A Contrastive Analysis between the Verb ‘Run’ in English and the Verb ‘Chạy’ in Vietnamese

PART I INTRODUCTION
1. Rationale
In Vietnamese, the verb ‘chạy’ does not only indicate a physical activity only but also
imply other situations in real life communication. To some extent, it is not too difficult to
find such circumstances in which people use the verb ‘chạy’: ‘chạy ăn từng bữa toát mồ
hôi’, ‘chạy làng’, ‘chạy triện đồng’ etc. Especially, modern Vietnamese language, which has
developed and reflected the life in its own way, has been supplemented with many new
words, or new interpretations to the existing words such as ‘chạy điểm’, ‘chạy trường’,
‘chạy án’, ‘chạy thận, ‘chạy sô’, etc.
The verb ‘run’ in English, similarly, is rich in meaning which can be listed some
expressions like ‘run in the race’, ‘run a company’, ‘run a risk’, ‘run a temperature’, ‘run
the risk’ etc.
How do English people find equivalents for such expressions like ‘chạy tang’, ‘chạy
làng’, ‘chạy mả’, etc. in their language, and how do Vietnamese people translate such
expressions like ‘run guns’, ‘hit and run’, etc? This is the very question that seriously runs in
the author’s mind.
Language is widely accepted as the reflection of life. By comparing languages, the
similarities and differences not only between the languages but also between the speakers of
the languages as well as their cultures can be revealed.
R.J. D Pietro (1971:12), a French educational linguist, believed that CA was founded on
the foreign language teaching experiences. Each language has its own phonological,
morphological and syntactical features that could present difficulties for language learners.
To help overcome specific teaching and learning predicaments, this thesis has been made
with an attempt to create a definite pedagogical value with its presentation of effective
teaching strategies. On these points of departure, the author has conducted the study entitled
“A Contrastive Analysis between the Verb ‘Run’ in English and the Verb ‘Chạy’ in
Vietnamese”.
2. Aims of the Study
The study is aimed at:
* Finding the similarities and differences between the verb ‘run’ in English and the verb
‘chạy’ in Vietnamese mainly in terms of MiCA and briefly in term of MaCA;

1
* Providing recommendations for the teaching and learning as well as some tips when
translating ‘run’ and ‘chạy’ into the target language.
To fully achieve these aims, the study should answer the following questions:
• What are the grammatical and semantic features of each verb and how are they similar
and different in terms of these features?
• What are their synonyms and idioms?
• What are the implications of the study for EFL teaching/learning and translation?
3. Scope of the Study
This is a minor thesis. Consequently, it is unfeasible to discuss both the verbs in terms of
MiCA and MaCA in details. Therefore, within this study, the author focuses on analyzing
and contrasting them in terms of MiCA (concerning grammatical and semantic features of
the two verbs), and just briefs the similarities and differences between them concerned with
MaCA.
The verbs ‘run’ and ‘chạy’ have numerous synonyms and are used in relevant idioms.
Thus, after an overview on them is given, some most common ones shall be introduced.
4. Methods of the Study
The study has been carried out based on a combination of different methods as follow:
- Document;
- Synthesize and;
- Analyze and contrast;
The procedures of the study are:
- To synthesize meanings of ‘run’ and ‘chạy’ as well as examples to illustrate from
different sources such as from dictionaries, literary works, newspapers, magazines, films,
native speakers and websites.
- To collect synonyms of each verb as well as idioms in which they are used.
- To analyze and contrast each verb in terms of MiCA and MaCA respectively to make
clear the similarities and differences between them.
- To suggest how to apply these findings to the language teaching/learning and
translation.

2
5. Design 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 are provided.
Part II, the “INVESTIGATION”, is subdivided into two chapters. The first Chapter is
discussed the “THEORETICAL BACKGROUND” which provides necessary and relevant
theoretical concepts for the main contents of the study, covering a series of concepts ranging
from CA, contrasts between MiCA and MaCA, verbs in English and in Vietnamese, a brief
introduction of synonyms, and idioms. Chapter 2: “A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS
BETWEEN THE VERB ‘RUN’ IN ENGLISH AND THE VERB ‘CHẠY’ IN
VIETNAMESE” discusses the two verbs in terms of MiCA and MaCA in succession. Each
chapter ends with some concluding remarks.
Part III, the “CONCLUSION”, which provides recapitulation, implications of the study
for EFL teaching and learning and to translation from English to Vietnamese and vice versa,
and recommendations for further research. The “REFERENCES” and “SOURCES OF THE
DATA” mark the end of the thesis.
3
PART II INVESTIGATION
CHAPTER 1 THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
1.1. An Overview on Contrastive Analysis
1.1.1. Definition
The modern foreign language teaching tendency requires the teachers not only to teach
their learners about the language but also how to use the language. To a certain extent, CA
was established to meet that requirement.
According to Richards, J.C et al (1992), CA is “the comparison of the linguistic systems
of two languages, for example the sound system or the grammatical system,”
From Carl James’ view (1980:2) CA is “a linguistic enterprise aimed at producing
inverted (i.e. contrastive, not comparative) two values typologies (a CA is always concerned

