English adverbial clauses and their vietnamese equivalents = mệnh đề trạng ngữ trong tiếng anh và các cấu trúc tương đương trong tiếng việt

In the traditional view, there are threes types of dependent clauses, which are named, In general terms according to their functions in the sentence: adverbial clause, adjective clauses

VINH UNIVERSITY DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

==

Lấ THỊ TRÂM NGUYấN

ENGLISH ADVERBIAL CLAUSES AND THEIR VIETNAMESE

EQUIVALENTS(mệnh đề trạng ngữ trong tiếng anh và các cấu trúc

t-ơng đ-ơng trong tiếng việt)

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1 Reasons for choosing the study

English usage is a subject as wide as the English language itself By far the greater part of usage raises no controversies and poses no problems for native speakers of English, just because it is their native language However, there are certain problems for learners of English as a foreign language, especially English constructions Since plenty of them often fail to recognize kinds of adverbial clauses

For example: Working all day, he felt tired

They think that this sentence may be an adverbial clause of time “After he worked all day, he felt tired” or “When he worked all day, he felt tired” This sentence may also be an adverbial clause of reason “Because he worked all day, he felt tired”

Adverbial clauses are very important parts in English grammar but they are not easy to use and usually cause difficulties for learners English adverbial clauses have been dealt with by numerous grammarians But until recent years, there have

no research works on English Adverbial clauses and their Vietnamese equivalents and the ways to help learners overcome the confusion

2 Aims of the study

The above – mentioned background shows that the status of adverbial clauses

in English needs more detailed study not only in structure but also in uses as well With this trend, this study is aimed at:

- Giving the description and features of English adverbial clauses and their equivalent realizations in Vietnamese to illustrate the differences and similarities of adverbial clauses in the two languages

- Offering suggestions for teaching adverbial clauses to Vietnamese learners

* Research questions

Determined by its aims, this paper tries to find the answers to the following questions:

1 What is an adverbial clause?

2 What are the features and classifications of adverbial clauses?

3 What are the differences and similarities between English adverbial clauses and their Vietnamese equivalents and how they serve the teaching

of English grammar to Vietnamese students?

4 What are the predicted errors Vietnamese students may make when learning English adverbial clauses?

5 How are these errors eliminated?

3 Scope of the study

These thesis are about adverbial clauses, especially, we focus on the kinds of adverbial clauses, adverbial clauses in English and their Vietnamese equivalents In addition, we will provide learners how to overcome errors in using adverbial clauses

4 Methods of the study

i Comparative and contrastive method

ii Statistical method

iii Analytical method

5 Design of the study:

This subject consists of three main parts and references

Part A: The Introduction outlines the reasons, the aims, the research questions,

the scope, the methods, and the design of the study In addition, the organization

of the thesis is introduced

Part B, entitled “Investigation”, is divided into three chapters

The first one, “Theoretical preliminaries” supplies an over view of sentence,

clause, and adverbial clauses in English

The second chapter, “Concrete cases of adverbial clauses

In English and their Vietnamese equivalents”, presents English adverbial

clauses and their Vietnamese equivalents The presentation focuses on syntactical features, functional roles and Concrete cases of each kind of adverbial clauses in the sentence

The last chapter is about the applications of the study to the teaching of

English adverbial clauses to Vietnamese students

Part C is the conclusion summarizing the main point discussed in previous

parts

PART B: INVESTIGATION

CHAPTER 1: THEORETICAL PRELIMINARIES

1.1 Sentence and general knowledge of adverbial in sentence

1.1.1 Definition of sentence

Sentence, which is usually considered the largest syntactical unit, is one of the problems taking up a large portion of grammar books It is quite easy to understand why so much attention has been paid to the study of sentence

The term sentence is so familiar to everyone, from a learner who has just

started a language course to a linguist, yet its definitions are far from homogeneous, they are even very confusing, instead

In traditional grammars, sentences are simply defined as “composed of

words” and it is function of syntax to state what words can be combined with others

to form sentences and in what order

A linguistic definition of the sentence must be in terms of it internal structure A sentence will be composed of certain specified elements in a certain order, ultimately, of course, of word, or parts of word

According to G Leech and J Svartvict (1992), “Sentences are units made up

one or more clauses Sentence containing just one clause is called simple, and sentences containing more than one clause are called complex”

