Khóa luận A study on imperative and errors made by Vietnamese learners - Đinh Thị Phương

Nội dung text: Khóa luận A study on imperative and errors made by Vietnamese learners - Đinh Thị Phương

1. BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG ISO 9001 : 2008 KHÓA LUẬN TỐT NGHIỆP NGÀNH: NGOẠI NGỮ HẢI PHÒNG - 2010
2. HAIPHONG PRIVATE UNIVESITY FOREIGN LANGUAGES DEPARTMENT GRADUATION PAPER A STUDY ON IMPERATIVE AND ERRORS MADE BY VIETNAMESE LEARNERS By: Đinh Thị Phương Class:NA1001 Supervisor: Phạm Thị Thu Hằng.M.A HAI PHONG - 2010
3. BỘ GIÁO DỤC VÀ ĐÀO TẠO TRƯỜNG ĐẠI HỌC DÂN LẬP HẢI PHÒNG (VnTimeH, 14pt, Bold) Nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt nghiệp (VnTimeH, 23pt, Bold) Sinh viên: Đinh Thị Phương Mã số: 100031 Lớp: NA1001 Ngành: Ngoại Ngữ Tên đề tài: A study on imperative mood and some errors made by Vietnamese learners.
4. Nhiệm vụ đề tài 1. Nội dung và các yêu cầu cần giải quyết trong nhiệm vụ đề tài tốt nghiệp ( về lý luận, thực tiễn, các số liệu cần tính toán và các bản vẽ). 2. Các số liệu cần thiết để thiết kế, tính toán. 3. Địa điểm thực tập tốt nghiệp.
5. CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN ĐỀ TÀI Người hướng dẫn thứ nhất: Họ và tên: Phạm Thị Thu Hằng Học hàm, học vị: Thạc Sỹ Cơ quan công tác:Trường Đại Học Dân Lập Hải Phòng Nội dung hướng dẫn: A study on imperative mood and some errors made by Vietnamese learners Người hướng dẫn thứ hai: Họ và tên: Học hàm, học vị: Cơ quan công tác: Nội dung hướng dẫn:. Đề tài tốt nghiệp được giao ngày 12 tháng 04 năm 2010 Yêu cầu phải hoàn thành xong trước ngày 10 tháng 07 năm 2010 Đã nhận nhiệm vụ ĐTTN Đã giao nhiệm vụ ĐTTN Sinh viên Người hướng dẫn Hải Phòng, ngày tháng năm 2010 HIỆU TRƯỞNG GS.TS.NGƯT Trần Hữu Nghị
6. PHẦN NHẬN XÉT TÓM TẮT CỦA CÁN BỘ HƯỚNG DẪN 1. Tinh thần thái độ của sinh viên trong quá trình làm đề tài tốt nghiệp: 2. Đánh giá chất lượng của khóa luận (so với nội dung yêu cầu đã đề ra trong nhiệm vụ Đ.T. T.N trên các mặt lý luận, thực tiễn, tính toán số liệu ): 3. Cho điểm của cán bộ hướng dẫn (ghi bằng cả số và chữ): Hải Phòng, ngày tháng năm 2010 Cán bộ hướng dẫn (họ tên và chữ ký)
7. NHẬN XÉT ĐÁNH GIÁ CỦA NGƯỜI CHẤM PHẢN BIỆN ĐỀ TÀI TỐT NGHIỆP 1. Đánh giá chất lượng đề tài tốt nghiệp về các mặt thu thập và phân tích tài liệu, số liệu ban đầu, giá trị lí luận và thực tiễn của đề tài. 2. Cho điểm của người chấm phản biện : (Điểm ghi bằng số và chữ) Ngày tháng năm 2010 Người chấm phản biện
8. ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This is my graduation paper – an honor record of four – year study process at University. This achievement will not be finished without help from many people. First of all, I would like to give my thanks to all the teaching staff of Foreign Language Division of Hai Phong Private University for their enthusiasm during the time at the University. Especially, I wish to express a deep thank to my supervisor – M.A Pham Thi Thu Hang who has offered me a lot of assistance and guidance in the preparation for this study: the completion of this research paper can not come to an end without her suggestions and comments. My thanks also go to all my friends for their collaboration and advice concerning this study. Last but not least, I’m also in debt to my family who always give me a lots support and encouragement. This graduation paper is my sincere thanks to all of you. Hai Phong, Dinh Thi Phuong
9. TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT PART I: INTRODUCTION 8 1. Rationale 1 2. Aims of the study 2 3. Methods of the study 2 4. Scope of the study 3 5. Design of the study 3 PART II: DEVELOPMENT 4 Chapter 1: An overview of English mood 4 1. Definition of mood 4 2. Kinds of mood 4 2.1. Indicative mood 4 2.2. Imperative mood 4 2.3. Subjunctive mood 5 Chapter 2: The theoretical background of imperative mood 5 1. Definition of Imperative mood 5 2. Morphology of imperative 6 2.1 Affirmative imperative 6 2.2 Negative Imperative 7 2.3 Imperatives with “let’s” and “let” 8 2.3.1 The first person imperative 9 2.3.2 The third person imperative 10 3.Kinds of imperative sentence 12 3.1 Emphatic imperative (persuasive imperative or insistent imperative) 12 3.2 Passive imperative 16 3.3 Subject with imperative 19 3.4 The imperative with question tags 20 3.5 Special cases of imperative 22
10. 3.6 Indirect Imperative sentence 23 4. Usage of imperative 23 4.1 Giving an order 23 4.2 Giving a command 24 4.3 Giving an advice 26 4.4 Giving a request 26 4.5 Giving a warning and an instruction 27 4.6 Giving a prohibition 28 4.7 Giving an entreaty 28 4.8 Giving an invitation 29 4.9 Giving a condition 29 4.10 Giving a desire 29 5. The imperative to address particular people 29 6. The uses of “please” and “kindly” in imperatives 31 7. Changing a statement into an imperative sentence and vice versa 32 8. Punctuations in imperatives 34 9. Stress in imperative 34 Chapter 3: Some errors made by Vietnamese learners and some suggested solutions to overcome the errors 36 1. Some errors made by Vietnamese learners 36 2. The suggested solutions to overcome the errors 39 PART III: CONCLUSION 41 1. Conclusion 41 2. Suggestion for further study 41 EXERCISE: 42 REFERENCE APPENDIX
