HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY NO.2 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FACULTY
NGO THI TRANG
ENGLISH NEGATIVE QUESTIONS IN COMPARISONS WITH VIETNAMESE ONES
(SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ENGLISH)
SUPERVISOR: NGUYEN THI MEN, M.A
Hanoi, May 2013
Trang 2PART ONE INTRODUCTION I RATIONALE
It cannot be denied that nowadays, English is one of the most widely used languages in the world It is the mother tongue of more than 350.000.000 people, and it is also used as a second language by millions of Europeans, Africans, Indians, etc In addition, English is spoken and read by many Asians as a foreign language Thus, everywhere people speak English Because of its popularity, many famous books and documents are translated into English Many advertisements as well as business contracts are also written in English Obviously, English has a great influence on the socio-economic as well as cultural life worldwide
In Vietnam, the need for integrating into the world has increased since the open-door policy More and more Vietnamese people desire to learn English, some of whom study English for better opportunities The others learn English for further knowledge or for other purposes That is why English is a compulsory subject in many schools and universities, and English centre are mushrooming throughout the country English teaching and learning has become very important and significant to our country’s process of industrialization and
modernization
In communicative process in English as well as in other languages, questions play an important role in our daily life We are not able to keep
communicating going on well without asking questions We ask in order to
exchange information, ideas, feelings and knowledge On the other hand, we
sometimes ask questions not for the above purposes but to confirm, refuse irony or reply avoidance It is undeniable that questions can not be missed in
communication There are a lot of types of questions in English but in this paper
Trang 3flexibly and fluently Moreover, a large number of authors have investigated negative questions in English namely Alexander, L.G (1975), D R Ladd (1981) Finnegan E (2004), Lado, R(1957) and many others But they have discussed the problems of negative questions in English only or in contrastive analyses, in comparison with other languages rather than Vietnamese
In addition, negative questions have been studied in Vietnamese by Diep Quang Ban (2002), Nguyen Tai Can (1999), Cao Xuan Hao (2003), ete and especially there have also been some author theses on negative questions in Vietnamese by Nguyen Phu Phong (2002) and Nguyen Thi Thin (1994) Their contributions are a great help to Vietnamese learners of English However, there are few of writers focused on this theme and this theme make many mistake for
Vietnamese learners of English Therefore, I choose this theme and study about
this From my experience and knowledge, I will go deep into this matter in a hope of assisting to help people who are interested in the subject matter
II RESEARCH QUESTIONS Some questions are raised:
1 How are English negative questions formed, used and classified? 2 How are Vietnamese negative questions formed, used and classified? 3 What are the similarities and differences of the negative questions between English and Vietnamese?
4 What are the difficulties in study English negative questions of Vietnamese learners of English?
Base on the questions above, I am eager to learn about the problems and make a comparison analysis in negative questions between English and Vietnamese so that the major similarities and differences may be found
III RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
Trang 41 To find out the forms, usage and functions of the English negative questions in the grammar system
2 To find out the forms, usage and functions of Vietnamese negative questions
3 To find out the similarities and differences in the negative questions between English and Vietnamese
IV RESEARCH SCOPE
The general research area of this study is grammar
The phenomenon is negative questions in comparisons between English
and Vietnamese Others relating to the negative questions are also briefly mentioned
V RESEARCH TASKS
The study involves fulfilling the following tasks:
1 To study the classifications, the characteristics, the uses, and the
distinction of the negative questions in English
2 To study the classifications, the characteristics, and the uses of the negative questions in Vietnamese
3 To compare the negative questions in English with Vietnamese ones On the basic of the findings, teaching implications to this category are sought to clear the student questions
VI RESEARCH METHODS
To achieve the objectives of the study, the following methods have been applied:
1 Collecting materials from books and references
Trang 54 Personal observation
VIL SIGNIFICANCE OF THE PROPOSED RESEARCH
The same category grammar in two languages always has similarities and
differences It will get mislead for learners if they cannot distinguish the
differences in classifications, functions, and even uses of that category It is,
therefore, essential for teachers to have a better solution After the research, it is
hoped that the result will be helpful to provide:
1 Input for the learners of English in order to clearly describe the
negative questions in the comparisons
2 Input for teacher of English with teaching implications of the negative questions
This study is also beneficial to anyone who is interested in the negative
questions in English
VIII DESIGN OF THE RESEARCH WORK
The research work has three main parts, namely: Introduction,
Development, Implication for teaching and learning and Conclusion Part 1: Introduction
This part mentions to rationale, research objectives, research questions,
research scope, research tasks, research method, and significances of the
proposed research
Part 2: Development
This part consists three chapters
Chapter 1: chapter 1 is entitled “theoretical background” It consists two sections
Trang 6The second part in chapter | is named “The negative questions in English” It has been one section It has things related to the negative questions
in English such as classification, characteristics and uses
The third part in chapter 1 is named “The negative questions in Vietnamese” It has been four sections They are Negative structure in Yes/No questions, Negative structures in Tag- questions, Negative structures in Wh- questions, Negative structures in alternative questions
