A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS OF SEMANTIC FEATURES OF THE VERB “MAKE” IN ENGLISH COLLOCATIONS AND THEIR EQUIVALENTS IN VIETNAMESE

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES



PHẠM THỊ NGỌC MINH





A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS
OF SEMANTIC FEATURES OF THE VERB “MAKE” IN ENGLISH
COLLOCATIONS AND THEIR EQUIVALENTS IN VIETNAMESE

(PHÂN TÍCH ĐỐI CHIẾU CÁC ĐẶC ĐIỂM NGỮ NGHĨA CỦA ĐỘNG TỪ “MAKE”
TRONG CÁC CỤM TỪ CỐ ĐỊNH TIẾNG ANH VÀ CÁC CỤM TỪ TƯƠNG ĐƯƠNG
TRONG TIẾNG VIỆT)

M.A. MINOR THESIS





Field: English Linguistics
Code: 602215

Hanoi – 2010

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
FACULTY OF POST-GRADUATE STUDIES



PHẠM THỊ NGỌC MINH





A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS
OF SEMANTIC FEATURES OF THE VERB “MAKE” IN ENGLISH
COLLOCATIONS AND THEIR EQUIVALENTS IN VIETNAMESE

(PHÂN TÍCH ĐỐI CHIẾU CÁC ĐẶC ĐIỂM NGỮ NGHĨA CỦA ĐỘNG TỪ “MAKE”
TRONG CÁC CỤM TỪ CỐ ĐỊNH TIẾNG ANH VÀ CÁC CỤM TỪ TƯƠNG ĐƯƠNG

TRONG TIẾNG VIỆT)

M.A. MINOR THESIS





Field: English Linguistics
Code: 602215
Supervisor: Dr. Nguyễn Huy Kỷ











Hanoi - 2010

iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
DECLARATION i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS………… ……………………………………………… ii
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………… iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS……………………………………………………………….iv

ABBREVIATIONS………… …………………………………………………………vi
LIST OF TABLES…………… ………………………………………………………vii

PART I INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale……………….……………………………………………………………….1
2. Aims of the Study……………… ………………….…………………………………2
3. Scope of the Study…………… ………………………………………………………2
4. Methods of the Study…… ……………………………………………………………3
5. Designs of the Study……………………………………………………………………4

PART II DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER 1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.1. Semantic Features……………….……………………………………………………5
1.2. A Brief Description of Verbs…………………………………………………………6
1.3. Collocations………………………………………………………………………… 7
1.4. Summary…………… …………………………………………………………… 11
CHAPTER 2 SEMANTIC FEATURES OF THE VERB ‘MAKE’ IN ENGLISH
COLLOCATIONS AND THEIR EQUIVALENTS IN VIETNAMESE
2.1. Semantic features of the verb ‘make’ in English collocations……………… …….12
2.2. Semantic features of the verb ‘làm’ in Vietnamese collocations……………………16
2.3. Findings……… ………………………………………………………………… 21
2.3.1. Similarities…… …………………………………………………………………21
2.3.2. Differences… …….………………………………………………………………22
2.4. Summary…………………………………………………………………………….29

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CHAPTER 3 IMPLICATIONS FOR EFL TEACHING, LEARNING AND
TRANSLATION
3.1. Test result analysis…………………………… ………………………………… 30
3.2. Implications………………………………………………….………………………36

3.2.1. Implications of EFL teaching and learning……………………………………… 36
3.2.2. Implications for translation……………………… …………………………… 37
PART III CONCLUSION
1. Objectives of the study………………… …………………………………………….39
2. Methods of the study………………… ………… ………………………………….40
3. Implications for Pedagogy…………………… … …………………………………40
4. Contributions made by this study………………………………… ……………… 41
5. Limitations of the study……………………………… ……………………………41
6. Recommendations for further research………………….…………………………….42

REFERENCES………………………………………………………………………….43
SOURCES OF THE DATA…………………………………………………………….45
APPENDICES













vi
ABBREVIATION
EFL: English as a foreign language
L1: first language

L2: second language
SLA: second language acquisition

























vii
LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: Collocations vs. idioms and free word combinations
Table 2: The result of gap-filling (1) task
Table 3: The result of translation task
Table 4: The result of gap-filling (2) task
Table 5: The result of sentence transformation task

