implications for teaching and learning english negative questions

implications for teaching and learning english negative questions implications for teaching and learning english negative questions implications for teaching and learning english negative questions implications for teaching and learning english negative questions implications for teaching and learning english negative questions implications for teaching and learning english negative questions implications for teaching and learning english negative questions

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS On the completion of this work, I would like to express my thanks to many people who have assisted my research work First of all, I wish to take this chance to express my greatest gratitude to Mrs Nguyen Thi Men, M.A., my supervisor, for her patience in providing continuous and careful guidance as well as encouragement, indispensable suggestions and advice I wish to thank all the lectures at Hanoi Pedagogical University Number 2, especially the lectures in the Foreign Language Faculty for their dedicated instructions during my years of university work I am particularly grateful to my close friends for their enthusiasm and kindness in helping me collect valuable reference documents and data for my research Finally, I owe a debt of gratitude to my beloved family, for their wholehearted encouragement and endless support ABSTRACT Nowadays, along with the internationalization process in the world, the increasing development of the relationship between Vietnam and other countries has resulted in a great demand for English language teaching and learning throughout the country However, at present English language teaching in Vietnam is still far from satisfactory This situation is due to a number of problems, among which the lack of reading materials is worth mentioning This is the very reason for this study Teaching grammar offers great benefit to students of English Moreover, it is the aspect of teaching the language which involves many language elements such as vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar, etc…Among those components grammar is the subject that draws more attention from teachers and students in Vietnam This study particularly emphasizes the need to teach some negative questions as a part of teaching grammar to students This stresses the importance of the knowledge of the negative questions to the students and defines that knowledge as the help in understanding English grammar, which contributes to the mastery of the language In this paper, the researcher studies the negative questions in English and Vietnamese equivalents, compares them to draw out the differences and similarities, which helps learners avoid making mistakes in translating Basing on developing a deep understanding on the negative questions, the writer introduces implications for teaching English negative questions It is hoped that this study can be useful to those who are interested in this theme STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Title: The English negative questions in comparisons with Vietnamese ones I certify that no part of this report has been copied or reproduced by me from any other people’s work without acknowledgements and that the report is originally written by me under strict guidance from my supervisor Date submitted: May 2013 Student Supervisor Ngo Thi Trang Nguyen Thi Men, M A TABLE OF CONTENT Acknowledgement PART ONE: INTRODUTION I Rationale II Research questions III Research objectives IV Research scope V Research tasks VI Research methods VII Significance of the proposed research VIII Design of the research work PART TWO: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER I: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND I LITERATURE REVIEW IN BRIEF II.NEGATIVE QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH II.1 Negative questions - Definition II.2 Negative questions – Forms II.3 Negative Questions – Functions II.4.Negative Questions – How to Answer II.5 Negative questions – Classification II.5.1 Negative Yes/No Questions II.5.1.1 Definition of negative Yes/No Questions II.5.1.2.Forms of negative Yes/No Questions II.5.1.3 Functions and intonation of negative Yes/No Questions II.5.2 Negative Tag questions II.5.2.1 Definition of negative Tag questions II.5.2.2 Form of negative Tag questions II.5.2.3 Functions and intonation of negative Tag questions II.5.3 Negative Wh-questions II.5.3.1 Definition of negative Wh-questions II.5.3.2 Form of negative Wh-questions II.5.3.3 Functions and intonation of negative Wh-questions II.5.4 Negative alternative questions II.5.4.1 Definition of Negative alternative questions II.5.4.2.Formation of Negative alternative questions II.5.4.2.1 Negative alternative questions resembling yes / No questions II.5.4.2.2 Alternative questions resembling Wh-questions II.5.4.3.Functions and intonation of Negative alternative questions II.5.5 Minor types of negative questions II.5.5.1 Negative exclamatory questions II.5.5.1.1.The definition of negative exclamatory questions II.5.5.1.2.The Form of negative exclamatory questions