A study on IN prepositional phrases in english with reference to vietnamese equivalents

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M.A THESIS A STUDY ON “IN’’ PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES IN ENGLISH WITH REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CỤM GIỚI TỪ “IN” TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ LIÊN HỆ VỚI TƯƠNG ĐƯƠNG TRONG TIẾNG VIỆT) TRUONG THI QUY HA NOI, 2017 MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING HANOI OPEN UNIVERSITY M.A THESIS A STUDY ON “IN’’ PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES IN ENGLISH WITH REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS (NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ CỤM GIỚI TỪ“IN” TRONG TIẾNG ANH VÀ LIÊN HỆ TƯƠNG ĐƯƠNG VỚI TIẾNG VIỆT) TRUONG THI QUY Field: English Language Code: 60220201 Supervisor: Nguyen Thi Van Dong , Ph.D Hanoi, 2017 CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY I, the undersigned, hereby certify my authority of the study project report entitled A STUDY ON “IN’’ PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES IN ENGLISH WITH REFERENCE TO VIETNAMESE EQUIVALENTS (Nghiên cứu cụm giới từ “IN” tiếng Anh liên hệ với tương đương tiếng Việt ) Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master in English linguistics Except where the reference is indicated, no other person’s work has been used without acknowledgement in the text of the thesis Ha Noi, 2017 Truong Thi Quy Approved by SUPERVISOR (Signature and full name) Nguyen Thi Van Dong Date …………………………………… i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This thesis could not have been completed without the help and support from a number of people First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to Nguyen Thi Van Dong , my supervisor, who has patiently and constantly supported me through the stages of the study, and whose stimulating ideas, expertise, and suggestions have inspired me greatly through my growth as an academic researcher A special word of thanks goes to all my lectures and officers of Falcuty of Graduate Studies, Hanoi Open University and many others, without whose support and encouragement it would never have been possible for me accomplished ii to have this thesis ABSTRACT As the tittle of the thesis indicates: A study on “IN’’prepositional phrases in English with reference to Vietnamese equivalents , the purpose of the study is to point out the semantic and syntactic features of “IN” prepositional phrases in English and Vietnamese equivalents.To carry out this research, the writer used such methods as descriptive, statistical and analytical.In addition, a survey questionnaire was carried out for the high school students at the Ung Hoa high school In the end, the research worked out the reasons for these mistakes which the students had made when using “IN” prepositional phrases in English and found the similarities and dissimilarities between “IN” prepositional phrases in English and Vietnamese equivalents iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CERTIFICATE OF ORIGINALITY i ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ii ABSTRACT iii LIST OF TABLES vii LIST OF TABLES viii Chapter 1: INTRODUCTION 1.1 Rationale for the study 1.2 Aims and objectives of the study 1.2.1 Aims of the study 1.2.2 Objectives of the study 1.3 Research questions 1.4 Methods of the study 1.5 Scope of the study 1.6 Significance of the study 1.7 Design of the study Chapter 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Previous studies 2.2 Overview of syntax and semantics 2.2.1 Syntax 2.2.2 Semantics 2.3 An overview of the prepositions 2.3.1 Some features of prepositional phrases 10 2.3.2 English prepositions 12 2.4 Overview of errors and error corrections 29 2.5 Summary 30 3.1 Syntactic features of “IN” prepositional phrases 31 3.1.1 Structure 31 3.1.2 Syntaxtic Functions of “IN” prepositional phrases 32 3.2 Semantic features of “IN” prepositional phrases 33 iv 3.2.1 “IN” prepositional