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PART I: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
“While without grammar very little can be conveyed, without vocabulary nothing can be
conveyed” (Wilkins, 1972: 111). This argument has been supported by many researchers in
the field of second language acquisition (SLA) who have emphasize the significance of
vocabulary and agreed that vocabulary is equally, if not more, important than language
structure in language acquisition. This is why it was recommended to pay attention to the
teaching of vocabulary in the same way as the teaching of grammar (Krashen, 1988).
McCarthy (1990) summarizes the importance of vocabulary teaching for second language (L2)
learners in the following statement:
No matter how well the student learns grammar, no matter how successfully the sounds
of L2 are mastered, without words to express a wide range of meanings;
communication in an L2 just cannot happen in any meaningful way (p. viii).
Within the area of vocabulary research, collocations that are a transitional area between idioms
and free combinations (Benson et al, 1986) have attracted the attention of language
researchers. And language researchers have pointed out many reasons why collocations are so
important in language acquisition. First, acquiring collocations is beneficial for EFL learners‟
lexical development (Ellis, 1996) and communicative competence (Nattinger, 1997). To gain
overall language proficiency, learners need to gain collocational competence (Hussein, 1990).
At the same time, acquiring collocational knowledge may help overcome the problems of
comprehending a sentence word by word thus learners‟ listening and reading abilities can be
improved. Also, by mastering collocations, learners‟ speech sounds more natural, and is more
easily understood by native speakers. With increasing knowledge of collocations, EFL

learners may be able to speed up their thinking in speaking and getting their meaning across
more effectively (Hill, 2000). According to Kjellmer (1992), the more accurately language
learners are able to use collocations, the fewer pauses and hesitations they make during long
chunks of discourse. Furthermore, Benson and Ilson (1997) have stated that language learners
must acquire how words collocate with each other to be able to produce language with native-
like accuracy and fluency in both oral and written forms. Thus, their vocabulary and overall

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language proficiency level increases as their collocational knowledge increases. Therefore,
collocational knowledge is the essence of language knowledge. However, the knowledge of
collocations is vast so this study only focuses on the semantic features of the collocations with
the verb „make‟ in English and the verb „làm‟ in Vietnamese. We choose the study the
semantic features of the „make‟ collocations and then make a contrast with the verb „làm‟ in
Vietnamese because the verb „make‟ is one of the most commonly used verbs in English and
when it collocates with other words, Vietnamese learners often feel confused, especially about
meaning of the verb „make‟ collocations. With the purpose of helping learners and teachers
know general knowledge of collocations and the semantic features of the verb „make‟
collocations as well as the similarities and differences between the collocations with the verb
„make‟ and the verb „làm‟, we decided to carry out this study.
2. Aims of the Study
The study is aimed at:
+ Finding the semantic features of the „make‟ collocations in English and those of the
verb „làm‟ collocations in Vietnamese.
+ Finding the similarities and differences between the „make‟ collocations in English and
those of the verb „làm‟ collocations in Vietnamese.
+ Providing some recommendations for the teaching and learning as well as translation
of „make‟ collocations and „làm‟ collocations into the target language.
To fully achieve these aims, the study should answer the following questions:
+ What are the semantic features of each verb in collocations and how are they similar
and different in terms of these features?

+ What are the implications of the study for EFL teaching/ learning and translation?
3. Scope of the Study
This is a minor thesis. As a result, it is unfeasible to discuss both the verbs in all aspects.
Therefore, within this study, the author focuses on analyzing semantic features of the
collocations of both the verbs, and then gives a brief introduction about the similarities and
differences between them.


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4. Methods of the Study
The study has been carried out based on a combination of different methods, among which the
main method is contrastive analysis. For the contrastive analysis method, English is
considered to be the target language and Vietnamese- the source language – a means to
contrast. This method involves two steps: describing the semantic features of the verb „make‟
collocations in English and those of the verb „làm‟ collocations in Vietnamese and then
juxtaposing them to point out their similarities and differences. Another important method
used in this thesis is descriptive research method, which involves componential analysis and
surveys. Componential analysis is one of the most effective methods in identifying the
meaning because it involves the analysis of the sense of a lexeme into its component parts
(semantic features or semantic properties). Surveys are used to collect data about the situation
of learning and teaching English collocations, especially those with „make‟ in English as well
as the students‟ knowledge of collocations in English in general and that of „make‟
collocations in English in particular in Lao Cai High School for Gifted Students. Besides,
other methods are also exploited in this thesis: statistical (the author has collected data about
semantic features of the two verbs in collocations and carried out survey research to find out
the situation of learning and teaching English collocations, especially those with „make‟ in
English in Lao Cai High School for Gifted Students as well as the students‟ knowledge of
collocations in English in general and that of „make‟ collocations in English in particular),
analytical ( the author has examined in detail the data obtained from the dictionaries and
examples in the stories to point out semantic features of the collocations of the two verbs as

well as the data obtained from the survey) and synthetical (the author has based on the
analysis to draw outstanding semantic features of the verbs in collocations, point out their
similarities and differences and show the students‟ knowledge of collocations and the situation
of learning and teaching collocations in general and those with the verb „make‟ in particular.
The steps of the study are in the order as follows:
First, the author synthesized the meanings of „make‟ and „làm‟ collocations as well as
examples from various sources such as dictionaries and literary works.

