Grammatical and semantic features of some adjectives denoting happiness - the feeling of pleasure

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VNU Journal of Science, Foreign Languages 24 (2008) 157-166

Grammatical and semantic features of some adjectives

denoting happiness - the feeling of pleasure

N g u y e n T h i T h a n h H u o n g ^ N g u y e n T h i V a n L a m ’ *

^ D q u irtm en t o/En^ịlish - Am erican Language and Culture,
Colìe^ịc o f Foreign LangĩiaịỊC, Vietnam National U niversity, Hanoi,

^D epartm ent o f Foreign Langua<Ịe, Vitĩh U niversity
Receii*ed 29 febniary 2008

A b s tr a c t. T h e to p ic o f h a p p i n e s s d r a w s a lo t o f a tte n tio n fro m d if f e r e n t ty p e s o f p e o p le , in ÍDCt,
th e r e a r c 5 0 «r*any w a y s to e x p r e s s o u r h a p p in e s s , o n e o f w h ic h is e m p lo y in g w o r d s a n d id io m s
d e n o t m g h a p p i n e s s . In ỉ h i s a rtic le , t h e a u t h o r s d is c u s s iiv o a d fo c tiv c s d e n o tin g h a p p i n e s s • th e
f e e lin g o f p le a s u r e : " c h t v r i u l " , "ặữy". '’g la d " , "m e tT )'" a n d “ p le a s e d " in te r m s o f g r a m m a r a n d
s c rn .in tic s , T h e ir g r.im m » itic a l f e a tu r e s m c k id o s y n ta c tic f u n c tio n s a n d m o r p h o lo g ic a l f e a tu r e s , a n d
th o so m c in tic s in c k u io s le x ic a l m o ủ n ín g , s y n o n y m s , a n ỉo n y m s , c o llo c a tio n s o n d id io m s (ỈÍ w h ic h
th e s e W{>rtis a r e Ù c o m p o n o n l. T h e a u t h o r s fin iilly p ro v icio s o m e s u g g e s tio n s in th e ỉcachlri)? n n d
Ic o rn rn j; o f a s w e ll a s in th e tr a n s la tu m c o n c e r n e d w ith th e w o r d s .

1. In tro d u c tio n

Ĩ injrVn*itir ih 'm s in Fn^^lish uti!Ì7od to 
express h a p p in e s s are n u m e ro u s. As Ihc
feeling of h^ippiness can ran g e from ihc
feeling of p le a su re to th a t of g re a t pleasure,
the English la n g u a g e is n o i p o o r in Ihc

e x p r e s s i o n s o f t h e ft?elin j» . M o r e c o n c r c t c 'l y ,

ìhủ feeling; of h a p p in e ss can b e expressed by
such tidjeciives donoU ng h a p p in e ss as
" h a p p y "/ " c h c e rfu r'. "g ay ", "g lad ", ''m e rry ",
"p lease d ", ''d e lig h te d " , ''e la te d " and
''jubihm l". T h ey arc sub-classified, on the
basis of th e d e g re e of ex p ressio n of p leasu re
they d en o te, in to tw o g ro u p s: (1) " h a p p y

*■ C o r r e s p o n d i n g a u t h o r . To!.: 8 4 -4-(038)3555656
E -m a il: n g u y c :n th iv a n la m (< i'g m jjl.c o m

''ch ecrfu l", ''g ay "/ "g lad ", "m e rry " and
''p le a se d " (d en o tin g p leasu re) an d (2)

anH "jubilant"
(d en o tin g g re a t pleasure). In th is article, the
adjoctivcs d e n o tin g p leasu re, excluding
''h n p p y ", shall be ex p lo red in term s of

g r a m m a r i n c l u d i n g s S y n ta c tic f u n c t i o n s [ 1 |

an d m orphological featu res [2], and

som aniics in clu d in g Icxicai m eaning,

sy n o n y m s, anto n y m s, collocations [3,4] and
idiom s of w h ich Ihc adjeclivcs d en o tin g
p le a su re is a co m p o n en t [3-5].