11. PART I: INTRODUCTION 1. Rationale With the development of human being, a means of communication should be set to connect people closer. English has become an international language. The fact that in communication English language is widely spoken all around the world draws the attention of many linguists. To become fluent in this language now is one of the essential demands of most English learners. However, it is not easy to achieve this because this language can sometimes cause them a lot of trouble with its grammar, vocabulary, etc In English grammar, mood is a difficult category and the use of mood is popular in normal dialogue and communication. Those encourage the researcher to study more on mood, especially imperative mood. Furthermore, in process of using imperative mood, learners may make mistakes that make the recipient may misunderstand the meanings of language. Thus, it’s necessary for learners to grasp imperative mood to use it naturally and effectively in communication. I hope that it will be useful for those who are studying on English grammar in mood especially imperative mood. 1
12. 2. Aims of the study This paper tries to deal with these following concerns: - Providing definition of mood and imperative mood. - Demonstrating structure and usage of imperative mood - Analyzing some errors made by Vietnamese learners. - Giving suggestions to solve the errors. 3. Methods of the study The information and examples in this study are selected from many reference books and websites relating to the topic “Imperative mood”. Some examples are used to illustrate the given information which is extracted from variety of websites and references. Besides, to find out common errors in my graduation paper, I had to take a survey from Hai Phong Private University’s students through questionnaire form. In addition to the valuable source of books and websites, this study is also fortunate to receive the down – to – earth advices from my supervisors from whom I have learned the ideas and techniques that I try to pass on in this study. Those are the ways I carried out my research paper. 2
13. 4. Scope of the study Due to the limitation of time, I only focus on imperative mood and some errors that learners often make. Due to lack of experience and knowledge, this study can not avoid making mistakes. Therefore, your truthful comments are very useful and important. 5. Design of the study The study consists of three main parts: Part I – Introduction which states rationale, aims, methods, scope and design of the study. Part II – The main part of the study, is the Development. This part is subdivided into three chapters: Chapter 1 is an overview of English mood. Chapter 2 is the theoretical background of imperative mood. Chapter 3 is some errors made by Vietnamese learners and some suggested solutions to overcome the errors. Part III – the Conclusion which gives the reviews of the study and suggestion for further study. 3
14. PART II: DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER 1: AN OVERVIEW OF ENGLISH MOOD 1. Definition of mood Mood in verbs refers to one of three attitudes that a writer or speaker has to what is being written or spoken. There are three kinds of mood:  Imperative mood  Subjunctive mood  Indicative mood ((http:// www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic11771.html) 2. Kinds of mood 2.1. Indicative mood Indicative mood expresses an assertion, denial or question. For example: Little Rock is the capital of Arkansas. Ortriches cannot fly. Have you finished your homework? 2.2. Imperative mood Imperative mood expresses command, prohibition, entreaty, advice For example: Don’t smoke in this building. Be careful! Don’t down that puppy! 4
15. 2.3. Subjunctive mood Subjunctive mood expresses doubt or something contrary to fact. - Modern English speakers use indicative mood most of the time, resorting to kind of “mixed subjunctive” that makes use of helping verb: If I should see him, I will tell him. - Americans are more likely to say: If I see him, I will tell him. - The verb “may” can be used to express a wish: May you have many more birthdays. May you live long and prosper. - The verb “were” can also indicative the use of the subjunctive:\ If I were you, I wouldn’t keep driving on those tires. If he were governor, we’d be in better fiscal shape. CHAPTER 2: THE THEORETICAL BACKGROUND OF IMPERATIVE MOOD 1. Definition of Imperative mood Imperative mood is a mood that expresses an intention to influence the listener’s behavior. 5
16. The imperative mood is a grammatical mood that expresses direct commands or requests. It tells you to do something. It is used to signal a prohibition, permission or any other kind of exhortation. ( According to Randolph Quick (1985): “imperative, is to offer, suggest, or request”. 2. Morphology of imperative 2.1 Affirmative imperative Unlike most conjugated verbs in English, verbs in the imperative mood consist of a single word rather than a phrase of two or more words. Also unlike other English verb form, the grammatical subject of verbs in the imperative is always the second person singular or plural personal pronoun “you”. The imperative form of English verbs is identical to the base form (an infinitive without “to” functioning as the infinitive marker) of any English verb. 6
17. For example: Affirmative Infinitive Base Imperative To be Be Be To do Do Do To eat Eat Eat To drink Drink Drink To go Go Go To sleep Sleep Sleep To stay Stay Stay To study Study Study To wait Wait Wait The form of the imperative that is identical to the base form of the verb is sometimes referred to as an affirmative or positive imperative. Affirmative imperative is used to tell somebody to do something. ( 2.2 Negative Imperative Unlike affirmative imperative, negative imperative is periphrastic. Periphrastic is a term that means a “phrase of two or more words that perform a single grammatical function that would otherwise be expressed by the inflection of a single word”. Negative imperative tells someone to not do something. The negative imperative form of English verbs is formed by the present tense form of the verb “do” followed by the adverb “not” and then the affirmative imperative form. For example: 7