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Then, the author analyzed and contrasted each verb to make clear the similarities and
differences between them.
Lastly, the author suggested how to apply these findings to the language teaching/ learning
and translation.
5. Designs of the Study
The study consists of three parts organized as follows:
Part I entitled “INTRODUCTION” outlining the background of the study in which a brief
account of relevant information such as the rationale, aims, scope, methods and design of the
study is provided.
Part II, the “DEVELOPMENT” is subdivided into three chapters. Chapter 1 –
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND, as its names suggests, provides the theoretical concepts
for the main contents of the study, covering a series of concepts ranging from semantic
features, an overview of verbs, types of meanings to an overview of collocations. Chapter 2
focuses on “SEMANTIC FEATURES OF THE VERB „MAKE‟ IN ENGLISH
COLLOCATIONS AND THEIR EQUIVALENTS IN VIETNAMESE”. After pointing
out the semantic features, the author analyzes and contrasts each verb to make clear the
similarities and differences between. Chapter 3 deals with the errors made by the students at
Lao Cai High School for Gifted Students, therefore some suggestions for English learning and
teaching as well as translation should be presented. Each chapter ends with a summary.
Part III, the “CONCLUSION”, provides concluding remarks. The “REFERENCES”,
“SOURCES OF DATA” and “APPENDIXES” mark the end of the thesis.

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PART II DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER 1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1.1. Semantic features
Semantics is a branch of linguistics dealing with the meaning of words, phrases and sentences,
however, contrary to pragmatics it does not analyze the intended speaker meaning, or what
words denote on a given occasion, but the objective, conventional meaning. Additionally, it is
concerned with the conceptual meaning and not the associative meaning. The conceptual
meaning is what a word in fact denotes, as for example Friday the 13 th is a day between
Thursday the 12 th and Saturday the 14 th, and that is the conceptual meaning of the phrase
Friday the 13 th. Yet, for many people the idea of that day brings to mind thoughts of bad luck
and misfortune, which is the associative meaning. The meaning of words is analyzed in
several different ways in order to account for as many aspects of meaning as possible and
among the ways of analyzing the meaning of words is that words are analyzed in terms of their
semantic features.

According to Kamil Wiśniewski (2007), semantic features are considered basic elements
which enable the differentiation of meaning of words. This view is also shared by Cornelius
Puschmann: “Semantic feature analysis allow us to decompose words into bundles of
attributes” and “semantic features can be used to describe differences between
antonyms, superordinates and their hyponyms, and near synonyms”.
For example:
"GRAPE" "DOG" "PRAIRIE DOG"
-ANIMATE +ANIMATE +ANIMAL
+FRUIT +ANIMAL +RODENT
+EDIBLE –HUMAN -DOG
"HAPPY" "SAD" "THRILLED"
+EMOTION +EMOTION +EMOTION
+POSITIVE -POSITIVE +POSITIVE
+EXCITEMENT

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In short, the analysis of word meaning is often seen as a process of breaking down the
sense of word into its minimal components, which are known as semantic features or sense
components
1.2. A Brief Description of Verbs
The verb is king in English. The shortest sentence contains a verb. We can make a one-word
sentence with a verb, for example: "Stop!" We cannot make a one-word sentence with any
other type of word.
A verb is often defined as a word which shows action or state of being. The verb is the heart of
a sentence - every sentence must have a verb. Recognizing the verb is often the most
important step in understanding the meaning of a sentence. In the sentence „The dog bit the
man’, „bit‟ is the verb and the word which shows the action of the sentence. In the sentence
„The man is sitting on a chair’, even though the action doesn't show much activity, „sitting‟ is
the verb of the sentence. In the sentence „She is a smart girl‟, there is no action but a state of
being expressed by the verb „is‟. The word „be‟ is different from other verbs in many ways but

can still be thought of as a verb.
A verb always has a subject. For example, in the sentence „John speaks English‟ John is the
subject and speaks is the verb. In simple terms, therefore, we can say that verbs are words that
tell us what a subject does or is; they describe:
- action (Ram plays football.)
- state (Anthony seems kind.)
According to Jack C. Richards et al (1992:398), in English, a word is a verb when it satisfied
these following criteria:
- Occur as part of the predicate of a sentence;
- Carries markers of grammatical categories such as tense, aspect, person, number, and mood;
and
- Refers to an action or state.
Almost verbs in English change in form in accordance with tense, mood, person, etc. for
example: „Lower fares make it advantageous to travel in winter.‟; „I first made his
acquaintance in 2006’; „Please stop making that noise annoying’, etc.

