an investigation into the linearity to simple sentence in english and vietnamese = nghiên cứu về trật tự tuyến tính của câu đơn trong tiếng anh đối chiếu với tiếng việt

VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY Ò LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
DEPARTMENT OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES

NGUYỄN THỊ THU QUỲNH

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE LINEARITY TO
SIMPLE SENTENCE IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE
NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ TRẬT TỰ TUYẾN TÍNH CỦA CÂU ĐƠN TRONG
TIẾNG ANH ĐỐI CHIỀU VỚI TIẾNG VIỆT

M. A. MINOR THESIS
Field: English Linguistics
Code: 60 22 15

HANOI, 2011


VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HANOI
UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES
DEPARTMENT OF POST – GRADUATE STUDIES


NGUYỄN THỊ THU QUỲNH

AN INVESTIGATION INTO THE LINEARITY TO
SIMPLE SENTENCE IN ENGLISH AND VIETNAMESE

NGHIÊN CỨU VỀ TRẬT TỰ TUYẾN TÍNH CỦA CÂU ĐƠN TRONG
TIẾNG ANH ĐỐI CHIỀU VỚI TIẾNG VIỆT
M.A MINOR THESIS

Field: English Linguistics
Code: 60 22 15
Supervisor: Nguyễn Hương Giang, MA

Hanoi, 2011


iii

TABLE OF CONTENTS
PART 1: INTRODUCTION

1

1. Rationale

..........................................

1

2. Aims of the study

. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1

3. Scope of the study

.........................................

2

4. Method of the study

...................... ...................

2

PART 2: DEVLOPMENT
Chapter 1: Theoretical background

3

1.1. What is linearity? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ….. . . . . .

3

1. 2. What is a simple sentence? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

4

1.3. Classifications of simple sentences according to
their communicative purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
1.3.1. Statement

...................................

5
5

1.3.2. Question

.....................................

5

1.3.3. Command

.....................................

6

1.3.4. Exclamation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

6

Chapter 2: Linearity in the English affirmative statement

8

2. 1. Elements and patterns of the English simple sentence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

8

2. 2. Traditional positions of these five elements in English . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

10

2. 2. 1 Position of Subject

..................................

10

2. 2. 2 Position of Verb

..................................

10

2. 2. 3 Position of Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

11

2. 2. 4 Position of Complement

12

..............................

2. 2. 5 Position of Adverbial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

13

2. 3. Inversion in Affirmative statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

15

2.3.1. Subject – verb inversion . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

16

2. 3.1.1 Auxiliary verbs before Subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

16

2. 3.1.2 Main verb before Subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

17

2. 3. 2 Subject - Object Inversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
iii

18


iv

2. 3. 3 Subject - Complement Inversion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

18

2. 3. 4 Subject - Adverbial Inversion . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

18

Chapter 3: Linearity in the Vietnamese affirmative statement

20

3. 1. Elements and patterns of the Vietnamese affirmative statement . . .. . . . . . . . .

20

3. 2. Positions of elements

23

..................................

3. 2. 1 Position of Subject . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

23

3. 2. 2 Position of Verb

..................................

23

3. 2. 3 Position of Object . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

24

3. 2. 4 Position of Complement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

24

3. 2. 5 Position of Adverbial . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

24

3. 3. Inversion in Vietnamese affirmative statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
3.3.1. Verb before subjects

.................................

25
25

3.3.2. Complement at the beginning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

26

3.3.3. Object before Subject and Verb . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

26

3.3.4. Adverbial at the beginning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

27

Chapter 4:
Contrastive analysis of linearity in English and Vietnamese affirmative statement

28

4.1. Similarities

28

..........................................

4.1.1 Elements and structure of affirmative statement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

28

4.1.2 Inversion in the emphasized sentence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

31

4.2. Differences

. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

33

4.2.1 Verb Phrase . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

33

4.2.2 Transformational relation

............................