18. Negative Infinitive Base Imperative To be Be Do not Be To do Do Do not Do To eat Eat Do not Eat To drink Drink Do not Drink To go Go Do not Go To sleep Sleep Do not Sleep To stay Stay Do not Stay To study Study Do not Study To wait Wait Do not Wait To stop Stop Do not stop The “do not” of a negative imperative is often spoken and sometimes written as the contraction “don‟t) as in: Don’t be silly! Don’t sleep too late. ( english-verbs-in-english-grammar) 2.3 Imperatives with “let‟s” and “let” Imperative sentence beginning with “let” are different from other imperative sentences. Sentences beginning with “let” express ideas such as suggestion, proposal, request, wish, determination, desire For example: Let me go 8
19. Let’s take him to the doctor Let no one leave him this room (the police inspector said) Let’s go for a walk ( 2.3.1 The first person imperative The English language makes the first person imperative with “let + me” or “let + us”. We use “let‟s” including yourself in the imperative. For example: Let me do it for you Let me see Let‟s stop now Let us have some lunch Let‟s leave the case at the station (Martine&Thomson:123) Because the speaker or writer is included in the imperative, the tone of the sentence is softened. The sound of the imperative sentence is more courteous and less demanding. Even when the speaker or writer is aware that he or she is really not involved in the action of the verb, this form is used to sound more like a suggestion. Compare the following pairs of sentences: Try to be a little quieter. Let‟s try to be a little quieter. 9
20. In the two illustrated sentences above, the speaker or writer is suggesting that someone should be a little quieter and knows that the suggestion is only directed at the person to whom the command is given. The speaker or writer is only including himself or herself in order to make the command sound more like a suggestion. Other examples: Remember to send her a birthday card Let‟s remember to send her a birthday car (http:// www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic11771.html) 2.3.2 The third person imperative When the speaker or writer is not included in the imperative sentence, instead, a direct object follows “let”. The verb that describes the action of the command then follows the direct object.For example: Let Jack cut the grass today (direct object = Jack) Let me use your car for the afternoon (direct object = me) Let the soldiers rest before the next march (direct object = the soldiers) Let her try on your new dress (direct object = her) In order to create a negative form of an imperative, put “let’s not” or “let somebody/ something not” in front of the infinitive verb: (http:// www.english-for-students.com/Passive-Voice.html) For example: Let’s not open the door (Quirk, &Greenbaum, 1973:201) 10
21. Let’s not argue Let’s not tell her about it. Besides, do not is also available but informal for 3rd person imperatives: For example: Don’t let’s open the door (Quirk, Greenbaum, 1973:201) Don’t let anyone fool himself 11
22. 3. Kinds of imperative sentence Imperative sentences have the following features: Verb position The finite verb comes first Verb form The finite verb is in the imperative Intonation The voice falls at the end of the sentence Punctuation mark Exclamation mark or period ( ng=en) 3.1 Emphatic imperative (persuasive imperative or insistent imperative) We can make an emphatic imperative with “do imperative”. This is common in polite requests, complaints and apologies. It remains to consider the interpretation of those affirmative imperative which are marked as peculiarly emphatic by the presence of stressed “do”. This “do” may itself be regarded as meaningless, with a purely syntactic function. However, since it serves as a carrier for emphasis, which does have a semantic function, we can refer some what loosely, to the meaning of emphatic “do”. While many have commented that such imperatives are interpreted in a rather different way from other imperatives, they do not seem to have been very successful at specifying exactly what it is about the interpretation the receive . Which distinguishes them form ordinary, non – emphatic imperatives? Descriptions of these emphatic imperatives tend to imply that the difference relates to the kinds of illocutionary force with which they can be used, and that emphatic imperatives are in fact specified for some particular type of illocutionary force. For instance, (Jesperson,1954:507-8) claims that “with an imperative do is used not so much denote a command, which generally requires rapid enunciation and therefore 12
