A Contrastive Analysis 1
A Contrastive Analysis of Questions in English and Vietnamese in terms of Formal
Structures
Student: Trần Thị Thanh Trà
Contrastive Analysis
Lecturer: Nguyễn Ngọc Vũ
December 2010
A Contrastive Analysis 2
Abstract
When studying and teaching the second language, I realize that questions are posed
in students’ communication with high frequency and they create difficulties for
students to listen to and use. Therefore, this essay will make a contrast between
Vietnamese questions and English questions to help students see similarities and
differences between them and more importantly find it easy to make English
questions. In addition, I will suggest some teaching implications in the contrastive
analysis.
A Contrastive Analysis 3
A question is a kind of communicative sentence that connect some people
with others in their lives. Richard Nordquist makes a definition of question as follows:
A type of sentence expressed in a form that requires (or appears to require)
an answer. Also known as an interrogative sentence, a question is generally
distinguished from a sentence that makes a statement, delivers a command,
or expresses an exclamation( n.d., par. 1).
According to the Wikipedia website a question is used for making “a request
for information … .This information is provided with an answer( “Question,” n.d., par.
1).
In fact, babies can communicate with adults by using simple words like ba,
bye, cat, etc. When growing older, they seem to be active and curious to discover
everything around them. For example, they may ask their parents: who is uncle
Nam? How many people are there in his family? As a result, questions are very
necessary for them to receive answers from others. To tell the truth, there are so
many things in the world or in our lives we do not know and want to learn about. For
example, we may ask others: what shape is the earth?; why were dinosaurs extinct?;
why didn’t you go to school yesterday?; what is your favorite food?, etc. Together
with other types of sentences, questions help enrich human communicative
activities. A French scholar says that when people talk to each other, questions and
answers can be heard. Another scholar believes that a question is one of the most
three important speech acts of human beings. Therefore, questions always play a
significant role in communication.
In the real life, we sometimes make questions not to find out the unknown
but to express our feelings and to serve our purposes for example greeting,
threatening, requesting, etc. Thus, questions are classified into many types in terms
A Contrastive Analysis 4
of pragmatic force. However, this contrastive analysis will only be based on formal
structures between Vietnamese and English questions.
Questions In Vietnamese
Vietnamese grammarians have a quite common point of view on depicting
question in terms of formal structures. Here we take Nguyen Kim Than’s study
information to classify Vietnamese questions in terms of formal structures. According
to him, in Vietnamese there are three main types of questions: general question,
partial questions and alternative questions( as cited in Do, 2004) .
General Questions
A general question is a kind of question that needs an answer to unclear
things located in predicates or the core of sentences. The answer to the question
has to specify the rightness or wrongness of the unclear things (“Vietnamese
Grammar”, p. 77). General questions have six structures:
1. C + V?
Ex: Hương định tự tử ?
2. C + V + modal particles( tiểu từ tình thái)
2.1. C + V + à, chứ, nhỉ, nhé, hả, chứ gì?
Ex: Cháu không đi chơi à ?
Anh mới đến hả ?
Cậu sẽ đi Cần Thơ chứ ?
2.2. C + V + (có) phải không / đúng không?
Ex: Cậu là người miền bắc có phải không ?
Cháu là sinh viên đúng không ?
2.3. C + V + được không/ được chứ?
Ex: Bạn gửi giúp tôi bức thư này được không ?
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3. Modal particles before and after predicates
3.1. C + (có) + ĐT + B + không?
Ex: Cậu có học tiếng Hoa không?
3.2. C + (đã)+ ĐT + B + chưa?
Ex: Các em đã làm bài tập ở nhà chưa?
3.3. C + có phải +( “là”) + B + không?
Ex: Cậu có phải là Hương không ?
4. Modal particles before subjects and after predicates: Có phải + C + ĐT + B +
(không)?
Ex: Có phải chú làm nghề lái xe không ?
5. (Có) + ĐT + không? (impersonal questions)
Ex: Thật không ?
6. Words or noun phrases (predicative elliptical questions)
Ex : Ba tháng rưỡi?