1.1.2 Parts of sentence

Randolph Quirk et al (1972) said that sentence usually has two main parts: Subject and predicate in which subject is a word or a phrase indicating people,

things, or events but predicate is the rest That means, “The subject of the sentence

has a close general relation” to “what is discussed”, “the theme”, of the sentence

“subject” that has already been introduced in an earlier sentence The elements of a

sentence can be expressed clearly by chart and example below:

Sentence

Subject predicate

Auxiliary and operator predication

Eg He had given the girl an apple

1.1.3 Functions of adverbials in sentence

 Adverbial is a part of sentence It can be an adverb phrase, preposition phrase, or noun phrase They can tell us something about the action in the sentence by modifying a verb

Eg:

Adverb phrase: You are going very slowly

We wanted to get back

Preposition phrase: Cathelin wasn’t at home

You saw the police car in front of you

Noun phrase: We wanted to get home

It happened last week

 Adverbial modifies different parts in the sentence

Eg The car in front of us was a police car

You were getting really impatient

They inspected the car thoroughly

Then you decided to overtake

1.2 Clause

1.2.1 Common features

A clause is normally understood as a group of words containing a subject and finite verb, forming a sentence or part of sentence, and often doing the work of a noun, adjective or adverb

In the traditional view, clauses are sentences that are part of larger sentences That is to say, clauses are seen as the minimal sentences while the term sentence is used for the larger or maximal sentence (Palmer (1994: 11))

To put it in another ways, the “traditional” clause is a component of the sentence Though arbitrary, this conception has indicated what is meant and illustrated a very important characteristic of natural language

Quirk et al (1972: 42) give simple explanation, more structurally and formally biased, of the clause A clause is a unit that can be analyzed in to the elements: S, V, O, C, and A (subject, verb, object, complement and adverb)

Later Leech and Svartvick (1992) modify this conception, proposing that clauses are the principal structures of which sentence are composed They also put forward three important ways in which clauses may be described and classified

 In terms of clause elements (subject, verb etc.) from which they are constructed and the verb patterns which are formed from the elements

 In terms of the use in which a clause is made by verb phrase structure to help distinguish between finite clauses, non-finite clauses, and verbless clauses

 In terms of clause function (the function of a clause performs in a sentence), such as nominal clause, adverbial clause, etc Thus, Later Leech and Svartvick work out some criteria for their explanation of clause on the ground proposed by Quirk et al, the formal and structural view of clauses proves to be clearer and more precise than the traditional one for it also touches other aspects of linguistics and serves as a better tool to do linguistic research More concerned with language function, Halliday (1985: 67) defines clause is a functional unit with a triple construction of meaning In his explanation, a clause functions simultaneously

 As the expression of the phenomena of experience

 As the expression of speech function

 As the bearer of message, this is organized in the form of theme plus exposition

In the view of speech function, Halliday’s “clause” has a two-part structure consisting of modal element and proposional elements

In whichever approach, traditional, structural or functional, there is always a widespread agreement that a clause typically consists of five elements: S, V, O, C and A In addition, clauses are belong to the three types: adverbial clause, adjective clauses and noun clauses An adverbial clause is considered as modifying the verb

of the main clause or sometimes as modifier of the entire sentence The adjective clauses modifies a preceding noun or pronoun and a noun clause can function as subject, subjective complement, object of verb, objective of preposition and apposite In this study, we are going to deal with adverbial clause with the features, functions of each kind of them

1.2.2 Clause elements

A clause can be analyzed into five different types of clause elements: (subject, verb, object, complement and adverb)

Eg Suddenly, I felt tired

Morning arrived fast

(Quirk and Greenbaum (1973: 168))

1.2.3 More about clauses

Clauses are classified into two main categories: Independent clauses and

dependent clauses They are also called “main clause” and “subordinate clause”

An independent clause is a clause “capable of constituting a simple sentence”

(Quirk, Randolph et al (1972: 721)) or “that can start alone as a sentence” (Bửu (1994: 65)) A dependent clause is a clause “which makes up a grammatical

sentence only if subordinate to a further clause” (Quirk, Randolph et al (1972:

721)) or which does not stand on it is own as a sentence (Bửu (1994: 65)) In the traditional view, there are threes types of dependent clauses, which are named, In general terms according to their functions in the sentence: adverbial clause, adjective clauses and noun clauses

