A study on the verbs and verb phrases denoting eating in english = nghiên cứu động từ chỉ sự ăn trong tiếng anh

That is reasons why we have chosen the subject entitled “A study on the verbs and verb phrase denoting “eating” in English” with a hope that this study will make a small contribution to

Vinh university Department of foreign languages

Vinh university Department of foreign languages

Class: 45E1 English

Supervisor: Vâ thÞ hång minh, m.a

Vinh, May 2009

Acknowledgements

I could not have completed my graduation thesis without the great help

and useful advise from my teacher, my family as well as my friends

Firstly, I especially would like to express my deepest thanks to my supervisor Mrs.Vo Thi Hong Minh, who had given me enthusiatic help, encouragement and advice to shape and complete my graduation thesis

Then, I would like to express a great thank to all of the teachers in Foreign Languages Department for giving me a good chance to express my ability

Furthermore, my thanks are also sent to all of my friends from 45E1 for their encouragement and help

Finally, I am also grateful to my family for providing me many good conditions and the great consolation during the process of writing this graduation thesis

I have made great efforts to complete the study However, due to my limited knowledge, the graduation thesis is far from being perfect Thus, it is

my responsibility for any shortcomings the graduation thesis may be considered to have

Vinh, may 2009

NguyÔn thÞ hång th¾m

Abstract

In every language, the verb (V) plays the most important role among the units: S, V, O, C and A in forming the construction of sentences The verb is considered as a part of speech denoting an action, a process, a state or expressing an idea or emotion, the being of person or thing in the universe

In this article, the author studies on the verbs and verb phrases denoting

“eating” in English

Table of contents

Acknowledgements i

Abstract ii

Table of contents iii

Part I Introduction 1

1 Rationale for choosing the study 1

2 Aims of the study 2

3 Scope of the study 2

4 Methods of the study 2

5 Design of the study 2

Part II Development 4

Chapter 1 Theoretical Background 4

1.1 Word 4

1.1.1 Definition of the word 4

1.1.2 The meaning of word 4

1.1.3 Components of the word-meaning 6

1.1.4 Lexical field 7

1.2 Synonyms 8

1.2.1 Definition of synonym 8

1.2.2 Types of synonyms 9

1.2.3 Sources of synonyms 12

1.3 Proverbs 13

1.4 Idioms 14

1.5 Summary 16

Chapter 2 The verbs and verb phrases denoting “eating” in English 17

2.1 The verb “to eat” and its synonyms 17

2.1.1 “Eat” with the meaning “to eat food” 17

2.1.2 “Eat” with the meaning “to eat a meal” 18

2.1.3 “Eat” with the meaning “to eat too much” 20

2.1.4 “Eat” with the meaning “to eat very quickly” 21

2.1.5 “Eat” with the meaning “to eat noisily” 22

2.1.6 “Eat” with the meaning “to eat all of something and not leave any” 22 2.1.7 “Eat” with the meaning “to eat small amounts of food, especially because you are not hungry or do not like what you are eating 24

2.1.8 “Eat” with the meaning “to eat less in order to lose weight” 25

2.1.9 “Eat” with the meaning “to stop eating for religious reasons” 26

2.1.10 “Eat” with the negative meaning 26

2.2 Idioms containing the verb “to eat” in English and its equivalents in Vietnamese 27

2.3 Proverbs containing the verb “to eat” in English and its equivalents in Vietnamese 34

2.4 Summary 36

Chapter 3 Some suggestions for teaching and learning the verb “to eat” 37

3.1 Common mistakes 37

3.2 Some measures to leave out the mistakes 38

3.2.1 Some advices 38

3.2.2 Some teaching suggestions 39

3.2.3 Suggested types of exercises for teaching and learning the verb “to eat” 40

3.3 Summary 42

Part III Conclusion 43

References 44

Part I: Introduction

1 Rationale for choosing the study

As we know, language is a very important means of communication One

of the languages which is used widely all over the world is English because of its interests and advantages In Vietnam, English becomes more and more popular and it is being taught and spoken everywhere

It is more interesting when we compare the two languages to find out the differences and similarities between them in order to understand more about the cultures of different countries speaking different languages, in particular English and Vietnamese

In our lives, eating is usually considered to be the most important thing It

is very easy to understand because people “eat to live, but don’t live to eat” Effect and significance of eating are very diversified and profound However, sometimes, people eat for the sentiment, but not for the eating People considered eating as a pleasure, only for enjoying, but not for satisfying the material need

