A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

HCMC UNIVERSITY OF PEDAGOGY
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONS
IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

Instructor: Bui Nguyen Khanh
Student: Nguyen Le Mong Thu
Student ID: K36.701.253
Class: 4CQDP
December 30, 2013


A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

Abstract
Question is one of the types of sentences used with high frequency in process of learning,
language teaching and in daily communication. Normally, people use it for asking or checking
information from others. In special cases, it can be used as a statement, a rejection or a doubtful
expression. In addition, sometimes people make question not only to get information but also to
use to greet each other in daily communication. Although the purpose of questions in English
and Vietnamese is the same, there are a lot of differences between them. That’s the reason why
leaners who study English have problem in forming questions. Recognizing the importance and
practical implications of the problem, we do this study in order to contrast the question in
English and Vietnamese. Besides that, I also mention some teaching implications at high school,
so teachers can focus on some areas where students usually make mistakes. Through this one,
learners will find it easier to study English. At the beginning, definition, uses and types of
interrogative sentence will be given to help learners have a general view about the question in
English and Vietnamese. In the next part, a contrast analysis is found out between them. The last
part shows the implications for teachers and learners in teaching and studying English question
well.

Keywords: contrastive analysis, question, interrogative, Vietnamese and English questions

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A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

TABLE OF CONTENT
I

The question ............................................................................................................................ 4
1. Definition ..................................................................................................................................4
2. Uses ...........................................................................................................................................4

II

Contrast English and Vietnamese questions ............................................................................ 4
1. Yes/No question ........................................................................................................................5
2. WH-question .............................................................................................................................9
3. Alternative question ................................................................................................................11
4. Declarative ..............................................................................................................................12
5. Tag question ............................................................................................................................13

III Teaching implications............................................................................................................ 14
Conclusion .................................................................................................................................... 15
References ..................................................................................................................................... 16

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A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

I

The question
1. Definition:
A question is a request for information or action. When writing a question you
should always end the sentence with a question mark (?) (English Grammar,
par.1).
For example:
+ What are you doing?
+ Does she like watching football?
+ Is he a student?
2. Uses:
-

Eliciting the information from the person being addressed.

-

Asking for the purpose of

testing someone’s knowledge, as in the quiz or

examination
-

Being used principally as polite requests

-

Being used as titles of literature, art and scholarship such as the academic work
Who Asked the First Question?, the story How Much Land Does a Man Need,…

-

II

Other different purposes.

Contrast English and Vietnamese questions
There are many ways to classify English question. According to the grammar
structure, English questions are divided into 5 types (Vương, par. 2):
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A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
-

Yes/No question

-

Wh-question

-

Alternative question

-

Declarative question

-

Tag question

Besides that, in Vietnamese, we also have four types of questions.
-

Yes/No questions

-

Wh - questions

-

Alternative questions

-

Declarative questions

1. Yes/No question.
Yes/no interrogatives are questions that can be answered with a “yes” or a “no”
response. You probably ask or are asked these questions every day.


In English:
Form:
auxiliary
be

+

S

+

V

do/does/did
Yes + positive verb
No + negative verb

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A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
For example:
1. Is she beautiful?
Yes, she is
2. Does he work?
No. he doesn’t
3. Are you ready to go?
Yes, I am
4. Did you go to school yesterday?
Yes, I did

5. Have you had breakfast?
No, I haven’t
The verbs are inversed and the tone is raised at the end of the question.



In Vietnamese:

-

The word order is the same as that of a statement and some particles are added, such
as “có…chưa”, “phải khơng”, “hả”…

-

For example:
 Hơm qua bạn nghỉ học phải khơng?
 Mẹ bạn bệnh hả?
 Bạn có làm bài tập chưa?

-

There is no inversion and no raising tone

Similarities: confirm the information.
For example:
1. Are you a student? ( Bạn là học sinh phải không?)

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A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
Yes, I am ( , mình là học sinh)
2. Are they your parents? ( Họ là cha mẹ của bạn hả?)
No, they don’t (Không, họ không phải là cha mẹ của tôi)
Moreover, in some cases, we can also answer these questions by rejecting if the
assumption is unreasonable.
For example:


In English:
A: Is Miss Ann from America?
B: I even don’t know who Miss Ann is



In Vietnamese:
A: Hôm qua cô cho làm bài kiểm tra phải khơng?
B: Hơm qua có đi học đâu mà biết

Differences:
- The way answering questions
o In English:
1. Do you want to eat now? (Con muốn ăn bây giờ không?)
YES, I do (Dạ, con muốn ăn bây giờ)
NO, I don’t (Không, con không muốn ăn bây giờ)
2. Don’t you want to eat now? (Con không muốn ăn bây giờ sao?)
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A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
YES, I do (Dạ, con muốn ăn bây giờ)
NO, I don’t (Không, con không muốn ăn bây giờ)
o In Vietnamese:
Vietnamese people usually use “vâng/dạ/có” and “Khơng” để express if they
agree with the question.
1. Con muốn ăn chưa? (Do you want to eat now?)
Dạ. Con muốn ăn bây giờ ( Yes, I do)
Không. Con không muốn ăn bây giờ ( No, I don’t)
2. Con không muốn ăn bây giờ sao? (Don’t you want to eat now?)
Vâng, con không muốn ăn bây giờ (Yes)
Không, con muốn ăn bây giờ ch (No)
-

The way forming the questions

With all information mentioned above, in English, the order in the interrogative
sentence is deserted. In Vietnamese, the order is the same as the statement (Subject +
Verb),then, combining with some parts: “à”, “hả”, “ạ”, “có…chưa”, “có…khơng”….
Especially, In English, we raise voice at the end of the question, that doesn’t present
in Vietnamese question.