2. G ram m atic a l fe a tu re s a n d sen td n tìcs of
a d je c tiv e s d e n o tin g p le a su re

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158 N.T.T. HuiịỊ, N.T.V. í.ỉvn / V N U loumal o f Sàcìice, i'orci^ti ijitji^uages 24 (2008) 157-166

th is sccHon in term of g r a m m a r an d
sem a n tics based on the in fo rm a tio n collected
from Ihc English nativ e s p e a k e rs a n d such
dicU onaries as O xford A dviviced Learner's 
D ictionary o f C urrent English [6), 77it’ Am erican 
Heritage D ictionary o f V ie En<ỉíisli LaỉỉịỊnage [7]
a n d O xford D ictionary o f Idiom s (8Ị.
T hese adjectives d en o te an e m o tio n of
p le a su re p eo p le have, b u t in n o t th e sam e
w avs. A ccording to Q u irk ct, at. (1972), they
can function as h ead of adjeciiv al p h rases,

p re-m o d ifier of noun p h ra se s, an d

co m p le m e n t of such verbs as ''a p p e a r '', "'be",
"b eco m e'', "'feel", '"look", "see m " and
"m ak e", w ith o r w ith o u t taking
co m p lem cn tah o n . They alt d e n o te the
p ro p c rt)' o f feeling p leasu re b u t n o t th e one
at a g reat d eg ree; thus, they can b e m o d ified
by su ch in tensifiers of degree as " v e ry ", "so",
"ex tre m ely ", etc.. To som e e x te n t th e y are
sy n o n y m o u s w ith '"happy", b u t to so m e
o th e r exten t they are not. W e sh all an aly ze
ỉhose w o rd s in turn:

2 J . ''C h verfu r

2 .M . Grammatical features ufui ficmiiiitics o f 
"C/itvr/iJ"

''C h e e rfu l" sh ares the sy n ta c tic functions
o f ad jcch v es d e n o tin g the p ro p e rly of feeling
p le asu re cxcepl for th e fact th a t it c a n n o t take
com plcm enỉiìtion. M orp h o lo g ically , it
consists of tw o m o rp h em es, th e ro o t cheer 
a n d suffix - f i i i It d o e s n o i allo w in flectio n for
c o m p ara tiv e an d su p e rla tiv e form s.
H o w ev er, it has a v ery p ro d u c tiv e ro o t cheer, 
a n d has tw o derivatives: ''c h e e rfu ln e s s'' (n)
a n d “ch ccrfu lly '' (adv).

Sem antically, ''ch ccrfu l" is p o ly scm o u s,
u se d form ally, inform ally, a n d in lite ratu re
w ith its three senses: (a) "in g o o d spirits,
feeling p le a su re all th e rim e", (b) " p le a sa n tly
b r ig h t likely to c a u se h a p p y feelings"/ an d

(c) ''h e lp fu l and en th u siastic, rcilectin g
w illin g n e ss''. " C h e e rfu r' in th e first sen se is â
n e a r-sy n o n y m of " h a p p y " , for plirt of the
m e an in g of "ch eerfu l" suggc\sts a good
ch arac te ristic of so m eb o d y , n o t ju sỉ a h a p p y
feeling w h e n so m eth in g g o o d h ap p en s.
''C h ccrfu T ' is a sy n o n y m of th e old -fash io n ed

w o rd "c h e e ry ", col loca lin g w ith n o u n s
d e n o tin g p e o p le to describe o n e of their
ch aracteristics as in "a ch eerfu l child", an d
w ith " d isp o sitio n ", ''sm ile'', ''g rin "; “tone",
etc.^ as in "í7 checrfid disposition/$ĩnile/^riĩì" an d
a m o re cheerful tone". In Ihe second
sense, it is an an to n y m of ''cheerless'", w hich
m e an s " d u ll an d d e p re ssin g ", collocating
w ith su c h typical n o u n s as ''m u sic ", "n ew s'',
"ro o m ", "c o n v ersatio n ". "C h o crfu i'' in the
th ird se n se collocates w ith n o u n s d e n o tin g
people^ e.g. "cheerful worker’" .