II.5.5.1.3.The Functions and intonation of negative exclamatory questions II.5.5.2 Rhetorical questions II NEGATIVE QUESTIONS IN VIETNAMESE II.1.Vietnamese negative Yes/ No questions II.1.1.The definition of Vietnamese negative Yes/ No questions II.1.2.The Form of Vietnamese negative Yes/No questions II.1.3.The Function of Vietnamese negative Yes/No questions II.2.Vietnamese negative Tag-questions II.2.1 Form of Vietnamese negative Tag – questions II.2.2 Functions of Vietnamese negative Tag questions II.3.Vietnamese negative Wh-questions II.3.1 Form of Vietnamese negative Wh-questions II.3.1 Functions of Vietnamese negative Wh-questions II.4.Vietnamese negative alternative questions II.4.1 Definition of Vietnamese negative alternative questions II.4.2 Form of Vietnamese negative alternative questions II.4.3 Functions of Vietnamese negative alternative questions CHAPTER II: COMPARISIONS OF NEGATIVE QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE ONES I Objectives II Comparison II.1 Negative Yes/ No question in English and Vietnamese II.1.1 Similar points II.1.1.1 Form II.1.1.2 Functions II.1.2 Different points II.1.2.1 Form II.1.2.2 Functions II.1.2.3.Intonation II.2 Negative Tag- questions in English and Vietnamese II.2.1 Similar points II.2.1.1 Form II.2.1.2 Functions II.2.2 Different points……………………………… .….…………………32 II.2.2.1 Form………………………………………………………………… 32 II.2.2.2 Functions II.3 Negative Wh- questions in English and Vietnamese II.3.1 Similar points II.3.1.1 Form II.3.1.2 Functions II.3.2 Different points II.3.2.1 Form II.3.2.2 Functions II.3.2.3 Intonation II.4 Negative alternative questions in English and Vietnamese II.4.1 Similar points II.4.1.1 Form II.4.1.2 Functions II.4.2 Different points II.4.2.1 Form II.4.2.2 Functions II.4.2.3 Intonation CHAPTER III: IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH III.1 Providing learners with very background knowledge of English culture III.2 Give learners more chances of practicing using English negative questions III.3 Learners’ activeness in the learning process PART THREE: CONCLUSION Conclusion Summary of the findings Recommendations for further research 47 References 10 The question words are the main elements of negative Wh- questions in both languages Thus Wh- words cannot be elliptical in negative Whquestions 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), ai( whose), gì( what), nào/ bao giờ( when), sao/ sao/ sao(why), đâu/ đâu( where), nào/ nào( 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 không nhận bưu phẩm vậy?) S S (Someone didn’t receive this airmail.) S (Người không nhận bưu phẩm này.) Presupposition plays an important role in negative Wh- questions In both English and Vietnamese Negative Wh- questions, it is impossible for us to give the relevant answer without accepting the presupposition of the questions Contexts play important roles in questions because they can limit the context of Wh- words II.3.1.2 Functions In the addition to the function of asking for missing information, English and Vietnamese negative Wh- questions also have many other functions such as negating, making suggestions, complaining depending on different contexts E g Who don’t you know? (Negating) (Anh chưa biết ai?) 44 (You don’t know who?) Why don’t we go out toninght? (Making suggestions) (Sao tối không chơi nhỉ?) Why don’t you go to work earlier? (Complaining) (Tại cô không làm sớm hơn?) II.3.2 Different points II.3.2.1 Form One of the most prominent differences in the structure of this type of questions in these two languages, which can also be realized, is that, in English, the interrogative words (e.g what, whom, where, etc.) are always placed at the first position of the clause Whereas, in Vietnamese, the interrogative pronouns (except the case of bao giờ/ nào, sao/ sao/ sao) are often used to replace the words which carry the questioned information in the statements Therefore, they are not always put at the initial position E g In English Why don’t you it, Sam? In Vietnamese Cậu làm việc sam? For the case of exceptional question words bao giờ/ nào; sao/ sao/sao, we can see that they may stand in various positions For instance, the interrogative pronouns sao/ sao/ often stand at the beginning of the clause But sometimes, they can be put at the final place of the clause without any change in the meaning E g Sao em không chịu lấy tôi? (Why didn’t you marry me?) Em không chịu lấy sao? (Why didn’t you marry me?) 45 One more typical difference in the form of this type of questions is that English negative Wh- questions have the sequence of either Wh- words plus operators (with or without negative element “not” or Wh- word plus verbal group depending on the function that the Wh- words present in the questions E.g Why don’t they want to go by bus? (Tại họ không muốn xe buýt?) What don’t they like to eat? (Họ không thích ăn gì?) In contrast, in Vietnamese, whatever function the interrogative pronouns may play, there is no change in the word order of the questions II.3.2.2 Functions In Vietnamese interrogative pronoun questions, in order to reduce the feeling of harshness (which is often caused by too short