34

.............................................

36

4.2.3 Inversion

Chapter 5: Implication for teaching and learning English

37

5.1 Typical mistakes made by Vietnamese learners . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

37

5.2 Suggested types of exercises . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

39

PART 3: CONCLUSION

41

Reference
Appendix
iv


v

SYMBOL AND ABBREVIATIONS
A

Adverbial

Adj

Adjective

AdjP

Adjective Phrase

AP

Adverbial Phrase

Aux.V

Auxiliary Verb

C

Complement

Co

Object Complement

Cs

Subject Complement

NP

Noun Phrase

O

Object

Od

Direct object

Oi

Indirect object

PP

Prepositional phrase

Pre

Predicated

S

Subject

V

Verb

Vcomplex- trans Complex transitive Verb
Vditrans

Ditransitive Verb

Vint

Intensive Verb

Vintran

Intransitive Verb

Vmonotrans

Monotransitive Verb

VP

Verb Phrase

v


1

PART 1: INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale

With integration of Vietnam in globalization, the need of learning foreign languages,
learning English in our society is in great demand. One of the effective approaches that
learners do not really seem to notice is the comparative analysis between foreign languages and
native language. This will help learners acquire foreign languages easily.
In the English language, the position of elements is essential to the meaning of a
sentence in general and the meaning of a simple sentence in particular. A change in element
position may bring about a fundamental change in meaning.
Like in Vietnamese and some other languages, in English, linearity in a simple sentence
plays an important role. We can depend on it to find out whether it is a statement (affirmative
or negative one), a question, a command or an exclamation. Thus an all – round understanding
of element position in the simple sentence also contributes a great deal to the study of language
both theoretically and practically.
Many Vietnamese learners (especially beginners and intermediate learners) cannot
avoid making common mistakes in placing elements at the right position in the statement of
simple sentence.
The position of sentence elements in English and Vietnamese are not the same partly
because different languages use different lingual and cultural habits.
For the above – mentioned reasons, research on linearity in sentence should be given
special attention by those who use English as a foreign language, especially by not only all of
us, who are working as teachers of English, but also our students who are learning English as a
compulsory subject.
2. Aims of the study
In the Investigation into the Linearity to simple sentence in English and Vietnamese as
an M.A. thesis, the author has the following aims:
- to find out the similarities and differences of the linearity in English and Vietnamese
affirmative statement.
- to help Vietnamese learners avoid some common mistakes in using English.
In order to realize these aims, the study supports to answer the following research questions:
1

2

1. What is linearity of sentence?
2. What are similarities and differences of the linearity in English and Vietnamese
affirmative statement?
3. What are common mistakes in linearity made by Vietnamese learners?
3. Scope of the study
According to communicative purpose, there are four kinds of simple sentence. They are
statement, question, command and exclamation. Each kind of simple sentence has two forms:
affirmative and negative. However in my study, I only focus on the linearity in affirmative
statement.
In my study, first of all, I present linearity in affirmative statement of English simple
sentence and Vietnamese one. Next, I discuss Linearity in both languages and then make
comparison between linearity in affirmative statement of English simple sentence and
Vietnamese one.
My study is divided into five chapters: Chapter 1 is the theoretical background of my
subject. Chapter 2 and chapter 3 present the possible linearity in the English and Vietnamese
affirmative statement. In chapter 4, there is a contractive analysis of linearity in English and
Vietnamese affirmative statement. Last but not least, in chapter 5, the implication in teaching
and learning English of the study will be mentioned.
4. Method of the study
Contrastive analysis is the main linguistic method applied in my study in which the
linearity in affirmative statement in English and Vietnamese is considered its objective.
Reading English Grammar books and Vietnamese books is carried out to get as much
knowledge of the subject as possible. Most of examples are taken from books widely used in
English and Vietnam. Moreover in my study I make contractive analysis to find out similarities
and differences in the linearity in the affirmative statement between two languages.