Partial Questions
A partial question is a kind of question raised to ask about the unknown in
the core of sentences. The unknown is manifested by interrogative pronouns. The
answer to the question is offered by replacing interrogative pronouns with key words
of answers( “Vietnamese Grammar”, p. 77). The structures of partial questions are
classified as follows:
1. Questions about people
1.1. Ai\người nào + V?
Ex: Ai gõ cửa đấy?
1.2. C + V + ai\người nào?
Ex: Cô ấy đi với ai vậy?
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2. Questions about things
2.1. Cái gì\ điều gì\ việc gì + V
Ex: Điều gì khiến bạn vui vậy?
2.2. C + V + gì\ cái gì\ việc gì\điều gì
Ex: Con đang làm gì đấy?
3. Question about places : C + ĐT + ở đâu\ở nơi nào\ở chổ nào?
Ex : Anh làm việc ở đâu ?
4. Questions about time
4.1. C + ĐT + bao giờ/ khi nào?
Ex: Buổi họp kết thúc khi nào vậy?
4.2. Bao giờ/ khi nào +C + ĐT
Ex: Khi nào buổi họp kết thúc?
5. Questions about manner: C + ĐT + thế nào\ ra sao\ như thế nào?
Ex: Anh đã làm việc đó như thế nào?
6. Questions about reasons: Sao\tại sao\vì sao + C + ĐT?
Ex: Vì sao cô ấy lại khóc?
7. Questions about purposes: C + ĐT + B + để làm gì?
Ex: Anh vẽ những bức tranh này để làm gì?
8. Questions about quantity, distance, age, length, height, weight, width: C+ ĐT +
mấy\bao nhiêu + DT\CDT?
Ex: Bạn đã làm được bao nhiêu bài tập rồi?
Ex: Nhà bạn cách trường mấy cây số?
Ex: Bạn được bao nhiêu tuổi rồi?
9. Elliptical question: ở đâu, vì sao ,sao lại, sao đấy, để làm gì, bao nhiêu, gì cơ,
sao ?
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Alternative Questions
An alternative question is a kind of question that presents two or more
possible answers and presupposes that only one is true. This question uses
conjunctions like “hay”, or “hay là”. The conjunctions can connect the same word
classes together or a clause with a clause( “ Vietnamese Grammar”, p. 78). Let’s see
some following examples:
Ex: Anh đi hay ở lại?
Cô Bình hay cô Mai dạy Toán ở lớp em?
Anh đỗ trạng nguyên hay thám hoa, bảng nhãn?
Bác đạp xe lên Sài Gòn hay là anh Bảy chở bác đi?
Questions In English
There are three main types of questions recognized in English: Yes-no
questions, Wh-questions, and alternative questions.
Yes-no Questions
A yes-no question “is a question whose expected answer is either "yes" or
"no"”( “Yes-no Question,” n.d., par. 1). There are three types of yes-no questions:
genuine yes-no questions, tag questions, declarative questions.
Genuine yes-no questions are the questions whose operators( auxiliaries,
modals, to be) are placed at the beginning of sentences and in front of subjects( Le,
2004, p. 237). Genuine yes-no questions can be formed in both positive and
negative forms with a rising intonation at the end of sentences.
Ex: Are you a student?
Have you ever been to Nha Trang city?
Can you swim?
Don’t you love him?
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Isn’t it beautiful?
Declarative questions are “yes-no questions that have the form of
declarative sentences but are spoken with a rising intonation at the end” ( Nordquist,
n.d., par. 1). The purpose of declarative sentences is “to express surprise or ask for
verification” ( Nordquist, n.d., par. 2). According to Nordquist, “the most likely
response to a declarative question is agreement or confirmation”( n.d., par. 2).
Ex: He was sick?
You won the lottery?
She will go abroad?
Tag questions are questions “added to declarative sentences, usually at the
end … verify that something has been understood, or confirm that an action has
occurred”( Norquist, n.d., par. 1). The basic structure is:
+
–
Positive statement,
Negative tag
–
+
Negative statement,
Positive tag
Ex: You like that film, don’t you?
Sue didn’t sleep last night, did she?