23. does without do , as an urgent request or entreaty”, and (Kruisinga,1931:417) similarly observes that emphatic do as an imperative expresses an urgent request, not a command. (Zandvoort, 1969:80) makes a comment similar to that Kruisinga, while (Sheurweghs, 1959:344) claims that it “renders something in the nature of an entreaty”. There does seem to be some truth in these observations, certainly the first example below seems more likely to convey a request or emotive appeal than the kinds of authoritative command which could be conveyed by the second example. For example: do give it to them give it to them However, those observation seem to limited, for do imperative need not necessarily convey either requests or entreaties. While could be used simply to give permission sounds more like an effusive invitation; and whereas the speaker who utters could be making a suggestion without caring whether the addressee acts upon it, in he seems to be really concerned that the addressee should do what he proposes. In the presence of do serves to emphasis the importance of complying with the instruction given. For example: Help yourself (Swan, 1997:168) => Do help yourself Try next door => Do try next door Ensure that power is switched off before removing cover. 13
24. => Do ensure that power is switched off before removing cover. Some more general characterization of the contribution of do is evidently required to account for all these contrasts. So we find descriptions like that of (Levenston,1969:39), who labels imperatives with do as “insistent”, which (Quirk,1972:406) describe them as “persuasive” or “insistent” and others (Poutsma, 1926); (Curme,1931) simply use the term “emphatic”. More explicitly, (E.C. Davies, 1974:180) suggests that do marks the construction as realizing “speaker’s wish”. These remarks also seem to imply that do specifies an imperative for a particular type of illocutionary force potential; for if do is a marker of persuasive or insistent, then any imperative which contains it will presumably have to be used as a directive, since only then will there be something for the speaker to insist on and the addressee to be persuaded of. If this were indeed the case, it would follow that do would be inappropriate in imperatives uttered with other kinds of force, for instance, to give permission, to acknowledge of possibility, to express defiance, and so on. However, do can occur even in these contexts, as is illustrated by the following examples: 14
25. For example: A1: I know you don’t want me to invite him. But he’ll be offered if I don’t. (Bonlinger, 1977:82) B2: Oh, very well. Do invite him then, if you must. A1: I’m doing my best not to make any mistake. B2: do make one, so what? It doesn’t matter that much. When it occurs in this kind of context, do seems to fulfill a rather different function; it is used to emphasis an affirmative in order to contrast this with a corresponding negative. Those whose comments on do were noted above have evidently overlooked this contrastive use of do, probably because of the tendency to ignore the use of imperatives to give permission, express indifference, and so on, where this contrastive function is most obvious. However, contrastive do is discussed by (Bolinger, 1977), whose comments will be exclaimed below. The existence of examples like those in ones below alongside those given poses more questions about the semantic content of this emphatic do. If the do in example: “do give it to them” and “do ensure that power is switched off before removing cover” is analyzed as a marker of persuasiveness or speaker’s wish, as has been suggested, then there seems no way in which it can be defined with that which occurs in example like the two above. One view, then, might be considered the two to be semantically distinct. On the other hand, it might be possible to identify some semantic characteristic common to all occurrences of do and to explain the different effects it has by some other means. This would make possible a unified semantic treatment of emphatic do which could deal with both its persuasive and its contrastive functions. 15
26. (Bolinger, 1977) offers such a unified account, claiming that the distribution of do can be fully accounted for in terms of its single meaning, as a carrier of emphatic affirmation, since the context in which it can not occur are incompatible with this kind of meaning. In two examples mentioned above, it is easy to see that such emphatic affirmation is motivated by a need to contrast with the corresponding negative, which occurs earlier in the discourse. Bolinger claims that such a contrast is always implicit in the use of do, but that in other cases the contrast is provide by the context of utterance. According to him, when a speaker use a do imperative such as “do give it to them”, this is understood to mark a contrast with a previous state of affairs where the addressee did no perform the action referred to, wherever such a previous stage of non- doing can be understood them, it is possible to use do. ( For example: Do sit down (Swan, 1997:189) Do have some more sherry (Quirk &, Greenbaum, 1973:201) Do let’s go to the theatre (Quirk& Greenbaum, 1973:201) 3.2 Passive imperative The imperative sentence in the passive voice has the following structure Let + object + be + past participle When the active voice begins with “do not”, the passive voice has the following structure: 16
27. Let not + object + be + past participle In some sentence, it is possible to put “not” after the object or “be”. For example: Active Passive Bring it home Let it brought home Do it at once Let it be done at once Do not beat the dog Let the dog not be beaten Let me do it Let it be done by me Or let me be allowed to do it. You can begin the sentence with “you” if you want to put emphasis on the person addressed to: For example: Please help me  Let me be helped Or  You are requested to help me Don’t touch it  Let it not be touched  You are warned not to touch it The passive form has to begin with “you”, when the object of the verb in the active voice is not given. 17