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A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
2. WH-question:
A Wh-question is a question that contains an interrogative pro-form to request
information.
The table below will give some basic forms of this kind of question

Question

Function

Example

Word
What

Asking

for

information

about What is your name?

something
Asking about the information about Who is she?

Who

someone
When

Asking about time

When will we submit this project?

Where

Asking about the place

Where are you from?

Why

Asking for the reason

Why do you take the IELTS exam?

How

Asking about the manner or the quality How did your final test?

Besides that, these interrogative questions above will be extended into many different
forms in order to ask for the specific information.
1. Which (one)? : Choice of alternatives
Eg: Which color do you want?
2. Whose? - Possession
Eg: Whose turn is it?

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A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
3. Whom? - Person (objective formal)
Eg: Whom did he see?
4. How much? - Price, amount (non-count)
Eg: How much does it cost?

5. How many? - Quantity (count)
Eg: How many people in your family?
6. How long? - Duration
Eg: How long have you stayed there?
7. How often? - Frequency
Eg: How often does she go to school?
8. How far? - Distance
Eg: How far is it from Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi?
9. What kind (of)?- Description
Eg: What kind of question will we have in the listening test?
Similarities:
The order when forming the question with interrogative words which become Subject

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A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
In English:

In Vietnamese:
Ai là Mary?

Who is Mary?
Subject

-

verb

Chủ ngữ

động t

Differences:
When interrogative words is not subject, the English question needs the operator
after the interrogative word or there must be an inversion
Eg: Why did you go to the cinema lately yesterday?
Operator

-

However, in Vietnamese, there is no operator used in the question.

-

Intonation
+ In English: There must be a falling intonation at the end of question
+ In Vietnamese: It is no need to use intonation.

3. Alternative question
An alternative question is a question that presents two or more possible answers and
presupposes that only one is true.
Eg: Would you like chocolate, vanilla, or strawberry ice cream?
Similarities: use “or” (hay là, hoặc….) between options
For example:
-

In English: Are you listening to music or watching TV?
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A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
-

In Vietnamese: Bạn là học sinh hay giáo viên?

Differences: intonation
-

English: stress with the option chosen

-

Vietnamese: don’t need to do that

4. Declarative question
-

A declarative question is a question used to express surprise or ask for verification

-

It is used in informal speech and it has a rising intonation at the end
Eg: Wow, you ate that whole thing?
 To express surprise
Similarities: To check information or express feeling
 In English:
For example:
You have already bought all tickets?
 To express surprise this information because before hearing this sentence,

everyone thinks that he doesn’t want to go there
 In Vietnamese: it usually combine with some words such as “à, hả, á, ” at
the end of the sentence. For example:
Mày không ăn thật hả?
 The speaker thinks the hearer wants to eat.
Differences:

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A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
In English: need to raise the voice at the end of the question.
In Vietnamese: don’t do that or it’s difficult for people to do that
5. Tag question

-

A question used after a statement when seeking or expecting confirmation of that
statement

-

The intonation in most tag questions is going down to create agreement and rapport
between the speakers.

-

The structure of tag question:
Subject + Verb (affirmative), Verb (negative)?
Subject + Verb (negative), Verb (affirmative)?

Eg: You love me, don’t you?
She doesn’t want to go with me, does she?


There is no tag question in Vietnamese that is formed following this rule. The only
possible way to form this kind of question is to add “phải không” after a declarative
question.
Eg: Cô ấy đẹp, phải không? (She is beautiful, isn’t she?), ans especially no intonation is
added.

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A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

III

Teaching implications
As English is a second language, students make mistakes easily. However, I would like to list
some common mistakes.
1. Because there is no intonation in Vietnamese, Vietnamese students tend to speak English
like the way they speak Vietnamese, with a flat intonation. Somehow they have an
improper intonation when speaking English in different contexts. Having no intonation or
have a wrong intonation will make the communication boring and the listeners will feel
uncomfortable or misunderstand
2. Realize the difficulties that students have to deal with is that the way to answer to the
Yes/No question with the negative form. They find them find them difficult because they
don’t know how to answer this kind of questions. It’s not simple to answer a normal
interrogative question like “Is he a teacher?”, they will answer “Yes” or “No” to show
agreement or disagreement. Nevertheless, they feel confused when answering the

opposite kind of questions like “Didn’t you go to the cinema last night?” . It’s very
important for the teacher to realize this problem in order to help students avoid making
this mistake.
3. The learners usually forget the operator or inversion when they form the question. For
instance, they ask “where you live?” instead of “where do you live?” or “How long you
have been there?” instead of “How long have you been there?”.
4. As knowing the weak aspect of Vietnamese student, teacher should give student more
chances to practice to make them form question correctly and naturally by using the form
of role-play in a variety of contexts.

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A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

Conclusion

To sum up, questions have an important role in our life because it is presented in most of our
conversation. Actually, there are many similarities as well as differences between English and
Vietnamese question. In addition, conducting a contrastive analysis between two languages can
bring about many applications in both teaching and learning. For that, we can have a proper
method to teach and learn English well.

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A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF QUESTIONS IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

References


Eugene E.Loos. What is a question?. 2013.
< >



Richard Nordquist. Interrogative
sentence.2013.< >



Le, Quang Thiem. (2004). Ngôn ngữ học đối chiếu các ngôn ngữ. Hanoi: Hanoi National
University Publisher.



Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. (2013). Question. Retrieved December 22nd, 2013 from
/>
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