2

3

PART 2: DEVLOPMENT
Chapter 1: Theoretical background
1. 1. What is linearity?
According to R. A. Jacobs (1995, p 80), English Syntax, Linearity is that sentences are
produced and received in a linear sequence.
It is undeniable that no one can utter simultaneously all the words of a sentence. Nor
could such an utterance be understood. Hence, sentences are produced and received in a linear
sequence. The principle of the linearity of language signs was established by Ferdinand de
Saussure. A linguistic sign, as Saussure states, consists of two sides: signifie (i.e the thing
signified) and significant (the thing singnifies). The significant of language sign bears linearity
feature. When language signs are put into communication, they come out successively forming
a sequence. The occurrence of language signs is governed by the characteristic of time which is
one way by nature. As a result, words are spoken (or written) and heard (or read) in a time
sequence from early to later, a sequence represented in the English writing system by a
procession of written forms from left to right. There is a standard order for subject, verb and
object. In the English, we have an example:
Cassius sees Brutus
S

V

O

The subject of the sentence, Cassius, precedes the verb sees, while the object, Brutus,
follows the verb. Numbers of other languages follow the same order. Subject – Verb – Object
(abbreviated as SVO). We could try to switch around the subject and the object, converting the

SVO order into OVS, as in this example:
Brutus

sees

O

V

Cassius
S

But if we did, English speakers would identify Brutus as the subject. The order would
still be SVO, but the meanings would be different.
Also, according to Jacobs, other languages may use different orderings. The range of
possible orderings of these words or phrases is known as the word order parameter. In many
languages, word order is less crucial than it is in English because, as in Latin, there is greater
3


4

reliance on suffixes and other ways of making sentence constituents. Word order therefore
appears to be a setting on a yet more general parameter of function marking. But in no
language is word order totally insignificant.
Hence, linearity is the basic property of sentence structure. It determines the location of
sentence constituents and the syntactic relationship between those constituents. Changing the
position of sentence constituents will result in changing in meaning.
1. 2. What is a simple sentence?
Definition of simple sentence.

Warriner J.E (1997: 26) presented: “Simple sentence is a sentence that has one subject
and one verb”. However, this definition is insufficient because in a sentence there may be one
or more subject and a verb or, in turn, one subject with one or more verbs.
E.g.

Mary and her boyfriend
S
She

doctors.

V

came and sat down

S

are

C

next to me.

V

A

Quirk, R and S, Greenbaum (1990: 166): “A simple sentence is the sentence that
consists of only one clause”
Alexander (1988: 4) writes: “The smallest sentence unit is the simple sentence. A

simple sentence normally has one finite verb. It has a subject and a predicate”. It is possible to
make sure that the last definition by L.G. Alexander is considered the most sufficient and
satisfying one.
Type of the simple sentence: Structurally, there are usually two main types of the
simple sentence:
- (i) complete simple sentence is the sentence that has one subject and one predicate.
(Also called two – member sentences)
- (ii) Special simple sentence is the sentence that has only subject or a verb, sometimes,
it is called an incomplete simple sentence. (Or one – member sentences)
E.g.

Look!
Rain!
4


5

In term of communicative purposes, there are four kinds of simple sentence: statement,
question, command and exclamation. Each kind has two forms – affirmative and negative.
However, in my study, I only focus on the affirmative statement.
1.3. Classifications of simple sentences according to their communicative purpose
According to Quirk. R (1990: 190), the sentence may be divided into four major
syntactic classes whose use correlates with different communication functions. They are
statement (declarative sentence), question (interrogative sentence), command (or imperative
sentence), and exclamation (or exclamatory sentence).
1.3.1. A Statement/ A Declarative sentence
A Statement or a declarative sentence is a sentence that makes a statement in which the
subject is always present and generally precedes the verb.
E.g. John will speak to the boss today.