Therefore, eatables are always chosen carefully because eating is not only

to take food into the mouth, chew, and swallow to serve body, but eating is also the social behaviour with the concrete cultural standards: what do we eat for? What do we do so as to have food? What should we eat? Who do we eat with? When and where do we eat? And how do we eat? Those things are always given for everyone with the sensibility and the tact, and not of all can behave well and satisfactorily in every situation because the life is very diversified, complex and very vivid

We carry out this study not only help us understand more the usages of the verb “to eat” as well as its equivalents in Vietnamese but also help us in

teaching English verb to Vietnamese learners That is reasons why we have chosen the subject entitled “A study on the verbs and verb phrase denoting

“eating” in English” with a hope that this study will make a small contribution

to the teaching and learning of English verbs

2 Aims of the study

- Helping Vietnamese learners understand the usages of the verb “to eat” with its synonyms

- Helping learners leave out their errors in the process of learning English

3 Method of the study

- Analysis and presenting method

- Collective and illustrative method

4 Scope of the study

- Studying the verbs and verb phrases denoting “eating” in English

- Giving some suggestions to improve learner’s knowledge about the verb

“to eat”

5 Design of the study

This thesis comprises of three main parts:

Part I: Introduction

This part states the rationale, aims, methods, scope, and design of the study

Part II: Development

This part is subdivided into three chapters

Chapter 1 Theoretical background

Chapter 2 The verbs and verb phrases denoting “eating” in English Chapter 3 some suggestions for teaching and learning the verb “to eat”

Part III: Conclusion

This part states the summary of the study and some suggestions for further research

Part II Development Chapter 1: Theoretical background

1.1 Word

1.1.1 Definition of the word

The term “word” is used to designate an intermediate structure which is smaller than a whole phrase and yet generally larger than a single sound segment However, the word may be defined differently depending on whether

we focus on its representation, the thought which it expresses, or purely formal criteria

Therefore, up to now, there have been many definitions of the term

“word” from different aspects Among many different definitions, we can accept the two following ones, which seem to be the most satisfactory:

In Hoµng TÊt Tr-êng (1993:11), “A word is a dialectical unity of form

and content, independent unit of language to form a sentence by itself”

According to NguyÔn Hoµ, “Words are regarded as the smallest

indivisible meaningful units of a language which can operate independently

1.1.2 The meaning of word

There are two main types of meaning found in words: lexical meaning and grammatical meaning

Lexical meaning is the realization of concept or emotion Grammatical meaning is what unites words with different lexical meanings These meanings exist in word, they do not exist in conciousness of people

Different forms of the word will share the same lexical meaning, but different grammatical meanings: teach- teaches- teaching- taught, for example

Different words may share the same grammatical meaning but different lexical meanings For example, “love”, “hate”, “eat”, and “drink” are verbs

The words whose lexical meaning is clear are called notional words They name objects, actions, qualities, etc…

The words whose prevailing meaning is grammatical are called functional words They are particles articles, prepositions, etc…

Lexical and grammatical meanings do not exist separately but always go

together to make up the meaning of a word

There are two sub-types of lexical meaning: denotational and connotational meanings

The denotational meaning indicates or point out things, concepts, etc For example, “bird” indicates an animal that can fly “Father, dad, daddy” indicate the male parent “Rain, shine” indicate phenomena of nature

When the referent is a concept, an abstract thing, we have significative denotation and when it is an individual object, we have demonstrative denotation

The connotational meaning shows us how things, concepts, etc are indicated or denoted It conveys the speaker’s attitude, emotions, and so on

“Father, dad, daddy” as mentioned above, have the same denotational meaning but different connotational meaning, and so do “house, shack, slum”…

Connotation may consist of emotion, evaluation, intensity, and stylistic colouring

There are nine kinds of connotation:

- Connotation of degree of intensity

- Connotation of duration

- Emotive connotation

- Evaluative connotation

- Connotation of attendant features

- Connotation of attendant circumstances

- Causative connotation

- Connotation of manner

- Stylistic connotation

1.1.3 Components of the word-meaning

There are 4 major components of meaning: denotation, connotation, structural meaning and categorial meaning

a) Denotation exists by virtue of what it refers to It includes conceptual and referential meanings

- Conceptual meaning: (sometimes called “denotative” or “cognitive”,

“denotation”) is widely assumed to be the central factor in linguistic communication It has a complex and sophisticated organisation

Human male adult For example: Woman + _ + Boy + + _

- Referential meaning: is the ability to refer to objects or things (often called referent)