However, there are also some exceptions. To make a question tag for a
imperative sentence, we may either use “ can you”, “could you”, “will you”, or “would
you”. We will add “ shall we” for sentences starting with “ Let’s…”.
Ex: Turn off the TV, will you?
Don’t turn on TV, can you?
Let’s go to the cinema, shall we?
Wh-questions
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A wh-question is “a term in generative grammar for a question that is
formed with an interrogative word … and that expects an answer other than "yes" or
"no””( Nordquist, n.d., par. 1). There are some types of wh-questions below:
1. Questions about people:
1.1. Who + V + O\C\A?
Ex: Who is your best friend?
Who did that?
Who went to Nha Trang last summer?
1.2 Who\whom + Op + S + V + (A)?
Ex: Whom are you working for?
Who should we ask?
1.3. Whose + N + V + O +(A)?
Ex: Whose story made you laugh most?
1.4. Whose + N + Op + S + V + (A)?
Ex: Whose books do you like best?
1.5. Whose + To Be + NP?
Ex: Whose are those keys?
2. Questions about things
2.1. What + V + O
Ex: What made you do those things?
2.2. What + Op + S + V + (A)
Ex: What did you do last night?
2.3. What\which + N + Op + S + V + (A)
Ex: What city are you living in?
Which color do you want?
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3. Questions about time
When + Op + S + V + (O) + (A)
Ex: When did he leave?
4. Questions about places
Where + Op + S + V + (O) + (A)
Ex: Where are you going to do this Sunday?
5. Questions about reasons
Why + Op + S + V +(O) + (A)
Ex: Why do you say that?
6. Questions about manner
6.1. How + Op + S + V + (O) + (A)
Ex: How does it work?
6.2. How + To Be + S
Ex: How was your exam?
7. Questions about purposes
What + Op + S + V + (O) + ( A) + for?
Ex: What did you do that for?
8. Questions about quantity
8.1. How many\how much + N + Op + S + V + (O) + ( A)
Ex: How much time does it take you to go to school?
How many books do you read every week?
8.2. How many\how much + N + V + (O) + ( A)
Ex: How many students came late?
9. Questions about distance
How far + To Be + S + ( A)
A Contrastive Analysis 11
Ex: How far is Vietnam from the USA?
10. Questions about age
How old + To Be + S
Ex: How old are you?
11. Question about length( space)
How long + To Be + S
Ex: How long is the river?
12. Question about length( time)
How long + Op + S + V + (A)
Ex: How long will it take?
13. Questions about frequency
How often + Op + S + V + (O) + (A)
Ex: How often do you write to your friend?
14. Questions about weight
How weigh + To Be + S
Ex: How weigh are you?
15. Questions about height
How tall + To Be + S( for people)
How high + To Be + S( for things)
Ex: How tall Nam is?
How high is the tree?
16. Questions about width
How wide + To Be + S
Ex: How wide is the river?
17. Elliptical questions: where, why, what for, how many, how much, what?
A Contrastive Analysis 12
Alternative Questions
“An alternative question is a kind of question that offers the listener a closed
choice between two or more answers” ( Nordquist, n.d., par. 1). In conversation, an
alternative question has both a rising intonation before “or” and a falling intonation
after “or”. This question uses the conjunction “or”. The conjunction can connect the
same word classes together or a clause with a clause.
Ex: Do like tea or coffee?
Will he come or you come?
Compare English Questions with Vietnamese Questions
Yes-no Questions in English versus General Questions in Vietnamese
Similarities
The first similarity is that both specify the rightness and wrongness of things
said. Listeners can refuse to answer a question if it raises the wrong information that
the listeners cannot say “yes” or “ no”.
Ex: A: Do you remember the trip to Vung Tau last year?
B: I’m sorry. I didn’t go there in the trip.
Ex: A: Hôm rồi lũ ở miền trung to ghê. Nhà cậu có bị làm sao không?
B: Nhà tớ có ở miền trung đâu mà bị lũ.
The second similarity is that both have the same structure in declarative
questions with a rising tone at the end of the sentence.
Vietnamese: C + V?
English: S + V +(O) + (A)?