phrases denoting time: 33 3.2.2 IN prepositional phrases denoting place or position 35 3.2.3 ‘IN’ prepositional phrases to show movement towards the inside of a container, place or area 36 3.2.4 ‘IN’ prepositional phrases to show when something is part of something else 36 3.2.5 ‘IN’ prepositional phrase to show that someone is wearing something: 37 3.2.6 ‘IN’prepositional phrases to show how things are arranged, expressed or written 37 3.3 “IN’ prepositional phrases and their Vietnamese equivalents 37 3.3.1 “IN” in English corresponds to “trong” in Vietnamese 37 3.3.2 “IN” in English corresponds to “ngoài” in Vietnamese 39 3.3.3 “IN” in English corresponds to “trên” in Vietnamese 39 3.3.4 “IN” in English corresponds to “dưới” in Vietnamese 40 3.3.5 “IN” in English corresponds to “ở” in Vietnamese 41 3.3.6 “IN” in English corresponds to “bên” in Vietnamese 41 3.3.7 “IN” in English corresponds to “bằng” in Vietnamese 42 3.3.8 “IN” in English corresponds to “về” in Vietnamese 42 3.3.9 “IN” in English corresponds to “vào” in Vietnamese 42 3.3.10 “IN” in English corresponds to “trước” in Vietnamese 43 3.3.11 “IN” in English corresponds to “sau” in Vietnamese 43 3.4 In terms of similarities and differences between “IN” prepositional phrases in English and Vietnamese equivalents 44 3.4.1 Similarities 44 3.4.2 Differences 45 3.5 Summary 46 Chapter 4: COMMON ERRORS MADE BY LEARNER OF ENGLISH WHEN USING “IN’’ PREPOSITIONAL PHRASES 47 4.1 Survey questionnaires 47 4.1.1 Subject 47 4.1.2 Questionnaires 47 v 4.1.3 Procedure 48 4.2 Common errors made by learners of English when using “IN” prepositional phrases 54 4.2.1 Common errors made by learners of English when using “IN”prepositional phrases 54 4.2.2 Causes of committing errors using “IN”prepositional phrases in English 55 4.3 Suggestions for teaching and learning prepositions in English and Vietnamese……………………………………………………………………… 56 4.4 Summary 57 Chapter 5: CONCLUSION 58 5.1 Recapitulation 58 5.2 Limitation of the study 59 5.3 Suggestions for further study 59 REFERENCES 60 APPENDIX 64 APPENDIX 70 APPENDIX 70 APPENDIX 74 vi LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1 Preposition functions 11 Table 2.2 Preposition complement 16 Table 2.3 Position of Vietnamese preposition 28 Table 3.1 Syntactic functions of IN prepositional phrases 33 Table 4.1 The learners’ answer on task 48 Table 4.2 The learners’ answer on task 50 Table 4.3 The learners’ answer on task 52 Table 4.4 The learners’ answer on task 53 vii LIST OF TABLES Prep1 Preposition LM Landmark LMS Landmarks L2 Second Language E.g For Example Prep2 Preposition viii 13 Lawal, B G (2004) Jenuine Mistake by Users of English Ibandan, Domonion publishers (Nigeria) 14 Leech, G,N (1981) Semantics Third Second edition Penguin, Harmonds worth, Middlessex 15 Lindstromberg, S (2010) English Prepositions Explained Amsterdam: John Bejamins Publishing Company 16 Lougheed, Lin (n.d) The Great Preposition Mystery Retrieved Sep.20, 2016 from http://www.scribd.com/doc/42499115/Lougheed 17 Palmer, F R (1981) Semantics Cambridge: Cambridge University Express 18 Prepositions: Locator in time and place (n.d).Retrieved Sep.20, 2016 from http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/prepositions.htm 19 Quirk and Greenbaum, S (1973) A university Grammar of English Presented by the Australian Government 20 Quirk, Greenbaum, Leech, Svartvik, index by Crystal (1985), A Comprehensive Grammar Of The English Language London: Longman 21 Radden, Dirven (2007) Cognitive English Grammar John Benjamins Publishing Company 22 Raymond Murphy (2009) English grammar in use NXB: Văn hóa thơng tin 23 Swan, Michael (1999) Practical English Usage, Oxford University press 24 Swan, Michael and Walter, Catherine (2003), The Good Grammar book, Oxford University press 25 Schibsbye, Knud (1965) A Modern English Grammar with an Appendix on Semantically Related Prepositions London: Oxford University Press 61 26 Wishon GorgeE, Burks JuliaM 1980 Let’s Write English, revised Edition