For example: In the sentence “My daughter wants to be a doctor”, only

“my daughter” can be perceived to have a referent, not “a doctor”

b) Connotation (or social, affective meaning) including stylistic, affective, evaluative, and intensifying, is the pramatic communicative value the words acquires by virtue of where, when, how, and by whom, for what purpose and

in what context it is or may be used This kind of meaning is rather unstable: that is they vary considerably according to culture, historical period, and the experience of the individual

c) Structural meaning which is the meaning a word acquires by virtue or its membership in a system or a set It includes reflected, collocative, associative and thematic meanings

- Reflected meaning: is the meaning which arises in cases of multiple conceptual meaning, when one sense of a word forms part of our response to

another sense For example, the 40 th President of the US and the Great Communicator both refer to Ronald Reagan The Great Communicator sounds

better, and is more about Reagan’s personality than his job (the 40 th President

of the US), which sound cool

- Collocative meaning: consists of the associations a word acquires on account of the meanings of words which tend to occur in its environment

girl boy

Pretty boy handsome man

woman car

flower airliner

There can be handsome and pretty woman

- Associative meaning: also is the meaning which arises because of its association with other meanings For example, good – bad, buy – sell, hard – soft

- Thematic meaning: is the kind of meaning which is communicated by the way in which a speaker or writer organises the message in terms of ordering, focus, and emphasis

For example: The dog chased the cat vs The cat was chased by the dog

d) Categorial meaning: actually, it is one part of grammatical meaning which word derive from being a member of one category rather than another Words fall into such categories as nouns, verbs, adjectives, prepositions, conjunctions, etc

1.1.4 Lexical field

Lexical field is the way of organizing related words and expressions into

a system which shows their relationship to one another For example, “father,

mother, uncle and aunt, etc.” belong to one lexical field

(http://www.google.com.vn/search.lexical field)

1.2 Synonyms

1.2.1 Definition of synonym

Synonym is a popular phenomenon in all language, and it is one of modern linguistics’ most controversial problems Some linguists disputed the very existence of words traditionally that called synonyms Moreover, they found the nature and essence of the relationship of these words to be hotly debated and treated in quite different ways

So far, there are many differnet definitions of synonyms In

“Understanding English Semantics” (2004:72), NguyÔn Hßa gave out his

definition that “Expressions with the same meanings are synonyms” He also

asserted synonyms are actually words of the same parts of speech that have similar meaning, but not identical meaning They may share a similar denotational meaning or connotational meaning, and they can differ from each another in terms of denotation or connotation In Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary of Oxford University Press (2000:1319), synonym is defined that

“a word or an expression having the same or nearly the same meaning” That

may be too simple, and has not yet helped the readers having enough knowledge about synonym and its using

According to Hoµng TÊt Tr-êng (1993:72), “Synonyms are phonetically

and morphologically different words belonging to the same part of speech, possessing similar denotation but differing in connotation, combinability, etc”

However, in my opinion, the following definition of Geoge Yule is the

most appropriate According to him, “Synonyms are two or more forms with

very closely related meaning, which are often, but not always, interchangeabble in sentences”.(118:17)

There are about 8000 synonymic groups in English A synonymic group

is a group of all synonyms Usually in each synonymic group, there is a

synonymic dominant which is the most general and neutral word Synonymic group “to eat, to devour, to gobble, to scoff”, for example, “to eat” is the synonymic dominant

The synonymic dominant has simple semantic structure: it consists only

of denotation and has no connotation It expresses the notion common to all synonyms of the group in the most general way Its meaning is large and generalized, so that it may be substituted for any other in the same group English is very rich in synonyms chiefly because of the great number of borrowed words

 Absolute synonyms

Lyons (1995) introduces the notion of absolute synonym According to him, two (or more) expressions are absolute synonyms if, and only if, they satisfy the following three conditions:

- All their meanings are identical

- They are synonymous in all contexts

- They are semantically equivalent on all dimensions of meanings and descriptive and non-descriptive

It can be seen such synonyms are extremely rare We can talk about synonyms in terms of just one meaning Further, it is important to distinguish between partial and near synonyms Consider:

They live in a big / large house

“Big” and “large” are generally regarded as synonyms, but clearly, they

are not synonymous in all of their meanings Thus, they fail to meet the first condition above and so are partial synonyms only They differ in terms of denotation

