagem, or contrivance used to accomplish an immediate objective” [Anthony 1963; cited in Richards and Rodgers, 1986: 15] Similarly, in

the description of Richards et al [1993: 20] “a technique is understood as different

methods make use of different kinds of classroom activities.”

In general, approach is the level at which assumptions and beliefs about language and language learning are specified; method is the level at which theory is put into practice and at which choices are made about the particular skills to be taught, the content to be taught and the order in which the content will be presented while technique is the level at which classroom procedures are described A technique, therefore, must be consistent with a method and thus in harmony with an approach

2.2.1.1 The Communicative approach to teaching language

The communicative approach appeared in the 1980s and is currently dominant in language

teaching It aims to (1) make communicative competence13 the goal of language teaching and (2) develop procedures for the teaching of the four basic language skills14 that acknowledge the interdependence of language and communication [Richards and Rodgers, 1986: 66]

Up to now, authors have viewed the communicative approach’s characteristics in their own way Nunan [1991: 279] grouped them into the following five features which allow such communicative activities to be applied in the classroom as example activities, role play, interviews, information gap, games, language exchanges, surveys, pair work, and learning by teaching:

[Richards et al., 1992: 205]

 An emphasis on learning to communicate through interaction in the target language;

 The introduction of authentic texts into the learning situation;

 The provision of opportunities for learners to focus, not only on language but also on the learning process itself;

 An enhancement of the learner’s own personal experiences as important contributing elements to classroom learning;

 An attempt to link classroom language learning with language activation outside the classroom

Brown [2000: 266] describes the communicative approach as having four distinctive characteristics:

 Classroom goals which are focused on all of the components of communicative competence and not restricted to grammatical or linguistic competence;

 Language techniques which are designed to engage learners in the pragmatic, authentic, functional use of language for meaningful purposes;

 Fluency and accuracy which are seen as complementary principles underlying communicative techniques;

 Productive and receptive language using in unrehearsed contexts To some extent, the communicative approach may make it difficult for non-native teachers who are not very proficient in the second language However, the using of technology including videos, audio-tapes, CDs, the Internet or computer software can contribute significantly to the aid of such teachers

How different their expressions are, various authors share the final goal of the communicative approach in common: to develop the learner’s communicative competence:

 One of the most characteristic features of communicative language teaching is that

it pays systematic attention to functional as well as structural aspects of language [Littlewood, 1981: 1]

 This ability not only to apply the grammatical rules of a language in order to form grammatically correct sentences but also to know when and where to use these

sentences and to whom [Richards et al, 1992: 65]

From these claims, communicative competence could be identified as language knowledge and the ability for language use To this concern, knowledge of forms, meanings and functions is indispensable to students who “need to know that many different forms can be used to perform a function and also that a single form can often serve a variety of functions” [Larsen, 1986: 131]

2.2.1.2 Explicit teaching vs Implicit teaching

2.2.1.2.1 Explicit teaching

As described by Brown [2007: 291-292], explicit teaching involves directing student attention toward a specific learning objective in a highly structured environment Topics are taught in a logical order directed by the teacher through demonstration, explanation and practice Explicit teaching also involved modeling thinking patterns This involves a teacher thinking out loud while working through a “problem” to help students understand how they should think about accomplishing a task The attention of students is very important since explicit teaching is very teacher-centered Explicit teaching is closely related to deductive teaching, which means that rules are given before any examples are seen

Explicit teaching aims firsly to introduce a new topic or skill; secondly to provide guided

instruction for understanding rules, skills, and thinking; and finally to give students specific instruction through modeling, which allows students develop understanding through practice

2.2.1.2.2 Implicit teaching

Implicit teaching involves teaching a certain topic in a suggestive or implied manner; the objective is not plainly expressed Implicit teaching is closely related to inductive teaching, which means that rules are inferred from examples presented first Implicit teaching aims at introducing new concepts in a student-centered manner, giving students instruction with a variety of several examples without teaching students the actual grammar rules, and allowing for students to create their own schemas for understanding rules instead of memorizing specific rules which enables long-term memory retention [Brown, 2007: 291-292]