Later, dependent clauses are also functionally classified, in more specific terms, into subject, direct object, disjunct, conjunct The structures of them are very diverse Therefore, the analysis will be done in this study

Analyzed by structure type, clauses are of three main classes: finite clause, finite clause, and verbless clause

A finite clause is defined as one containing a finite verb while a non-finite clause containing a non-finite verb is named a non-finite clause The non-finite verb

can be infinitive with “to”, an infinitive without “to”, an –ing participle or an- ed

participle A clause which has no verbal element at all is a verbless clause One of the main differences between the finite clause and the other two is that the former always contains a subject while there is frequent absence of a subject in the latter The kind of ellipsis found in non-finite clause and verb- less clause serve stylistic purposes, especially in the written language

The clause can also be viewed in another perspective, in the light of functional approach Halliay’s idea (1995: 73) is the typical of this view In his

opinion, “every clause is also structured as a message It consists of two parts: a

Theme, which is the point of departure- what the message is about, and another element that constitutes the body of the message, known as the Rhyme ” and the

Theme usually come first in the message structure when we extend our analysis beyond the syntactic scope, though only occasionally, The Theme- Rhyme structure

is based on to work out a sound explanation

1.3 Adverbial clauses in English

1.3.1 Definition of Adverbial clauses

According to Alice Oshima and Ann Hogue “An adverbial clause is another type of

dependent clause is introduced by a subordinator It is used to modify the verb of the noun clause, and it answers such questions as Where?, Why?, How?, When?,…

etc, for what purpose”

An adverbial clause begins with a subordinating conjunction, which makes the subordinate (dependent) clause

Common subordinating conjunctions:

in case (that) Till

Example of adverbial clause answering when?

When will the flowers bloom? Answer: when spring arrives

Example of adverbial clause answering why?

Why didn't the poor woman have money? Answer: because she had lost her

job

Example of adverbial clause answering where?

Where is there fire? Answer: where there is smoke

Example of adverbial clause answering how?

How did he answer the question? Answer: as if he knew the subject quite

well

Example of adverbial clause answering to what degree?

To what degree of lateness will Jones arrive? Answer: (later) than Smith

(will arrive)

Another example of an adverbial clause answering to what degree?

1.3.2 Common features of Adverbial clauses

Adverbial clauses are dependent clauses that function as other adverbials They can have functions as adverb phrases, preposition phrases, and noun phrases

Eg We could play cards after wards

We could play cards after the meal

We could play cards after we’ve eaten

Adverbial clauses usually tell something extra about the action or state described by the rest of the sentence, the time when it happened, the place where it happened or the manner in which happened

Adverbial clauses usually come before or after a main clause A comma is often used when the adverbial clause comes first

Eg If you like, we could play cards

We could play cards if you like

The order of clauses depends on whether the information it conveys is new and important or not When the information is new and important, it is usually put

at the end of the sentence

Eg I arrived about ten minutes after the start of the meeting

I was late because Don was telling me his problems Here I was late

related back to ten minutes after the start The information about Don is new

There are non-finite adverbial clauses: - Ing clauses, -Ed clauses, and verbless clauses

Eg Why waiting, Colin paced up and down

Please wait until told to proceed

1.3.3 Types of Adverbial clauses

Linguistics have proposed different views about kinds of Adverbial clauses in their famous grammar books and websites Generally, they are very diverse Following L.G Alexander, there are ten main kinds of Adverbial clauses: Clauses

of time, clauses of place, clauses of manner, clauses of concession, clauses of result, clauses of reason, clauses of purpose, clauses of comparison, clauses of condition, and abbreviated adverbial clauses

Eg He must be lying if you told you that

9 Clauses of condition

Eg John runs as quickly as Marry does

10 Abbreviated adverbial clauses

Eg After listening a little, the postmaster got up and said

CHAPTER 2 ADVERBIAL CLAUSES IN ENGLISH AND THEIR VIETNAMESE

EQUIVALENTS

2.1 Functions of adverbial clause in English sentence structures

According to S Greenbaum and R Quirk (1990) “Adverbial clauses

function mainly as adjuncts or disjuncts In those functions they are like Adverbial phrases, but in their potentiality for greater explicitness, they are more often like preposition phrases”

Adverbial clauses can be identified by asking and answering the questions: when?, where?, How?, why?, etc

