Running Head: ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE VERB PHRASES

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ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE VERB PHRASES

HUYNH THANH THANH

HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH

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Ho Chi Minh City, Dec. 30, 2010

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 1

INTRODUCTION

Although languages are indispensable means of communication, there are

many languages in the world, and each language has its own origin, features

and values which are different from the others. The question is: How can we

communicate with each other? As globalization affects the whole world,

English has nearly become an international language. That means on the way

Vietnam develops and globalizes, English has an important place. Therefore,

teaching and learning English become a demand for Vietnamese. However,

English and Vietnamese have different characteristics in terms of grammar,

pronunciation, vocabulary… For instance, the meanings of Vietnamese words

are more diverse than those of English, the systems of grammar of these two

languages are completely different. Whenever we mention the characteristic of

a language we usually focus on the structures, the components forming a

sentence… From that point of view, it’s obvious to see the importance of word

phrases such as noun phrase, verb phrase, adjective phrase… in a structure

of a sentence. Hence, in order to have a general idea about verb phrases of

English as well as of Vietnamese and to understand the characteristics of

English and Vietnamese verb phrases, I decide to do a research on “English

and Vietnamese verb phrases”. In my topic, I will present the definition of

English and Vietnamese verb phrases. Then I will discuss their characteristics

followed by examples to show the similarities and differences between English

and Vietnamese verb phrases. In addition, I suggest some application in

teaching verb phrases. Through my topic, I hope the readers will have a

general look about verb phrases and can distinguish the similarities and the

difference between English and Vietnamese verb phrases.

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 2

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 3

Overview

Definition:What is verb phrase? There are many answers for this question.

One of these definitions:

Verb phrase is a free word phrase having main- subordinate relation and

containing a verb serve as the central element and additive elements which

modify the meanings for the central element.

Another definition:

“In linguistics, a verb phrase is a syntactic structure composed of the

predicative elements of a sentence and its function is to provide information

about the subject of the sentence. In the generative grammar framework, the

verb phrase is a phrase headed by a verb. A verb phrase may be constructed

from a single verb; often, however, the verb phrase will consist of various

combinations of the main verb and any auxiliary verbs, plus optional specifiers,

complements, and adjuncts” (Wikipedia, 2010).

Characteristic:These definitions show us the main characteristics of verb phrases: Verb

phrase always contains main verb which serves as a central element, and this

central element governs additive elements. Both verb phrases in English and

Vietnamese share these characteristics

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 4

English verb phrases

The verb phrase functional formula is:

(Auxiliary) + Head+ (Object)/Complement + (Modifier)

Verb phrase contains one Lexical verb as its Head

Lexical Verb:

According to Howard Edward’s definition, the lexical verb carries the primary

reference of the verb phrase, relating to an action, process or event in reality.

Lexical verbs can be divided into 2 types: transitive and intransitive verbs.

Transitive verbs are verbs that need direct objects followed. Direct objects can

be a pronoun, a noun phrase, or a clause.

Some transitive verbs: lift, give, want, kick, clean, paint …

E.g.: She gives me a cup of tea.

Flora kicked Anthony under the table.

Intransitive verbs are verbs that do not go with any objects.

Some intransitive verbs: die, sleep, go, arrive, sit…

E.g.: His grandfather died.

She sleeps peacefully.

Other action verbs, however, can be transitive or intransitive, depending on

what follows in the sentence. Compare these examples:

Katie always eats before leaving for school. (Intransitive)

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 5

He eats fruit every day. (Transitive)

The lexical verb may be composed of more than one word, especially in the

case of “phrasal” and preposition verbs.

Two-word Verbs:

Prepositional verbs (V + Prepositions): Inseparable

E.g.: Tom is looking at the board.

Some prepositional verbs: look after, look for, come across, sail through…

Phrasal verbs (V + adverbs): separable

i.e.: “A phrasal verb is a combination of a verb and a preposition, a verb and

an adverb, or a verb with both an adverb and a preposition, any of which are

part of the syntax of the sentence, and so are a complete semantic unit.