Chapter 2 is named “the negative questions in comparisons with Vietnamese” It has three sections Section one is studied to the similarities The second deals with the differences
Chapter 3 is devoted to the teaching implications The last one is part four: conclusion
Part 3: Conclusion
Trang 7PART TWO DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER ONE
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND I LITERATURE REVIEW IN BRIEF
Negative questions stand in place of questions, important part of the English grammar Negative questions are used to indicate the speaker’s idea(what he/she believes is or is not true) and attitude (surprise, anger, ).Many grammarians have described negative questions like L.G Alexander (1990), Betty Scrapper Azar (2002), Anne Seaton( 2007), & Randolph Quirk (1973) and so on They each have their own way to describe the negative questions Fundamentally, they concentrate their attention on the definition, formation, functions of the negative questions, types of negative questions and their uses Moreover, negative questions in Vietnamese are also described by some authors such as Diep Quang Ban (2002), Nguyen Tai Can (1999), Cao Xuan Hao (2003) and Nguyen Phu Phong (2002)
L.G Alexander (1990) in Longman English Grammar constantly concerns with basic different uses between some questions He focuses on Yes/ No questions, negative statements, yes/ no answers He only doesn’t deal with the formation of ways of making yes/ no questions, forms of yes/ no questions He also introduces alternative negative forms and negative questions In negative question, he describes about the full form and the short form Furthermore, he describes how to use stress and intonation in negative questions
Trang 8yes/ no and information questions, wh- negative questions, tag- negative questions He specifies forms of avoiding double negatives
In the book Basic English Grammar book 1, Anne Seaton (2007) only focuses on his attention on two kinds of questions They are yes/ no questions and wh- questions He gives some more simple uses, functions and positions of them In addition, he pays much attention to uses with some negative questions such as yes/ no negative questions and wh- negative questions
Randolph Quirk (1973) in the book A University Grammar of English gives some materials about several features of negative questions or specific details of relationship between subjects, predication with negative questions In his opinion, assertion and non- assertion are some major types of sentence
In the book Ngu Phap Tieng Viet, Diep Quang Ban and Hoang Van
Thung (2010) deals with specific characteristics, classifications and description
about negative questions He mentions four types of Vietnamese negative questions such as negative structure in Yes/No questions, negative structures in Tag- questions, negative structures in Wh- questions, negative structures in alternative questions
Language group of philology faculty, Hanoi Pedagogical University (2006) in the textbook Ngu Phap Tieng Viet part 1 gives basic features and kinds of negative questions They pay attention to classify negative questions by functions and intended uses
In short, much research has been done on the negative questions but they
don’t point out comparison between them in English and Vietnamese In fact,
Trang 9Il NEGATIVE QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH II.1 Negative questions — Definition
According to John Eastwood in the book Oxford Practice grammar with answers, negative questions are interrogative sentences with the presence of negative marker They ordinarily do not accomplish questioning in the sense of information seeking
E.g: Does not she understand? Why don’t you listen to me? II.2 Negative questions — Forms
In the book Oxford Practice grammar with answers, John Eastwood
wrote that
We make a question negative by putting n’t after the auxiliary (e g have, does)
Positive Negative
Have you done it yet? Haven’t you done it yet?
What does the advert tell you? What doesn’t the advert tell you?
Who eats meat? Who doesn’t eat meat?
What went wrong? What didn’t go wrong?
According to L.G Alexander in the book Longman English Grammar, the word order of the full form is different from the short form:
Full form: Did he not explain the situation to you? Short form: Didn’t he explain the situation to you?
We normally use the short form in conversation and the full form only for
Trang 10II.3 Negative Questions — Functions
In the book Longman English Grammar, the author wrote: Depending on the stress and intonation we use, we can:
- Express disbelief, surprise: | Can’t you really ride a bicycle?
- Invite the answer “Yes”: Don’t you remember our holiday in Spain?
- Persuade: Won’t you please help me?
- Express annoyance: Can’t you ever shut the door behind you?
- Make exclamations: Isn't it hot in here!
(L.G Alexander, 1990: 198)
II.4.Negative Questions — How to Answer
When replying to a negative question, you answer a negative question the same as a regular question There is no difference
A: Haven't you gone to the doctor? B: No, I haven't yet I'm too busy
A: Don't you brush your teeth every day?
B: Yes, of course do
11.5 Negative questions — Classification
11.5.1 Negative Yes/No Questions
11.5.1.1 Definition of negative Yes/No Questions Definition of Yes/ No questions:
“Those expect the answer Yes or No are Yes/ No question”
Therefore, the negative yes/ no questions are so called because they expect the answer Yes or No and contain a negative form of one kind or another
Trang 11E.g:
Don’t you meet her? Can’t you sing any song? Will no one help me?
I1.5.1.2.Forms of negative Yes/No Questions
According to Alexander (1992; 255) in the book Longman English Grammar, negative Yes/No question can appear in a post subject position in its
full form not, or in pre-subject position in its clinic-contracted form n’t We can
say that contracted and subcontracted negative questions appear in either short negative form or long negative form, or in other words, it can appear in different word order
Subcontracted form Contracted form
Did she not come to the party? Didn’t she come to the party? 11.5.1.3 Functions and intonation of negative Yes/No Questions
When the speaker wants to express surprise, disappointment, annoyance or he wants to persuade someone, negative Yes/ No questions employed
The first function is that negative Yes/No Questions can be used to
convey something that make us surprised when it has not happened, or is not
happening E g:
Don’t you remember my name?