with a pair of languages), and founded on the assumption that languages can be compared.”
CA describes similarities and differences among two or more languages at such levels as
phonology, grammar, pragmatics, and semantics. According to Carl James (1980), CA is
both a form of pure linguistics and applied linguistics. However, CA is only a peripheral
enterprise in pure linguistics. CA is central concern of applied linguistics. So the term CA we
use within this study intends “Applied CA”.
1.1.2. CA and Foreign Language Teaching and Learning
Charles Fries (1945:9) wrote: “The most efficient materials are those that are based upon
a scientific description of letthe language to be learned, carefully compared with a parallel
description of the native language of the learner”. Robert Lado (1957) thought: “Individuals
tend to transfer the forms and meanings and the distribution of forms and meanings of their
native language and culture to the foreign language and culture- both productively and
when attempting to speak the language and to act in the culture and receptively when
attempting to grasp and understand the language and culture as practiced by natives.” Then
Lado made a conclusion that “those elements which are similar to the learner's native
language will be simple for him, and those elements that are different will be difficult".
Obviously, teachers can make use of CA to minimize the effects of that interference.
Contrastive Analysis is not merely relevant for second language teaching and learning but
it can also make useful contributions to machine translating and linguistics typology. It is
relevant to the designing of teaching materials for use in all age groups. Le Quang Thiem
4
(2004:69) confirmed that CA helps to find out the root of mistakes that language learners
may make.
1.1.3. MiCA versus MaCA
MiCA and MaCA are broad terms, which refer to two major types of linguistics.
Microlinguistics refers to phonetics, phonology, grammar and semantics, whereas
Macrolinguistics covers sociolinguistics, discourse analysis and other related disciplines. In
sociolinguistics, the micro level is often equated with variation and face-to-face
communication, whereas macro sociolinguistics involves language planning and sociology
of language.

In microlinguistics’ view, languages should be analyzed for their own sake and without
reference to their social function, to the manner in which they are acquired by children, to
the psychological mechanisms that underlie the production and reception of speech, to the
literary and the aesthetic or communicative function of language, and so on. For example, a
study of this kind often finds out what the consonant phonemes in languages X and Y are,
how they differ in inventory, realization and distribution; what the tense system of language
X and Y, etc.
The main aim of MiCA is a formal description of the language system based on the
interrelationships and independencies of its elements without any recourse to external
factors. Obviously, the translation situation which involves equivalent messages, that is
speech units or texts, in two different languages is not part of the system of either of these
languages and can not be studied and described in terms of microlinguistics.
Macolinguistics is the term that Yngve (1975) calls ‘broad’ or ‘human’ linguistics aiming
at achieving a scientific understanding of how people communicate or we may define
macrolinguistics as a field of study concerned with language in its broadest sense and
including cultural and behavioral features associated with language.
Carl James (1980) suggested that “the communicating individual must be able to identify
the situational constraints to which speech events are subjects and produce utterances that
conform to them.”
Hymes (1974) identifies six variables which he suggests the ethnographer of speaking
must refer to in characterizing any particular event, they are setting, participants, purpose,
key, content, and channel.
5
Whereas, Carl James (1980:101) simplified these six variables in to “who says what to
whom, where and when, how and why”
1.2. A Brief Description of Verbs
In most languages, verbs are part of speech expressing existence, action, or occurrence.
According to Jack C. Richards et al (1992:398), a word is a verb when it satisfies these
following criteria:
- Occurs as part of the predicate of a sentence;

- Caries markers of grammatical categories such as tense, aspect, person, number,
and mood; and
- Refers to an action or state.
Generally in English, the verb tense shows the time of the action or state; the aspect of a
verb defines the temporal flow (or lack thereof) in the described event or state. In English,
for example, the past-tense sentences ‘I swam’ and ‘I was swimming’ differ in aspect (the
first sentence is in what is called the perfective or completive aspect, and the second in what
is called the imperfective or durative aspect); voice is used to show relationships between the
action and the people affected by it; mood is one of a set of distinctive verb forms that are
used to signal modality. It is distinct from grammatical tense or grammatical aspect, although
these concepts are conflated to some degree in many languages, including English. To some
extent, the same word patterns are used to express more than one of these concepts at the
same time, mood shows the attitude of the speaker about the verb currently identified moods
include conditional, imperative, indicative, injunctive, optative, potential, subjunctive, and
more. Verbs can be affected by person and number to show agreement with the subject.
Some English verblike forms have properties of two parts of speech (e.g., participles may be
used as adjectives and gerunds as nouns).
On the contrary, 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. In
Vietnamese, “A sentence refers to the basic time of the context—that is the time which has
been made clear in the context up to that point." (Thompson 1965:209), in addition, when
functioning as central component of a verb phrase, verb can combine with other modal
auxiliary components before it to indicate scope of the action or activity such as ‘cũng’,
‘đều’, ‘cứ’, etc. to indicate continuation like ‘còn’, ‘vẫn’, etc.; to indicate tense, aspect such
as ‘sắp’, ‘đang’, ‘sẽ’, ‘đã’, etc.; to refer to negative meaning, for example: ‘chưa’, ‘không’,
6
‘chẳng’, etc.; to indicate advice or prohibit such as: ‘hãy’, ‘đừng’, ‘chớ’, and so on.
However, as Cao Xuan Hao suggested, such auxiliary components, especially ‘sắp’, ‘đang’,
‘sẽ’, ‘đã’ should be used with great care because in some cases these auxiliaries do not at all
indicate the tense. For instances, a soldier reunited with his family for five days, and the next