When?: Tell him as soon as he arrive (Time)

Where?: You can sit where you like (Place)

How?: He spoke as if he meant business (Manner)

Why?: He went to bed because he felt ill (Reason)

There are some major kinds of Adverbial clauses and each of Adverbial clauses has different functions, so we study detail kinds of Adverbial clauses to know more clearly about their functions

2.2 Concrete cases of adverbial clauses in English and their Vietnamese equivalents

This part of the study will focus on common features, functions, concrete cases of the ten kinds of English adverbial clauses, as already mentioned in the previous chapter, and their Vietnamese equivalents

2.2.1 Clauses of time

2.2.1.1 Common features

Adverbial clauses of time are dependent clauses, often introduced by one

(ever), while, now that, as long as, immediately (that), directly (that) We

generally use a comma when an adverbial clauses come first

Eg: You did not look very well when you got up this morning

After she got married, Madeleine changed completely

You can keep these records as long as you like

Once you’ve seen one penguin, you’ve seen them all

2.2.1.2 Functions

An adverbial clause of time tells us when the action described by the main verb took place

Eg: Her father died when she was young

He has not stopped complaining since he got back from his holidays

2.2.1.3 Some Concrete cases of adverbial clauses of time in English and

their Vietnamese equivalents

Adverbial clauses of time are introduced by concrete main subordinators

 When:

When the cloud bursts, it rain fishes (K A Abba, 6)

Rồi khi mây tan, trời mưa ra cá (N Tâm, 7) When he runs, he leaves the storm wind behind (G Balwnt, 26)

Khi cậu ấy chạy, gió bảo sẽ tụt lại đằng sau (N Tâm, 27)

When the judge said that an interview with his highness was being arranged,

she agreed (G Balwnt, 34)

Khi thẩm phán nói rằng người ta đang thu xếp một cuộc tiếp kiến hoàng tử, thì

Adverbial clauses of time with subordinator: “when” in English and their

Vietnamese equivalents: (rồi khi…, khi…, lỳc…, khi…thỡ, khi xong.)

 Before:

He would have some hot water before he began (J LonDon, 36)

Anh ấy nhất thiết phải uống một ớt nước núng trước lỳc bắt đầu đi tiếp

Adverbial clauses of time with subordinator: “before” in English and their

Vietnamese equivalents: (trước lúc…, trước khi )

 Once:

Once the ice was broken, we began to talk with astonishing informality

(K A Abba, 14)

Khi tảng băng ngăn cỏch bắt đầu tan đi, thỡ chỳng tụi núi chuyện với nhau tự

nhiờn mụt cỏch lạ kỳ (N Tõm, 15)

He gets up late once he has so many things to do (H.V Bửu, 78)

Anh ấy thường thức đậy muộn một khi anh ấy cú quỏ nhiều việc để làm

(H.V Bửu, 78)

Adverbial clauses of time with subordinator: “once” in English and their

Vietnamese equivalents: (khi…thỡ, một khi…)

 After:

After he had drunk a quart of hot water, the man found he was able to stand

(J LonDon, 38)

Sau khi uống ớt nước, anh cảm thấy cú thể đứng đậy được (Đ Lờ, 39)

We can go some Saturday after Maggie’s office closes (M K Prabhat, 66)

Chỳng tụi cú thể đi vào thứ 7 nào đú sau khi Maggi tan sở

Adverbial clauses of time are with subordinator: “after” in English and their

Vietnamese equivalents: (sau khi…)

 Till/ until:

I waited till the streetlights leap out of the dark (K A Abba, 8)

Tôi đợi mãi cho tới khi đèn đường phố từ trong bóng tối nhảy vụt ra

I will wait until/ till he comes back (H V Bửu, 79)

Tôi sẽ đợi đến khi anh trở lại (H V Bửu, 79)

Adverbial clauses of time with subordinator: “till/ until” in English and

their Vietnamese equivalents: ( mãi cho đến khi…, cho tới khi…, đến khi…)

 Since:

He had done a good deed everyday since he took his oath (H.V Bửu, 78)

Mỗi ngày hắn làm một việc thiện từ khi hắn ta tuyên thề (H.V Bửu, 78)

Adverbial clauses of time with subordinator: “since” in English and their

Vietnamese equivalents: ( từ khi…)