Sentences may contain direct and indirect objects in addition to the phrasal

verb. Phrasal verbs are particularly frequent in the English language. A phrasal

verb often has a meaning which is different from the original verb.” (Wikipedia,

2010)

She looked up the word in the dictionary.

She looked the word up in the dictionary.

“Up” may come before or after an object which is a noun.

“Up” must come after if the object is a pronoun.

Some other similar verbs: put on, put down, take off, break down…

Note:

Two-word verbs have two kinds:

Two-word verbs, intransitive verbs:

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 6

i.e.: They are verbs that don’t take any direct objects.

E.g.: Susan dropped out .

Some similar verbs: break in, catch up, keep up…

Two-word verbs, transitive verbs :

i.e.: They take objects. These verbs can be divided into 2 sub-categories:

separable and inseparable.

Two-word verbs, separable:

i.e.: verbs are transitive verbs when the pronoun object must be inserted

between the verbs and functional words.

e.g.: Paul finds out the secret.

They find it out.

We find the key out.

Two-word verbs, inseparable:

i.e.: They are transitive verbs when the pronoun object must follow the

functional words.

e.g.: The child takes after his mother.

Three-word verb or Phrasal-Prepositional verbs:

Three-word verbs are transitive verbs, inseparable verbs.

e.g.: Jen broke in on their conversation.

Some similar verbs: drop out of, catch on to, catch up with, keep up with,

break in on…

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 7

From the verb phrase functional formula:

(Auxiliary) + Head + (Object)/Complement + (Modifier)

The possible verb phrases could be:

Head alone

Auxiliary(ies) + Head

Head + Object(s) / Complement

Head + Modifier(s)

The combine of the above

1. Verb phrases: Head aloneSingle-word verb phrase always consists of a headword that is a verb

E.g.: Frankie walked away.

I smile.

2. Verb phrases: Auxiliaries + Verb Head

a. Auxiliary Verbs:

Definition:In linguistics, an auxiliary (also called helping verb, helper verb, auxiliary verb,

or verbal auxiliary, abbreviated AUX) is a verb functioning to give further

semantic or syntactic information about the main or full verb following it. In

English, the extra meaning provided by an auxiliary verb alters the basic

meaning of the main verb to make it have one or more of the following

functions: passive voice, progressive aspect, perfect aspect, modality, dummy,

or emphasis.

Kinds of Auxiliary verbs:Primary Auxiliaries: be (am/ is/ are) , have (have/ has) , do (do/ dose/)

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 8

Modal Auxiliaries: ought to, can, could, should, would, may, might, must, will…

Use of Auxiliary verbs:Auxiliary verbs help to form tenses, expressions, forms, moods, aspects …

b. Combination of Auxiliaries + Verbs:Auxiliary Example

Progressive (Be+ Present Participle) She is watching TV.

Perfect ( Have + Past Participle) I have done homework.

Passive (Be + Past participle) The play was written by Shakespeare.

Support auxiliary (do +V-bare

infinitive)I do know her.

Modal You must go out.

3. Verb phrases: Verb Head + Object(s) / ComplementObject or Complement is a phrase (noun phrase, adjective phrase, adverbial

phrase) which follows a verb head.

Type Example

Direct Object She bought a book. (Noun phrase)

Indirect objectBrad gave his daughter (noun phrase) a

candy.

Subject ComplementHe is a teacher. (noun phrase)

She is beautiful. (adjective phrase)

Object Complement We elected him president. (noun phrase)

Complement Clause I believe that they are in love.

4. Verb Phrases: Verb Head + Modifier(s)Modifier of verb can be called adjunct or adverbial in order to distinguish them

from modifier of noun.