day when he had to come back to his military unit. His wife said to him: “Ngày mai anh đã
đi rồi à?”, “đã” here does not indicate tense, it just helps to show regret. Obviously, in
Vietnamese, context holds the key factor to define tense of the verbs.
In each language, there are different ways to classify verbs, however, in this thesis, the
classification of which verbs are divided into transitive and intransitive verbs shal be applied,
which would be convenient to compare the two verbs ‘run’ in English and ‘chạy’ in
Vietnamese. According to Diệp Quang Ban and Hoàng Văn Thung, intransitive verb does
not need a direct object to function, for examples: Dung đang chạy tung tăng trong công
viên (Dung is running here and there in the park); Bé Ball ngủ say trong vòng tay mẹ (Little
Ball is fast sleeping in her mother’s arms), He is running in a park near by, etc., transitive
verbs, in contrast, can not stand alone, they need help from other words to complete their
meaning as in: Anh ta đã bán cổ phần của mình cho tôi (He sold me his stocks); Họ soạn
thảo lại hợp đồng (They redrafted the contract); Chị ta đang bàn giao sổ sách cho người kế
nhiệm (She is handing over the records for the successor); or They ran their own company
for years.
In both languages, verbs indicating movement can combine with words of directions. For
example: run upstairs; come down; go over; or chạy lên; đi xuống, etc. However, in
Vietnamese, there exist directional verbs in their own sense such as: ‘ra’, ‘vào’/‘vô’, ‘lên’,
‘xuống’, ‘qua’, and so on as in:
- “Đường vô xứ Nghệ quanh quanh
Non xanh nước biếc như tranh họa đồ” (Vietnamese proverb)
1.3. Meanings of Meaning
Meaning refers to what a language expresses about the world we live in or any possible or
imaginary world. The theories of meaning and its types can be found in the literature of
Leech (1974), Lyon (1977), (1995), Palmer (1981), and Crystal (1995). There are two types
of meanings: grammatical meaning and lexical meaning.
According to Lyons (1995:52) a lexeme may have different word-forms which will
generally differ in their grammatical meaning. For example, the forms of ‘teacher’ and
7
‘teachers’ differ in respect of their grammatical meaning. ‘Teacher’ is singular form (of a

noun of a particular class), and ‘teachers’ is plural form (of a noun of a particular class); and
the difference between singular forms and plural form is semantically relevant: it affects
sentence meaning. The meaning of a sentence is determined partly by the meaning of the
words of which it consists and partly by its grammatical meaning.
Baker (1992:12) stated that lexical meaning of a word may be viewed as the specific
value it has in a particular linguistic system. It is the most outstanding individual property of
words, and in contrast with grammatical meaning, it can stand on its own.
Different types of lexical meaning as recognized by Leech (1974) are:
(1) Conceptual meaning: Logical, cognitive, or denotative content.
(2) Associative meaning
- Connotative meaning: What is communicated in terms of what language refers to.
- Social meaning: What is communicated of the social circumstances of language use.
- Affective meaning: What is communicated of the feelings and attitudes of the
speaker/writer.
- Reflected meaning: What is communicated through association with another sense of
the same expression.
- Collocative meaning: What is communicated through association with words which
tend to occur in the environment of another word.
(3) Thematic meaning: What is communicated by the way in which the message is
organized in terms of order and emphasis.
Do Huu Chau (1999:111-130) uses the terms ‘ý nghĩa biểu vật’ (denotational meaning)
and ‘ý nghĩa biểu niệm’ (connotational meaning) to generalize the meanings of words in
Vietnamese. According to him, entities and phenomenon in the objective world are reflected
in the mind as the concepts and reflected in the language as the denotational meanings which
lead to the relevant connotational meanings.
Therefore, to some extent, in terms of lexical meaning, verbs in English and in
Vietnamese are similar. However, they differ in respect of grammatical meaning. English
verbs carry two kinds of meanings; meanwhile, Vietnamese verbs themselves do not carry
grammatical meaning such as tense, aspect, etc.
1.4. Synonyms

8
Synonyms are different words with identical or very similar meanings. Words that are
synonyms are said to be synonymous, and the state of being a synonym is called synonymy.
Synonymy is a kind of sense relation or more specifically, one of the substitutional sense
relations.
Jack C. Richards et al (1992:368) defined synonym as a word which has the same or
nearly the same meaning as another word. It should be noted that two words which are
synonymous must belong to the same part of speech.
Lyon (1995:60) divides synonyms into three kinds: absolute synonyms, near synonyms
and partial synonyms. However, some linguists such as Jack C. Richards et al (1992:368),
Palmer (1981:88) argue that no two words have exactly the same meaning (denotational and
connotational meanings). Absolute synonyms, according to Lyon (1995:61), must satisfy
three conditions:
(i) all their meanings are identical;
(ii) they are synonymous in all contexts;
(iii) they are semantically equivalent (i.e. their meaning or meanings are identical) on all dimensions
of meaning, descriptive and non-descriptive.
Some lexicographers claim that in English, no synonyms have exactly the same meaning
(in all contexts or social levels of language) because etymology, orthography, phonic
qualities, ambiguous meanings, usage, etc. make them unique. Different words that are
similar in meaning usually differ for a reason: feline is more formal than cat; long and
extended are only synonyms in one usage and not in others (for example, a long arm is not
the same as an extended arm). Therefore, in this study, only partial synonyms of “run” are
dealt with.
However, absolute synonyms can be found in Vietnamese as in: ‘sân bay’ and ‘phi
trường’; ‘ti vi’ and ‘máy vô tuyến’, ‘bóng đá’ and ‘túc cầu’, etc.
1.5. Idioms
Idioms are widely defined as words collocated together that happen to become fossilized,
becoming fixed over time. This collocation words commonly used in a group and changes
the definition of each of the words that exist. The collocated words develop a specialized

