Running Head: ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE VERB PHRASES

---



ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
VERB PHRASES




HUYNH THANH THANH

HO CHI MINH CITY UNIVERSITY OF EDUCATION
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH



---
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, its 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

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 3

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 Edwards 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)
He eats fruit every day. (Transitive)
English and Vietnamese verb phrases 4

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:
i.e.: They are verbs that dont take any direct objects.
English and Vietnamese verb phrases 5

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
From the verb phrase functional formula:
English and Vietnamese verb phrases 6

(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 alone
Single-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/)
Modal Auxiliaries: ought to, can, could, should, would, may, might, must, will
English and Vietnamese verb phrases 7

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) / Complement
Object 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 object
Brad gave his daughter (noun phrase) a
candy.
Subject Complement
He 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 8

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 Phrase
They arrived early.
She sings softly.
Noun Phrase Adverbials
They visit us every day.
We will pay the next time.
Prepositional Phrase Adverbials
I will see him on Monday.
Anthony met Flora at a bar.
Adverbial Clause
They arrived after we finished breakfast.
He called when she was reading a book.
Infinitive Clause Adverbials
I 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 9

Vietnamese Verb Phrases

Vietnamese verb phrase includes three elements: Pre-additive element,
central element, Post-additive element.
1. Central element:
Group 1: verb alone
e.g.: Mt tri mc.
Chim ht.
Group 2: Verbs that usually come with other verbs:
Modal verb +Verb
i.e.: Modal verb: hy, ng, ch, phi, cn, nn
e.g.: Bn nn v.
Passive: b, phi, c
e.g.: Hn ta b bt.
Ch y c khen.
Two parallel actions happening at the same time: ngi ngh, nm
ng, i hc, ng nhn
e.g: Anh ta ng nhn bu tri m.
Group 3: Verbs which always go with additive element
Verbs with sense of result: bit c, nhn ra, tm thy, nhn thy,
tm ly, thu c
e.g.: Ti tm thy quyn sch ny.
Anh ta thu c nhiu chin li phm.
English and Vietnamese verb phrases 10

Verbs with sense of moving:
Some verbs: i (i xung, i ra, i vo), bay (bay ln, bay xung, bay n, bay
vo), chy (chy ra, chy vo, chy n, chy ln, chy xung), phng (phng
ti,phng n, phng vo), nhy (nhy qua, nhy li, nhy ti), bc (bc
ti, bc qua)
e.g: Thy gio bc vo lp.
Anh y chy ln cu thang.
Verb with two objects:
Affecting two objects: Cho, a, tng, biu, xin, vay, mn
e.g: Lan tng Hu hai quyn sch.
Tm xin m tin.
Connecting two objects: pha, trn, ni, kt, ha, chp
e.g.: Loan trn u xanh vi u .
Considering object A as the meaning of object B: ly, bu, coi, chn,
c
E.g.: Nht coi Tn nh anh.
Group 4: Verb with sense of mood
Some verbs in this group: lo u, lo lng, bn chn, thp thm
e.g.: Anh ta lo lng v kt qu hc tp.
Group 5: Combination of verbs
Some combinations: Chy ngc chy xui, chy n chy o, tnh ti tnh
lui, chy ra chy vo, ni ti ni lui
e.g.: C y c ni ti ni lui chuyn ny.

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 11

2. Pre-additive element:
Group 1: expressing the sense of continuing or repeating of state or
action
Some words in this group: c. vn, mi, li, tip tc
e.g.: Anh ta li ht bi ht y.
Li This word is used as an pre-additive element to emphasize the
repeating action.
Group 2: Indicating the frequency
Some words in this group: thng, hay, cha bao gi, i khi, him khi, thnh
thong
e.g.: C y thng ngi n vo bui chiu.
Thng 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: , s, sp, tng, ang, va
e.g.: Ti xem b phim ny.
this word is used to emphasize that the action already happened in the
past.
Group 4: indication negative form
Some words in this group: khng, cha,chng
e.g.: Cu y cha lm bi tp.
Ti khng bit chuyn g ang xy ra vi anh y.
Group 5: Indicating the level
Some words in this group: rt, kh, hi, v cng
English and Vietnamese verb phrases 12