New York, USA: American Book Company 27 Zelinsky-Wibbelt, Cornelia (1993) The Semantics of Prepositions: from mental processing to natural language processing Berlin: Mouton de Gruyter In Vietnamese Bùi Đức Tịnh (1952) Văn Phạm Việt Nam NXB Nguyễn văn Tươi:Sài Gò Diệp Quang Ban & Hồng Văn Thung (1992).Ngữ pháp Tiếng Việt, Tập 1, NXB Giáo Dục Đỗ Hữu Châu (1999) Từ Vựng Ngữ Nghĩa Tiếng Việt NXB Giáo Dục Đinh Văn Đức (2001) Ngữ Pháp Tiếng Việt – Từ Loại NXB Đại Học Quốc Gia Hà Nội Hà Thành Chung, Lưu Đình Hiến, Trần Đoàn Ngọc, Bùi Thạch Cẩn (2002) Dịch 1, Học viện Khoa học Quân sự, Hà Nội Hà Thành Chung, Lưu Đình Hiến, Bùi Thạch Cẩn (2003) Dịch 2, Học viện Khoa học Quân sự, Hà Nội Lê Khả Kế (1997) English - Vietnamese Dictionary NXB Khoa Học Xã Hội - Hà Nội Nguyễn Kim Thản (1963) Nghiên cứu ngữ pháp tiếng Việt NXB KHXH Hà Nội Trần Ngọc Dung (2010) Cẩm nang ngữ pháp tiếng Việt Tủ sách tinh hoa Việt Nam 62 10 Trần Quang Hải (2010) Những khác biệt sử dụng giới từ định vị quan hệ không gian tiếng Anh tiếng Việt Retrieved Sep 18,2016 11 Trần Hữu Mạnh (2007) Ngôn ngữ học đối chiếu – Cú pháp Tiếng AnhTiếng Việt, NXB Đại học Quốc Gia Hà Nội Materials: 12 Nguyễn Tuyên (2008) Jên Erơ (dịch), Nxb Văn học 13 Trần Kiêm (2003) Hội Chợ Phù Hoa (dịch) Nxb Văn Học 14 Tran, M.T., Tran, T.C (2007) Chào bạn!: an introduction to Vietnamese The U.S.A: University Press of America 15 http://www.dictionary.cambridge.org 63 APPENDIX IN Prepositional Phrases and IN Phrasal Verbs Order Prepositiona Meaning Example IN addition besides, as well as, The price includes the flight and (to) also hotel accommodation IN addition in l Phrases you will be provided with a rental IN advance beforehand, before We have given some money IN doing sth advance and we will pay the rest when we get the car IN bed (still) sleeping or Victoria does not feel well She has not having got up been IN bed nearly all morning yet IN the initially, at first beginning The children were excited about the trip IN the beginning but now they have lost interest IN any case whatever the He is either at home or at the office circumstances, IN any case, leave a message on the might be, regardless answering machine of the circumstances IN case of IN cash IN charge of as a precaution You must have a first aid kit in your against IN case of an emergency in notes and or Will you pay for the items IN cash coins or by credit card? responsible for Scott is fore man and IN charge of 64 IN common something many workers sharing certain Even though we are twins, we have things or nothing in common characteristics 10 IN lastly, finally IN conclusion, I would like to thank conclusion 11 12 IN control of IN danger you all for listening to me having the power to The president of the company is the manipulate man IN control of everything something or make nothing can be done without his decisions about it approval in a dangerous If you continue spending money like situation this, you are IN danger of losing your business 13 IN detail analytically The witness was asked to describe precisely IN detail the events which took place on 26 march 14 IN the end finally, lastly We could not decide where to go for a holiday, so IN the end we consulted our travel agent who suggested new Zealand 15 IN fact actually in reality This painting looks like an original Monet but IN fact it is a copy 16 IN fashion fashionable These bright colors are IN fashion this summer 65 17 IN favour of supporting sth I agree with you I am IN favour of renovating the house 18 IN future in the time come to You have late! IN future please try to be on time for our meetings 19 IN general generally The Estate Agent said that IN general the house was in a reasonable condition 20 21 IN a hurry needing to Pam left the office IN a hurry She something quickly had a train to catch IN love(with) Loving sb or sth I fell IN love with the Island and decided to live there 22 IN a Feeling, cheerful I am always IN bad mood when it good/bad angry and impatien rains It makes me miserable