2.1.2 VJord$ fo rm ed ừ om "Checrflit"

"C heerfulness'" a s a n o n -co u n t n o u n can
function as h e a d of n o u n p h ra se s an d clause
consU tuents: s u b je c t objeci a n d com plem ent;
an d o ccu r w ith the p rep o sitio n "w ith " as in
"ĩoork w ith rhrerftilnr<i<i"

"C heerfully" (adv) can colkxrate w ith such
typical verbs as "live", "accept"', "grin", "sãy". 
"sing", "sm ile'', "'whistle”, ''w ork", tind others.

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N.T.T. N J .V . ỉ,am / VNU lourỉtaỉ o f Sàence. Foreigv bỉngìta^cs 24 (2(X)8> Ĩ57-Ỉ66 159

a d erivative of ''ch eer" (n) w ith tw o
derivatives; '"cheeriness" (n) a n d ''cheerily"
(adv), ''C h e e ry '' m eans " sh o w in g or

su g gesting g o o d spirits'" ond sy n o n y m o u s
w ith "cheerful", b u t is ou t-d alo d .

The roor "cheer'', by m eans of zero
derivation, can change into "cheer'' (v). "Cheer"
(v) has tw'o senses. It is bolh an intransitive and
m onotransitivc verb in the first sense of ‘'give

shouts of joy, praise, su p p o rt and

encouragem ent (to som ebody or a team or â cast
of performers)"- In Ihc socond sense of "make
happier or m ore ch ccrfu l less w orried", '"cheer"
is a m ono-transiti\'0 verb, It can form an
adjective "cheering" m eaning "m aking checrfuL
encouraging" as in “clh\rtnỊỊ ĨĨC10$''; a n d such
phrasal verbs as 'V hw r som ebody on" moaning
"cncourage somebHKÌy by chcvring", an d ''chcx?r
(somebody) u p '' m eaning "(cause som ebody to)
become choerfiir'.

''Cheers" form ed from "cheer'' as cl noun is
an interjection used for expressing good wishes
w hen drinking w ith somoone, especially w hen
taking the tirst m o u th fill of a new drink. In
British English; it iilso m eans "gcx>dbve" or

" t h n n k v o u '' in a n i n f o r m a l W ily.

By m e a n s of co m p o u n d in g , ''c h e e r" (n)

can form ỉhữ c o m p o u n d "ch e cr-lea d c r" {n)
w hich d e n o te s o ilh cr a person w h o lead s the
cheering of s p c c tn to rs cis iit a s p o rls e v e n t or

the o n e w h o presses o r pro m o ies

th o u g h tless p raise tin nduliitor. It is used
especially in th e U ni led States. By m e a n s of
back-form ation, I h e verb ''c h e er-lea d " is
iorm ed, m e a n in g "lend o rg a n iz ed cheering,
as at sp o rts e v e n ts '' or "express o r p ro m o te
a u to m atic or scrvilo praise".

2,2. X fli/"

2.2 J . Cramnmticnl features inui sarumtics o f ‘'Gay"
'G a y " sh ares th e syntactic fu n ctio n s of
"choerful". M orphologically, a s a o n e

-m o rp h e -m e w o rd , it has tw o inflected for-m s
gayer (co m p arativ e) an d ịỊayest (su p erlatìv e)
by v irtu e of inflection, an d som e d eriv ativ e s
by m ea n s of deriv atio n . Sem aniically, ''g a y "
has th re e senses: (a) ''sh o w in g or

ch aracterize d by cheerfulness an d

lig h th e arte d excitem ent", (b) '"bright or
attra ctiv e so lhat one feels h a p p y to see or
h e a r it", (c) "hom osexual; of, relatin g to, or

s h a rin g th e lifestyle an d concerns of the
h o m o sex u al c o m m u n ity ''.