Haven’t you put those shelves up yet? (= I am surprised that you haven’t yet.)
Trang 12The next function is that when we want to persuade someone we can use negative Yes/ No questions For example:
Don’t you believe me?
In this example, the speakers want to persuade the listeners to believe
them
Moreover, when the speaker wants to express annoyance negative Yes/ No questions can be used For example:
Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?
Besides, we can use negative yes/ no questions to express disappointment For example:
Haven’t you got any money?
A question with can’t can be a complaint or an impolite request Can’t you sit down?
Iam blocking my view
We can also use a negative yes/ no question instead of a statement and a
tag
Aren't you a friend of Harriet’s? (=You're a friend of Harriet’s, aren’t you?)
Also, when negative oriented questions are raised, the speaker is said to
be expecting or hoping the answer “Yes” E g:
Haven’t you read it already? “Yes, I have.”
It is an expected answer
Trang 13E g:
Haven’t you seen that film already? Don’t you need some money?
11.5.2 Negative Tag questions
11.5.2.1 Definition of negative Tag questions
According to B.S Azar in the book Understanding and Using English
Grammar,
“A tag- question is a negative question added at the end of a sentence.” E.g:
She is a teacher, isn’t she?
According to Michael Swan(2004; 487-488) in the book Practical English usage,
“Negative tag questions consist of negative question tags which are used after affirmative sentence, but not after questions”
E.g:
You’re the new secretary, aren’t you?
“To check information or ask for agreement, we most often put negative tags after affirmative sentences”
E.g:
It’s cold, isn’t it?
11.5.2.2 Form of negative Tag questions
As can be seen from the above examples, a tag question includes two parts: a statement and a tag In addition, a comma “,” is always required before
the tag
Trang 14The choice and tense of the operator are determined by the verb phrase in the subordinate clause and the subject pronoun refers to the subject of the statement
Affirmative sentence + Negative tag —>Affirmative answer expected E.g:
Mary is here, isn’t she? Yes, she is
You like tea, don’t you? Yes, Ido They have left, haven’t they? Yes, they have There have more examples about negative tag questions:
This/ That is your book, isn’t it? The tag pronoun for this/ that = it These/ Those are yours, aren’t they? The tag pronoun for these/ those = they
There is a meeting tonight, isn’t there? In sentence with There + be, There is used in the tag
Everything is okay, isn’t it?
Everyone took the rest, didn’t they?
—> Personal pronoun are used to refer to indefinite pronouns They are usually used in a tag to refer to everyone, everybody, someone, somebody and
no one, no body
(B.S Azar, 2002: A15) It is also necessary and useful to know other forms of negative tag- questions with some special items:
Trang 15E.g:
Everything is all right, isn’t it? Everybody has left, haven’t they?
+ In some other cases, the tag subject is determined by the context
E.g:
This one is a good person, isn’t he/ she?
“This one” here may refer to a male or a female It depends on different
context in which the question appears
+ Additionally, the tag “aren’t I” (or sometimes “ain’t I’) for “I am” is also used
E.g:
Tam beautiful, aren’t I?
+ Sometimes, leaving out pronoun subjects and auxiliaries in sentences with question tag is acceptable Also, a question — tag may be used after an elliptical question
E.g:
(It is) a nice day, isn’t it?
(They are) intelligent pupils, aren’t they?
II.5.2.3 Functions and intonation of negative Tag questions
Trang 16make a strong opinion When we want to find out the agreement or affirmation of answers, we use negative tag questions
E.g.1: The concert was boring, wasn’t it? E.g.2: They did not finish their duty, did they?
According to B.S Azar in the book Understanding and Using English Grammar, we can use either the falling or the rising tone on the tag in negative tag questions A tag question may be spoken with a rising intonation if the speaker is truly seeking to ascertain that his/ her information, idea, belief is correct
E.g:
Ann lives in an apartment, doesn’t she?
A tag question may be spoken with a falling intonation if the speaker is expressing an idea with which s/he is almost certain the listener will agree
E g:
It is a nice today, isn’t it?
11.5.3 Negative Wh-questions
11.5.3.1 Definition of negative Wh-questions
WH-questions are also called information questions because the answer to the question requires more than just a short answer and more than “Yes” “No” answers (there must be some information in the answer) Most WH-questions
begin with words that start with the letters “WH”, and they usually end with
falling intonation
E.g.1: Which color do you not like? (Requiring information) E.g.2: Which color don’t you like?
Trang 17HI.5.3.2 Form of negative Wh-questions
They are formed with the aid of the following interrogative words: Who,
Whom, Whose, What, Where, When, Why, How, etc In negative Yes/No
questions, “not”can be put in a post-subject position in its full form or pre- subject position in its shortform
33 66
Negative WH-questions with “who”, “what”, “which”, “when”, “where”,
“how” are only used for requesting information Meanwhile, negative WH- questions with “why” contain much more sense to express speaker’s attitudes 11.5.3.3 Functions and intonation of negative Wh-questions
We can use “why don’t .?” As a suggestion E.g:
Why don’t you put the shelves up now? Well, all right Why don’t we sit on the balcony? Good idea
We can use Why didn’t ? To criticize
We will have to stand now Why didn’t you book seats for us? (= You should have booked seats for us.)