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 9

In linguistics, an adjunct or adverbial is an optional, or structurally dispensable,

part of a sentence that, when removed, will not affect the remainder of the

sentence. A more detailed definition of an adjunct is its attribute as a modifying

form, word, or phrase which depends on another form, word, or phrase, being

an element of clause structure with adverbial function.

Types of modifier Example

Adverb PhraseThey arrived early.

She sings softly.

Noun Phrase AdverbialsThey visit us every day.

We will pay the next time.

Prepositional Phrase AdverbialsI will see him on Monday.

Anthony met Flora at a bar.

Adverbial ClauseThey arrived after we finished breakfast.

He called when she was reading a book.

Infinitive Clause AdverbialsI have to run to catch up with my brother.

She followed him to find out the truth.

Present Participial Clause

Adverbials

Jack sat watching the football match.

He lies looking at the ceiling.

Past Participial Clause Adverbials

They get inside led by the host.

We visited a museum guided by an

instructor.

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 10

Vietnamese Verb Phrases

Vietnamese verb phrase includes three elements: Pre-additive element,

central element, Post-additive element.

1. Central element:

Group 1: verb alonee.g.: Mặt trời mọc.

Chim hót.

Group 2: Verbs that usually come with other verbs:

Modal verb + Verbi.e.: Modal verb: hãy, đừng, chớ, phải, cần, nên…

e.g.: Bạn nên về.

Passive: bị, phải, được…e.g.: Hắn ta bị bắt.

Chị ấy được khen.

Two parallel actions happening at the same time: ngồi nghỉ, nằm ngủ, đi học, đứng nhìn…

e.g: Anh ta đứng nhìn bầu trời đêm.

Group 3: Verbs which always go with additive element

Verbs with sense of result: biết được, nhận ra, tìm thấy, nhìn thấy, tóm lấy, thu được…

e.g.: Tôi tìm thấy quyển sách này.

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 11

Anh ta thu được nhiều chiến lợi phẩm.

Verbs with sense of moving: Some verbs: Đi (đi xuống, đi ra, đi vào), bay (bay lên, bay xuống, bay đến, bay

vào), chạy (chạy ra, chạy vào, chạy đến, chạy lên, chạy xuống), phóng (phóng

tới,phóng đến, phóng vào), nhảy (nhảy qua, nhảy lại, nhảy tới), bước (bước

tới, bước qua)…

e.g: Thầy giáo bước vào lớp.

Anh ấy chạy lên cầu thang.

Verb with two objects: Affecting two objects: Cho, đưa, tặng, biếu, xin, vay, mượn…

e.g: Lan tặng Huệ hai quyển sách .

Tâm xin mẹ tiền .

Connecting two objects: pha, trộn, nối, kết, hòa, chấp…

e.g.: Loan trộn đậu xanh với đậu đỏ.

Considering object A as the meaning of object B: lấy, bầu, coi, chọn,

cử…

E.g.: Nhật coi Tân như anh .

Group 4: Verb with sense of moodSome verbs in this group: lo âu, lo lắng, bồn chồn, thấp thỏm …

e.g.: Anh ta lo lắng về kết quả học tập.

Group 5: Combination of verbsSome combinations: Chạy ngược chạy xuôi, chạy đôn chạy đáo, tính tới tính

lui, chạy ra chạy vào, nói tới nói lui…

e.g.: Cô ấy cứ nói tới nói lui chuyện này.

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 12

2. Pre-additive element:

Group 1: expressing the sense of continuing or repeating of state or actionSome words in this group: cứ. vẫn, mãi, lại, tiếp tục…

e.g.: Anh ta lại hát bài hát ấy.

“Lại” This word is used as an pre-additive element to emphasize the

repeating action.

Group 2: Indicating the frequencySome words in this group: thường, hay, chưa bao giờ, đôi khi, hiếm khi, thỉnh

thoảng…

e.g.: Cô ấy thường ngồi đàn vào buổi chiều.

Thường this word is used to show that the action usually happens.