meaning as a whole and an idiom is born.
An expression is an idiom, described by Jon Wright (1999:7), when it carries the
following features:
9
1. It is fixed and it is recognized by native speakers. You cannot make up your own!
2. It uses language in a non-literal-metaphorical-way.
According to Jack C. Richards 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. This view
is shared by Robins (1989), Palmer (1981), Jackson and Evenla (2000), Seidle (1978), Jack
C. Richards et al (1992:172), and Cruse (1986). For example, ‘Still waters run deep’ - the
collocation of ‘still’, ‘water’, ‘run’ and ‘deep’ is an idiom meaning ‘something thay you say
which means people who say very little often have very interesting and complicated
personalities’ (suggested Vietnamese equivalent idiom is ‘thẩm lẩm, thầm lầm mà đấm chết
voi’ which is not systematically determinable from the meaning of its constituents.
Palmer (1981) states that an idiom is semantically like a word but it does not function like
a word. For example, if an idiom may be inflected, the inflectional affixes are carried by the
grammatical appropriate elements within the idioms whether or not they are semantic
constituents.
To put in a nutshell, discussion on idioms explains one of the reason why we conduct this
thesis which help to reduce difficulties that learners of the second language may face when
dealing with idioms with “run” and “chạy”.
1.6. Concluding Remarks
Theoretical background for the contrastive analysis between the verb “run” in English and
the verb “chạy” in Vietnamese in terms of Mic and Mac has been introduced in this chapter.
Readers are provided with an overview on CA, brieft contrasts between MiCA and MaCA,
and between verbs in English and verbs in Vietnamese. Moreover, different kinds of
meaning, synonyms and idioms are also discussed. Based on this theoretical foundation, we
will commence chapter 2 “A Contrastive Analysis between the Verb ‘Run’ in English and
the Verb ‘Chạy’ in Vietnamese”.
10

CHAPTER 2 A CONTRASTIVE ANALYSIS BETWEEN THE VERB ‘RUN’
IN ENGLISH AND THE VERB ‘CHẠY’ IN VIETNAMESE
With the aims of drawing an overall picture of the two relevant verbs in the English and
Vietnamese languages, the author made effort to deeply investigate into the objective verbs
by analyzing and synthesizing basing on more than twenty English dictionaries; over ten
Vietnamese dictionaries; hundreds of writing works; valuable addition from colleagues and
revision from the respected supervisor.
In this part, we firstly study the two verbs in terms of MiCA. The verbs will be studied
separately within two of the three aspects of MiCA: the grammatical features, the semantic
features which are focused to figure out their general meanings and meanings in some
idioms respectively, the synonyms of each verbs are also discussed. Then the findings are
reached with the statements on the similarities and differences between the objects of the
study. This chapter is followed up with the analysis and contrast the “run” and “chạy” in
terms of MaCA which is much related to extralinguistic components.
2.1. A Contrastive Analysis between the Verb ‘Run’ in English and the Verb ‘Chạy’ in
Vietnamese in Terms of Microlinguistics
As we already mentioned in the early parts, in terms of microlinguistics the verb ‘run’ in
English will be worked with three features: grammatical features (including syntactic and
morphological features) and semantic features.
2.1.1. An Investigation into the Verb ‘Run’ in English
2.1.1.1. Grammatical Features
2.1.1.1.1. Syntactic Features
‘Run’ is an ordinary verb, sharing the typical syntactic functions of a verb, as following:
(a) Being part of the predicate of a sentence. For example:
- Barack Obama's campaign ran a 30-minute advertisement simultaneously on
multiple television networks in an attempt to reach and sway a large number of
undecided voters. (17:1)
- It's hard to explain, but you must run as fast as you can using as little energy as
possible. (24:2)
- If you don't run very fast in practice, you won't be able to run very fast in races.

(17:3)
11
(b) Derivates of ‘run’ have different grammatical functions such as subjects, objects,
or complements, etc. as in:
- Running so fast made him exhausted.
- Not everybody is fast enough to run in the Olympics. (2:48)
- When U.S. inflation was running at 20 percent, he forecasted that inflation would
remain in the double digits. (8:67)
- So who is the greatest runner of all time? That would have to be Michael Johnson.
(24:5)
(c) Carries markers of grammatical categories such as tense, aspects, person, number
and mood as in:
- As I said, all of this ran through my mind as I sat in my airplane seat high over the
Atlantic. (7:289)
- And she was running, running for her life, her feet flying across the fields. (14:65)
(d) ‘Run’ is both a transitive and intransitive verb. This means ‘run’ can work with or
without objects.
As an intransitive verb:
- I am always running about, looking for my glasses.
- Sorry, I have to run.
As a transitive verb:
- Disney runs a training program that lasts a week in order to convey what
experience the company wants customers to have at Disneyland. (12:33)
2.1.1.1.2. Morphological features
The verb ‘run’ consists of one morpheme as a root. According to Quirk et al (1987), like
many other English verbs, it has five typical forms: the base ‘run’, the –s form ‘runs’, the
past form ‘ran’, the past participle stays ‘run’, and the –ing participle ‘running’.
By means of derivation, the verb ‘run’ itself is also a noun and an adjective, as in ‘It is a
two minutes' run from the subway’ or ‘Put some more run butter on the vegetables’. Besides,
it has several derivates as follow:

• Runner (noun): one who runs; candidate, competitor.
• Running (noun): act of jogging or moving quickly; act of competing in a race or
election, as in ‘Running in the early morning is my hobby’
12
• Runnable (adjective): may be run, as in ‘The car is still runnable.’
• Runny (adjective): characteristic of a fluid; capable of flowing and easily changing
shape, as in ‘runny jam’.
• Rerun (verb): run again; reshowing of a program or film
• Overrun (verb/noun): invade; infest; swarm; triumph; exceed; print excess amount,
etc.
• Underrun (verb): pass below, run underneath; pass below and inspect something
from beneath in a water vessel, etc.
• Runnel/runlet (noun): rivulet, small brook, stream.
Run is also used in such many compounds as ‘runaway’ (an airstrip, strip of pavement on
which airplanes take off and land); ‘hit-and-run’ (automobile accident in which a driver who
hits a pedestrian or a car drives off to avoid taking responsibility); ‘runtime’ (time of
operation of computer software); runway (a hard surface along with aircraft take off and
land); runner up (candidate, contestant; one who finishes second in a competition);
runaround (evasive act, stalling tactic ; run down criticize); run over (hit with a vehicle;
chase and capture; become exhausted; make less valuable); chicken run (an enclosed yard for
keeping poultry); etc.
2.1.1.2. Semantic Features
On the ground of semantic features, the author attempts to discuss different senses of
‘run’ in general, and in idioms as well as its synonyms. Like any other lexical verbs, ‘run’
indicates an action or state, e.g.
- Now with me you won't have to run for your money, all you have to do is to hold
out your hand." (6:27)
- To escape from his look I ran into the garden. (6:36)
- The veins in his forehead stood out, the tears ran from his eyes,.. (6:155)
2.1.1.2.1. General Meanings