The declarative sentence is used more frequently than all of the types. It always
followed by a stop (.)
There are two forms of statement, affirmative and negative. Affirmative statement is a
statement that affirms a proposition, without negative words.
E.g.: She is talking to her mother.
Negative statement is a statement which contains negative words such as not, rare,
seldom, never, hardly, etc.
E.g.:

She is not talking to her mother.

1.3.2. A Question/ An interrogative sentence:
An interrogative sentence is the sentence that asks a question
E.g.

How many students are there in your class?

An interrogative sentence is always followed by a question mark (?). In interrogative, a
part of the verbs always come before the subject. Questions are marked by one or more of
these three criteria:
+ the place of operator immediately in front of the subject.
E.g.

Will John speak to the boss today?

+ the initial position of an interrogative or “Wh” element.
E.g.

Who will you speak to?
5

6

+ Rising intonation:
E.g.

You will speak to the boss?

According to Quirk. R. (1990) the interrogative sentences can be divided into three
classes according to the type of answer they expect:
+ Yes/ No Questions: are those that expect only affirmation or rejection of what
has been asked:
E.g.:

Have you finished the book?

+ Wh – Questions: are those that expect a reply supplying an item of
information applied by wh – word.
E.g.:

What is your name?
How old are you?

+ Alternative Questions: are those that expect the reply as one of two or more
options presented in question.
E.g.:

Would you like to go for a walk or stay at home?
Do you like tea or coffee?

1.3.3. A Command/ an Imperative sentence:
A command/ an imperative sentence is a sentence that gives a command or makes a
request. Commands have no overt grammatical subject, and whose verb is in the imperative
E.g.:

Speak to the boss today

An imperative sentence may be followed by a full stop or an exclamation mark.
- Ordinary requests take a full stop (.). Command and strong requests take an
exclamation mark (!)
- The subject of a sentence that is a command or a request is the word “you”,
understood but not expressed.
1.3.4. An Exclamation/ An exclamatory sentence:
An exclamatory sentence is a sentence that expresses strong feeling. It exclaims
speakers/ writers’ emotion
E.g.

What a noise they are making!
How beautiful she was!
She was beautiful!
6


7

An exclamation sentence has an initial phrase introduced by “what” or “how” without
inversion of subject or operator or statement. It is always followed by an exclamation mark (!).
Generally, according to the communicative purposes, there are four types of the
sentences: statement/ declarative sentences, question/ interrogative sentences, command/

imperative sentences, and exclamation/ exclamatory sentences.

7


8

Chapter 2: Linearity in the English affirmative statement
2. 1. Elements and patterns of the English affirmative statement
According to traditional grammarians, the simple sentence has two major parts: Subject
and Predicated.
E.g.

She is listening to music
S

Pre.

As for modern grammarians, Quirk R.et al, (1990: 35 – 40, 53), a sentence may have
five units called elements of sentence structure: Subject, Verb Phrase, Complement, Object and
Adverbial, here abbreviated as: S, V, C, O, A
Predicate may consist of Verb Phrase, Complement, Objects or Adverbial.
All the elements of sentence are realized by phrases. Subject and Object are both
realized by noun phrase (NP)
E.g.:

That picture is beautiful
S (NP)
He gave

his wife

a book

Oi (NP)

Od (NP)

If indirect object (Oi) stands after direct object (Od), it is usually expressed by
preposition phrase (PP)
E.g:

He gave a book to me
Oi (PP)

Complement element (C) is expressed not only by Noun phrase (NP) but also by
Adjective phrase (AdjP)
E.g.:

My mother is a nurse
C (NP)
That picture is beautiful
C (AdjP)

Adverbial element (A) is realized by Adverbial phrase (AP) and preposition phrase
(PP)

E.g.:

I put the plate on the table

A (PP)
8


9

He sings beautifully
A (AP)
R. Quirk and Greenbaum, 1990, and Biber Detal, 1999, there are seven clause types or
seven sentence patterns:
+ Pattern 1: SVA