Applied to CIU English-majored freshmen is only explicit teaching due to its suitability for the undergraduates in the in-service training section

It can be said that teacher-centeredness, grammar-translation method, and an emphasis on rote memory have dominated at universities or colleges in Vietnam, including CIU, over

a long period of time Such ways of teaching and learning have caused learners more passive and unwilling so as to actively play a part in EFL classes For this reason, Communicative languge teaching should be combined with explicit teaching during the process of teaching and learning the English VP at CIU

2.2.2 Common ways of teaching grammatical structures

According to Ur [1996: 75ff], grammar does not only affect how units of language are combined in order to “look right”; it also affects their meaning Grammatical accuracy on its own is a dead end, grammatical structures does not enable learners to produce real-life discourse Grammar should be taught as a means to improving mastery of the language, not as an end in itself and learners need to learn how to make meanings within real contexts Given by Ur [1996: 84], the following form-focused and meaning-focused practice activities are to get students to learn the structures from accuracy to fluency, enabling them to produce language correctly on their own:

 Awareness: learners are given some kind of discourse, encounter the learned structures and do a task that focuses their attention on its form and/or meaning;

 Controlled-drills: learners are asked to repeat and practice a certain number of models: choral repetition, individual repetition and cue-response drills Correction takes place in this activity including self-correction, repeating, echoing, denial, questioning or expression and correction techniques-students correct students/ teacher corrects students;

 Meaningful drills: the responses are very controlled, but learners can make a limited choice of vocabulary;

 Guided, meaningful practice: learners form sentences of their own according to a set pattern, but exactly what vocabulary they use is up to them;

 (Structure-based) Free sentence composition: either learners are provided with a visual

or situational cue, and invited to compose their own responses, they are directed to use the structure or learners hold a discussion or write a passage according to a given task; they are directed to use at least some examples of the structure within the discourse;

 Free discourse: like (structure-based) free sentence composition, but learners are given no specific direction to use the structure; however the task situation is such that instances of it are likely to appear

In the point of view that “it is important to show what the structure means, how it is used and formed so that students can use it to make sentences of their own, Doff [1988: 33ff] suggests a number of activities to present a structure:

 Showing the meaning of a structure visually, using things the students can see such

as objects, the classroom, ourselves, pictures;

 Showing the meaning of a structure through a situation: thinking of a situation from outside the class either real or imaginary, in which the structure could naturally be used;

 Giving a clear model and asking students to listen to and repeat;

 Writing the structure clearly on the board;

 Giving simple explanation of the structure

Doff [1988: 69] also provides some practice activities of the structure These activities are of two kinds: mechanic and meaningful A little different from Ur [1996], Doff [1988: 71] defines mechanic practice as a kind of controlled practice in which students just produce the correct form without understanding what the structure means or knowing what they are saying Mechanic practice includes:

 Repetition drills: students do nothing themselves but repeat after the teacher;

 Substitution drills: students have to fit in the structure;

 Single word prompts: students have to add words besides these prompts to form the structure;

 Picture prompts: based on the picture, students have to think of the whole sentence using the structure;

 Free substitution: students have to invent a sentence;

Meaningful practice is a kind of practice in which students have to think, have to understand what they are saying and in which they express meaning Getting students to say real things about themselves, giving situations which imply the structure, but leave students to decide exactly what to say or letting students add something of their own are kinds of meaningful practice [Doff, 1988: 73, 75]

In Krashen’s words [1987: 62-68], mechanical practice is a kind of rote learning and its goal

is not “acquisition” while meaningful practice involving real meaning, if built to provide relevant and interesting information to students’ needs, aims at subconscious language acquisition

2.3 RELATED STUDIES

Recently published at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (abbreviated to USSH), Vietnam National University-Ho Chi Minh City (abbreviated to VNU-HCM) are number of studies15 that are more or less related to the study done for and reported in this M.A thesis:

Nguyễn Thị Huệ [2000] and Nguyễn Liên Hương [2005] did research on the difficulties that limited teachers to make use of the Communicative approach in their grammar teaching in order to find ways to teach grammar communicatively The main cause of these difficulties was the ways of presenting grammatical structures and rules Nguyễn

15

They are available in the English Resources Center of the Department of English Linguistics and Literature and in the Library of the USSH, VNU-HCM

Thị Huệ [2000] suggested an interactive approach in presenting grammar structures based on the curriculum designed for the entire school year and provided classroom activities for the teaching of grammar to primary pupils in Tra Vinh province Somewhat similarly, Nguyễn Liên Hương [2005] suggested ways to present and practice new grammatical rules communicatively and effectively and to design communicative activities for students of Nong Lam University to learn and enjoy grammar at the same time In other words, they both were in favor of recommending Communicative approach

to the teaching of grammar, suggesting communicative activities such as games, songs, realia, visual aids, etc to present grammatical rules and/or forms to students Their studies aimed at the exciting atmosphere of the learning class

Huỳnh Thị Phương Thảo [2006] studied the effectiveness of “using realia in teaching simple grammar structures such as prepositions and imperative forms to young learners

in Let’s Go series” According to this author, realia is one of the useful visual aids to illustrate simple structures and create an exciting and attractive learning atmosphere

Lương Bích Hồng [2009] tried to find out the difficulties facing high school teachers in dealing with Grammar Practice, a stage which comes after the initial presentation and explanation, when the learner is assumed to have perceived the material and taken it into short-term memory, but can not be said to have really mastered it yet In her thesis, she pointed out that Board Games were considered as the solution to the problem in question

Nguyễn Thị Mai Hương [2009] investigated the learners’ difficulties in learning English verbs According to this author, Framnet was counted as a tool to improve their learning; nevertheless, a broad collection of verb patterns as well as a description on how to teach these patterns of English verbs in class are not mentioned in her thesis

Though different in the fields studied, all these researches aimed at the grammar problems There is no study which mainly focuses on the explicit teaching of the English

VP, however Therefore, the researcher of the study done for and reported in this MA thesis attempts:

(1) To provide CIU English-majored freshmen with thorough understanding of various patterns of the English VP that helps the students to express themselves clearly or understand others properly in communication as well as enhance their academic writing skills;

(2) To give the students a systematic exposure and an explicit instruction of verb patterns

of many kinds, in association with meaningful and motivating activities for practice being applied

2.4 SUMMARY

Chapter 2 has roughly reviewed definitions of descriptive approach to grammar as well as phrase and clause structure in English from the perspective of descriptive grammar Also included in this chapter are a brief review of two theoretical notions concerning language teaching, namely Communicative languge teaching and explicit teaching, some common ways of teaching grammatical structures, and prior research on teaching grammar in general and teaching grammatical structures in particular recently made known at the USSH, VNU-HCM

Chapter 3

THE ENGLISH VERB PHRASE

This chapter consists of two main sections: definition and classification Included in the definition section is verb complementation, obligatory and optional elements, and verb patterns Bound in the classification section are various types of the English VP, including complex transitive, ditransitive, monotransitive, intensive, intransitive, and prepositional

3.1 DEFINITION

3.1.1 Verb complementation

Complementation refers to “part of a phrase or clause which follows a word, and completes

the specification of a meaning relationship which that word implies” [Quirk et al, 1985:

1150];

Verb complementation thus refers to:

 What follows the verb; that is, the additional elements (phrases) which the verb requires for the clause in which it stands to be grammatical or sensible [Jackson, 1980: 33];

 The number and type of Objects and Complements that follow particular verbs or classes of verbs, and the syntactic structures that verbs enter into [Downing and Locke, 1992: 71]