Together with the development of the Information Technology, nowadays, the knowledge
resources are available in any corners of the world. Statistics on www.answer.com show a
huge numbers of dictionary services which are mainly the English dictionaries. Therefore,
defining the meaning of a single word is very convenient. Hereby, the most popular and
reliable ones are attempted to select by the author. Moreover, the illustrative examples are
13
also cited from trustworthy and famous works. Therefore, by collecting, synthesizing and
analyzing from diversified resources we categorize the general meanings of the verb “run”
into twenty-seven groups which are described as follows:
(1). To move quickly
According to the www.wikipedia.org (open Encyclopedia), originally, the verb “run”
derive etymologically from the Germanic root *rūnō. Cognate with the Old Saxon rūna, Old
High German rūna (and German Raun), and Old Norse rūn. Probably, running rapidly and
more rapidly is always one target of the living. Early men tried to run fast for hunting and in
the current time people keep running even faster for modern needs.
To define this basic meaning of the verb “run”, the Wikidictionary generalizes ‘to go at
fast pace, to move quickly’; the Encarta Dictionary gives a similar definition that shows the
physical feature of the action ‘to move rapidly on foot so that both feet are momentarily off
the ground in each step’. For example:
- "Walk quick, but don't run," he whispered. (6:486)
- Run, Sarah, run!
- Quickly, run and tell your father what has happened. (9:106)
- You can swim, run, or rollerblade. (2:66)
Also referring to this meaning, ‘run’ can be understood as to cover a specified distance by
running; to practice running as a sport; to take part or complete in a running race; to cause a
race to take place:
- Who was the first man to run a hundred metes under 10 seconds?
- The Grand National will be run in spite of the bad weather.
Besides, ‘run’ expresses the act of moving freely and without restrain or act as if running
around in an uncontrolled way, e.g.

- Dr. Hutchins running around the room, aimlessly, attempting to gather himself,
his things, and escape all at the same time. (13:108)
- I have three of them. All day they are running around, troubling their mother.
(11:312)
(2). To be hurried
In order to shorten the time and distance or to get out of the bad situations, instinctively,
people run (away). Bellow examples well describe the uses of ‘run’ in this meaning.
14
- Sampson ran as he never had before, in the grip of the coldest fear of his life. His
feet pounded heavily on the side walk stone. His heart felt heavy, ready to break. He
couldn’t catch a breath, and he was certain he would throw up if he didn’t stop running this
second. (7:220)
- Fortunately, I had reached the bottom of the hill and I could run quicker across the
grass. Although I raced at the top of my speed, the Thing was gaining upon me. There was
no need for me to look behind, I knew that it was just at the back of me. I could scarcely
breathe. My race had almost exhausted me; my breath came in gasps. (6:113)
The earlier is quoted from one of most famous novel by American writer James Patterson
‘Cat and Mouse’, the latter from the immortal “Nobody’s boy” by Hector Mailot.
Relating to this group, ‘run’ is also used to indicate the act of moving around asking for
help, i.e. turn to somebody for assistance, especially in desperation of as a dependant to a
protector, as in ‘I often ran to my brother for money when I was a student 5 years ago.’
(3). To spread
This meaning refers to things that cannot run physically, but actually, they could spread
very quickly. Vietnamese equivalent should be ‘lan ra’, ‘tràn ra’, ‘lan tràn’…
For instance, ‘There’s a strange story running around the neighborhood.’ should be
understood that the story cannot run around the neighborhood at all, but the strange feature
makes people spread it all around. Another case like ‘The flu is running through my
daughter’s kindergarten.’, ‘running’ should be understood as ‘spreading’.
(4). To cause/make move quickly
This meaning is normally used when we make something move quickly as we need:

- I was going to win, and I was going to run that last kite. (11:50)
- For example, speed is useful only if you are running in the right direction.(12:70)
Moreover, ‘run’ can be understood as travelling regular over a set route, or causing
somebody or something to travel regularly over a set route, as in ‘run a shuttle between
stations’.
(5). To control or manage
This meaning is widely found in business language, e.g.:
- You don’t run a business solely dependent on finding new customers (4:58)
- Running Chrysler has been a bigger job than running the country… (10:29)
- When you run an honest business you stand a much better chance at success.
15
Vietnamese equivalents should be ‘điều hành’; ‘quản lý’; ‘chịu trách nhiệm’.
(6). To flow
This meaning normally refers to the flow of a liquid, especially in a steady stream, for
example:
- The river runs through the forest.
- Your nose is running.
Relating to this sense, ‘run’ can also be understood as to be wet or covered with a liquid;
to melt and flow; or to have a liquid flowing from an object.
- The mourners’ eyes ran with tears.
- A hot flame will make the solder run.
Moreover, ‘run’ in this group should be interpreted as to make a liquid flow or to make a
liquid flow from an object, as in ‘You’ll have to run the water for a while before it gets hot.’
‘Run’ also denotes the state of releasing mucus or discharging a fluid such as pus or
mucus, as in ‘His lip was bloodied and more of the same was running from his nose in a
thick trickle.’ (13:65)
Interestingly, ‘run’ show the ‘flow’ of time, e.g. Mallory was getting desperate. His time
was running out too fast. (15:40)
(7). To move forward
When describing the act of moving forward smoothly or easily, especially on wheels we