We can also use a wh-question to ask for information Who hasn’t checked their baggage in? Oh, I haven’t Sorry What don’t you understand? This paragraph here
Negative Wh-questions (or information questions) are employed to seek
information from the listener A falling tones not a rising one is the main
characteristic of intonation in Wh-questions and there is always a rising
intonation on question-words This means the questions are uttered to emphasize
Trang 18E.g:
What haven't you done? Who didn’t pass the exam?
However, a rising intonation will be presented if the speaker asks the question with eagerness to gain more information
E.g A: Don’t go to that wedding! B: Why not?
11.5.4 Negative alternative questions
I1.5.4.1 Definition of Negative alternative questions
Negative alternative questions (questions with “or”) are “those that expect
as the reply one of two or more options presented in the question and add
negative element after auxiliary verb.”
(Quirk and Green Baum, 1975: 192)
E g:
What wouldn't you like to go, by bus or by train? 11.5.4.2.Formation of Negative alternative questions
An alternative question is a question that expresses more than two answers but only one is true In form, alternative questions are similar to yes/no interrogatives, in beginning with the bounded operator and not containing a question word
When we transform to negative questions, we often add “not” after subject
E.g: Which dress wouldn't you like, the pink one or the white one? — you wouldn’t like the pink dress
Trang 19Actually, there are two types of Alternative questions: one resembling a Yes/No question and the other is similar to a Wh-question:
11.5.4.2.1 Negative alternative questions resembling yes/ No questions
According to Quirk and Green Baum (1973: 199) “ The structure of alternative Yes/ No questions follows the pattern of clausal coordination; that is, two or more separate questions are collapsed together, whenever convenient, by ellipsis” ( illustrated hereafter by parentheses):
E.g: Should I come or (should I) not (come)?
We can form negative alternative question from any positive Yes/ No question by adding “or not” or a matching negative clause:
E.g: Yes/ No question: Do you like her?
Alternative question: Do you like her or not?
Do you like her or don’t you (like her)? This type of Alternative questions differs from Yes/ No questions only in intonation
11.5.4.2.2 Alternative questions resembling Wh-questions
This alternative question type is really a compound of two separate questions: a Wh-question followed by an elliptical alternative question of the first type
E g:
What wouldn't you like to go, by bus or by train? Which wouldn’t you prefer, tea or coffee?
Trang 20A negative alternative question contains a separate nucleus for each
alternative: a rise occurs on an item in the list, except the last, on which there is
a fall
Negative alternative:
Wouldn't you like h coffee, h beer or | wine? What wouldn't you prefer, film h or play |?
Both types of negative alternative questions above have the same
function The speaker, when asking the question, offer different alternatives or choices and require the addressee to choose one of two or more choices that he
doesn’t know
11.5.5 Minor types of negative questions I1.5.5.1 Negative exclamatory questions
1I.5.5.1.1.The definition of negative exclamatory questions
The negative exclamatory questions are the same as the exclamatory questions and add negative composition
“The exclamatory question is a question in form, but is functionally like
an exclamation.” (Quirk and Green Baum 1973:199)
E g:
Isn’t it nice today! Didn’t she come!
In above examples, forms of them are questions (auxiliary verb + subject
+ verb) and the function of them like an exclamation (express attitude and
Trang 21H.5.5.1.2.The Form of negative exclamatory questions
Negative exclamatory questions have the form as negative Yes/ No questions and in this type instead of using the question mark like in other types of questions, the exclamatory mark is used
E g:
Isn't it nice today |! Can't they help | us!
11.5.5.1.3.The Functions and intonation of negative exclamatory questions The most characteristic negative exclamatory question is an negative exclamatory question resembling a negative Yes/ No question but differing only in intonation: instead of the final rising tone, it has a final falling one
E.g:
Haven’t you finished it? | Wasn’t it a horrible fire? | Didn’t she come? |
These kinds of questions have the function of inviting the listener’s agreement to something on which the speaker has strong feelings Contrary to appearances, the meaning is vigorously positive
E.g:
Won't you help me? | (Please help me!)
Wasn't it a horrible fire? | (What a horrible fire it was!)
Trang 2211.5.5.2 Rhetorical questions
In “A grammar of contemporary English”, Randolph Quirk, Sidney Green Baum, Geoffrey Leech and Jan Svartvik define rhetorical question as “The rhetorical question is one which functions as a forceful statement
Moreover, a positive rhetorical question is like a strong negative assertion, while a negative question is like a strong positive one.”
A rhetorical question can resemble a yes/no question and has the normal rising intonation of a yes/no question People use the rhetorical question
resembling the yes/ no question form to express a strong feeling, opinion or impression
Negative: Isn't that an ugly husband? (That is an ugly husband.)
Hasn’t anyone round here got any sense? (Surely someone here got some sense.)