Group 3: Indicating the time of an action or a state.Some words in this group: đã, sẽ, sắp, từng, đang, vừa …

e.g.: Tôi đã xem bộ phim này.

“Đã” this word is used to emphasize that the action already happened in the

past.

Group 4: indication negative formSome words in this group: không, chưa,chẳng…

e.g.: Cậu ấy chưa làm bài tập.

Tôi không biết chuyện gì đang xảy ra với anh ấy.

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 13

Group 5: Indicating the levelSome words in this group: rất, khá, hơi, vô cùng…

e.g.: Anh ta rất thích nhạc giao hưởng.

3. Post-additive elementIn term of word form, post-additive element could be a noun, an adjective, a

pronoun.

E.g.: Anh ấy đang nghe nhạc. (a noun)

Cô ta chạy nhanh. (an adjective)

Hôm qua anh ta mua nó. (a pronoun)

In term of structure, post-additive element could be a single word, a phrase, or

a clause (a sentence).

e.g.: Anh ta đang viết thư. (a word)

Họ đang xây một lâu đài cát. (a phrase)

Tôi nhờ cô ấy hướng dẫn cách làm bánh. ( a clause)

In term of meaning, post-additive element may have many types:

Order: tiến lên, chạy đi, ăn đi, học nào…

e.g.: Cậu hãy ăn đi.

Direction: tới (đi tới, bước tới…) vào (bay vào, chạy vào…), bước lùi,

xuống (đi xuống,giảm xuống), lên (bay lên, đi lên, tăng lên …)…

e.g.: Giá cổ phiếu vẫn tiếp tục tăng lên.

State, process and end of an action: mãi (nói mãi, chờ mãi…), rồi

(biết rồi, đọc rồi…), ngay (đi ngay, đến ngay…), hoài(nhìn hoài, nghĩ

hoài…), xong (ăn xong, làm xong)…

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 14

e.g.: Khi nhận được điện thoại, anh ấy vội đi ngay.

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 15

Contrast

Through the description above, the characteristics of English and Vietnamese

verb phrases can be contrasted by form and meaning.

The part that easily attracts our attention is the form. We can see clearly that

both English and Vietnamese verb phrases have three parts: In English they

are Auxiliary, Head Verb and Complementation, while they are Pre-additive

element, Central element, Post-additive element in Vietnamese. Although they

have different names and components, there are several things in common.

The first thing is verb phrase always consists a verb as central element and

the most important part, without this element, there is no verb phrase. The

second thing is additive elements are optional and governed by central

element. The last similarity is pre-additive element is usually related to

grammatical function when post-additive element concerns mostly in meaning.

However, the differences in form between English and Vietnamese verb

phrases are not less than the similarities. Tense is the crucial factor that

affects the form of English verb phrase. Verbs in English change their forms to

express different tenses.

E.g.: I watched that film yesterday. (simple past)

I watch that film every day. (Simple present)

I have watched that film several times. (Present perfect)

Now I am watching that film. (Present continuous)

I will watch that film next week. (simple future)

But verbs in Vietnamese always keep the same form in every situation. One of

the reason is tense in Vietnamese is not clear (In some books, authors argue

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 16

that there is no tense in Vietnamese). We just use pre-additive element such

as đã, đang, sắp ,sẽ… to indicate the time of an action.

e.g.: Tôi đã xem bộ phim ấy hôm qua. (I watched that film yesterday.)

Tôi đang xem bộ phim ấy. (I am watching that film.)

Tôi xem bộ phim ấy mỗi ngày. (I watch that film every day.)

Tôi đã từng xem bộ phim ấy vài lần. (I have watched that film several times.)

Tôi sẽ xem bộ phim ấy vào tuần sau. (I will watch that film next week.)

Furthermore, in negative and interrogative sentences, English verbs change

form while Vietnamese verbs only have one form and add additive element to

indicate the meaning.

e.g.: He watched TV last night. (Affirmative)

He did not watch TV last night. (Negative)

Did he watch TV last night? (Interrogative)

Anh ta đã xem TV tối hôm qua. (He watched TV last night.)