Ex: Bạn ấy trốn học?
He played truant?
The third similarity is that both have predicative elliptical questions.
A Contrastive Analysis 13
Ex: Three months?
Ba tháng?
Differences
The first difference is that compositions of the two types above are different.
Genuine yes-no questions in English have inversion between operators and
subjects. Operators will be placed at the beginning of sentences right in front of
subjects to make genuine yes-no questions with a rising intonation at the end of
questions. General questions in Vietnamese have no operators and inversions. They
are made by using modal particles at the end of sentences such as à, chứ, nhỉ, nhé,
hả, chứ gì, được không, đúng không, được chứ or by using couples of modal
particles such as “có…không”, “đã…chưa”, “ có phải…không”, “có…chưa”. General
questions in Vietnamese do not use any intonation.
The second difference is that genuine yes-no questions in the negative form
expect positive answers more than negative ones from listeners. However, general
questions in the negative form expect answers suitable with real situations.
English
Vietnamese
A: Isn’t it wonderful?
A: Hôm nay em không đi học à?
B: Yes, it is
B: Dạ, em xin nghỉ
A: Don’t you know that song?
A: Con chưa ngủ à?
B: Yes, I do
B : Dạ chưa, con phải làm nốt số bài
tập này đã
The third difference is that the ways English people and Vietnamese people
answer to the genuine yes-no questions and general questions in the negative form
respectively are different. Let’s see and analyze some examples:
English
Vietnamese
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A: Won’t you go there?
A: Anh sẽ không đến đó ư?
B: Yes, I will. ( B will go there)
B : Không, tôi sẽ đến chứ.
C: No, I won’t. ( C won’t go there)
C : Vâng, tôi sẽ không đến.
From the examples we have the following structures:
English
Vietnamese
Yes, + positive statement
Ừ, Vâng, Đúng( means “yes”), + negative statement
No, + negative statement
Không ( means “no”), + positive statement
The fourth difference is that tag questions are used in English but
Vietnamese.
Wh-questions in English versus Partial Questions in Vietnamese
Similarities
The first similarity is the positive transfer. If question words in English are
who, what, when, where, why, how, etc, the equivalents in Vietnamese are ai, cái gì,
khi nào, ở đâu, tại sao, như thế nào, etc.
The second similarity is that both English and Vietnamese have elliptical
questions:
English
Vietnamese
Who?
Ai?
What?
Cái gì?
What for?
Để làm gì?
Why?
Tại sao?
Why not?
Tại sao không?
Where?
ở đâu?
How?
Như thế nào?
…
…
A Contrastive Analysis 15
The third similarity is that when “ what”, “who”, “cái gì”, “ai” are the subjects
in the questions, both types of the questions have the same structure.
In English:
S + V + O\A\C
In Vietnamese:
C+V
Ex: Who makes you sad?
Ai làm cháu buồn?
Differences
Questions about people, things, places, manner.
In English operators are placed before subjects and after question words or
question phrases such as who( functions as an object), whom, whose, whose + N,
what( functions as an object), which, what + N, which + N, how, where . By contrast,
in Vietnamese, there is no operator at all and question words or phrases are placed
at the end of questions. Let’s see and compare the two following structures:
English: Question words\question phrases + Op + S + V + O\C\A
Vietnamese: C + V + question words\question phrases
Ex: Where do you come from?
Bạn đến từ đâu?
Sometimes we make a change of translation from English into Vietnamese
with “ what”. Here are some examples:
What made her laugh?( Vì sao cô ấy cười vậy?)
What happened to make you happy?( Tại sao anh lại vui thế?)
When we make questions about means of transportation, English people
use “how” and Vietnamese people use “bằng phương tiện gì” instead of “ như thế
nào”. Look at some examples.
English: How do you go to school?
A Contrastive Analysis 16
Vietnamese: Bạn đi học bằng phương tiện gì?
Questions about time.
In Vietnamese question words like “bao giờ”, “khi nào” have two different
positions in sentences depending on tenses. “Bao giờ”or “khi nào” will be placed at
the beginning of questions if the tense is the future one. On the contrary, they will be
placed at the end of questions if the tense is the past one.