can use ‘run’:
- “Hey,” she said breathlessly, having clearly just run up the stairs. “Can I borrow
your calculator?” (5:87)
Describing the act of quick moving in the specified direction or the cause of something to
move in the specified direction, we also use ‘run’:
- …Wladek, whom he clasped on to firmly, running his fingers over the boy's chest
as if to be sure that it was him. (9:108)
(8). To extent, to last, to continue
There are four sub-groups relating to this meaning of the verb run. First, this denotes the
extension in space through a range of possibilities that often combine with a measure phrase:
- The border runs for 3000 kilometers.
- It ran in quality from excellent to substandard.
16
Second, ‘run’ describes the extension, duration and continuing of time which also used
with measure phrase:
- The sale will run for ten days.
- Election campaigns in Britain run for three weeks.
Third, ‘run’ can be understood as to be valid for the specified period of time:
- The contract runs through 2009.
- The lease on my house has only a year to run.
Last, ‘run’ should be understood as to make something extent in space, as in ‘I need to
run this wire along the wall.’
(9). To be operating/working
Run, in term of the language of engineering or the language of information technology,
can be widely used to denote the operation of a machine or a computer program, for
examples:
- My motorbike stopped running because of the heavy rain.
- "You can forget about running a computer. They're not going to hire anybody with
a record...." (14:238)
Functioning as transitive, run means to make something operate or function, as in:

- Do not run the engine again until it completely cools, usually overnight is best.
(23)
(10). To execute/perform/organize
Run is normally used to mean that a plan, procedure or program is executed, e.g.
- They have run twenty blood tests on me and they still don’t know what’s wrong.
- Do not run that software unless you have the silence key.
Similarly, something is made available to people we can also use run to describe, e.g.
- The college runs summer courses for foreign learner of Vietnamese.
(11). To be a candidate/ to stand
If someone is a candidate in an election for a political position we can use the verb ‘run’
to describe, as following:
- Reagan ran a second time in 1980.
- The Hollywood Reporter claimed shortly after that Schwarzenegger sought to end
speculation that he might run for governor of California. (22)
Transitively, ‘run’ herewith means to make run in a race or an election, e.g.
17
- McKinney is running for president as Green candidate. (19)
- "You sure set this town on its ass. They oughta run you for people's mayor."
(12). To print and publish
When we want to mean that something is offered in one of the media, then use ‘run’:
- Fortunately, most papers prefer to run stories that include real news, not stuff
about some prep school’s efforts to get ready for a presidential visitation. (3:112)
- As part of an information offensive in Iraq, the U.S. military is secretly paying
Iraqi newspapers to run stories written by American troops in an effort to burnish the
image of the U.S. mission in Iraq. (18)
Vietnamese equivalent should be ‘đăng’; ‘đăng tải’; ‘giật tít’, etc.
(13). To convey or transport
We can use the verb run when we want to express act of taking someone to a place by a
certain means of transportation, e.g.
- Can you run me to the station?

- I will run you home. Ok?
(14). To be affected/ be subjected to
This is a quite special meaning of the verb ‘run’. Normally, referring the same sense,
people use the verb ‘have’. By using ‘run’ we put the emphasis on the progress of the effect:
- She found him covered in little red spots and running a temperature of one
hundred and three. (6:46)
- When she tucked William up in bed that night, she found that he had been as good
as his word and was running a slight fever. (9:78)
(15). To think about
When talking about ideas that suddenly happen to the mind or mentioning the process of
thinking we can make use of the verb ‘run’, for examples:
- Orsatti sat there, running the name through the computer in his brain. (14:178)
- Paranoia was starting to run a little wild in my head. (7:142)
- It was two cases, both running concurrently in my mind. (7:260)
(16). To smuggle
To the author’s surprise, the verb ‘run’ can be use to describe the act of bringing or taking
something into a country illegally and secretly, e.g.
- He used to run arms across the border of Cambodia.
18
- Obama win triggers run on guns in many stores. (17)
(17). To pass/ to become
The verb ‘run’ is also used to denote the act of passing into or reaching the specified state.
In other words, it can be understood as becoming in cases below:
- The river ran dry during the drought.
- I’ve run short of money.
- A spirit, too, needs fuel. It can run dry. (1:2)
‘Run’ is also used to show the tendency, such as:
- Finally, my music style runs to classical.
- The fashion will run to yellow this season.
Vietnamese equivalent should be ‘trở nên’ or ‘trở thành’, ‘có xu hướng’, etc.

(18). To dissolve/melt
This meaning is often used to refer to the state of dye of color in a piece of clothing:
- She was afraid the color ran when she washes her new skirt.
By means of a solid substance, run can be understood as melting, e.g.
- The tears blurred her eyes and the words of his letter began to run into one
another.
(19). To pursue
The verb ‘run’ is well defined for the meaning of pursuing or chasing. We can use ‘run’ in
‘man runs after woman’; the poor runs for a better life; or even dog runs after deer; etc.
(20). To cost
By means of costing, we often use ‘run’ to imply that we have to spend a large amount of
money buying or getting something, e.g.
- Buying a house in Hanoi this time will run you years in debt.
- The luxurious wedding runs him a million USD.
(21). To be valid
With this meaning, run can be used to show the state of being valid in a given area or
being present as a valid accomplishment, e.g.
- The speed limit runs only in the town line.
- The benefits run together with the duties.
(22). To be stated or worded (in a certain manner)
‘Run’ can be used to show the particular form, order, or expression, e.g.
19
- The report runs as follows.
- The story ran a very happy ending.
(23). Other meanings
‘Run’ can be understood as to say (in a certain manner). We discover this interesting
meaning in the novel ‘The big rusty lie’ by American writer Ryan Speck shown in the
sentence: You might get in less trouble if you learned not to run that mouth , boy.” (13:83)
Run can be used to describe the state of unraveling of such types of material as nylon;
silk, cloth or cotton, e.g.