A thetorical question may also resemble a wh- question, which is equivalent to a statement in which the Q- element is replaced by the negative element The intonation is that of an ordinary wh- question except that a rise- fall tone is likely in some cases
Trang 23II NEGATIVE QUESTIONS IN VIETNAMESE II.1 Vietnamese negative Yes/ No questions
I1.1.1.The definition of Vietnamese negative Yes/ No questions
Vietnamese negative Yes/ No questions were discussed in many grammar books written by such authors as Diep Quang Ban, Cao Xuan Hao, Nguyen Tai Can, etc However, there are still many different points of view of this question
type
According to Diep Quang Ban Vietnamese negative Yes/ No questions are questions with usual interrogative particles, and in his opinion, this type is used to get information which calls for Yes or No response The answers to these questions maybe: “i/ phai/ vang/ dung rồi/ phải rồi, etc.” (Positive
answers) or “Kh6ng/ khong phai/ khong dung, etc.” (Negative answers)
Cao Xuan Hao considers negative Yes/ No questions in Vietnamese as generalized questions that are used to check the degree of reality of the whole clause in the questions
Generally speaking, in most cases, Vietnamese negative Yes/ No questions require Yes or No answer like English negative Yes/ No question
E.g:
Cậu không nhận ra tớ w?
(Don’t you recognize me?) Co chit
(Yes, I do.)
II.1.2.The Form of Vietnamese negative Yes/No questions
According to “A descriptive English grammar” written by Ha Van Buu, Vietnamese tend to express negative questions by adding some negative word such as:“khéng”, ,“chwa”, “chang” or “cha” which are normally placed after
Trang 24chú/ .” which occur in final position Sometimes “chẳng phải⁄/ không phải/ chả phải ” 1n presubject position 1s used in combination with “d/sao/ hay sao/
la gi/ dé sao” in final position
Form:
S +“khéng”/ “chua”/ “chang”/ “cha” + .+ a/ u/ sao/ ha/ hir/ chit/ gì/ hay sao/chớ/ chứ gì/ được sao/ được ư/ phái không/ đấy chứ / nhí?
E.g.: Em chưa làm bài tập a? (Haven 't you done your homework?) Em không yêu anh à?
(Don’t you love me?)
Chang phai/ khong phai/ cha phai/phai chang/ chang phai la / không
phải là / chả phải là + S + + à/ sao/ hay sao/ là gì/ đó sao?
E.g: Chẳng phải con đã mở cửa sao? (Wasn † it you who opened the door?)
Chẳng phải cậu thích cơ ấy là gì?
(sn † it true that you like her?)
Chang lẽ (nào)(có) lẽ nao/ có đúng là + S+ “không”/ “chưa”/ “chẳng”/ “chả” + + à/ ư/ sao/ hả/ hử/ chứ; gì/ hay sao/chớ/ được sao/ được ư/ đấy chứ ?
E.g:
Chng lẽ nào tôi yêu anh ấy rồi w? (Is it possible that I love him?)
Có đứng là 2012 sẽ là năm tận thế không?
(isn’t it true that 2012 year is the end of the world?)
Trang 25
Another difference 1s also the way of answering which causes learners to make mistakes when they encounter negative questions In English, answering yes or no rely on the fact but in Vietnamese negative particles require yes
E.g:
Cậu không muốn giúp tớ thật à? Ù; tớ không thế
(Don’t you want to help me? No, I don’t.)
II.1.3.The Function of Vietnamese negative Yes/No questions
According to “A descriptive English grammar” written by Ha Van Buu, this type of questions is uttered with the same meaning as that of positive oriented questions However, the thing that makes this type different from each other is the speaker’s attitude The addressor when asking negative Yes/ No questions usually suggests something that makes him doubtful The addressee
unhesitatingly agrees with the knowledge on the point and the addressor does
not show in which way his doubts are to be solved II.2.Vietnamese negative Tag-questions
11.2.1 Form of Vietnamese negative Tag - questions
In Vietnamese, tag questions are used to confirm speaker’s belief, sometimes, the fixed expression can be substituted by “(cé) đúng khơng”, “(có) phải khơng”, “khơng phải”, “không đúng” combining with particles like / cơ
à/ hả/ nhữ/ đấy ha/ déy nhi/ chit/ w/ vay sao.These questions are formed by
putting “( có) phải khong?” “(cd) ding khéng?” at the end of statements without any change in the structures:
(Diệp Quang Ban, 1998: 231)
Positive statement, +“(có) đúng khơng”/ “(có) phải khơng” + à/ cơ à/
ha/ nhi/ đấy há/ đấy nhí/ chứ: ư.?
Trang 26
II.2.2 Functions of Vietnamese negative Tag questions
Generally speaking, this type of questions is used to seek the addressee’s
confirmation of the truth- value of the questions The speaker when asking this type treats himself as the one who knows the answer and he wants to search for
the agreement of the listener on what he asserts
E g:
Cơ ấy rất đẹp có phái không? (She is very beautiful, isn’t she?) The expected answer: U” cé dy rat dep
(Yes, she is.) IL.3 Vietnamese negative Wh-questions
11.3.1 Form of Vietnamese negative Wh-questions
In Vietnamese, this type of questions is formed with interrogative pronouns such as: ai (who/ whom), của ai (whose), gi (what), cai nao (which), khi nao (when), dau, & dau (where), nhw thé nao, bang cach nao (how), vi sao, tai sao, thé nao (why), bao nhiéu (how much, how many), bao lau(how long) When making negative questions, people usually add negative words: khéng, chang, cha and modal articles: co’ a/ha/nhi/ day ha/
day nhi/ chit/ w Structure:
Q-word + S + khéng /chang/ cha +V+ O+ (particle)?
S + không /chẳng/ chả +V+ O+ Q-word +(particle)?