IN one’s According to what IN my opinion, we should sell the opinion sb thinks about sth flat and by a house IN order/ Tidy/untidy Mr Fane keeps his office in order meed 23 24 amess He is very tidy 25 IN pain Feeling pain Fenny was IN pain after the accident 26 IN particular Particularly Mrs Kay loves animals IN particular especially cats Personally I’d rather meet my clients In person 27 IN person than speak to them over the phone 28 IN pieces Broken up into Model air planes come IN pieces small parts which you put together yourself 66 29 30 IN practice Actually happening Your idea works IN theory but not /theory theoretically IN practice IN reality Actually in fact The mirrors mad the room look bigger, but IN reality it was quite small 31 IN secret Secretly Nobody knew about our relationship We used to meet once a week IN secret 32 33 IN the shade / Protected from/ You shouldn’t stay IN the sun for sun exposed to sunlight too long, you’ll get burnt IN tears Crying Martha looked very upset I saw her running out of the office IN tears 34 35 IN time(for) IN touch Early or at the You’ve arrived just IN time for appointed time lunch In contact with sb Do you keep IN touch with your old (with) 36 IN uniform school friend? Wearing the same The children should all be IN special clothes as uniform for the parade everyone else at work or school 37 IN a loud/ Loudly/ quietly I can’t hear you very well Could low voice 38 IN the way you repeat that IN a loud(er) voice When sb or sth Could you help me move this table? stops you from IN the way moving for word or seeing clearly 67 39 IN order Saying sth Your car isn’t reliable enough for a words differently long trip IN order words, you’d better not take it 40 IN ink/ in Write When you the exam, you are not bio/ in pencil allowed to write IN pencil 68 IN PHRASAL VERBS Order Phrasal Verbs Break IN Meaning Example Enter a building As I was looking out of the illegally or by window, I saw three masked force(intransitive) men trying to break IN to the bank Check IN Count IN Report your arrival at The receptionist told me that a hotel, an airport etc she hasn’t check IN yet Incudes sb in an I never count Paul IN an activity activity because I known how much he hates crowds Fall IN Give IN Hand IN Collapse and fall to Part of the roof of the attic has the ground be ruined fallen IN Admit that you are Jenny kept annoying her defeated- sth you parents until they gave in to didn’t want to her demands Give sth (a document, All the students had to hand IN homework, a notice of their essays by Friday resignation) to sb in charge or of authority Move IN Begin to live in a We have got the keys to our house or place new house and tomorrow we’re going to move IN Fill IN Complete When I went to the bank to ask for a loan, I had to fill IN hundreds of forms 69 APPENDIX Some Idioms begin with IN prepositional phrases in advance: before something begins; early in charge: in common; responsible in common: shared by two or more people in danger: likely to be harmed (opposite: out of danger/ out of harm’s way) in a daze: unable to think clearly; confused in debt: owing money (opposite: out of debt) in demand: wanted by many people in advance: before something begins; early in any case: whatever happens in charge: in command; responsible for in common: shared by two or more people in danger: likely to be harmed (opposite: out of danger/out of harm’s way) in a daze: unable to think clearly; confused in debt: owing money (opposite: out of debt) in demand: wanted by many people in the end: after everything is finished (describes a final outcome) in fact: in reality; really in a hurry: doing something quickly in itself: without anything else in the long run: in the end; eventually in mint condition: perfect; as though brand-new 70 in a minute/moment/second: soon; quickly (used to tell how much longer it will be until something happens) in no time: very soon; very quickly (used to tell how quickly something happened) in season: (fruit or