Mary
S (NP)

Vintens

Aplace (PP)

Mary

+ Pattern 2: SVC

is
is

a nurse

S (NP) Vintens
+ Pattern 3: SVO

Cs (NP)

Somebody

caught the ball

S (NP)
+ Pattern 4: SVOA

I

in the house

Vmonotrans
put

the plate

S (NP) Vcomplex trans
+ Pattern 5: SVOC

We

O (NP)
Aplace (Pre + NP)

him

wrong

S(NP) Vcomplex trans

Od (NP)

Co (AdjP)

She

+ Pattern 6: SVOi Od

have proved

Od(NP)

on the table

me

gives

S(NP) Vditrans
+ Pattern 7: SV

expressive presents

Oi(NP)

The child

laughed

S(NP)

Od(NP)

Vintrans

* The patterns SV, SVA, SVOO can be extended by the addition of various optional
adverbs (hence optionality of Adverbials)
 (A)

S

V

(A)

Sometimes

SV:

he

sings

beautifully.

S

V

(A)

(A)

The moon

rose

early

last night.

V

A

(A)

The ladder

leans

against the wall

there

 (A)

S

V

In America

most students are

SVA:  S

SVOO:  S (A)
She

(A)
now

V
kindly

A
on vacation

O
sent

O
us

9

some photographs


10

2. 2. Traditional positions of these five elements in English
2.2.1 Position of Subject
A subject is normally a noun, pronoun or noun phrase. The subject is the performer of
the action. That is the person causing the happening denoted by the verb.
Subject usually goes before the verb. The verb must agree with the subject, so the
subject dictates the form of the verb (e.g.: I think, she thinks, etc.). This “agrement” between
subject and verb is often called concord.
Subject is usually at the beginning in ordinary affirmative sentence.
E.g.

Mary often goes to school by bus.
S

V

Generally, in all seven simple sentence patterns, subject always stand the beginning of
the sentence before the verb. It is the person, place, thing, quality or idea that you want to
mention when you form a sentence.
2.2.2 Position of Verb Phrase
Verb phrase is the basic part of the sentence predicate. It affects directly in meaning of
the sentence.
E.g.: She
S

lives

in Hanoi

V

There are various ways to classify verbs. Verb is divided into two kind based on the
meaning and function of it: Lexical verbs and Auxiliary verbs
Lexical verbs: make, speak, eat
Auxiliary verbs:

Primary:

do, have, be

Modal verb: can, may, could, etc.
According to R. Quirk (1990), many English verbs have five forms: the BASE, the – S
form, the PAST, the – ING participle, and the – ED participle. But irregular lexical verb forms
vary form three (eg: put, puts, putting) to eight (eg: be, am, is, are, was, were, being, been).
The modal auxiliaries are defective in not having infinitive (to may), - ing participle (maying), ed participle (mayed).
The position of modal auxiliaries: the modal auxiliary always stands before the main
verb and after the subject in the sentence.
10


11

e.g.:

My brother
S

can

play the guitar

Modal Verb

Verb

In short, the usual order of verb is after subject and depends on the number and person
of the subject.
2.2.3 Position of Objects
Like subject, object is a noun or a noun phrase. The object usually refers to the person,
things, affected by the action of the verb.
E.g.:

Somebody

catches

the ball

V

O

S

The object normally comes after the verb. However, the object of an active simple
sentence can be turned into the subject of a passive sentence:

E.g.:

The dog

bit
V

S

I

me
O

was bitten

S

by the dog

V

A

There are two types of object in sentence: Direct Object (Od) and Indirect Object (Oi)
E.g.:

She

sent

us

some photographs

S

V

Oi

Od

- The direct object is usually the concrete or abstract noun, but personal noun.
E.g.:

She

loves

pop music

S

V

Od

- The indirect object of verb is a noun or pronoun that is placed directly before the direct
object.

E.g.