 As soon as: (ngay khi…, khi nào…)

As soon as he came back, I will be granted an interview (M K Prabhat, 38)

Khi nào ngài trở về, tôi sẽ được tiếp kiến (N Tâm, 39)

Assuming her that all their troubles would end as soon as he got his chance to

go to London (M K Prabhat, 36)

Anh an ủi bà mẹ rằng tất cả nçi cực nhọc của họ sẽ chấm rứt ngay khi anh có

cơ hội đi Luân §ôn (N Tâm, 37)

2.2.2 Clauses of place

2.2.2.1 Common features

Adverbial clauses of place are dependent clauses, introduced by subordinators:

Where, wherever, anywhere, everywhere

Eg The church was built where there had once been a Roman temple

They went wherever they could find work

With a special train ticket, you can travel everywhere/ anywhere you like

2.2.2.2 Functions

Adverbial clauses of place tell where the action described by the main verb took place

Eg Most people prefer to shop where they can be sure of quality

Consumers usually prefer to do business wherever credit cards are accepted

2.2.2.3 Some concrete cases of adverbial clauses of place in English and their Vietnamese equivalents

Adverbial clauses of place are introduced by concrete main subordinators

 Where:

He would come to where she gave him the first view (H.V Bửu, 77)

Anh ấy sẽ trở về nơi mà lần đầu anh gặp cô ấy

I will go where you tell me (H.V Bửu, 77) Tôi sẽ đến nơi nào anh bảo tôi

Adverbial clauses of place with subordinator: “where” in English and their Vietnamese equivalents: (nơi mà…, nơi nào…, một nơi…, ở chç…)

Adverbial clauses of place with subordinator” wherever” in English and their Vietnamese equivalents: ( ở chç nào…, bất cứ chç nào…)

2.2.3.Clauses of manner

2.2.3.1 Common features

Adverbial clauses of manner are dependent clauses, introduced by

subordinators: “As”, “in the way that” They normally come after the main

clause

Eg Type this again as I showed you moment ago

This steak is cooked in the way that I like it

Adverbial clauses of manner also express comparison when they are

introduced by expression: like, (in) the way, (in) the same way,( in) the same

way as

Eg She is behaving in the same way her elder sister used to

Adverbial clauses of manner can also be introduced by the

Conjunctions As if, as though after the verbs: be, act, appear, behave, feel, look,

seem, smell, sound

Eg I feel as if / as though I am floating on air

It sounds as if/ as though the situation will get worse

“As though” and “as if” can be used after any verbs describing behavior

Eg She acts as if she were mad

Lillian was trembling as if she had seen a ghost

2.2.3.2 Functions

Adverbial clauses of manner are dependent clauses, used to talk about someone’s behavior or the way something is done

Eg I was never allowed to do things the way I wanted to do them

I feel as if/ as though I am floating on the air

2.2.3.3 Some concrete cases of adverbial clauses of manner in English and their Vietnamese equivalents

Adverbial clauses of manner are introduced by concrete main subordinators

 As:

Each time he lifted a foot the action culminated in sucking sound as the wet

most reluctantly released it’s grip (J LonDon, 11)

Mỗi khi bàn chân nhấc lên thì một tiếng phọt lại phát ra tưạ như lớp rêu sũng

nước đã miễn cưỡng buông chân ra (Đ Lê, 12)

I shall do as you suggest (O Henry, 72) Tôi sẽ làm như cô gợi ý (Đ Lê, 73)

Adverbial clauses of manner with subordinator: “as” in English and their vietnammese equivalents: (tựa như…, làm như…, như…)

 As if :

As if I was some absent-minded professor of philosophy who, engross in the

contemplation of my stories of life, had forgotten the existence of the fancy umbrella in his hand (M K Prabhat, 12)

Tôi cứ như thể một giáo sư triết học đảng chí vì đang mãi suy nghĩ về những

bí ẩn của cuộc đời, mà quên khuấy mất rằng mình đang cầm một chíêc ô loại

hảo hạng (N T©m, 13)

He spoke as if he had known what he was talking about (H.V Bửu, 81)

Nó nói như là nó biết vấn đề nó nói (H.V Bửu, 81)

Adverbial clauses of manner with subordinator: “as if” in English and their vietnammese equivalents: (cứ như thể …mà…, như là…)