28. For example: Work hard  You are advised to work hard. Get out  You are ordered to get out. More examples are given below: Please lend me some money  You are requested to lend me some money. Kindly do this work  You are requested to do this work. Get me a glass of water => You are ordered to get me a glass of water. Let us go for a walk.  It is suggested that we should go out for a walk. (http:// www.english-for-students.com/Passive-Voice.html) To tell people to arrange for things to be done to them, we often use: Get + past participle For example: Get vaccinated as soon as you can. 18
29. Get examined when you feel tired. (Swan, 1997:104) 3.3 Subject with imperative The imperative does not usually have a subject but we can use a noun (the name) or pronoun (you; everybody; anybody; nobody; someone ) to make it clear who we are speaking to. For example: Mary, come here. Everybody else stay. Somebody answer the phone Nobody move (Richards.J, 2001:76) Relax, everybody You before an imperative can suggest emphatic persuasion or anger. For example: You just sit down and relax for a bit. You take your hands off me. You wait here. In the negative imperative, to emphasize we can use “you” after “do not”. 19
30. For example: Don’t you dare to say I’m not telling the truth? I’ve been answering questions all day. Don’t you start now? 3.4 The imperative with question tags Sometimes we use question tags imperative (invitations; orders ); but the sentence remains an imperative and does not require a direct answer. After imperatives, the normal question tags are “will you? Won‟t you? Would you? Could you? ; can you; shall we? Can‟t you ” After negative imperative, “will you?” is used.  We add “will you? / can‟t you? /won‟t you?” to express annoyance. For example: Stop shouting, will you?  We add “would you?/could you?/ can you?” for neutral requests: 20
31. For example: Post this for me, would you?  We add “will you?/won‟t you?” for friendly offers: For example: Take a seat, will you? (Alexander.L.G, 1990:105)  When you use the word “let‟s”, the question tags at the end must be “shall +we?” For example: Let‟s visit the Archeological Museum, shall we?  When you use the word „let”, the question tags at the end must be “will/won‟t /could+ you?” For example: Let the prisoners go, will you? Let the prisoners go, could you? Let the prisoners go, won‟t you? ( imperatives.ht) More examples of question tags are given below: 21
32. Give me a hand, will you? Sit down, won‟t you? Get me something to drink, can you? Be quite, can‟t you? Let us think about it, shall we? (Swan, 1997:124) 3.5 Special cases of imperative In many cases, in order to be brief, pat statements that are imperatives or that represent imperatives are used on signs or in general announcements over a loud speaker. For example: Deer crossing. (Represents an imperative = Caution)  Deer cross this road. Keep right except to pass ( Road side sign) Merging traffic. (Represents an imperative = Caution)  Car enter the high way here. No parking here. (Represents an imperative = Do not park here.) 22
33. No smoking. (Represents an imperative = Do not smoke here.) No swimming. (Represents an imperative = Do not swim here.) Post no bills. (Represents an imperative = Post no signs on this wall.) Reduce speed ahead. ( Road side sign) Silence! (Represents an imperative = be silent!) (http:// www.english-test.net/forum/ftopic11771.html) 3.6 Indirect Imperative sentence We use the verbs: order/ request/ suggest/ask/tell/say . to form indirect imperative For example: John asked Jill to turn off the light. I order him to open the book. 4. Usages of imperative 4.1 Giving an order Adults do not usually give each other orders, unless they are in a position of authority. However, adults can give orders to children and to animals. The intonation of an order is important: each word is stressed, and the tone falls at the end of the sentence 23
34. For example: Sit down now! “Sit”; “down” and “now” are all stressed, and the tone falls on “now”. 4.2 Giving a command Also known as the imperative form, commands are very easy to use. Begin the sentence with a verb and end with an object, a person or a thing.  Tell someone to do something: For example: Answer the phone, please! Drive to the post office. Help me find this information. Follow me. The subject in each of these sentences is “you” but it does not sound correct to use the subject. For example: You answer the phone, please! You drive to the post office. 24
35. You help me find this information.  Tell someone not to do something: For example: Don’t do that. Don’t hit him (Richards.J,2001:42) Don’t drive a car without a seat belt. In the sentence above, the present tense is used and the subject is “you”. The polite form of a command uses the word “please” 25
36. For example: Please give that to me! Pass the potatoes, please! ( 4.3 Giving an advice When you give advice using the imperative, the words are stressed normally. For example: Don’t tell him you are resigning now! Wait until Monday when he’s in a better mood. Don’t drink alcohol Don’t eat heavy meals. (Richards.J, 2001:63) ( 4.4 Giving a request You can also use the imperative to make a request, but you should use a polite word before the verb For example: Please take a seat Please wait here 26