Nam

asks

me

S

V

some questions

Oi

Od

- Sometimes, Oi stands after Od and separated by preposition to or for
E.g.:

She

gave

a book

to

S

V

Od

I

bought

this book

S

V

me.

Od

Oi
for

you.
Oi

11


12

- With some separable two – word verbs, the Od can come after the two – word verb or
between the verb and the preposition of adverb. If Od of separable verb is pronoun, it must
come between the verb and the preposition of adverb
E.g.:

- Maria

is taking off

her shoes.

V
- Maria

Od
her shoes

V
- My boyfriend

is taking

Od

picks me

up

off.

at my house every day.

Od
2.2.4 Position of Complement
Complement gives further information about another clause element. The complement
can be adjective phrases including single adjectives; noun phrases including single noun,
pronouns, numeral phrases.
The complement often follows the subject, verb phrase and object in the structure S V
C or S V O C
E.g.

The bull became angry
C (AdjP)
They elected him president
C (NP)

There are two kinds of complement in the sentence:
Subject Complement (CS)
E.g.:

Arthur is

very happy

Complement

(AdjP)

Object Complement (CO)
E.g.:

She

made me

angry
(AdjP)

- The subject complement usually follows the subject and verb in the pattern SVC. It
renames the subject
E.g.:

The ambassador
S

seems angry
V

CS (AdjP)
12


13

- The object complement follows the direct object in the pattern SVOC. It renames the
direct object.
E.g.:

We

appointed

Jerry

S

V

our secretary

Od

CO (NP)

Especially, complement does not become the subject through the passive transformation.
E.g.:

He

is

S

a doctor

V

CS (NP)

2.2.5 Position of Adverbial

Adverbial usually adds information about the situation, such as the time of an action, or
its frequency, the place, the manner, the cause, the degree, etc. An adverbial functions like an
adverb which describes or adds to the meaning of a verb, an adjective, another adverb, a clause
or a sentence.
E.g.:

We

will stay

there
Adverbial of place

The adverbial in a sentence can be an adverb phrase, a noun phrase, a preposition
phrase, or a clause.
Like subject, verb, and complement, adverbial is necessary to complete the meaning of
the sentence or complete the sentence grammatically. Sometimes, adverbial is optional
sentence element.
Some adverbials can only occur in fixed positions in the simple sentence pattern SVA,
SVOA, but most adverbials are mobile, they can appear at difference positions in the simple
sentence.
We can distinguish three positions: initial, medial, and final position.
- The initial position (before subject) with order: (A) SV; (A) SVO; (A) SVOC.
(A) is an optional element in the sentence.
E.g.:

Naturally,

they

(A)

S

- The medial position in the patterns:
S (A) VOO;

S (A) VOC;

are walking

(Quirk, p167)

V
S (A) V;
S (A) VOA
13

S (A) VO;


14

E.g.:

She

(kindly)

sent

us

some photographs

S

(A)

V

Oi

(Quirk, p167)

Od

If the main verbs have auxiliary verbs, adverbials often appear after the first auxiliary verb.
E.g.:

I

have

just

finished

my assignment

A
- The final position in all seven sentence patterns as optional elements, but they are obligatory
elements in two patterns SVA and SVOA.
After an intransitive verb:

He speaks quickly

After any object:

The girl is a student at a large university

After complement:

He makes me angry many times

Therefore, adverbial, both optional and obligatory element can appear at difference
positions in the simple sentence.
In conclusion, it is certain that five elements have fixed positions in the simple
sentence, subject stands at the beginning of sentence, just before verb. Object has positions
right after verb and subject in SVO, SVOA (there are two types of object: Oi and Od, Oi
precedes Od in the pattern SV OiOd). Complement appears after subject and verb in SVC or
after object in SVOC. Adverbial can take the positions after verb or after object in SVA and
SVOA.
2. 3. Inversion in Affirmative statement
To invert something means to put something in the opposite position to the one it was
in before. In the case of English grammar, this refers to the change of the word order of the
sentence, when the verb or an auxiliary comes before the subject. The function of inversion is
usually emphasis.
- According to Douglas Bibier, Susan Conrad and Geoffrey Leech, (Longman Student
Grammar – p405) in inversion, the operator comes before the subject.