E.g:
Trang 27II.3.2 Functions of Vietnamese negative Wh-questions I1.3.2.1 Asking for the missing information
The most basic function of a Vietnamese negative Wh- question is to ask for the missing information posited by the interrogative pronoun which needs to be specified
E.g
Sao ho lai khéng chon dén tham Viet Nam?
Why didn’t they choose to visit Vietnam? II.3.2.2 Minor types of functions
In addition to the functions of asking for the missing information,
Vietnamese negative Wh- questions also have the following functions: a Advising:
An advice in form of a negative wh- question in Vietnamese is broadly used by many people, normally people who have a close relationship
E.g
Sao con không đội mũ thường xuyên hơn?
(Why don’t you wear your hat more often? = You should wear your hat more often.)
Sao anh không đi nghỉ sớm di?
(Why don’t you go to bed early? = You should go to bed early.)
Ban dang bi cum, sao khong đến viện khám đi?
(You are having a flu, why don’t you go to hospital?) b Complaining:
Trang 28E.g: Tại sao em chẳng chịu tin anh thé? (Why don’t you believe me?)
c Making suggestions:
When interacting with the others, people sometimes use negative wh- questions in order to make suggestions
E.g: Tai sao ching ta không đến thăm làng gốm Bát Tràng nhỉ? (Why don’t we visit Bat Trang pottery village?)
II.4.Vietnamese negative alternative questions
11.4.1 Definition of Vietnamese negative alternative questions
Vietnamese negative alternative questions are usually use one of the
connections like: hay, hay la, hodc, before the last alternative in this kind of
sentence When making negative, some negative words like: khéng, chang, cha are added
E.g: Cậu khơng thích bóng đá hay bóng rổ? (Don’t you like football or basketball?)
11.4.2 Form of Vietnamese negative alternative questions
In order to form the negative alternative questions, we put the linking words “hay / hay la” between two options Normally, there is no limitation for
the alternatives, they can be notional words, phrases or the whole clauses,
however, the alternative must be equal and different at the same time
Structure:
S + khéng/chang/cha + +A hay/hay là/hoặc B?
Q-word + S + khéng/chang/ cha +V+ A + hay/hay là/hoặc B? S + khéng/chang/cha + + Q-word, A+ hay/hay là/hoặc B?
Trang 29E.g: Anh không thích trà hay cà phê? (Don’t you like tea or coffee?)
When there are more than two choices, the linking words “hay/ hay 1a” will be put between the two last alternatives
E.g:
Chị khơng thích hoa hỗng màu đó, màu vàng hay màu trắng? (Don’t you like the red, yellow or white rose?)
11.4.3 Functions of Vietnamese negative alternative questions
When asking this type of questions, the speaker expects the listener to
choose one of the options given:
E.g: Anh đã lấy nó hay không?
(Did you take it or didn’t you?)
Expected answers:
Tôi đã lấy no (I took it.)
T6i khéng léy no (1 didn’t take it.)
However, if the alternatives given in the questions are not chosen, the addressee is expected to answer the questions basing on the options
E.g: Anh ấy khơng thích cá hay thịt?
(Doesn't he like fish or meat?)
Expected answers:
Anh dy khéng thich cd (He doesn’t like fish.) Anh dy khéng thich thit (He doesn’t like meat.)
Trang 30CHAPTER II
COMPARISONS OF NEGATIVE QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE ONES
I Objectives
From my own observation and knowledge that I have gain through the process of studying, in this chapter, I would like to make a comparison between main types of questions in English and in Vietnamese in term of three following aspects: form, function and intonation I am trying to find out to what extent the things I want to compare are equivalent and different so as to realize how the Vietnamese language affect the Vietnamese learners of English in the process of learning
II Comparison
II.1 Negative Yes/ No question in English and Vietnamese
11.1.1 Similar points 1.1.1.1 Form
Both English and Vietnamese negative Yes/ No questions expect the answer “yes” or “no” (affirmation or rejection) Moreover, presupposition mentioned in the question is necessary to form a yes/ no question With this type of question, a negative element is presented in both English and Vietnamese In English, it is “not” and in Vietnamese 1t is equivalent to “không” and “ chưa” H.1.1.2 Functions
Trang 31
E.gl: Aren 1 you going to study tonight? (speaker assumes the answer is no — the listener is not going to study tonight)
Tối nay anh không học chứ gỳ/ sao?
E.g.2: Won’t he teach her how to drive? (speaker assumes the answer is no- he
won’t teach her how to drive) Anh sé không dạy cô ấy lái xe chứ?
Negative Yes/No interrogative without non-assertive or assertive forms can also be used with a positive orientation, when the speaker is expecting or hoping for the answer “Yes”
E.g.: Don’t you remember that
girl we met in New York?
Anh không nhớ cô gái mà chúng ta gặp ở New York sao/ à?
The functions of English & Vietnamese negative Yes/No questions have been discussed above Sometimes we use negative questions with “be” and “do” for emphasis, especially with descriptions These kinds of questions are “exclamatory questions” with these; the speaker expects agreement instead of a
negative answer
E.g.1: Wasn't that a lovely play? Vớ kịch ấy mà không hay w/ sao?
(speaker expects the listener to agree- | (Which means: Đó là một vở kịch thât Yes, it was a lovely play) hay?