questions) and show an expression of respect, familiarity and friendliness, the particles of modality as nhỉ, ạ,etc are introduced In English, we cannot find this kind of particles E g Bác chưa biết ạ? (Respect) (Who don’t you know?) Tại cậu không thấy mệt nhỉ? (Familiarity) (Why don’t you feel tired?) II.3.2.3 Intonation As we have known, intonation is a prominent characteristic of English questions Especially, in English Wh- questions both glide- up and glide- down are used Normally, a falling tones not a rising one is the main feature of intonation in negative Wh- questions: E g Who don’t study? ↓ However, a rising tone will be presented if the speaker asks the question with surprise to gain new information: E g 46 A: I will not go abroad next week B: Why not? In contrast, in Vietnamese interrogative pronoun questions, we can hardly find the use of intonation because intonation is not a prominent characteristic of Vietnamese questions II.4 Negative alternative questions in English and Vietnamese II.4.1 Similar points II.4.1.1 Form From what have just been discussed in the previous chapter, we can easily recognize that the structure of Alternative questions in English has a number of similarities and differences with that of Questions with linking words “hay/ hay là” in Vietnamese The most noticeable feature in the structure of this question type of both languages, English and Vietnamese, is the presence of connecting words In English, the connecting word is “or” and in Vietnamese, they are “hay/ hay là” This feature is a typical similarity in the structure between the two languages differing from other kinds of questions Another similarity between the negative alternative questions in English and Vietnamese is that the options given in the questions of both these two languages must be equal and different at the same time That means the alternative offered must be related to each other in term of a certain aspect and also they have to be different from each other (the same as antonym) E g Wouldn’t you like tea or coffee? (Notional words) (Anh không thích trà hay cà phê?) There are often two alternative choices mentioned in the question and the addressee is supposed to select the answer according to one of these two (or more) alternative choices Additionally, in both English and Vietnamese alternative questions, the list of alternative must include two or more than two options If there are only 47 two options in the questions, the coordinating conjunctions (“or” in English and “hay/ hay là” in Vietnamese) will be put between them But if there are more than two choices in the questions, the linking word will be placed between the last two ones: E.g didn’t you meet my mother or my brother? (Anh không gặp mẹ hay em trai tôi?) Which wouldn’t you like? Tea, coffee or milk? The alternative choices are often set in the contexts in which the addressee can select to reply The structure of both English and Vietnamese negative alternative questions resembles that of a yes/ no question or wh- question II.4.1.2 Functions Both the negative alternative questions in English and Vietnamese are used for the same purposes and intentions When asking these types of questions, either English or Vietnamese addressor expects the addressee to choose one of the options in the question E g (I’d Don’t you like to eat sweets or chocolate? (Bạn không thích ăn kẹo hay sô- cô- la?) Possible answers: I don’t like to eat sweets (Tớ không thích ăn kẹo.) I don’t like to eat chocolate (Tớ không thích ăn sô- cô- la.) II.4.2 Different points II.4.2.1 Form The major difference between the two types of questions is that Questions with linking words “hay/ hay là” in Vietnamese have the same structure as declaratives including one of the connectives (or alternative markers) between the alternatives In contrast, the negative alternative 48 questions in English not have the structure of declaratives but they have the order of subject and operators inversion E.g Anh không thích hay kia? Which don’t you like this one or that one? The highest level in the difference is the contrary And if in the range of options given by the speaker there exist both positive and negative clause, the positive clause is normally placed before the negative one: E.g Should I help her or shouldn’t I? Should I help her or not? (Tôi có nên giúp cô hay không?) II.4.2.2 Functions In English negative alternative questions, Wh- words always come first while they may be at the beginning or in the middle of the question just before the last alternative item Except for the case in which wh- words functioned as the subject of the question, all English negative alternative questions have subject- operator inversion while Vietnamese ones not There is subject- verb agreement in English negative alternative questions while it is not necessary in Vietnamese ones II.4.2.3 Intonation In English, most negative alternative questions are uttered with a separate nucleus for each alternative, a rising tone occurs on each item in the list except the last one, on which there is fall E g What wouldn’t you prefer, film or play↓? Intonation is an inevitable factor in