 Semantic synonyms: are words differing in terms of their denotation

For example: “Pretty- beautiful- handsome” is a group of semantic synonym They all convey the pleasing appearance Thus, each of them describes a special type of human beauty “Beautiful” is mostly associated with classical features and a perfect figure While “pretty” is with small delicate features and a fresh complexion, and “handsome” is with a tall stature, a certain robustness and fine proportions

 Stylistic synonyms: are words differing in terms of their connotation

For example: to stare: look steadily, lastingly in surprise, curiosity

to glare: look steadily, lastingly in anger, fury

to gaze: look steadily, lastingly in tenderness, wonder,

admiration

 Semantic- stylistic synonyms: are words differing in terms of both

denotation and connotation

For example: “House- shack- slum- pad” are synonyms

- “House” is a building for habitant or specified purpose

- “Shack” is a roughly built hut or cabin

- “Slum” is a dirty, squalid and overcrowded district or street

- “Pad” is hired room or room rented for logging

 Phraseological synonyms: are words differing in terms of their

 Territorial synonyms: they are those employed in different countries

like Britain, Australia, or the united States

 Euphemisms:

In every language, there are words which people avoid using because they are cosidered indecent, rude, impolite or too direct They are often described

in a round- about way by using substitudes called “euphemisms”

For example, the word “lavatory” has produced many euphemisms Some

of them are: washroom, restroom, water-closet, powder room, retiring room, w.c…

1.2.3 sources of synonyms

 Borrowings

Many words were borrowed from Greek, Latin, and french and they became synonyms to native words forming the synonymic groups, in which the native words are usually neutral, French words are literary, latin and Greek are bookish or scientific

For example:

to ask (native) – to question (French) – to interrogate (latin)

To begin (native) – to commence (French)

To end (native) – to finish (French) – to complete (Latin)

 The change of meaning (especially metaphor and metonymy)

The word “hand”, for example, with the meaning “a part of body”, having acquired the meaning “worker” and became synonym to this word, then the meaning “side, direction” (in “hand-side”) and “signature” (in “hand-signature”)

 Word-building

a Many compound verbs formed by “prepositional adverbs” became synonyms to simple verbs:

to stop – to give up to return – to come back

to decide – to make up one’s mind to rise – to get up

to postpone – to put off

b Derivation and compounding:

Phonetic – phonetical Deceptive – deceitful

Synonymic – synonymous Trader - tradesman

c Conversion:

Laughter – laugh Conversation – talk/ chat

d Shortening:

Refrigerator – fridge Telephone - phone

1.3 Proverbs

People from all parts of the world use proverbs and sayings to transmit

their wisdom, knowledge, experience, and feelings Like a picture, a proverb is

worth a thousand words

According to Trần Đức Các (1995:12), “Tục ngữ là vốn tri thức thực tiễn

về mọi mặt của cuộc sống mà nhân dân đã đúc kết trong một hình thức ngắn

gọn, linh hoạt tiện cho việc diễn đạt cảm nghĩ của con ng-ời và đ-ợc xã hội

chấp nhận”

A proverb, as Hoàng Tất Tr-ờng (1993:97) defines, “is a short saying

expressing popular wisdom, a truth or a moral lesson in concise and

imaginary way” For example, “Cứu được một người phúc đẳng hà sa” carries

a moral lesson, or “Honesty is the best policy” contains a simple truth from

experience over years, or “One good turn deserves another” provides a wise

advice

In Mieder (1996:597), “Proverbs are generally known as short sentences

of the folk that contain wisdom, truths, moral and traditional views in a

metaphorical fixed and memorable form, and they are handed down from

generation to generation”

From all above definitions, we can draw out some common features of proverbs as follows:

- They are complete sentences or speeches, expressing complete comments, experience, advice, or moral lessons, etc

- They are short, rhythmic, popular, memorable and transferred from generation to generation

- They have mostly metaphorical meaning

Therefore, a proverb can be considered as a complete work of literature And it contains three fundamental functions: the function of cognition, the function of education, the aesthetic funtion

According to the definition of Vietnamese Dictionary (Linguistic

Institute- Da Nang Pulishing House, 1997), “Thành ngữ là tập hợp những từ

cố định quen dùng mà nghĩa của nó th-ờng không thể giải thích đ-ợc một cách đơn giản bằng nghĩa của các từ tạo nên nó”

In Hoàng Tất Tr-ờng (1993:97), “Idioms are short sayings usually

characterized by the fact that their meaning can not easily be deduced from their components” For example, “give away”, “in order to”, “kick the

bucket”

An idiom, as Jonhathan Crowther (1995) defines, “is a phrase whose

meaning is difficult or sometimes impossible to guess by looking at the individual words it contains”