T he first tw o m eanings of "gay" have
becom e d ated d u e to the presence of the third
m eaning. "G ay" in the first sense is near-
sy n o n y m o u s w ith ''cheer/ul'' in the first sense,
for it describes the light-hearted spontaneity
rather than the characteristic. It is generally
used to qualify a gesture or a statem ent rather
than the person, thus collocating w ith such
w o rd s as "w av e (of the hand)", "sm ile'',
''lau g h ter", e tc . "Gay" in the second sense can
occur w ith ''colours", "streets”, ''room " etc.. It
is rarely used in regular conversalion, but
m ostly used in d ated literary w orks. H ow ever,
'"gay" is pre-cm pled with ib contem porary use
to denote malt* hom osexuals. Examples of the
current u se of "gay" include ''G ay Liberation
F iu u l ', "ị^^y baib".

2,2.2. form ed from "Cay"

"G ay" (adj) in tl^e first tw o senses has
"'gaiety" as non-counI noun o r count noun,
''gaieties'' as plural noun and "gaily" (adv).
"Gaieties" denotes happy events and activities,
especially at a tim e of public holiday. '"Gay"
(adj) in the third sense has tw'O noun derivatives
"'gay" (n) (denoting gny people) and gayness''

(n) (denoting the state of being gny).

2.3. "G/ad"

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160 N T T , N T .V . Lam / VNU Jourml of Science, Foreign Lcitf^Uiis^cs 24 (2()()3) 157-Ĩ66

attributive, predicative as subject com plem ent
or object co m p le m en t taking com piem en ỉatíon
types of prepositional phrases, ihni< lauses, and
ftvinfiniHve post-m odification an d allow ing
com parison structures of equality, inequality,
com paratìve and superlative. These syntactic
functions are not the same for all senses. In
other w ords, its syntactic functions may
depend on each of its senses. M orphologically,
as a one-m orphem e adịeclive, "glad" has two
inflected forms; ịỊỈaíỉdíT (com parative) and
glứíủiest (superlative). It can form o th er related

w ords by m eans of derivation and

com pounding.

Sem antically, ''g lad " is a p o lysem ous
w o rd h a v in g five senses. "G la d " in th e first
sense is sy n o n y m o u s w iih " h a p p y " (in the
first sense), d e n o tin g ỉhe feeling of p leasu re
ab o u t so m eth in g good th a t has h a p p en ed
(especially becausc a situation has im proved).
It is frequently used inform ally an d in

literature. It can be the head of adjectival
phrases, an d function as com plcm enl; b u t in
this sense, it cannot be a pre-m odifier of noun
phrases As a com plem ent "glad"' can take

cnmplomentaHnn i y p ^ of p rep o ’iirional

phrases w ith "about"; that - clauscs an d to -
infinitive post-mcxlificaHon, e.g.:

/ was (ỊỈad to Icarftlhcar/see tiu y 'd reached 
home safely.

She ivas verỵ ỊỊÌad about her exam results. 
"G lad'' can be an objcct com plem ent as in:
Her exam results could make them ^Ind

The scco n d sense of “g lad " is "cau sin g or
b rin g in g h a p p in e ss". In th is sense, "g la d " can
only be a p re-m o d ifier of n o u n p h rases as in
''g lad n ew s", "g lad d a y s'', an d "a glad
occasion". T he th ird sense of "g lad ", tho u g h
archaic, is " sh o w in g h ap p in ess". "G lad " can
also only b e u se d attrib u tiv ely in th is sense,
e.g. glad c r y '\ "ứ glad expression''.

A n o th er sense of "g lad " • "v e ry w illing"
m akes it sy n o n y m o u s w ith " h a p p y " again.