English negative alternative questions Without it the listener cannot distinguish this type of questions from Yes/ No questions because the negative alternative questions in English are sometimes similar to Yes/ No ones The only feature that helps the listener to recognize whether the questions are alternative or Yes/ No is the intonation 49 E g Yes/ No question: A: Don’t you like tea of coffee? B: No, give me some milk Alternative question: A: Don’t you like tea of coffee↓? B: coffee, please The above examples illustrate that it is very easy for the listener to confuse between Alternative and Yes/ No questions if he does not pay attention to intonation Obviously, in Yes/ No question, there is always a rising tone at the end Whereas, in alternative questions, a fall tone not a rising one occurs on the last alternative Conversely, intonation is not used in Vietnamese negative alternative questions In other words, intonation plays no role in Vietnamese negative alternative questions 50 CHAPTER III IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH NEGATIVE QUESTIONS In the process of learning a foreign language, errors or mistakes are inevitable Therefore, language teachers should not be disappointed and worry about the mistakes of their students On the contrary, they should let their students know that mistakes are common and unavoidable The most important thing is that after becoming aware of the mistakes, students will know what they need to improve and try their utmost to avoid making those mistakes again In terms of negative English questions, Vietnamese learners may face some problems and difficulties because of the differences mentioned in part two For this reason, it is essential that language teachers should make learners aware of the differences between the two languages so as that they can avoid and correct their mistakes Moreover, teachers should pay particular attention to the similarities and differences in structure and usage when introducing this grammar point to the students As the saying goes “Practice makes perfect”, teachers should ask students to many kinds of exercise and then give them the feedback To help students become aware of the structures and know how to use English negative questions for different purposes, teachers should emphasize the structures and situational functions at the same time In general, language teachers are responsible for guiding students to understand and use a foreign language correctly and effectively Following various teaching methodologies can be applied for different lessons so as to help students achieve their own targets: III.1 Providing learners with very background knowledge of English culture “To know another’s language and not his culture is very good way to make a fluent fool of one self” (Winston Bromberg) 51 Culture has significant effect on behavior and on interactions with others and culture factor plays a very important part in learners’ process of English acquisition Thus very background knowledge of English culture should be propagated among learners by providing they course or subjects focusing on intercultural communication The cultural approach can also be taken over by successive reading materials from various sources (authentic documents, books …) Besides, discussions on the topic of intercultural communication should be broadly help in schools and universities By this way, learners can realize the differences of communicative culture’s patterns between the two countries Therefore, they can avoid “negative interference” of their mother tongue in learning process as their awareness and experiences of the target language’s culture has been improved considerably Moreover, they even feel more confident and active They know how to make questions with correct grammar, correct structure, correct vocabulary and right intonation They don’t maintain Vietnamese communication habit when using English negative questions Obviously, when providing learners with sound knowledge of cross – culture communication, we should help learners to distinguish differences in the two languages And this knowledge of intercultural communication should be taught from the very beginning lessons to help learners avoid mistakes caused by differences in cultural patterns III.2 Give learners more chances of practicing using English negative questions Recently, there has developed a strong need for Vietnamese teachers of English to improve not only understanding of any ability in English negative questions, but also for methodologies for teaching English negative questions effectively Due to the fact that learners play a very important role in the class and our main purpose of giving lectures on English negative questions is to help them understand and use different types of English negative questions fluently and effectively, teachers should follow “learner-centered teaching 52 approach” instead of “teacher-centered” one The features of this approach can be characterized as follows: - Techniques that focus on or account for learner’ needs, styles and aim - Techniques that give some control to learners - Techniques that allow for