Anh ta có xem TV tối hôm qua không? (Did he watch TV last night?)

Anh ta không xem TV tối hôm qua. (He did not watch TV last night)

The next difference is some English verbs must be followed by prepositions

such as: listen to, introduce to, believe in… while in Vietnamese, they are

optional.

e.g.: He is listening to music. (Anh ta đang nghe nhạc)

Beside the form, the other part which is not less important when comparing

English and Vietnamese verb phrase is the meaning.

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 17

Although verb phrases are used to talk about an action or a state in both

English and Vietnamese, the way people use is not the same. People usually

use passive voice in English to make the meaning objective. Sometimes a

statement in passive is more polite than active voice. But in Vietnamese

passive voice is not preferred. Because, in English, action is the focus, it is not

important or not known who performs the action. While in Vietnamese people

usually concern in the agent that causes the action. The other difference is

Vietnamese does not have the term “phrasal verb”, but Phrasal verbs are

particularly frequent in the English language. A phrasal verb often has a

meaning which is different from the original verb.

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 18

Teaching Applications

Studying something does not mean stopping at knowing or understanding

what we study, the important thing is to know how to apply it in real life. So,

through my topic, I would like to discuss the characteristics of English and

Vietnamese verb phrases and contrast them in order to find out how to teach

English verb phrases, how to help students distinguish the differences

between English and Vietnamese verb phrases and avoid making mistakes.

Firstly, Vietnamese student have a habit of translation from Vietnamese into

English when making sentences, but English and Vietnamese are not the

same, especially verb phrases. So students usually translate word-by-word

and make the sentences nonsense. For example, in Vietnamese we can say

“Tôi đang nghe nhạc” but in English it is “I am listening to music” not “I am

listen music”. In this case, teachers should help students to recognize the

differences and their mistakes. Then teachers should provide student the verb

patterns they need and give some examples.

Secondly, students usually have difficulties with phrasal verbs because there

are so many combinations with different meanings. For instance, “make” can

go with “up, of, from…” to form phrasal verbs with different meanings. In

addition, transitive and intransitive verbs are also obstacles for students when

distinguishing. The suggestion is teachers should give clear examples in each

case, help students make their own examples and give them more exercise to

practice.

Thirdly, sometimes students confuse with tenses and do not know how to use

them correctly. For example, simple past and present continuous, will and be

going to, simple future and present continuous when talking about a future

event… Or they want to know why people sometimes use past forms: could,

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 19

would, should, might in present time, i.e.: people can say “could you help me?”

to ask for help. There are many questions can be raised. And teachers’

solution should be explaining structures, tenses, meaning and usage clearly,

helping students distinguish the slight difference between confusing

sentences, giving them more exercise to practice.

Last but not least, English verbs change their forms to indicate tenses, but

Vietnamese verbs are the same in every situation. That means students easily

forget to change forms and make mistake when making sentences. For

example, people say “Anh ấy thích quyển sách này.” Vietnamese, but in

English it should be “He likes this book.” not “He like this book.” Moreover,

Auxiliaries contribute in forming negative and interrogative sentences, while in

Vietnamese we do not have auxiliary. That is the reason why students make

mistake when change sentences into negative or interrogative.

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 20

ConclusionIn conclusion, languages are complicated and every language has their own

characteristics. However, languages are means of communication and they

help people in the world understand each other. Those mean learning new

languages are difficult but necessary. And this is also the thought of many

Vietnamese students when studying English. That is the reason why I do this

research contrasting English and Vietnamese verb phrases. In my topic, I

describe and distinguish characteristics of English and Vietnamese verb

phrases, then discuss some teaching applications based on the differences

between verb phrases in these two languages. I hope that this study will

provide students useful information about verb phrases in English and

Vietnamese and helpful application in teaching English.

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 21

References

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Education Press.

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