Like '"happy" in th e sa m e m eaning, it is

form al w o rd fu n c tio n in g as subjeci
co m p lem en i tak in g ỉh e co m p lem en tatio n
ty p e of iO 'infinitive p o sí-m o d iíicatio n ; but
can n o t take co m p ariso n stru c tu re s, and
c a n n o t b e a prc-m D ciifier o f n o u n p h ra se s:

/ shall be o n ly tOi'f ị^ỉỉĩd to help you / lis /o n /

T he last sense "grateful; a p p reciativ e"
m akes the w o rd d istin c t from " h a p p y " . In
th is sense, it can p lay th e function of subject
co m p lem en l on ly ta k in g p rep o sitio n al
p h ra se s w ith "of", a s in:

r d be g lad of so m e h e lp vviỉh these boxes.
2 3 .2 W ords forfued fro m ''Glad"

It can form such d e riv a tiv e s as " g la d " (v),
" g la d d e n " (v), "g la d n ess" (n) a n d " g la d ly ”
(adv) by m ean s 0Í d eriv a tio n . '"Glad" (v) as
an archaic v erb is a d escrip tiv e sy n o n y m of
''g la d d e n '' (v). Both of them m ean "m ako
glad o r h a p p y ". "G ladden"' (v) is a m o n o
tran sitiv e verb, often collocating w ith "o n e 's
heart" as in:

The news gladdened his heart.

"G ladness" (n) m eans "happiness".
"CfldtJiy" n)L’iỉn:> "happily, will)

gratitude" an d "w illingly". ''G ladly" can also
bo a constituent of a sem i-idiom "not/never
suffer ÍOS gKidly", m e a n in g " n o t to be p atien t
w ith people w hom on e considers to be foolish".

By m e a n s of co m p o u n d in g , "g lad '' can be
a c o n stitu e n t of such c o m p o u n d s as "gltid
eye" (n), "g lad h a n d " (n), "g lad rags" (n) and
"'gladsom e" (adj) "G lad eye" is a British
English o ld -fash io n ed sla n g w o rd m ean in g
"a look of sexual in v itatio n ''. ''G lad h an d ", an

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N T ĩ N T V . iMfn / VNU lourunl o f Science, Foreign Lauguiiges 24 (2008Ỉ Ì57’ Ỉ66 161

enthusiastically, b u t oflen insincerely". By
m ean s of zero d eriv atio n , "pliici hand'" can be
a m ono-transitive verb, m caninj’ "greet
som ebody w arm ly an d enihusiastically, but
o fte n insincerely". "'Glad rag s'' is an inform al
w o rd in British English d e n o ỉin g clothes for a 
special occasion or celebration, u is usually
u se d in its plural form . Finally, “gladsom e",
an archaic literary w o rd , m ean s "cheerful".

To su m up. "g la d " is a p o ly sem o u s w ord
w ith five sen ses lind it has d ifferen t functions
in cach sense. II is also a c o n stitu en t of five

co m p o u n d s, in w h ich cannot be

literally in te rp re te d a n d w h o se m eanings
cannot be d ed u c e d from th e ir constituents.
'G la d ' can only bo literally in te rp re te d in the
archaic literary c o m p o u n d g lad som e'.

2.4 "M rrry"

2.4 1 G m ĩiỉnatiúĩl fiV tnn^ ỉĩĩu is iv m tic s o/"M err"
" M e r r y " also has the sam e syntactic
functions a s ''ch ecrfu l". It is ÍỈ o n c-m o rp h em e
adjective, w hich h a s iw o in fleck'd w

ord-f n r m « ;‘ ỉttrrriềr ( r o m p n r n h v o ) « in d nurrif^^t 
(su p erlativ e) and con io tm o th e r w o rd s by
m eans of d e riv atio n and com pounding-
Sem antically, it is also ÍỈ p o ly scm o u s w ord
w ilh throe senses. In Ihe firsl sense "full of
lively h ap p in ess, fu n ", used in literature,
"m crrv" is n ear-sy n o n y m o u s w ith "cheerful"
iind ''h a p p y " , for it describes the o u tw a rd
m an ifestn lio n s of e n jo y m e n t especially in
e n te rta in m e n t It can b e a p rc-m o d ifier of
n o u n p h rases, collocaling w ilh n o u n s
d e n o tin g p eo p le c»nd o th er nouns, e.g. 'lif e ''
in " m e n y livcỷ": o r associating w ith the
c o m m u n ic atio n of enjo y m en t - th ro u g h the
eyes, sm ile, spccch, etc., e g, '‘a merry