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In Vietnamese, verbs are one of the two fundamental parts of speech like nouns. Verbs in
Vietnamese also play an important role in vocabulary as well as in forming sentences.
Contrary to verbs in English, verbs in Vietnamese do not have the concord with other parts of
speech. In other words, they are not affected by number, person, gender, mood, voice, and
tense. And in Vietnamese, verbs can combine with other auxiliary components to indicate
tense, aspect like „sắp‟, „sẽ‟, „đã‟ , continuation like „còn‟, „vẫn‟, etc.
There are many ways to classify verbs, however, in this thesis, the classification of verbs into
transitive and intransitive verbs shall be applied, which would be convenient to compare the
two verbs “make” in English and “làm” in Vietnamese.
1.3. Collocations
1.3.1. Definition of Collocations
All languages have a large numbers of collocations, and linguists have defined collocation in
different ways. The concept of collocations was first identified by Palmer (1981) as a string of

words that must or should be learned or is best or most conveniently learned as an integral
whole or independent entity rather than by the process of piecing together their component
parts. Most of the researchers who define collocation agree that it is a lexical unit consisting of
a cluster of two or three words from different parts of speech (e.g. Baker, 1992; Benson and
Ilson, 1997). Most of the definitions are paraphrases of Firth (1957: 183) definition that
collocations are “words in habitual company”. Most of the definitions have at their core some
sense of the „co-occurrence‟ of words. For instance, Colin Mclntosh et al (2009) gives a
general definition of collocation that collocation is the way words combine in a language to
produce natural-sounding speech and writing. For example, in English we say strong wind but
heavy rain. More specifically speaking, Robins (1989: 65), defines collocation as the habitual
association of a word in a language with other particular words in sentences but less closely
connected extra-linguistic reference. For example, „white race‟, „white coffee‟, etc. all contain
the word „white‟ with different meanings from the denotative meaning of the color. However,
one of the most detailed definitions is provided by Howard Jackson & Etienne Ze Evenla
(2000:256) “collocation is a lexical relationship of mutual expectancy, the presence of a
particular lexical item gives rise to the greater likelihood that other lexical items belonging to

8
the same area of meaning will also occur.” And collocation should be discussed in terms of
continuum in which they are placed in the middle position. At the two ends of the continuum
are free word combinations which are phrases constructed using rules of syntax and idioms
which allow little or no variation form and whose meaning cannot be determined by the literal
meanings of individual words.
In short, collocations are not easily defined. As a teacher, I feel that students need a more
transparent and practical definition. And in my opinion, collocations have these features: (1)
Collocations are arbitrary, which means that these are the combinations that students are not
expected to produce in their free production of language. (2) Individual words in a collocation
can contribute to the overall semantics of the compound. (3) Collocation is neither free word
combination nor idiom, it is somewhere in the middle of the spectrum.
1.3.2. Characteristics of Collocations

In discussion of the nature of collocation, linguists have been trying to generalize what
characteristics collocations have in common. Generally, collocations have two major features
as follow.
1.3.2.1. Collocations are Arbitrary
According to Kathleen R. McKeown and Dragomir R. Radev, the notion of arbitrariness
captures the fact that substituting a synonym for one of the words in a collocational word pair
may result in an infelicitous lexical combination. Thus, for example, a phrase such as make an
effort is acceptable, but make an exertion is not; similarly, a running commentary, commit
treason, warm greetings are all true collocations, but a running discussion, commit treachery,
and hot greetings are not acceptable lexical combinations. In short, there is no absolute rule
that can be learned for collocations. Thus, they are best dealt with isolation as they arise or
depending on notion of typicality to decide what acceptation and unacceptable collocations
are.
1.3.2.2. Collocations are Language-Specific
As Larson (1984:141) points out, every language interprets the physical words in its own way
and has its own convention which governs the collocability of words. In other words,
combinations of words will differ from language to language. For example, in Vietnamese we

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say “earn money” but in English the equivalent phrase is “make money”. Similarly, in
American English one says set the table and make a decision; whereas in British English, the
corresponding phrases are lay the table and take a decision. Therefore, what is perfectly
acceptable collocation in one language may be unacceptable in another. Take the case of make
in English and làm in Vietnamese as a typical example. Although these two words are
equivalent to each other, they cannot go with the same range of nouns. While such
collocations as làm trai, làm duyên làm dáng, làm lẽ are acceptable in Vietnamese, the verb
make in English actually cannot co-occur with these corresponding nouns. Instead, the
equivalents phrases must be be a man, posture, be a concubine in which different verbs are
employed.
1.3.3. The Distinction among Free Word Combinations, Idiomatic Expressions and

Collocations
Collocations are not easily defined. In the linguistic and lexicographic literature, they are often
discussed in contrast with free word combinations at one extreme and idiomatic expressions at
the other, collocations occurring somewhere in the middle of this spectrum.
1.3.3.1. Free Word Combinations
In the point of view of Kathleen R. McKeown and Dragomir R. Radev, a free word
combination can be described using general rules; that is, in terms of semantic constraints on
the words which appear in a certain syntactic relation with a given headword. Thus, examples
of free word combinations include put+[object] or run+[object] (i.e. „manage‟) where the
words that can occur as object are virtually open-ended. In the case of put, the semantic
constraint on the object is relatively open-ended (any physical object can be mentioned) and
thus the range of words that can occur is relatively unrestricted. In the case of run (in the sense
of „manage‟ or „direct‟) the semantic restrictions on the object are tighter but still follow a
semantic generality: any institution or organization can be managed (e.g. business, ice cream
parlor, etc.). To put it in a nutshell, free word combinations have the properties that each of
the words can be replaced by another without seriously modifying the overall meaning of the
composite unit and if one of the words is omitted, a reader cannot easily infer it from the
remaining ones.