e.g.: Anh ta rt thch nhc giao hng.
3. Post-additive element
In term of word form, post-additive element could be a noun, an adjective, a
pronoun.
E.g.: Anh y ang nghe nhc. (a noun)
C ta chy nhanh. (an adjective)
Hm qua anh ta mua n. (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 ang vit th. (a word)
H ang xy mt lu i ct. (a phrase)
Ti nh c y hng dn cch lm bnh. ( a clause)
In term of meaning, post-additive element may have many types:
Order: tin ln, chy i, n i, hc no
e.g.: Cu hy n i.
Direction: ti (i ti, bc ti) vo (bay vo, chy vo), bc li,
xung (i xung,gim xung), ln (bay ln, i ln, tng ln )
e.g.: Gi c phiu vn tip tc tng ln.
State, process and end of an action: mi (ni mi, ch mi), ri
(bit ri, c ri), ngay (i ngay, n ngay), hoi(nhn hoi, ngh
hoi), xong (n xong, lm xong)
e.g.: Khi nhn c in thoi, anh y vi i ngay.

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 13

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 14

that there is no tense in Vietnamese). We just use pre-additive element such
as , ang, sp ,s to indicate the time of an action.
e.g.: Ti xem b phim y hm qua. (I watched that film yesterday.)
Ti ang xem b phim y. (I am watching that film.)
Ti xem b phim y mi ngy. (I watch that film every day.)
Ti tng xem b phim y vi ln. (I have watched that film several times.)
Ti s xem b phim y vo tun 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 xem TV ti hm qua. (He watched TV last night.)
Anh ta c xem TV ti hm qua khng? (Did he watch TV last night?)
Anh ta khng xem TV ti hm 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 ang nghe nhc)
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 15

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 16

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
Ti ang nghe nhc 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,
would, should, might in present time, i.e.: people can say could you help me?
English and Vietnamese verb phrases 17

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 y thch quyn sch ny. 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 18

Conclusion
In 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 19

References

Nguyen,H.L. (2004) An Outline of Syntax. Ho Chi Minh City: University of
Education Press.

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2010). Verb phrase. Retrieved December
19th, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Verb_phrase

Kies,D.(2010). Modern English Grammar. Retrieved December 17th, 2010,
from http://papyr.com/hypertextbooks/grammar/ph_verb.htm

Beare,K. (2010). Verb Structures and Patterns. Retrieved December 19th,
2010, from http://esl.about.com/library/weekly/aa052902a.htm

Ha, V. B. (1999). Vn Phm Anh Vn Miu T (Cc loi ng t-Cch dng
th). Ho Chi Minh City: Tre Publishing House.

Pham, T.H. Some English Verb Phrases versus Vietnamese Verb
Phrases. Retrieved December 15
th
, 2010 from
http://docjax.cloudapp.net/document/view.shtml?id=796998&title=Some
%20English%20verb%20phrases%20versus%20Vietnamese%20verb%
20phrases%20Any%20...

Nguyen,H.L. (2004) An Outline of Syntax. Ho Chi Minh City: University of
EducationPress.

English and Vietnamese verb phrases 20

Doan,T.T. , Nguyen, K. H. , Pham, N. Q. (2001). A Concise Vietnamese
Grammar.Hanoi: Hanoi National University

Du, N. H. (2005). Ng Php Ting Vit (Phn t loi). Ho Chi Minh City:
University of Education Press.

Thomson, A. J., & Martinet, A.V. (1993). A Practical English Grammar (4th ed).
(Pham,X. B., Trans.). Ho Chi Minh City: Tre Publishing House. (Original work
published1989).

ESLDESK. English Verbs. Retrieved December 23th, 2010 from
http://www.esldesk.com/grammar/verbs

Ha, V. B. (1999). Vn Phm Anh Vn Miu T (Cc loi ng t-Cch dng
th). Ho Chi Minh City: Tre Publishing House.

Le, Q.T. (1989) Nghin Cu i Chiu Cc Ngn Ng. Hanoi: Hanoi
University Press

Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2010). Phrasal Verb. Retrieved December
19th, 2010, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phrasal_verb