learners’ creativity and innovation - Techniques that enhance a learner’s sense of competence and selfworth Now I would like to mention the procedure of a general technique that teachers can use when introducing a new question- pattern orally to learners: a The teacher asks questions and answers them herself/ himself as the examples first b Then the teacher asks questions and the whole class choruses the answers c Next, the class asks the same questions, the teacher gives answers d Student works in groups: Group one ask different questions of the same pattern, group two gives answers After that, group two asks different questions of the same pattern, group one give their answers e Students work in pairs: Student one ask question, student two answers, student three asks student four answers, etc… With the procedure of this general technique, teachers can give learners more chances of practicing using English negative questions Besides, since learners are allowed to work in pairs or in groups, their partners are from the same background, they will be more confident and active but not being shy or passive anymore They feel relaxed and free to practice without worrying too much about making errors In addition, teachers should give learners more chances of practicing using English negative questions by letting them listen to conversations and dialogues containing many different English negative questions Such conversations and dialogues are very useful to learners with the following advantages: 53 a To allow the learners to listen to a variety of different accents and intonations of different types of English negative questions b To allow learners to listen to authentic material c To pronunciation work by imitating a model d To motivate learners in listening practice with chances of hearing new voices different from their teachers When learners practice using English negative questions, the teacher should act as a guild within the classroom procedure and activities or as a conductor and advisor for all learners’ activities He or she should not talk too much because if this happens, learners will become more and more passive Therefore, it can cause negative effects on learners’ English learning process On the other hand, when learners are free to practice, they are likely to make such mistakes that I have mentioned above In this case, the teacher should know that making mistakes is natural and unavoidable Thus the teacher should not stop learners to correct them all the time Otherwise, it might make them unwilling to say anything at all since the more they make mistakes, the less they want to take part in any activities III.3 Learners’ activeness in the learning process It is clear that teacher has the key role in providing learners with more chances of learning and practicing using English negative questions However, only the teacher’s attempts are never enough It is the learners who decide whether they succeed in learning and using English negative questions fluently or not In order to avoid the same mistakes that learners from different language backgrounds often make ( vocabulary and expression mistakes, grammar mistakes, intonation mistakes or word- order mistakes) when learning English as a second language, they should be aware of the following task and rights: Firstly, they must be aware of different types of English negative questions, esspecially the most basic ones, and understand their nature as well as their functions or uses 54 Secondly, they should not be shy when speaking to their teachers, friends or native speakers Thirdly, they should take opportunities to practice using English negative questions both inside and outside the class For example, they should take opportunities to ask and answer about natural contexts in class as much as possible This may naturally leads to unpredictable, creative language Outside the class, learners should seek golden Both Vietnamese learners and native speakers usually ask a lot of negative questions in English to find out their missing information This way of practicing using English negative questions is surprisingly effective Last but not least, learners must try to regard mistakes as natural thing and find out the reason why they make these mistakes to correct them as soon as they can If they can not it, they can ask their teachers or friends for help By this way, learners themselves give them more chances to practice using English negative questions In other words, they actively involve in the process of teaching and learning English negative questions In conclusion, step by step, “practice makes perfect”, apart from understanding the differences of linguistic nature between English and Vietnamese and being knowledgeable about extra- linguistic features, Vietnamese learners of English can overcome most of their problems to communicate more successfully as three can use different types of English questions correctly, fluently and effectively 55 PART THREE CONCLUSION I Conclusion Learning a foreign language is generally not an easy task Learners need to put a lot of effort to use a foreign language effectively Thus, this paper