- Her nylons were running.
- Her stocking ran.
Sometimes, people use ‘run’ to indicate the state of appearing recurrently as a feature or
quality, e.g.
- Musical talent runs in the family
- Stubbornness runs in the class.
2.1.1.2.2. Meanings in Some Idioms
Being a typical action verb, ‘run’ does not only function as polysemy but also the root of
many related idioms. The combination of ‘run’ with its favorite words makes a lot of senses
for the treasure of the English language.
In the table below, the author tries to list some of the most popular idioms that run with
‘run’.
N
o
Idioms Meanings Examples
1
A run for one’s
money
- Strong competition
- Decent compensation
- Running for money doesn’t make
you run fast. It makes you run first.
(Jipcho, Ben)
- I feel I've had an excellent run for
my money and now I'm happy to
retire.
2 In the long run In the final analysis or
outcome
‘An idealist believes the short run
doesn't count. A cynic believes the

long run doesn't matter. A realist
believes that what is done or left
undone in the short run determines
20
the long run. ’( Harris, Sidney J).
3
Hold with the hare
and run with the
hounds
- To oppose an action or
behavior and yet engage
in the same action or
behavior
- To remain neutral by
attempting to placate two
factions or both sides of a
controversy.
- Well, if you ask me, Pastor
Hawkins is trying to hold with the
hare and run with the hounds by
opposing casino gambling when
his church operates a bingo game
every Thursday night.
- Julianna needs to be careful if
she keeps holding with the hare
and running with the hounds; she
might wind up making enemies of
both labor and management.
4
(One) can run but

(one) can't hide
There is nothing someone
can do to evade
something.
- You can run away but you can't
hide. (Cry on my shoulder’s lyric)
5
Make somebody's
blood run cold
To frighten or horrify
somebody
- Her voice makes his blood run
cold.
6 Run a risk
Expose oneself to the
possibility of something
unpleasant occurring.

- It is impossible to win the great
prizes of life without running risks,
and the greatest of all prizes are
those connected with the home.
(Roosevelt, Theodore)
7 Run deep
If a feeling or a problem
goes deep, it is very
strong or serious and has
existed for a long time
- Still waters run deep (English
proverb)

8
Run before you can
walk
To try to do something
complicated and difficult
before you have learned
the basic skills you need
to attempt it.
- I think you should stick to a
simple menu for your dinner party.
There's no point trying to run
before you can walk
9 Run like the wild To run very fast.
She's very slight in build and she
can run like the wind.
21
II.1.1.2.3. Synonyms of ‘Run’
When the Creator brought human being to this world, the language was born
simultaneously. It is the demand for people’s communication that enriches the treasury of
vocabulary. English itself does not run off these common rules.
The verb ‘run’ in the English language, as we mentioned previously, functions typically
as a polysemantic word. This naturally brings about great numbers of other relevant words or
phrases that conform to the synonymic features of the verb ‘run’
Theoretically, synonyms can be classified into five main kinds: semantic synonyms,
stylistic synonyms, semantic-stylistic synonyms, phrase-logical synonyms and territorial
synonyms. Here, we would like to focus its semantic synonyms of eighteen basic meanings
of the verb ‘run’
(1). With the sense of moving fast by using one's feet, with one foot off the ground at any
given time run is synonymous with ‘travel rapidly’, ‘speed’, ‘hurry’, ‘zip’, ‘run away’. For
example:

- Don't hurry! You will be out of breath.
- I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake. The great affair is
to move. (Stevenson, Robert Louis)
(2). Concerning the act of stretching out over a distance, space, time, or scope; run or
extend between two points or beyond a certain point, ‘run’ has such synonyms as ‘go’,
‘pass’, ‘ lead’, ‘extend’, ‘be’, ‘run along’. For examples:
- His knowledge does not go very far.
- My memory extends back to my fourth year of life.
- The facts extend beyond a consideration of her personal assets
(3). In respect to describing the act of directing or controlling projects, businesses, etc,
‘run’ is similar to ‘operate’, direct’, ‘manage’, ‘control’.
- She is controlling/running a relief operation in the Sudan.
- If you want to manage somebody, manage yourself. Do that well and you'll be
ready to stop managing. And start leading.
(4). With regard to the state of having a particular form, ‘run’ can be replaced by ‘go, be’,
as in ‘the story/argument is/goes/runs/ as follows’; ‘as the saying goes/runs...’
(5). By the meaning of moving along (of liquids), such words as ‘flow’, ‘feed’, ‘course’,
‘move’, ‘run over’ can be used instead of ‘run’:
22
- Water flowed into the cave.
- The Missouri feeds into the Mississippi.
(6). When using ‘run’ to mean performing as expected when applied, user can also make
use of words like ‘function’, ‘work’, ‘operate’, ‘go’:
- The washing machine will not go unless it is plugged in.
- This old radio doesn't work anymore.
(7). With the meaning as to change or be different within limits, ‘run’ is synonymous with
‘range’, ‘be’
- Estimates for the losses in the earthquake range as high as $2 billion.
- Interest rate is from 5 to 10 percent.
(8). Concerning the act of standing or competing for an office or a position, user can