In a short word, an idiom, like a proverb, is a fixed unit consisting of a number of words However, unlike a proverb, an idiom is not a complete sentence and does not express a complete thought It is only a part of the sentence (an idiom is equal to a phrase) whose meaning is different from the individual meanings of its components Therefore, idioms do not give comments, experience, moral lessons, or advice It only contains the aesthetic function, not the function of comprehension and education That is the reason why an idiom does not become a literary work- idioms belong to the language

We can distinguish between idioms and proverbs by the following diagram:

- Generalizing individual phenomena

- Expressing judgements

- Confirming the attribute

of phenomena Function of linguistic

form

“Naming” function made

by words  Phenomena belong to the aspect of language

“Reporting” function belongs to cognitive activities  Phenomena belong to the social attitudes, cultures, spirit of the people

Table of distinction between idioms and proverbs

1.5 Summary

In this chapter, first of all, we discussed about word with four sections: definition of the word, the meaning of word, components of the word-meaning and lexical field Next, we introduce about synonyms, proverbs and idioms In synonyms, we give out definition of synonym, types of synonyms and sources

of synonyms Synonyms can be considered as the main part in the chapter

Chapter 2: The verbs and verb phrases denoting

“eating” in English 2.1 The verb “to eat” with its synonyms

According to the definition of the Oxford Modern English Dictionary (Vietnamese Linguistic Institute-Dong Nai Pulishing House, 1997), “eating is

an action of taking food into the mouth, chewing and swallowing” However, the verb “to eat” is not used in all contexts because of its denotation and connotation Depending on the attitude, emotion and way to eat that we have a lot of words to express in English Followings are semantic synonyms of the verb “to eat” with its usages and meanings

2.1.1 “Eat” with the meaning “to eat food”

This is the basic meaning of “eat”

- I’m so full I couldn’t eat another thing

- Ken’s decided to stop eating meat for a few weeks

- Eat your dinner before it goes cold

- No wonder she’s so overweight- she’s always eating

(7:394)

Besides, the following verbs and verb phrases are also used to express this sense: have, consume, swallow, tuck in, feed, lick

 Have: an informal word meaning to eat something

- If you are hungry, have a sandwich

- I will just have one more piece of cake

(7:394)

 Consume: a word used especially in scientific or technical contexts

meaning to eat or drink something

- In order to survive human beings need to consume food and water

- People who consume large amounts of animal fats are more likely to get cancer and heart disease

(7:394)

 Swallow: to move food from the mouth to the stomach through the

throat, to eat without chewing

- He just swallows his food, he is always in a hurry

(16:215)

- Chew your food properly before swallowing it

(15:2042)

 Tuck in / into: an informal British expression meaning to eat eagerly

and with enjoyment

- Dinner is ready everyone Tuck in!

(7:394)

- He was tucking into a large plate of spaghetti

(15:2180)

 Feed: to supply with food to eat (especially to babies or animals)

- The cows are feeding on hay

- Is it time to feed the babies?

- She was in the park, feeding the birds

(1:16)

 Lick: to eat something by rubbing it with the tongue

- Johnny was sitting in the kitchen licking an ice-cream

- It was so delicious, I licked every last bit of it off my plate

(7:394)

2.1.2 “Eat” with the meaning “to eat a meal”

With this sense, we also can use “eat” to express

- Where shall we eat tonight?

- Maxim’s is one of the best places to eat in this town

(7:394)

In addition, we also can use some following verbs and expressions to replace “eat” in the different contexts such as:

 Have: to eat a particular meal

- Shall we have dinner now?

- It is very important to have a good breakfast in the morning

- They had an exquisite meal in an Indonesian restaurant

(7:394)

 Dine: a formal word meaning to have a meal with other people, often a

formal or official meal, especially in the evening

- I have received an invitation to dine with the Mayor

- They dined at eight with the Smiths

(7:394)

 Grab something/ a bite to eat: to eat something quickly such as a

small meal or a piece of bread, because you are in a hurry

- Let’s grab something to eat before we go out

- Do you want to grab a bite to eat or can you wait until we get home? (7:394)

 Have something to eat: to eat something such as a small meal or a

piece of bread

- Haflway to Berlin we stopped to have something to eat

- The movie did not start for another, so we had something to eat in the cafe over the road

(7:394)

 Have a snack: to eat a small meal in the time between the main meals

- He prefers to just have a snack at lunchtime and a larger meal in the evening

- Do you feel like having a snack now or would you rather wait?