Or: V6 kich hay dén thé con
gi!)
E.g2: Doesn’t the bribe look| Có dâu trông vậy mà không xinh tr?
beautiful? (Which means: Cé dau trông xinh nhỉ/
(speaker expects the listener to | qua?
agree- Yes, the bribe looks beautiful) Or: Cô dâu xinh quá còn gi
Trang 32
Negative questions can express feelings surprised and suggestions
lobbying, criticizing others, admirers or invitation
E.g.1: Haven’t you done your homework? (the deadline is
May vẫn chưa lam bài tập về nhà à/ hay sao?
close) (Tao cũng đến lạy mày!) (Surprised)
(You have not done your homework? The deadline Is approaching!
E.g.2: Don’t you think we | Cau không nghĩ là chúng ta nén | (Recommendation) should try again? (We may | thir lai @/ sao?
not win this time) (Sao cậu không nghĩ là chúng ta (You don’t think we should | nén thtr lai nhi?)
try one more time? Perhaps] 4,7 gndn giúp tôi sao?=Anh this time we will win.) hãy giúp tôi nhé
E.g.3 Won’t you help me? (=Please help me)
E.g.4: Wouldn't it be better to | Liêu tìm ra chuyện gì xảy ra find out what has happened | trước tiên có tốt hơn không? first?
(Lobbying) (First identify what happened
is not a good point?)
E.g.5: Can’t you see that your | Cậu không thấy là công việc
work is below standard? của cậu đưới mức yêu cầu a?
(Do you not know that your (Criticism)
work substandard)
E.g.6:_Isn’t this a wonderful | Day la budi héa nhac tuyét vai | (Amazing)
concert? đấy chứ?
Trang 33
(This concert is wonderful)
E.g.7: Won’t you come in ƒor | Anh sẽ vào trong một lát chứ? (Invitation) a few minutes?
Anh không vào được một chút
hay sao? (Thôi vào điVTôi thực
sự muôn anh vào)
According to Quirk (1980) negative orientation is complicated, this negative orientation is a combining of a positive and a negative attitude, which may be distinguished as old assumption (positive) and new assumption (negative) Because the old assumption tends to be identified with the speaker’s hopes or wishes, negatively orientated questions often express disappointment or annoyance
E.g.: Can’t you answer the questions? Mày (thực sự) không trả lời những câu (I’d have thought you’d be able to, but hoi dé duoc sao/ w?
apparently you can’t)
Negative Yes/ No questions with assertive forms are used with a positive
orientation:
E.g.1: Didn't someone call last night? E.g.2: Hasn't the boat left already?
Ti qua khơng có ai gọi đến w? (Tơi nghĩ
là có)
Thuyên rời bến rồi a/ u?
Negative Yes/No questions with non assertive forms or nuclear negators are often used with negative orientation:
E.g: Hasn't the boat left yet? Thuyén van chua roi bén u?
Trang 34
11.1.2 Different points 11.1.2.1 Form
“Not” in English and “không” or “chưa” in Vietnamese are positioned differently
In English, “not” is usually contracted to “n’t”, added to the operator and the operator is fronted with the subject
E g:
Don’t you know Mary? Didn’t she tell you?
Haven’t you done your homework?
In contrast, in Vietnamese, “không” and “chưa” are placed after the
subject
E.g: Cậu không biết Mary u?
Cơ ta khơng nói gì với bạn sao? Em chưa làm bài tập à?
Chị biết thêu khơng?
Bác có đi chợ không?
It is impossible to say: Không cậu biết Mary ư?
Khơng cơ ta nói gì với bạn sao? Chưa em làm bài tập à?
Moreover, different position of “không” and “chưa” in Vietnamese Yes/
No questions will present different question forms:
Trang 35Cdu khéng biét Mary w? (Negative orientation) (Don’t you know Mary?)
The structure of English yes/no questions is quite firm in comparison with that of Vietnamese ones We can change the structure of Vietnamese yes/no questions by changing the order of words logically without changing the meaning of the question
Especially, the answers to negative yes/ no question in English are also completely different from those to Vietnamese ones And this is a factor that makes English negative yes/ no questions become more confusing to Vietnamese learners of English In English, the answer “No” may express an agreement and the answer” Yes” express a disagreement of the speaker with the
assumption Inversely, in Vietnamese, people often use “t/ vang/ phai, etc” to
show their agreement and “khdng/ khong phai/ khong dung, etc” to show their disagreement
E.g: Isn't she a teacher?
Yes, she is (She is a teacher, in fact.)
No, she isn’t (I agree that she isn’t a teacher.)
Cô ấy không phái là giáo viên à?
Ù;cô ấy không phải là giáo viên Không, cô ấy là giáo viên
Obviously, Vietnamese speaker uses “ừ/ vâng/ phải, etc.” followed by a negative cÏause to express agreement and “không/ không phải, ect.” followed by
a positive clause to show their disagreement
Trang 36HI.1.2.2 Functions
In English, Negative yes/ no questions are often used to show the
speaker’s disappointment or annoyance:
E g:
Aren't you ashamed of yourself? (Annoyance) (You ought to be, but it appears you’re not.) Can’t you drive straight? (Disappointment)
(I'd have thought you'd be able to, but apparently you can't.)