Ex: Khi nào cậu về quê?( the incident doesn’t occur)
Cậu về quê khi nào vậy? ( the incident did occur)
Therefore, we have the structures:
English
Vietnamese
When + Op + S + V + Khi nào\bao giờ + C + V
C + V + khi nào\bao giờ
O\A
(the past tense)
(the future tense)
Questions about reasons.
The only difference is the inversion of operators and subjects in English
questions. Let’s compare the two structures:
English: Why + Op + S + V + O\A
Vietnamese: Tại sao\vì sao + C + V
Questions about distance, age, quantity, length, width, height, frequency.
To ask the questions, English people use “ How + adj” at the beginning of
sentences whereas Vietnamese people use words or phrases such as“ mấy”, “ bao
nhiêu” before or after key things they want to ask about. Look at some examples
below:
English
Vietnamese
How old is he?
Anh ấy bao nhiêu tuổi?
How much money do you spend everyday?
Mỗi ngày bạn tiêu bao nhiêu tiền?
A Contrastive Analysis 17
How tall are you?
Bạn cao bao nhiêu?
How wide is the river?
Con sông này rộng bao nhiêu?
In spoken Vietnamese, to express politeness or informality, people usually
use modal particles at the end of questions.
Ex: Ai đi ạ?
Ai đi đấy nhỉ?
Alternative Questions in Vietnamese versus Alternative Questions in English
Similarities
The first similarity is that both offer two choices or more.
Ex: Which color do you prefer, yellow, red, or blue?
Bạn thích màu nào, vàng, đỏ, hay xanh da trời?
The second similarity is that both use the conjunction “or” in English and
“hay” or “hay là” in Vietnamese to connect the same word classes together or a
clause with a clause.
English: Do you like tea or coffee?
Vietnamese: Ban thích trà hay cà phê?
English: Do you like playing football or watching TV
Vietnamese: Bạn thích đá bóng hay xem ti vi?
Differences
The first difference is that alternative questions in Vietnamese do not
employ intonation, while alternative questions in English use a rising intonation
before “or” and a falling intonation after “or”.
The second difference is the inversion of operators and subjects that just
appears in English but Vietnamese.
English: What would you like, football or badminton?
A Contrastive Analysis 18
Vietnamese: Bạn thích bóng đá hay cầu lông?
Teaching Implications
English and Vietnamese belong to different language families, so it goes
without saying that they are different in many aspects. Although we see many
similarities between English questions and Vietnamese questions, it doesn’t deny
that differences are quite big. The first difficulty to Vietnamese students who study
English is the appearance of operators in questions or the inversion between
operators and subjects. They may ask questions without using any operator. For
example, they may say “what you think about that?” instead of “ what do you think
about that”. Therefore, the fact that teachers point out the big difference will help
students make correct English questions. The second difficulty is that Vietnamese
students are accustomed to translating word by word from Vietnamese into English.
For example, instead of “ what do you learn from the story?” they may say “ you
learn what from the story?”. This error that people call pidgin is so common to people
who are English beginners and people who have knowledge of vocabulary but
grammar. As a result, focusing much on that point, teachers will help students not be
influenced by their mother tongue. The third difficulty is intonation. Intonation is an
outstanding feature in spoken English. English people use a falling intonation in whquestions, a rising intonation in yes-no questions, and both falling and rising
intonations in alternative questions. In contrast, Vietnamese people are not in habit
of using intonation. Thus, there is no surprise to see that Vietnamese students speak
English with a flat intonation. In consequences, at first, teachers should be good
models, later instruct students how to make a correct intonation. In conclusion, this
analysis helps student not only distinguish between English questions and
A Contrastive Analysis 19
Vietnamese questions but also familiarizes them with the formation of English
questions.
Conclusion
It is obvious that when starting studying a certain second language, learners
have to face difficulties. However, no problem has no solution. Whether solutions are
found or not depends much on learners’ efforts. Besides, teachers are necessary to
give precise instructions to help student go on the right track. To master foreign
languages, learners need much time to practise and persistence to acquire
knowledge.
A Contrastive Analysis 20
References
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