37. Please hold the line Please don’t smoke here. Notes: note that an imperative sentence does not require a subject, the pronoun “you” is implied. ( 4.5 Giving a warning and an instruction You can use the imperative to warn someone of danger. All the words in the warning are stressed, but the last word has a higher tone than the first word. For example: Sit down now “Sit”; “down” and “now” are stressed, and the tone falls on “now”. Other examples: Watch out! Look out! (Ann.B, 1977:126) Don’t cross. You can also use the imperative to give instruction: For example: 27
38. To get to the Shakespeare Theatre, turn to the right at the river and keep straight on. (Richards.J,2001:54) Click here! Take the next turning left. 4.6 Giving a prohibition The imperatives used to give prohibition often are in negative imperatives with “do not” preceding the verb. For example: Do not walk on the grass Do not throw trash on the street (Richards.J, 2001:78) But, sometimes affirmative imperative is used to make a prohibition sentences: For example: Keep off the grass (Prohibition is often used in public notices). 4.7 Giving an entreaty For example: Spare a penny, sir, for a starving man! (East Wood ,1994:77) Help! Help! I’m drowning. 28
39. 4.8 Giving an invitation For example: Come inside and meet my wife Have a cigarette Have a cup of coffee (East Wood ,1994:67) 4.9 Giving a condition For example: Do that again and I’ll call a policeman! Suppose you had an accident, what should I do? Suppose you had a million pounds, how would you spend the money? (Chalker.S, 1984:156) 4.10 Giving a desire For example: Have a good day! Enjoy yourself and come back quite well again. 6. The imperative to address particular people  When we say: “wait here!” we might be addressing one person or several. We are really saying: “you (singular or plural) wait here!” 29
40.  If we want to speak to someone, we can: . Add you (unstressed) for an instruction For example: You keep quite! . Use “you” with (or without) a name For example: You wait here, Henry Or Henry, you wait here. . Add yourself/ yourselves to verbs like : “help; enjoy; behave” For example: Behave yourself. Help yourself to whisky. (Anna.B, 1977:11)  If we are talking to groups of people, we can use the imperative with: . Everybody: For example: Everybody keep quite! 30
41. Or keep quite! Everybody Everybody shut their eyes (Quirk& Greenbaum, 1973:200) . Someone/somebody/nobody: For example: Somebody answer the phone! Nobody say a word! . Don’t .anybody: For example: Don’t say a word, anybody! Don’t anybody say a word! (Alexander.L.G, 1990:105) 6. The uses of “please” and “kindly” in imperatives  “Please” is often used with requests or instructions to make them more polite. It is a shorter form of the order expression: “if it pleases you”. “please” comes at the beginning or end of a sentence, as with names but it does not usually come before the name at the beginning or after the name at the end. For example: Samantha, please come here! 31
42. Samantha, come here, please! Come here please! Samantha Please come here! Samantha ( All examples above are all different ways of saying the same thing. If it is a boss speaking to his secretary, this would be an instruction. If it is a boy talking to his girlfriend, it is a request.  In written English, you might also see “kindly” used as a polite word: For example: Kindly return the documents as soon as possible. Kindly forward this to the sales and marketing department. Kindly send me two copies of your brochure. Kindly lend me some money. ( 7. Changing a statement into an imperative sentence and vice versa If you change a statement into an imperative sentence, the elements of the statement remain intact. It’s only the verb that is altered. The target of that verb will always be second person, but the pronoun “you” is understood and not spoken or written. The verb becomes an elliptical infinitive (“to” be omitted). For example: 32
43. o Jone came home by three o’clock.  Come home by three o’clock. o She has been one of the candidate’s supporters.  Be one of the candidate’s supporters. o We will help her look for her keys.  Help her look for her keys. ( Modal auxiliaries such as: must/ must not /can not/need not/should/ should not are used in imperative sentences including the subject For example: They must clean the carpet.  Let them clean the carpet. We needn’t wait for him.  Let us not wait for him. You should get up early.  Get up early. You must stop now.  Stop now. You can’t step on the grass.  Don’t step on the grass. (www.onestopenglish.com/section.asp?docid=153931) 33
44. 8. Punctuations in imperatives An imperative sentence can end either with a period or with an exclamation mark. To emphasize the strength of a command, typically an exclamation point (!) is used. However, a period can apply as well. This choice signifies the strength with which the command and generally corresponds to the speaker's attitude: if "please" is used, an exclamation point is probably too harsh: For examples: Clean up this room! Please clean up this room. Though the exclamation mark is used as the marker for imperatives in most examples (mostly as a visual signification of the mood which is otherwise unmarked in English), there is no reason this is required, and a period is fine as well. However, a question mark would be confusing and in most cases incorrect. (Imperatives and uncertainty rarely go together, though in theory one could say "Clean up this room?" if they aren't sure about actually giving such an order.) ( 9. Stress in imperative Imperative sentence is one to express speaker’s offer, suggest, request,etc  Imperative without a subject: stress falls strongly on main verb without endings for number or tense and slightly on nouns, adjective or adverb. 34