Vietnamese negative yes/ no questions, on the other hand, are raised when
the speaker wants to confirm his assumption:
E.g:
Cậu không yêu cô ấy à?
(I want to know whether you love her or not?)
Besides, when English negative yes/ no questions are uttered, the speaker is said to be expecting or hoping the answer “yes”
E.g:
Haven’t you read it already? Expected answer:
Yes, I have
Moreover, while Vietnamese yes/ no questions have the function of
greating, English ones do not
Trang 37HI.1.2.3.Intonation
Intonation is an important element of English yes/ no questions The glige- up is by far the most common way of asking yes/ no questions It should be regarded as the normal way By contrast, intonation does not seem to play an important part in Vietnamese yes/ no questions
I1.2 Negative Tag- questions in English and Vietnamese
Structurally, it is very easy for us to realize a great similarity between the system of negative tag questions in English and that of Questions with interrogative markers in Vietnamese And Vietnamese speakers sometimes call Questions with interrogative markers Vietnamese Tag- questions
11.2.1 Similar points
11.2.1 1.Form
Basically, Tag questions in English are formed with the construction of two parts: Statement+ tag In written form, there is always a comma “,” between
the statement and the tag And if the statement part is positive, then the tag is
negative and vice versa
In Vietnamese, the structure of this type of questions is somewhat similar to English (Has structure “Statement +tag”)
E g:
Cô ấy nói tiếng Anh rất giỏi (có) phải khơng? (She speaks English very well, doesn’t she?) Đây là mũ của cậu (có) đúng khơng? (This is your hat, isn’t it?)
H.2.1.2 Functions
Trang 38questions treats himself as the one who knows the answer and he wants to ask for the confirmation of the addressee on the assumption that he asserts
E.g: She is beautiful, isn’t she?
(Cô ấy rất đẹp phải không?)
Expected answer: Yes, she is
(Ừ, cô ấy rất đẹp.) H.2.2 Different points 11.2.2.1 Form
There is no comma between the statement and the tag And what is more?
Instead of using the tags like what we present in English, Vietnamese
interrogative construction is commonly used with “(c6) phải khơng?” or “(có) đúng khơng?”
E.g:
You haven’t had dinner, have you?
(Cậu chưa ăn tối (có) phải không?)
E.g
She came here yesterday, didn’t she?
(Cô ấy đến đây hơm qua (có) phải không?)
Moreover, it is much easier to make Tag questions in Vietnamese than in English because we only have to put “(có) phải khơng?” or “( có) đúng khơng?” at the end of any statement without having to pay any attention to subject-verb
concord, tense of the verbs or form of questions( whether they are positive or
negative) On the contrary, in order to make tag questions in English, all of the
above conditions are required, that means we have to deal with the relevance
Trang 39action that happened in the past and the statement is positive, therefore, the tag must be “ didn’t she” (Negative); “‘ have” is also made in the same way as but “ haven’t had” is negative present perfect form so the tag of question is “ have you” (Positive)
Furthermore, In Vietnamese, the tags “(có) phải khơng” and “(có) đúng
khơng?” are sometimes used in combination with the final particles “a, nhi, ha,
etc.” to express the respect, friendliness or familiarity of the speaker E.g:
Bác là giáo viên phải không ạ? (RespecÐ) (You are a teacher, aren’t you?)
Cậu đã gặp anh ấy rồi ding khong nhi?( Friendliness)
(You have met him, haven’t you?)
Sometimes, in Vietnamese negative tag questions, the tags can be
followed with a pronoun indicating the addressee
E.g:
Bồ khơng có nhà hả mẹ?
H.2.2.2 Functions
The main difference in terms of function between negative Tag questions in English and in Vietnamese is that English negative Tag questions sometimes convey more than yes/ No simple questions Besides asking for information or agreement, they can also be used to express surprise, anger, interest, etc
E.g: You didn’t turn on the radio, did you? (Anger) (I hope you didn't.)
She can speak French, can’t she? (Surprise) (It’s surprising; I think she can’t speak French.)
Trang 40II.3 Negative Wh- questions in English and Vietnamese 11.3.1 Similar points
H.3.1.1 Form
In discussion about function, in both English and Vietnamese, when this
type of questions is asked the speaker does not aim to receive a “Yes” or “No” answer but what he wants is the unknown information presented by Wh- word that is expected to be provided in the answer
E g:
Who didn’t come to help her? (Ai là người đã không đến giúp đỡ cô ấy?) Expected answer:
Someone didn’t come to help her
The question words are the main elements of negative Wh- questions in
both languages Thus Wh- words cannot be elliptical in negative Wh- questions Both English and Vietnamese negative Wh- questions have the same system of interrogative pronouns (Wh- words) which can be translated from one language into the other such as: ai( who/ whom), cua ai( whose), cai gi( what), khi nao/ bao gid( when), tai sao/ vi sao/ sao(why), 6 dau/ dau( where), như thế nào/ thé nao( how), etc
In addition, the interrogative pronouns of either English or Vietnamese have double functions at the same time Firstly, they possess the function of an unidentified element that the speaker wants to know Secondly, they also have the function of one of the following: Subject(S); Object (O); Complement(C) or Adverb (A)
E g:
Who didn’t receive this airmail? (Ai đã không nhận bưu phẩm này vậy?)