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1.3.3.2. Idioms
An idiom, on the other hand, is a rigid word combination to which no generalities apply;
Neither can its meaning be determined from the meaning of its parts nor can it participate in
the usual word-order variations (Fernado,1996).
An expression is an idiom, described by Jon Wright (1999:7) when it carries the following
features:
1. It is fixed and it is recognized by native speakers. You can not make up your own!
2. It uses language in a non-literal-metaphorical way.
- He put the cat among the pigeons
- Don’t count your chickens.

According to Jack C. Richard et al (1992: 172), idiom is an expression which functions as a
single unit and whose meaning cannot be worked out from its separate parts. Robins (1989),
Palmer (1981), Jackson and Evenla (2000), Seidle (1978) and Cruse (1986) all treat idioms as
a special kind of collocation, however, meaning of an idiom cannot be deduced from the
meanings of its constituents. For example, „make it‟ – the collocation of „make‟ and „it‟ is an
idiom meaning „succeed‟, which is not systematically determinable from the meanings of
„make‟ and „it‟.
To sum up, idiom is a special kind of collocation in which the semantics of the whole cannot
be deduced from the meanings of the individual constituents and without knowing the idiom it
is often almost to understand it.
1.3.3.3. Collocations versus Free Word Combinations and Idiomatic Expressions
Unlike free word combinations, a collocation is a group of words that occur together more
often than by chance. On the other hand, unlike idioms, individual words in a collocation can
contribute to the overall semantics of the compound. Collocations fall between these extremes
and it can be difficult to draw the line between categories. A word combination fails to be
classified as free and is termed a collocation when the number of words which can occur in a
syntactic relation with a given headword decreases to the point where it is not possible to
describe the set using semantic regularities.

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More examples of the distinction between free word combinations and collocations are shown
in Table 1.
Idioms Collocations Free word combinations
to make good to make an appointment to be made of steel
to make it to make a promise to be made of iron
to make or break sb/st to make a mistake to be made from sugar
Table 1: Collocations vs. idioms and free word combinations.
1.4. Summary
This chapter has provided us with the theoretical background for the contrastive analysis of
semantic features of the verb “Make” in English collocations and their equivalents in

Vietnamese. It covers an overview of semantic features, a brief introduction about verbs in
English and in Vietnamese. We have also discussed two types of word meanings: grammatical
and lexical meanings. Moreover, a short description of collocations as well as the distinction
among free word combinations, idiomatic expressions and collocations is also mentioned.
Based on this theoretical foundation, we will commence chapter 2 and 3 to investigate
„semantic features of the verb “Make” in English collocations and their equivalents in
Vietnamese‟ and then make a „contrastive analysis‟.












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CHAPTER 2 SEMANTIC FEATURES OF THE VERB „MAKE‟ IN ENGLISH
COLLOCATIONS AND THEIR EQUIVALENTS IN VIETNAMESE
In this chapter, an attempt is made to draw an overall picture of the collocations of the two
relevant verbs in the English and Vietnamese language. In this part, we will deal with
semantic features of the verbs in collocations. We shall give examples in each case to illustrate
the meanings.
2.1. Semantic Features of the Verb “Make” in English Collocations
On talking about the semantic features, the author attempts to discuss different senses of the
verb „make‟ collocations. Like any other lexical verbs, „make‟ indicates an action or state, e.g.
- I‟ve got to make some phone calls before dinner. (18:18)

- She made a useful contribution to the discussion. (18:18)
- We need more money if we are to make any further advances in this area of
science. (19:12)
According to Oxford Collocations Dictionary for students of English (2009. Oxford University
Press); Oxford Advanced Learner‟s Dictionary of Current English (1995. Oxford University
Press); Collins Pocket Thesaurus (2008. HarperCollins Publishers), Oxford Wordpower
Dictionary (2008. Oxford University Press ); English-Vietnamese Dictionary (1993. Nhà Xuất
Bản TP. Hồ Chí Minh) when collocating with other words, the verb “make” has the following
basic meanings.
2.1.1. Make Conveys the Meaning of “produce or create something”
„Make‟ can be understood as to construct, create or prepare something by combining materials
or putting parts together. Its Vietnamese equivalent expressions are: „làm‟, „tạo ra‟, „ chế tạo‟,
sản xuất‟, „cắt may‟, etc. e.g.:
- Shall I make a sandwich for you? (26: 443)
- This model is made of steel. (26: 443)
- Her speech made a tremendous impact on everyone. (5: 594)
- I first made his acquaintance in 2006. (19: 7)
Also referring to this meaning, „make‟ can be understood as to arrange a bed so that it is ready
for use. In Vietnamese, it means „dọn giường‟. See the following example:

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- Please make your beds before you go out. (5: 708)
„Make‟ also means to create or establish something. Its Vietnamese equivalent is „đặt ra‟:
- These regulations were made to protect children. (5:708)
- Who made this ridiculous rule? (5:708)
Besides, „make‟ expresses the act of writing, composing or preparing something. In
Vietnamese, it means „viết‟, „soạn thảo‟, „chuẩn bị‟, etc. e.g.:
- Have you made your will? (5:1365)
- I‟ll ask my lawyer to make a deed of transfer. (5:708)
2.1.2. Make Conveys the Meaning of “cause a state/ situation”

The next meaning is to cause a state or a situation. In Vietnamese, it means „gây ra‟, „tạo ra‟,
etc. For example:
- Who‟s making those strange noises? (31: 1135)
- The children have made an awful mess in the lounge. (31:1057)
There are 5 sub-groups relating to this sense of meaning of „make‟. First, „make‟ denotes the
act of causing st to exist, happen or be done. In this case, it can be understood as „gây ra‟, „tạo
ra‟ in Vietnamese. For example:
- Sh! Don‟t make a sound. (5: 708)
- It makes a change to have the house to ourselves. (5: 708)
- She tried to make a good impression on the interviewer. (5: 708)
Second, „make‟ can be used to describe the act of causing somebody/something to be or
become. In Vietnamese, it means „làm cho‟, „nói‟
- She made clear her objections. (5:708)
- The news made her happy. (19:382)
- Can you make yourself understood in English? (5:708)
- I‟ll make it clear to him that we won‟t pay. (26:443)
Third, when combining with infinitive verbs, „make‟ means to cause somebody/ something to
do something. Its equivalents in Vietnamese are „khiến cho‟, „làm cho‟, etc. e.g.:
- Onions make your eyes water. (5: 709)
- Her jokes made us all laugh. (5: 709)

14
- I couldn‟t make my car start this morning. (5: 709)
- Nothing will make me change my mind. (5: 709)
Fourth, „make‟ can be understood as to represent somebody or something as being or doing
something. In Vietnamese, it means „tả‟, „để cho‟, etc. e.g.:
- You‟ve made my nose too big. (5: 709)
- The novelist makes his heroine commit suicide at the end of the book. (5: 709)
- He makes Lear a truly tragic figure. (5: 709)
Last, „make‟ also means to elect or appoint somebody as something. In Vietnamese, it means

„bầu‟, „bổ nhiệm‟, „lập‟, „cử làm‟, etc. e.g.:
- He was made spokesman by the committee. (5: 709)
- She made him her assistant. (5: 709)
2.1.3. Make conveys the Meaning of “be or become something”
We can use the verb „make‟ when we want to express the meaning of being or becoming
something. And its Vietnamese equivalents are „thành‟, „trở thành‟, etc. e.g.:
- Karen is very good at making friends. (5: 473)
- That will make a good ending to the book. (5:709)
2.1.4. Make Conveys the Meaning of “to gain or to win something”
Its Vietnamese equivalents are „kiếm được‟, „giành được‟, etc. e.g.:
- He made a fortune on the stock market. (5: 709)
- They make a profit of ten pence on every copy they sell. (5:924)
- The company made a loss on the deal. (5: 698)
- He makes a living by repairing secondhand cars. (5:698)
2.1.5. Make Conveys the Meaning of “to calculate or estimate something to be
something”
„Make‟ also means to calculate or estimate something to be something. Its Vietnamese
equivalents are „tính toán‟, „ước tính‟, etc. e.g.:
- What do you make the time? (5: 709)
- I make the total exactly $50. (5: 709)
- I make it that we‟ve got about 70 miles to go. (5: 709)

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2.1.6. Make Conveys the Meaning of “to put something forward for consideration; to
propose something”
When we want to mean that something is proposed or offered, then use „make‟. Its
Vietnamese equivalents are „đề nghị‟, „đề xuất‟, „đặt giá‟, etc. e.g.:
- Has she made an offer for you car? (5: 709)
- Various proposals were made for increasing sales. (5: 1365)
- I made him a bid for the antique table. (5: 1021)

2.1.7. Make Conveys the Meaning of “to ensure the success of something”
When we want to indicate that something can cause or ensure the success of something, we
can use „make‟. In this case, „make‟ means „làm cho‟. E.g.:
E.g. A good wine can make a meal. (5: 709)
It was the beautiful weather that really made the holiday. (5: 709)
This news has really made my day. (5: 709)
2.1.8. Make Conveys the Meaning of “to do something”
In this case, „make‟ usually collocates with some nouns to mean that someone performs the
action of the noun. „Make‟ is often used in a pattern with a, n, in which make and the n have
the same meaning as a v similar in spelling to the n, for example „make a decision‟ = „decide‟;
make a guess (at something) = guess (at something). „Make‟ can be used like this with a
number of different nouns. One advantage of using this pattern is that if we use „make‟ +
noun, we can use an adjective with it. For example:
- He made the right decision. (26: 443)
- They made a generous offer. (26: 443)
When „make‟ has this meaning, it is very difficult to find a right equivalent in Vietnamese. As
a result, we have to rely on the meaning of the noun to know the meaning of „make‟. See the
following examples:
- I made a mistake about Julie – she‟s quite nice really. (26: 746)
In this example, „make a mistake‟ means „get a wrong idea about somebody or something. We
cannot separate the meaning of „make‟ from the meaning of the rest. The meaning is
dominantly understood by the meaning of the noun in the phrase. Similarly, we have:

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- I realize that I made the wrong decision. (26: 190)
(„to make a decision‟ = „decide to do something‟)
- Have you got any comments to make on the recent developments? (5: 227)
(„to make a comment‟ = „to give one‟s opinion‟)
- Several people made suggestions about how to raise funds. (5: 1195)
(„to make a suggestion‟ = „to suggest somebody doing something‟)

- The patient is making slow progress after her operation. (5: 925)
(„to make progress‟ = „to advance or develop towards a better or finished state‟)
- I‟d better make a start on the ironing. (5: 1163)
(„to make a start‟ = „to begin doing something‟)
2.1.9. Make Conveys the Meaning of “Manage to reach or go”
The next meaning is to manage to reach or go to a place or position. With this sentence of
meaning, no passive is used though „make‟ is a transitive verb. In Vietnamese, it means „có
thể đến‟, „đạt được vị trí‟, „lên chức‟…See the following examples:
- I‟m sorry I couldn‟t make your party last night. (31: 1021)
- Her novel has made the best-seller lists. (31: 1021)
- She‟ll never make the team. (31: 1021)
- He made sergeant in six months. (31: 1021)
- The story made the front page of the national newspapers. (31: 1021)
2.2. Semantic Features of the Verb „Làm‟ in Vietnamese Collocations
Generally, like other Vietnamese verbs, „làm‟ refers to an action, an activity, a progress, an
impression and feeling, a change, a state, etc. „Làm‟ is used by Vietnamese people in everyday
communication in many contexts and usages. In this section, we will bring out the following
senses of the verb „làm‟ in Vietnamese language. These senses and semantic features have
been collected on the basis of Từ Điển Tiếng Việt (2006. Nhà Xuất Bản Đà Nẵng). The data
for the realization of these semantic features are illustrated with the examples cited verbatim
from this dictionary and stories.
2.2.1. „Làm‟ Conveys the Meaning of „produce or create something‟
Like the verb „make‟ in English, „làm‟ in Vietnamese also denotes the act of producing or
creating something that is non-existent before. For example:

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‘…Đã lâu, người mình làm thơ hầu hết chỉ làm những bài tám câu, mỗi câu bẩy chữ…’ (12:
18)
‘…Họ ước mong làm được một ngôi nhà gỗ tốt, có một cuộc sống yên bình ’ (5: 106)
‘Nước ở đây thở và kêu như cái giếng bê tông thả xuống để chuẩn bị làm móng cầu…’ (15:

169)
‘Chiếc cầu làm trong gần hai năm mới xong, xanh biếc và đẹp như một giấc mộng ’ (2: 247)
Here are some more examples:
„Chim làm tổ‟; „Làm cơm‟; „Làm thí nghiệm‟; „Làm thơ‟; „Làm tròn nhiệm vụ‟; Làm nên
lịch sử….
2.2.2. „Làm‟ Conveys the Meaning of „cause a state or situation‟
First, we can use „làm‟ to reflect the state or situation caused by somebody/something. For
example: ‘Làm đổ cây’; ‘Làm hỏng việc’; ‘làm náo động’; ‘Làm ngập’; ‘Làm nghẽn’; ‘Làm
tổn hại’; ‘Làm um’; ‘Làm nhặng xị’; etc.
Secondly, „làm‟ describes the act of causing somebody to be or to do something. For example:
‘Hắn còn làm mình bật cười hơn nữa cơ lúc hắn đeo lên người hắn đủ cả bộ lụa là, đủ cả bộ
hạt cườm…‟ (10: 15)
Here are some more examples: „Làm vui lòng’; ‘Làm khó dễ’; ‘Làm ngạc nhiên’; ‘Làm yếu’;
‘Làm xước’; etc. „
2.2.3. „Làm‟ Conveys the Meaning of „be or become‟
This sense of meaning in Vietnamese is similar to that in English. „Làm‟ can combine with
certain adjectives or nouns to indicate the state of being or becoming. For example:
‘Nhà tôi nó mới về làm bạn với tôi đấy u ạ! Chúng tôi phải kiếp với nhau…‟ (7: 115)
‘…Sau này, nếu Mĩ-Diệm giết anh, Tnú phải làm cán bộ thay anh. Không học chữ làm sao làm
được cán bộ giỏi.‟ (13: 204)
Here are some more examples:
‘Làm duyên làm dáng’; ‘làm bạn’; ‘làm biếng’; ‘làm dáng’; ‘làm duyên’; ‘làm đỏm’; ‘làm
giương’; làm phách’; ‘Làm mối’; ‘Làm mai’; ‘Làm mồi’; ‘Làm nghề’; ‘Làm người’; ‘Làm
vua’; ‘Làm tôi’; ‘Làm trai’; ‘Làm tù binh’; etc….
2.2.4. „Làm‟ Conveys the Meaning of „make sb/st be or become sb/st‟