There are two main types of inversion:
(a) subject – verb inversion or full inversion: the subject and the verb change position
(the subject is preceded by the entire verb phrase:
E.g.: Best of all would be to get a job in Wellingham
C

V

S
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15

On the top of the hill stood an old oak tree.
A

V

S

(= An old oak tree stood on the top of the hill.)
(b) subject – operator inversion or partial inversion: the subject is preceded only by the
operator rather than by the main verb or full verb phrase. The word order changes to the
interrogative (question) form but the sentence is affirmative statement.
E.g.: "I like dry wines." "So do I."
Hardly had I spread my sandwich when the pizza arrived.
- According to Swam (1980: 277), there are two kinds of inversion. In more common
kind, an auxiliary verb comes before the subject, and the rest of the verb comes after. If there is
no auxiliary, do, does, or did is added.

In other sort of inversion, the whole verb comes before the subject; do and did are not
used.
E.g.:

Round the corner came a milk – van.

- According to Eastwood (1994: 57) distinguishes between subject – verb inversion and
subject – auxiliary inversion:
Subject – verb inversion:
E.g.:

On the door – step stood an old man
Here is the news

Subject – auxiliary inversion:
E.g.:

I saw the man and so did Paul.

The above – mentioned linguists together with others, have classified inversion in
English into different kinds. However, in my study, I divide inversion into Subject – Verb
inversion, Subject – Object inversion, Subject – Complement inversion, and Subject –
Adverbial inversion. Moreover, I especially focus on inversion in affirmative simple sentence.
2.3.1. Subject – verb inversion
2. 3.1.1 Auxiliary verbs before Subject
Normally, verbs always stand after subjects in affirmative simple sentence; but there
are some exceptions. We put an auxiliary verb before the subject of a simple sentence in
several situations:
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16

- Only + other words: Only by, only then, etc.
E.g.:

Only then

did

I

the problem

V

Aux. V S

understand

O

Only after a year did I begin to see the result of my work
+) Only by + NP + Aux. V/ Modal V + S + V …
E.g.:

Only by hard work will we be able to accomplish this great task.

- So can be used before subject – auxiliary inversion to mean “also”. This helps to
avoid unnecessary repetition in a parallel addition or a parallel response. In this way “so” is

used in affirmative sentence only.
E.g.:

- A: We used to watch that on T.V.
B: Yes, so

did

I.

Aux. V

S

- Wishes: may
E.g.: May

all your wishes come true.

Modal V

S

V

C

2.3.1.2 Main verb before Subject
This inversion is limited as follows:
- The verb phrase consists of a single verb word

E.g.:

Down came the rain
V

S

- The verb is a transitive verb of position (be, stand…) or a verb of motion (go,
come…). Moreover, this in version is virtually limited to a simple present or past tense single
verb word.
E.g.: From the corner comes the old beggar.
V

S

- The first element is an adverbial of place or direction. This inversion occurs in the
pattern SVA
E.g.:

- Here comes the first question
A

V

S
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17

- First came the ambulance. Then came the police.
A

V

- Here is
A

S

A

V

S

the news
V

S

This inversion does not take place in sentence with a personal pronoun
E.g.:

- Away they go (not away go they)

Occasionally, this inversion occurs with a complement as the first element when the
complement expresses a comparison.
E.g.: - For a long time, he refused to talk to his wife, and kept her in ignorance
of his troubles. Equally strange was his behavior to his son

V

S

- More important is

love

V

S

2. 3. 2 Subject - Object Inversion
To emphasize Object of sentence, we can put this object before the subject.
E.g.:

This

Harry

did

O

S

V

In this sentence, Object This precedes Subject Harry. It is used to emphasize the work
which Harry did rather than Harry who did the work.