vegetables) ripe and available for sale at that time of year (opposite: out of season) in trouble: blamed or punished for doing something wrong; in a difficult situation (opposite: out of trouble) in vain: without success in the wrong: responsible for an error; guilty 71 APPENDIX WRITTEN GRAMMAR TEST Task I: Fill one preposition IN or On in the gaps in the following sentences: The children were warned not to play (IN/ON) the street Don't walk (IN/ON) the street Walk (IN/ON) the sidewalk I'll use my cellular phone when I'm (IN/ON) the bus, but never while I'm (IN/ON) the car I see my face (IN/ON) the mirror A drop of paint was (IN/ON) the mirror Task II: Choose the best answer to complete the following sentences : They are walking the rain a at b under c In we had wonderful skiing holiday………… last year a.on the mountains b in the mountains c at the mountains I was sitiing in the kitchen when suddenly a bird flew…………… the open window a over though b out of through c in though we walked to restaurant, but we went home………… a in a taxi b on a taxi c by a taxi when you write a cheque, you have to write the amount……and figures a in words b by words c to words Task III: There is a mistake in the four underlined parts of each sentence Find the mistakes (A, B, C, or D) I was woken up by a loud noise at the night 72 A B C D I’d love to be able to visit every country on the world A B C D When you paid the hotel bill, did you pay by cash or by credit card? A B C D It wasn’t easy but at the end we succeeded in finding a solution to the A B C D problem Hurry up! We’ve got to go to at five minutes A B C D Task IV: Translate these following sentences into English Chúng tơi ngồi bóng mát Trời q nóng để ngồi nắng Đừng mưa, chờ mưa tạnh Khi em làm kiểm tra, em khơng phép viết bút chì Làm ơn điền vào mẫu chữ in hoa Mẹ vườn 73 APPENDIX Answer key to written grammar test Task I: Fill one preposition IN or On in the gaps in the following sentences: The children were warned not to play in the street Don't walk in the street Walk on the sidewalk I'll use my cellular phone when I'm on the bus, but never while I'm in the car I see my face in the mirror A drop of paint was on the mirror Task II: Choose the best answer to complete the following sentences : ) They are walking the rain a at b under c In we had wonderful skiing holiday………… last year a.on the mountains b in the mountains c at the mountains I was sitiing in the kitchen when suddenly a bird flew…………… the open window a.over though b out of through c in though we walked to restaurant, but we went home………… a in a taxi b on a taxi c by a taxi when you write a cheque, you have to write the amount……and figures a in words b.by words c to words Task III: There is a mistake in the four underlined parts of each sentence Find the mistakes (A, B, C, or D) 74 I was woken up by a loud noise at the night A B C D I’d love to be able to visit every country on the world A B C D When you paid the hotel bill, did you pay by cash or credit card A B C D It wasn’t easy but at the end we succeeded in finding a solution to the A C B D problem Hurry up! We’ve got to go to at five minutes A B C D Task IV: Translate these following sentences into English We sat in the shade It was too hot to sit in the sun Don’t go out in the rain, waiting for the rain to stop When you exam, you are not allowed to write in pencil Please fill in the form in block letter She is staying in the garden 75 ... phrases in English and Vietnamese equivalents in terms of syntactic and semantic features? (iii) What are the implications for teaching and learning IN prepositional phrases in English at Ung... prepositional phrases denoting place or position 35 3.2.3 IN prepositional phrases to show movement towards the inside of a container, place or area 36 3.2.4 IN prepositional phrases. .. English For all the mentioned above reasons, the topic relating to IN prepositional phrases in English expressions with reference to Vietnamese equivalents has been chosen for my graduation thesis