The above-mentioned definitions highlight the fact that the complementation of a verb consists of obligatory components that follow the verb and help to complete the meaning of the clause in which the verb occurs This leads to the distinction between obligatory and optional elements that may both follow the verb

3.1.2 Obligatory and optional elements

3.1.2.1 Obligatory elements

Elements are counted as compulsory only “when their presence is usually necessary to render the clause grammatical or sensible” [Jackson, 1980: 31] In the same vein, Quirk

et al [1985: 722] consider these elements as obligatory only “when they are required for

the complementation of the verb”

3.1.3 Verb patterns

In the definition of Leech and Svartvik [1975: 212], “they are called verb patterns since it

is the verb that determines the type of clause structure.”

Types

of verb patterns

S(ubject) V(erb) O(bject) C(omplement) A(djunct) Sources

of examples

SVi The sun IS SHINING 16 [43:721]

SVi obA Sam IS STAYING

at a nearby

hotel [43:730]

lecture BORED me [43:721]

3.2 CLASSIFICATION

“Verbs are sub-categorised according to what other elements must appear with them in the VP In other words, they are sub-categorised in terms of their COMPLEMENTATION

types (in terms of what complement they must take.” [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 80]

There are six main categories of English verbs: complex transitive, ditransitive, monotransitive17, intensive18, intransitive, and prepositional [Burton-Roberts, 1997: 81] The six categories of English verbs result in 10 equivalent patterns of the English VP

3.2.1 The complex transitive verb phrase

The complex transitive VP includes a complex transitive verb followed by its two obligatory constituents

Pattern 1: Vcomplex- dO oC

(36) The blister on my heel MADE walking painful [54:131]

3.2.1.1 An adjective phrase as object complement [C1]

also called either “copular” by Biber et al [1999: 381], Downing and Locke [1992: 98], Quirk

et al [1985: 1171], and Nguyen Hoa Lac [2004: 88] or “linking” by Leech and Svartvik [1975:

298], and Nguyen Viet Thu [2006: 8]

Playing the role of the object complement, an AP is found with verbs which, like copular verbs, may be divided into CURRENT and RESULTING types

CURRENT:

i Verbs of general meaning: hold [C2]19, keep [C2], and leave [C2];

ii Factual speech act verbs: call [C2], confess [C2, C4], profess [C2, C4],

pronounce [C2, C4], and report [C4]20;

iii Volitional verbs: like, prefer, want, and wish [C2, C4];

iv Verbs of intellectual state: believe [C2, C4], consider [C2, C4], deem [C2, C4],

find [C2, C4], hold [C4], imagine [C2, C4], judge [C2, C4], presume [C2, C4], rate [C2, C4], reckon [C2, C4], suppose [C2, C4], and think [C2, C4]

RESULTING:

v General resulting verbs: drive [C4], get [C4], make [C2, C4], prove [C2, C4],

render [C4], send, and turn;

vi Resulting verbs referring to speech acts which have the performative force of

declarations: certify [C2, C4], declare [C2, C4], and proclaim [C2, C4]

(38) The secretary LEFT all the letters unopened [23:1197] (39) The doctors PRONOUNCED her condition utterly hopeless [23:1197]

3.2.1.2 A noun phrase as object complement [C2]

Below are the verbs followed by the direct object the object complement of which is

realized by an NP [Quirk et al, 1985: 1199]:

i hold, keep, leave;

ii call, confess, profess, pronounce;

iii wish;

iv believe, consider, deem, esteem, find, imagine, judge, presume, rate, reckon,

suppose, think;

v appoint, choose, elect, make, prove, vote;

vi baptize, certify, christen, crown, declare, proclaim, and name

(40) Charles DOES NOT ESTEEM him a trustworthy adviser [43:1199]

(41) Fellow sportsmen REGARD him a world class player [59:41]

3.2.1.3 A prepositional phrase as object complement [C3]

Type [C3] consists of verbs which have as their complementation an object followed by a