45. For example: Put it on the bookshelf!  Imperative sentence with a subject: stress falls strongly on subject and slightly on verb, adjective or adverb. For example: You shut up!  Imperative sentence with “let”: stress falls strongly on “let” and slightly on subject, verb, adjective or adverb. For example: Let it be! (Quick, R, 1993:124)  Negative imperative sentence: stress strongly falls on negative auxiliary verb and verb, subject, slightly on others. For example: Don‟t turn off air-conditioner. 35
46. CHAPTER 3: SOME ERRORS MADE BY VIETNAMESE LEARNERS AND SOME SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS TO OVERCOME THE ERRORS 1. Some errors made by Vietnamese learners To analyze errors of imperative mood made by Vietnamese learners, I have carried out a survey questionnaire from non-major students third year section at Hai Phong Private University. And the result of the survey is given in the table as follow: Percentage of incorrect Number No of incorrect answers answers 1 38/50 36% 2 12/50 24% 3 45/50 90% 4 6/50 12% 5 43/50 86% 6 39/50 78% 7 4/50 8% 8 36/50 72% 9 47/50 94% 10 3/50 6% 11 11/50 22% 12 16/50 32% 13 23/50 46% 14 17/50 34% 15 12/50 24% 16 8/50 16% 17 17/50 34% 36
47. 18 13/50 26% 19 21/50 42% 20 38/50 76% 21 43/50 86% Through this table, I have summarized some common errors that are presented below:  Double imperatives joined by “and” When we have two imperatives together, we join them with “and” but normally Vietnamese learners use “to” instead. The questionnaire shows that 94% of students use the wrong form of double imperatives. For example: Go to buy yourself a new pair of shoes. The correct sentence is: Go and buy yourself a pair of shoes. The only exception is “try”. We can say: “try and help” or “try to help”. Other examples: Come and see us soon Instead: come to see us soon. Sit here and wait. 37
48. Instead: Sit here to wait.  Question tags in imperatives Relating to question tags, sometimes Vietnamese learners may say: Don’t tell any body, do you? The question tags “do you” may be true in sentence: “you don’t tell anybody, do you?”, but in the imperative: “don’t tell anybody, do you?” it is untrue. We have to use “will you?” in this case and the correct sentence is: Don’t tell anybody, will you? Almost students chose incorrect answer relating to question tags used in imperatives, occupies 78%. Other question tags also causes Vietnamese learners make mistakes. Such as: shall we? / can you?  Let‟s and let us: Let’s is used as the contraction of let us, but there are some differences between them. Sometimes when the speaker wants to imply an action including the speaker and the recipient but in some cases, it includes only the speaker. The number of students makes mistakes in this kinds of sentence is quite high, nearly 86%. It is difficult to distinguish “let’s” and “ let us”, because sometime “let’s” may be the contraction of “let us”. For example: Let’s go to the cinema : cùng đi đến rạp chiếu phim nào Let us watch TV: để chúng tôi xem ti vi.  Passive imperative: 38
49. Sometimes, Vietnamese learners, especially non- major English students may makes mistakes with passive imperative. There are 86% of student from the survey choose the incorrect answer. For example: Let the dog not be beaten. But they may say: Let not the dog be beaten. Besides, some other mistakes Vietnamese learners often get are: do imperative with 72%. To emphasize in imperatives, they use “please” instead of “do” preceding of the verb. 2. The suggested solutions to overcome the errors We consider the typical errors that Vietnamese learners commit when dealing with imperative mood. Following are some suggestions which may help to overcome the errors when using imperative. For learners:  Master the form and features of imperative mood through studying from grammar books, references as well as internet websites. Often use imperative sentences in speaking to make use it frequently.  Use the imperative in proper situation to avoid impoliteness. For teacher: 39
50. Help learners master form and features of imperative and point out, distinguish the mistakes, even give specific examples to make learners grasp it clearly. 40
51. PART III: CONCLUSION 1. Conclusion Imperative mood is a grammatical category that learners should master, but the knowledge of imperative is quite wide. Due to time limitation, my study may not avoid the lack of some knowledge on imperative mood. I only focus on kinds of imperatives and its usage as well as some common errors that Vietnamese learners often get. In this part, I would like to make a short summary of what I have been discussed in the previous parts. My research paper focuses on part 2 with 3 chapters: Chapter 1 helps you to understand about an overview of English mood. Chapter 2 presents the theoretical background of imperative mood. This is the foundation for the next chapters Chapter 3 is some errors that Vietnamese learners often get and the solution. I hope that through this study, learners can understand more clearly about imperative mood and avoid some errors in using it in either speaking or writing. 2. Suggestion for further study Imperative are often used in spoken English. Therefore, studying on imperative sentence is quite useful for either natives or non-natives. Together with imperative sentence, you can study on imperative sentence use as command and the way to change statement to a command. That will be an interesting topic for the learners of English. 41