presents a contrastive analysis of negative questions in English and Vietnamese The structures of English negative questions ( negative Yes/ No questions, negative Wh- questions, negative Tag- questions) have been analyzed and compared with Vietnamese equivalents to find out the similarities and differences so that language learners can fully understand this grammar point in both languages In negative questions, the difference in position of “not” and “không” in the two languages sometimes results in making mistakes Therefore, learners should bear in mind that the word order in English negative questions and Vietnamese equivalents is different From the result of the comparison, it has been proved that major causes are students’ limited understanding of the negative questions and the negative influence of the mother tongue Based on the findings, some suggested solutions to the problems have been made, as follows: To teachers: Provide students with a good knowledge of the negative questions Clarify and simplify the negative questions’ functions Find the differences between the English negative questions and Vietnamese negative questions Help students minimize the influence of the mother tongue Give students some materials to help them learn English negative questions better Provide students with general view of negative questions in English and Vietnamese To students: 56 Master the uses of the negative questions Know about the differences between English and Vietnamese negative questions Learn by heart grammar structures in which negative questions are used I hope that this paper can help learners use English negative questions correctly, improve the language competence in order to avoid making mistakes, and have a profound understanding of negative questions Although I have made great efforts, mistakes and shortcomings are unavoidable I would be much grateful to welcome all possible comments from readers to accomplish the work II Recommendations for further research To a certain extent, some matters have not been thoroughly investigated Thus some recommendations for further research: + A study on negative questions in English + A study on negative questions in Vietnamese +A study on negtive questions in English and Vietnamese in comparison with form, functions and intonation 57 REFERENCES English Alexander, L.G (1990) Longman English Grammar Practice for Intermediate Students Essex: Longman Azar, B S (2000) Understanding and Using English Grammar New York: Longman Eastwood, J (1994) Oxford Guide to English Grammar Oxford: Oxford University Press Hewings, M (1999) Advanced Grammar in Use Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Sinclair,J et al (1990) Collins Cobuild English Grammar Glasgow: HarperCollin Publishers Quirk, R (1973) A university Grammar of English England : Longman Vince, M (1994) Advance language Practice Oxford: Heinemann Vietnamese Cao Xuân Hạo (2003), Tiếng Việt- Sơ thảo ngữ pháp chức năng, NXB Giáo dục Diệp Quang Ban (2002), Ngữ Pháp Tiếng Việt (tập 2), NXB Giáo dục Diệp Quang Ban (2004), Ngữ Pháp Việt Nam- phần câu, NXB Đai học Sư phạm Hà Nội Nguyễn Đức Dân (1998), Logic Và Tiếng Việt, NXB Giáo dục Nguyễn Tài Cẩn (1999), Ngữ Pháp Tiếng Việt, NXB DHQG Hà Nội 58 [...]... 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. .. Betty Schrampfer Azar (2002) in Understanding and Using English Grammar refers to the background knowledge of negative questions He gives specific details for each negative question He introduces more about forms of 15 yes/ 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... the forms, usage and functions of the English negative questions in the grammar system 12 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. .. in English and Vietnamese In fact, there are similarities and differences between them Consequently, it is very essential to have a comprehensive study of negative questions in English comparison with that in Vietnamese II NEGATIVE QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH II.1 Negative questions – Definition According to Tran My Tien in A contrastive analysis of negative questions in English and Vietnamese, negative questions. .. 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... 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. .. 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... 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 Whquestions, Negative. .. 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. .. 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 ... II .NEGATIVE QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH II.1 Negative questions - Definition II.2 Negative questions – Forms II.3 Negative Questions – Functions II.4 .Negative Questions. .. knowledge of negative questions He gives specific details for each negative question He introduces more about forms of 15 yes/ no and information questions, wh- negative questions, tag- negative questions. .. plays no role in Vietnamese negative alternative questions 50 CHAPTER III IMPLICATIONS FOR TEACHING AND LEARNING ENGLISH NEGATIVE QUESTIONS In the process of learning a foreign language, errors