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Similar to the verb „make‟ in English, the verb „làm‟ in Vietnamese can combine with
adjectives or nouns and means make sb/st be or become sb/st.
‘Một ngày lạ thói sai nha

Làm cho khốc hại chẳng qua vì tiền’ (3: 6)
‘Chúng đặt ra hàng trăm thứ thuế vô lí, làm cho dân ta, nhất là dân cày và dân buôn, trở nên
bần cùng.‟ (8: 61)
‘Tình yêu ta như cánh kiến hoa vàng,
Như xuân đến chim rừng long trở biết
Tình yêu làm đất lạ hóa quê hương…’ (16: 125)
2.2.5. „Làm‟ Conveys the Meaning of „work‟
Probably, this is the most popular meaning of the verb „làm‟ in Vietnamese. With this sense,
„làm‟ denotes the act of working to earn money to survive. For example:
‘Hắn xăm xăm chạy ra giữa sân, hắn cũng muốn làm một việc gì để dự phần tu sửa lại căn
nhà.’ (2: 118)
‘…Không biết có phải vì mới làm dâu mà thị tu chí làm ăn không?‟ (7: 118)
‘Vợ anh đi làm mướn, đi cấy, đi gặt để lấy công’. (11: 303)
‘Con gái, con trai bằng tuổi chúng ta
Cần cù làm lụng’ (4: 216)
Here are some more examples:
‘làm ở nhà máy’; ‘Đến giờ đi làm’; ‘Về quê làm ruộng’; ‘Làm nghề dạy học’; ‘Làm thầy
thuốc’; ‘Làm việc khẩn trương’; ‘Làm mướn’; ‘Làm công’; ‘Làm tư’; ‘Làm thuê’; etc.
2.2.6. „Làm‟ Conveys the Meaning of „do or carry out‟
„Làm‟ can mean to do or carry out a certain job.
‘…làm như vậy ông sẽ được tất cả, được cho đất nước ông, được cho bản thân ông!’ (9: 32)
‘ Vả lại đâu có rủ được anh làm như tôi, khoác cái ba lô lên vai, đi hết làng nọ đến làng
kia…‟ (1: 69)
‘…Hắn đoán họ ngồi đấy nhặt hạt rơi hạt vãi, hay ai có công việc gì gọi đến thì làm…’ (7:
113)
‘Nhìn công việc làm mỗi ngày tưởng như con người bất lực…‟ (6: 140)

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‘Một người làm hai việc, làm luôn cả chính trị viên xã đội nữa.‟ (14: 198)
Moreover, „Làm‟ can denote the act of making effort to carry out something with a particular

purpose. For example:
‘…Té ra người nông dân nước mình vẫn có thể làm cách mạng, mà làm cách mạng hăng hái
lắm…’ (1: 70)
Here are some more examples:
‘Làm nên sự nghiệp’; ‘Dám nghĩ dám làm’; ‘Làm mò’; ‘Làm ngầm’; ‘Làm nghĩa vụ’; ‘Làm
xằng’; ‘Làm vườn’; ‘….
Also, with this sense of meaning, „làm‟ restrictedly combine with certain nouns to indicate
daily routines such as eating, drinking, relaxing, entertaining. The meaning of „làm‟ depends
on the meaning of the following noun. For example: „Làm mấy cốc bia’; ‘Làm một giấc đến
sáng’; ‘Làm vài ván cờ’…
2.2.7. „Làm‟ Conveys the Meaning of „organize or hold a formal ceremony‟
Different form the verb „make‟ in English, „làm‟ in Vietnamese can convey the meaning of
carrying out or holding a formal event when this verb combine with certain nouns in
Vietnamese. For example: ‘Làm lễ khánh thành’; ‘Làm lễ chào cờ’; ‘Làm đám cưới’; ‘Làm
ma’….
2.2.8. „Làm‟ Conveys the Meaning of „pretend‟
In Vietnamese, „làm‟ can be understood as to pretend to be, which means that someone tries to
behave differently in certain situations and this behavior does not reflect his/her true nature.
For example: ‘Làm ra vẻ thông thạo’; ‘Làm như không quen biết’; ‘Làm ngơ’; ‘Làm vẻ’; etc.
2.2.9. „Làm‟ Conveys the Meaning of „be added together‟
„Làm‟ can combine with phrases of quantity to indicate a quantitative result or the result of
either combination or separation. For example:
‘Đám tảng, đám hòn chia làm ba hàng chặn ngang trên song đòi ăn chết cái thuyền…’ (2:
171)
Here are some more examples:
‘Tách làm đôi’; ‘ Gộp chung làm một’; etc.
2.2.10. „Làm‟ Conveys the Meaning of „kill‟