replace ‘run’ by ‘campaign’, ‘race’
- He campaigned for governor of Florida while running his company. (10:46)
- Although I raced at the top of my speed, the thing was gaining upon me. (6:70)
(9). Relating to the sense of having a tendency or disposition to do or be something, ‘run’
has such synonyms as ‘ tend’, ‘be given’, ‘lean’,’ incline’, ‘be’
- The same corrupt dispositions which incline men to sinful ways of getting, will
incline them to the like sinful ways of spending." (Henry, M.)
(10). In order to show the act of processing or carrying out a program or a machine, ‘run’
can be replaced by such synonyms as ‘execute’, ‘enforce’, ‘implement’, ‘explore’, ‘apply’:
- A good plan violently executed right now is far better than a perfect plan executed
next week. (Patton, George S.)
(11). ‘Run’ is synonymous to ‘become’, ‘go’, ‘get’ in case that we define the state of
changing from one state to another:
- Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits; they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny.
(12). With the meaning ‘continue to exist’, ‘run’ is quite perfectly replaced by ‘prevail’,
‘persist’, ‘die hard’, ‘endure’, ‘continue’:
- It is well, I die hard, but I am not afraid to go. (Washington, George )
- I believe that man will not merely endure; he will prevail. (Faulkner, William)
23
(13). When being understood as to guide or pass over something, ‘run’ has such
synonyms as ‘guide’, ‘draw’, ‘pass’:
- Respect for ourselves guides our morals, respect for others guides our manners.
(Sterne, Laurence)
(14). If we use ‘run’ to describe the act of bringing or taking something into a country
illegally and secretly; just exploit ‘traffic’, ‘trade’, ‘merchandise’, ‘smuggle’, as in ‘By law,
it’s illegal to traffic in drugs.’.
(15). ‘Run’ is a synonym of such words and phrases as ‘bleed’, ‘diffuse’, ‘spread’,
‘spread out’,and ‘fan out’ when referring to the sense ‘be diffused’:

- The benefits of education and of useful knowledge, generally diffused through a
community, are essential to the preservation of a free government. (Houston, Sam)
(16). Expressions like ‘melt’, ‘melt down’, ‘dissolve’, ‘resolve’, ‘break up’ can replace
‘run’ in the case of showing the state of reducing or causing to be reduced from a solid to a
liquid state, usually by heating:
- Constant kindness can accomplish much. As the sun makes ice melt, kindness
causes misunderstanding, mistrust, and hostility to evaporate. (Schweitzer, Albert)
These synonyms of the verb ‘run’ can be used to replace for each other in certain
contexts. However, when they are near synonyms, our choices must be selected with great
care if not you may misinterpret what we actually want to indicate.
To put in a nutshell, by studying the verb ‘run’ in the English language the author has
attempted to figure out the overall grammatical features as well as semantic features of the
verb ‘run’. Perhaps, it’s unfeasible to draw a perfect picture about the meanings of a single
word. Together with the development of society, on one hand, a sense of a word might be
dead, on the other hand, many others might be born. Therefore, it is noteworthy that the
topics which we mentioned previously are the most popular ones and they are easily to be
found in everyday communication.
2.1.2. An Investigation into the Verb ‘Chạy’ in Vietnamese
2.1.2.1. Grammatical Features
2.1.2.1.1. Morphological features
‘Chạy’ is a monosyllabic word like any other Vietnamese word. It has only one form in
any mood, voices and tenses. It has no derivates. This means there is no change in its form in
any statement or sentence. For examples:
24
- Ðến một cái cổng gạch lớn có dây leo, anh Hoàng giật dây chuông. Một thằng bé
chạy ra, lễ phép chào: (38: 58)
- Mọi việc đều sẵn sàng để nếu có động sẽ chạy luôn vào rừng. (27:225)
In Vietnamese, the verb ‘chạy’ is able to combine with other words to create principle and
accessory compound words and jargons belonging to different parts of speech such as nouns,
verbs, or adjectives such as ‘chạy việt dã, chạy liên tỉnh’ chạy trốn, chạy vạy, chạy đua vũ

trang, chạy làng, chạy tuồn tuột, etc. The following paragraph quoted from the novel ‘Luật
đời và Cha con’ by Nguyễn Bắc Sơn shows the typical examples for the combining ability of
the verb ‘chạy’ in the Vietnamese language:
- Em nghe Đài Truyền hình giới thiệu cuốn sách của một nhà báo tên tuổi có cái tên
rất ấn tượng là Chạy. Theo cuốn sách đó, bây giờ ở ta, chả có cái gì là không phải
chạy: Chạy chức, chạy quyền, chạy bằng, chạy tuổi, chạy cô ta, chạy án, chạy tội…
Đến huân chương cũng phải chạy. Sắp đến kỳ đại hội lại càng chạy tợn. Luật chơi
nó thế mà. Thế giả dụ, với chức vụ của mình, họ chạy đến anh, anh có nhận không?
(41:401)
2.1.2.1.2. Syntactic Features
(a) In a verb phrase, like other verbs in Vietnamese, ‘chạy’ can function as the central
component and combine with other auxiliary components as follow:
* With auxiliary components before verbs. For example:
- Không biết khi xả súng vào tôi, vào một con người nhỏ bé đang chạy cuống cuồng
trên bãi trống, chúng có nghĩ gì không? (27:214)
- Không chạy hả. Bốp. Không chạy nè. Bốp. Thằng Điền gào lên. (43:245)
- Ngay từ lúc ấy, tôi đã muốn chạy về và nói với cha… (43:213)
* With auxiliary components after verbs. They may be nouns, adjectives, expletives,
numbers, adjuncts or conjuncts. As in:
- Những nếp nhăn chạy dài trên vầng trán rộng ưu tư. (34:156)
- Các sản phẩm liên quan đến Becks đều bán chạy như tôm tươi… (46:1)
(b) The verb ‘run’ has many grammatical functions listed as follow:
* As direct, independent predicative. For example:
- Những đòn giáng trả cộng với tiếng anh kêu, đã làm cho hai bóng đen hốt hoảng
vùng chạy ra ngoài. (34:78)
25