"m erry n fe s" o r "/I n u rrỵ hcari'\ ị{ can lilso be a
subject c o m p le m e n t as in:

We w ere very tired, w e locre very merry.

"M erry " has a n o th er sense of "m a rk e d by
or offering fun a n d enjoym ent at p artie s or
special o ccasio n s'- T h o u g h "m erry " in
"M erry C h ristm as" co n v ey s th e idea of
festivities, it is n ear-sy n o n y m o u s w ith
" h a p p y '' since w e can replace "h a p p y " it for
it; m a k in g a w ish w ith sim ilar m eaning.
''M e rry '' in th is sense collocates w ith 'd a y ',
''tim e ", "feast", etc.

H ow ever, "m e rry " is inform ally used to
m ean " ra ỉh c r d ru n k " as in:

VVc got a bit m erry at the pỉìrtĩ/.

2.4.2 Words am i idioms form ed w ith " M trry "
By m ean s of d eriv atio n , " m e rry '' has
th re e d eriv ativ es: "m errin ess" (n), "m errily"
(adv) an d "m e rrim e n t" (n). "M e rrim e n t'' is a
n o n -co u n t n o u n , form ally used to denote
h a p p y talk an d Inughtcr. By m eans of
co m p o u n d in g , "'m erry" is a c o n stitu en t of the
co m p o u n d n o u n ''m c rry -g o -o ro u n d ''. h is
also a p o ly sem o u s w o rd d e n o tin g eilh cr a
revolving circu lar platform fitted w ith seats,
often in th e form cf an im als, rid d en for
a m u s e m e n t o r ii p ivcv of p lay g ro u n d

rq iiip m o n t .*> »5mnll rirru l^ r

p latfo rm that revolves w h e n p u sh e d or
p ed aled , o r a b u sy socitil ro u n d , a w hirl as in
‘'à m e rrj’-g o -ro u n d of parties",

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162 N .T .T N J 'V . ỉ,am / VNU Journal of Science, Forvigii ÌMĨÌỊỊÌ^CS 24 (20()8) Ĩ57-Ĩ66

W e have discussed the gram m atical

fcciturcs an d sem antics of "morry'" as well as
w o rd s an d idiom s farm ed w ith ''m err)'".
"Merry"' is a polyscm ous w ord w ith its
derivatives, co m p o u n d s an d idiom s of w hich it
is a constituent. The im portant point to note is
ứtat it m ay have similar or diffcreni syntactic
functions in its different senses. W hen denoting
one of h a p p y sỉaỉcs, it can function as pre-
m odifier of noun phrases an d com plem ent
w ith o u t taking com plem entation.

2.5. ''P lc a s a r

2.5.1. Grammatical fcaturofi and <>cĩuaììtics o f 
'^Pleaseir

'T le a s e d " , as an ndjcctive h av in g an
identical form w ith, b u t d ifferen t features
from , the ptist pdrliciplc of th e v erb '"please";

has the sy n tactic functions as h ead of an

adjcctival p h rase nnd co m plem ent.

M orphologically, it has tw o m o rp h em es: the
ro o ỉ please (v) an d suffix - ed. n has no
inflected form s for c o m p ara tiv e a n d

su p erlativ e. T he noun d e riv ed from

"p le a se d " is also th e n o u n d eriv ed from
"p lease " (v) - "p le asu re " (n).