52. EXERCISE: Exercise 1: rewrite the sentences in imperative. Keep the meaning: For example: You can‟t step on the grass.  Don‟t step on the grass. 1) We must revise some new words => 2) He should have a job. => 3) We mustn’t stop now. => 4) You must go to bed. => 5) You should get up early. => 6) You mustn’t stand here. => 7) She can have a drink. => 8) We needn’t wait for him. => 9) You can’t park in this street. => 10) They should taste this cake. => 42
53. Exercise 2: Use “shall we? / will you? / would you? / could you ” to make imperatives with question tags: For example: Give me a hand.  Give me a hand, will you? 1) Let’s join them => 2) Give it to your mum. => 3) Be kind to her => 4) Take the car to the garage. => 5) Let us forget about it. => Answers to exercise: Exercise 1: 1) Let’s revise some new words. 2) Let him have a job. 3) Let’s not stop now. 4) Go to bed 5) Get up early 6) Do not stand here 7) Let her have a drink 8) Let us not wait for him 9) Do not park in this street. 10) Let them taste this cake. 43
54. Exercise 2: 1) Let’s join them, shall we? 2) Give me a hand, will you? 3) Be kind to her, will you? 4) Take the car to the garage,will you? 5) Let us forget about it, shall we? 44
55. APPENDIX Questionnaire Đối tượng: Sinh viên Đại học Dân lập Hải Phòng Họ và tên sinh viên: Đinh thị Phương – Lớp Na1001 Mục đích: Câu hỏi này nhằm phục vụ đề tài tốt nghiệp : “Mênh lệnh thức và những lỗi thường mắc khi sử dụng câu mệnh lệnh thức của đối tượng học là người Việt Nam”. Các bạn hay vui lòng khoanh vào câu trả lời mà các bạn lựa chọn. Xin chân thành cảm ơn! 1. Theo bạn câu nào dưới đây là đúng dạng form của câu mệnh lệnh a. I tell you to do your homework. b. Do your homework.√ c. You must do your homework. 2. “ Bring it home” khi chuyển sang câu bị động có dạng là: a. let it be brought home√ b. you bring it home c. have it brought home 3. Khi 2 động từ được dùng song song trong câu mệnh lệnh, chúng sẽ được nối bởi a. giới từ “to” b. giới từ “for” c. liên từ “and”√ 45
56. 4. Khi sử dụng câu bị động, để lịch sự, ta lên dùng câu nào trong những câu dưới đây: a. you sit down b. Sit down, please!√ c. Sit down, will you? 5. “ Do not beat the dog” khi chuyển sang dạng bị động có dạng : a. the dog was not beaten b. let the dog not be beaten√ c. let not the dog be beaten 6. Theo bạn câu nào dưới đây đúng dạng của câu mệnh lệnh có dạng câu hỏi đuôi: a. Don’t tell anybody, will you?√ b. Don’t tell anybody, do you? c. Don’t tell anybody, don’t you? 7. Chúng ta có thể thêm “ let’s” vào trước động từ nếu chủ ngữ là: a. you b. we√ c. they 8. Nếu muốn dùng câu mênh lệnh để nhấn mạnh ta dùng trước động từ a. let b. do√ c. please 9. Theo bạn câu nào dưới đây là đúng: a. go to buy yourself a new pair of shoes b. go and buy yourself a new pair of shoes√ 46
57. c. go for buying yourself a new pair of shoes 10. Câu mệnh thường được chia ở thì a. hiện tại√ b. quá khứ c. tương lai 11. “Go away” khi chuyển sang statement (câu trần thuật) sẽ là: a. you go away b. you must go away√ c. let’s go away 12. Câu hỏi đuôi của “let’s have a break” sẽ là: a. Let’s have a break, shall we?√ b. Let’s have a break, will you? c. Let’s have a break, could we? 13. “You must not be hurry!” khi chuyển sang câu mệnh lệnh sẽ là: a. Be not hurry! b. Let not be hurry! c. Don’t be hurry!√ 14. “use/umbrella/do/ not/ my/ him/ let” viết thành câu đúng sẽ là: a. do not let him use my umbrella√ b. let him do not use my umbrella c. do let him not use my umbrella 15. “Suppose you had a million pounds, how would you spend the money?” là câu mệnh lệnh chỉ: a. mong muốn b. đề nghị 47
58. c. điều kiện√ 16 .Khi dùng trạng từ “never” trong câu mệnh lệnh thì nó sẽ đứng ở vị trí: a. đầu câu√ b. sau động từ c. cuối câu 17. “Let them make an experiment” khi chuyển sang câu trần thuật sẽ là: a. they can make an experiment b. they must make an experiment c. they should make an experiment√ 18. “You must not cheat” khi chuyển sang câu mệnh lệnh sẽ là: a. not cheat b. do not cheat√ c. let not cheat 19. “the/ you/ladder/will/ fetch” khi viết thành câu mệnh lệnh sẽ là: a. you will fetch the ladder b. Will you fetch the ladder? c. Fetch the ladder, will you?√ 20. “Do forgive me”, do ở trong câu này là: a. động từ b. trợ từ c. từ để nhấn mạnh√ 21. “Let’s go to the cinema”và “let us watch TV”. “Let’s” và “let us” trong 2 câu này là: a. giống nhau 48
59. b. “let’s” thì bao gồm cả người nói và người nghe, còn “let us” chỉ gồm người nói.√ c.không đáp án nào đúng 49
60. REFERENCES 1.Alexander.L.G(1990).Longman English Grammar Practice,London& Newyork. Longman Group Limited. 2. Anna.B,(1977). Ship or Sheep, Cambridge University Press. 3. A.V Martiner & A.J.Thomson.(1989).A Practical English Grammar,Cambridge:Cambridge University Press 4. Chalker.S, (1984). Current English Grammar, London Rhenix ELT. 5. Eastwood, J. (1994). Oxford Guide to English Grammar, Oxford University press. 6. Quirk, R. (1972), A Grammar of Contemporary English, Longman Group Limited. 7. Randolph Quirk &Sindney Greenbaum,(1972).A University Grammar of English,Longman Group Limited 8. Richards,J (2001).New interchange, Cambridge University Press 9. Swan, (1997), Practical English Usage, Oxford University Press 50