PP, especially one of space, particularly of direction: put, get, stand, set, sit, lay, place,

send, bring, take, lead, drive, slip, leave, keep, etc

(42) He STOOD my argument on its head [43:1201] (43) TAKE your hands out of your pockets [43:1201]

3.2.1.4 A Non-finite clause as object complement

There are all four kinds of nonfinite construction:

Object + to-infinitive complement [C4]

The verbs in this group may be subdivided into the following categories

i Public verbs: announce, declare, proclaim, pronounce, report, repute [esp P21],

rumour [P only22], say [P only], tip23;

ii Private verbs expressing belief: assume, believe, conceive [formal], consider,

expect, feel, find, imagine, know, presume, reckon, see [P only], suppose, take, think [esp P], and understand;

iii Verbs of intention: intend and mean;

iv Causative verbs where the infinitive clause identifies the resultant state: appoint,

elect, name, and vote;

v Causative verbs where the infinitive clause identifies the resultant state: cause, drive,

force, get [no P], lead, and prompt;

vi Verbs with a modal character, expressing such concepts as enablement, permission,

and compulsion: allow, authorize, compel, constrain, enable, entitle, equip, fit,

oblige, permit, and require;

vii Verbs of “influencing” between which a common factor appears to be that the non

finite clause has a purposive meaning: assist, bother, bribe, condemn, dare, defy,

encourage, help, induce, inspire, press, and summon

21

This verb occurs chiefly in the passive voice:

(44)a The Broadway production WAS THOUGHT to have made Max’s fortune [43:1204]

b.*Newsmen THOUGHT the Broadway production to have made Max’s fortune [43:1204]

22

This verb occurs only in the passive version of this construction:

(45)a The field marshal WAS SAID to be planning a new strategy [43:1204]

b.*Someone SAID the field marshal to be planning a new strategy [43:1204]

23

Especially in British English the verb in this construction has no that-clause equivalent:

(46)a They TIPPED him to be the next president [43:1204]

b He WAS TIPPED to be the next president [43:1204]

c.*They TIPPED that he would be the next president [43: 1204]

Object + bare infinitive complementation [C5]

This pattern occurs with a relatively small number of verbs including have, let, make,

feel, hear, notice, observe, overhear, see, watch, help, and know

(50) I FELT the shiver run down my spine [13:97]

Object + -ing participle complementation [C6]

This pattern occurs with the following subtypes of verbs:

i Verbs of perception: feel [C5]24, hear [C5], notice [C5], observe [C5], overhear [C5], perceive, see [C5], smell, spot, spy, and watch [C5];

ii Verbs of encounter: catch, discover, find, and leave;

iii Verbs of coercive meaning: have and get

With such verbs there is a distinction “between a completed action, with the complement expressed by the bare infinitive, and an uncompleted action or action in progress, expressed by an -ing clause” [Downing and Locke, 1992: 97], as in (51):

(51) Tim WATCHED Bill mend/mending the lamp [43:1206]

Object + -ed participle complementation [C7]

This pattern occurs with the following subtypes of verbs:

i Causative verbs: get and have;

(52) She GOT/HAD the watch repaired immediately [43:1207]

ii Volitional verbs: want, need, and like;

(53) I WANT/NEED the watch repaired immediately [43:1207]

iii Perceptual verbs: see, hear, feel (oneself), and watch;

(54) Someone must have SEEN/HEARD the car stolen [43:1207]

iv Verbs for which the -ed participle describes a resulting state: find, discover, and

leave

(55) They FOUND/DISCOVERED/LEFT him worn out by travel and exertion

[43:1207] There exists an intensive relationship linking the direct Object and the subject

Complement This can be tested by a paraphrase with be [To Minh Thanh: 2005]

(56)a The burglar LEFT the house in a mess [59:154]

b The club ELECTED Mr Jones membership secretary [59:43]

b Mr Jones WAS the membership secretary of the club [59:43]

3.2.2 The ditransitive verb phrase

24

The verb occurs with the bare infinitive pattern