E.g.:

To you

he

told

his story

Oi

S

V

Od

2. 3. 3 Subject - Complement Inversion
Complement before Verb and Subject: To attract reader’s attention to meaning of
complement, we put complement at the beginning of the sentence. The pattern of affirmative
simple sentence is C S V or C V S
E.g.:

Poor

as

he

was

C (AdjP)

S

V

Rich

he

may be

S

V

as

C (AdjP)

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More important
C (AdjP)

is

love

V

S

2. 3. 4 Subject - Adverbial Inversion: Adverbial before subject and Verb
- When adverbial of place and manner at beginning in the affirmative sentence, we invert
verb before subject. However, auxiliary must not be used in this case.
E.g.: - Under the tree

lay

A (place)

one of the biggest men.

V

S

- Directly in front of them

stood

A (manner)

V

A (place)

- On the grass
A (place)
- Along the road
A (place)

sat

a great castle.
S

an enormous frog.

V

S

came

a strange procession.

V

S

- Subject – Adverbial inversion is often used in speech with “here”, “there” and other
short adverbs and adverb particles such as away, down, in, off, over, etc.
E.g.:

- Here comes the bus.
A
- Away

V

S

went

A

V

- Here

is

A

the runners
S

V

the news
S

In this case if subject is pronoun, there is not subject – verb inversion.

E.g.:

- Here it
A
- Here you
A
- Here he

is (not here is it)
S

V

are (not here are you)
S

V

comes

A

S

V

- Away

he

goes

A

S

V
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In conclusion, besides seven English traditional simple sentence patterns with order:
SV, SVA, SVC, SVO, SVOO, SVOC, SVOA, in the English language, it is very frequent to
appear some special changing positions of five elements called “inversion”. Which element
does speakers want to place emphasis on to attract listener’s attention, it will be on the first
position. This kind of changing is an important for people learning English.

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Chapter 3: Linearity in the Vietnamese Affirmative Statement
3. 1. Elements and patterns of the Vietnamese Affirmative Statement
There are also five main elements in the Vietnamese simple sentence: Subject, Verb,
Objects, Complement, and Adverbial. These elements are realized by phrase.
However, in Vietnamese language, according to Hoang Trong Phien, Ngữ Pháp Tiếng
Việt – Câu (2008), and Diep Quang Ban, Ngữ Pháp Tiếng Việt (2004), there are only five basic
patterns of simple sentence with following fixed orders:

+ Pattern 1: NP1 + là/ bằng/ tại + NP2/ Verb
(i)

NP1 + là + NP2: (equivalent to the pattern SVC in English): It indicates

relational process.
E.g.: Anh ta

là
là

S (NP1)
(ii)

thợ mộc

(Diệp Quang Ban, 2004)

C (NP2)

NP1 + bằng + NP2: It indicates the material.
E.g.:

- Nhà này

bằng

gỗ

S (NP1)

bằng

C (NP2)

- Cái áo này
(iii)

(Diệp Quang Ban, 2004)

C (NP2)

NP1 + tại/ bởi/ do + NP2: It indicates causing relation.
E.g.:

- Việc này

tại

nó

tại

NP1
(iv)

lụa

bằng

S (NP1)

bằng

(Diệp Quang Ban, 2004)

NP2

NP1 + để + Verb + NP2: (as pattern SVO in English; NP1 is Subject (S) and

NP2 is Object (O)). It is used for intended relation
E.g.: - Bàn ấy

để

S (NP1)

để

(v)

uống

nước (Diệp Quang Ban, 2004)

V

O (NP2)

NP1 + của + NP2: It expresses dependent relation.

E.g.:

- Cái này

của

mẹ

NP1

của

NP2

- Xe này

của

Giáp

của

NP2

NP1

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(Diệp Quang Ban, 2004)