In te rm s of s e m a n tic s ''p lo iised " is a v e r y 
s ta n d a rd term , h av in g tw o senses. In the first
sense, it is dcscripH vciy sy n o n y m o u s w ith
" h a p p y " a n d in ih cir first senses,
d e n o tin g Iho feeling of p le a su re or
satisfacH on a b o u t som eU iing good th a t has
h a p p e n e d , b u t it is not as all-inclusive as
" h a p p y ' ' P l e a s e d " is freq u en tly u sed
inform ally w ilh th is sense, u is sim ilar to
"glad"', b u t d ifferen t from " h a p p y " in th a t it

can be the hcnd of adjcctival phrases,

functioning as subjcct com plem ent taking

com plcm cnlaHon, an d object com plem ent

w ith o u t takm g com plem entation, b u t it cannot
be a pre-m odifier of noun phrases in this sense.

The com plem entation type's of "p lease d " as
a subject CO in pic mi* n I are preposition til phrases
w ith "a b o u t" an d ''vviỉh"; tiuii - clauses a n d k>-
iníinitìve post-m odification as in:

/ am very pleased that you have decided to come. 
The second sense of "pleased" is ''w illing".
''P leased '' in this sense is also a sy n o n y m of
"h a p p y " a n d "glad" w ith the sam e d escriptive
m ean in g an d connotiition. Like " h a p p y " and
'"glad", "p leased " in this sense is form ally used,
p laying the function of subject com plem ent
taking com plom cniation of the t\'p e of t(y 
m finihve post-m o d iHcíìtion only, as in:

W e will ỈK' pleased to offer (liixf (ĩssừtance you

2.5-2- ĩiìiom s w ith ‘'Plcnseir

" P le a se d '' is a c o n stitu e n t of tw o idiom s.
"P lea se d as P unch" is a cu ltu ra lly related
idiom , m o a n in g "very p le ase d ''. 'T u n c h '" is
J u d y 's h o o k -n o sed h u sb a n d in th e com ic
p u p p e t sh o w ''P u n ch an d Ju d y ". H e alw ay s
seem s to b e pleased an d excited, especially
w h e n d o in g so m eth in g cruel to othur
ch a ra cte rs. T he o lh er idiom "p le a se d w ith

A Ị i t o r . n l i r l i n m , m o n n < ; " ( t o n )
satisfied w ilh whcit o n e has done'". T h ese tw o
id io m s can function as co m plem ent, b u i not
as p re -m o d ifie r of a n o u n phrase.

2.5.3. W ords form ed fro m "Pleaded"

W e are to deal w ith such w o rd s related to
"p leased " as "please" (v); "pleasing" (adj),
"p leasan t" (ildj), and ''pleasure'" (n). As the root
of "p lease d ", "picose" (v); a onc-m orphem o
w o rd , has hvo senses. In the first sense of
"m ake (som ebody) happy, give pleasure or
satisfaction (to)", il is both an intransitive verb
a n d a m ono-transilivc o n e as in:

The g irl in the shop i$ always eager to please 
(everyone).

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N.T.T. liitoỉỉg, N .TV . Lam / V N U lournỉìỉ o f Science, Foreign Lígì^es 24 (2(X)8) Ĩ57-Ĩ66 163

as rcar-sy n o n y m s. To please so m e o n e
sup p oses a definite efforl being m a d e to give
pleasure. T h e second sense of " p le a se " (v) is
" w a n t, like o r c h o o se " in w h ic h ''p le a s e " OS a
m oncvtransitivc verb is form ally u s e d in
su b o rd in a te clauses, e.g, " w h a te v e r you
please", etc.. "Plense" in th e se tw o senses
cann o t be u se d in progressive forms.

"Please" (v) is a lexical co n s titu e n t of
three idiom s. T he idiom "If y o u please"' is
f o r m al l y u s e d ÌO g i v e force a f t e r r e q u e s t s ,
sim ilar to the interjection "pIcMSc". It also has
an old-fashioned sense o f "C an y o u believe
this?'' in w hich, the idiom is a p u r e one, as in:

He's broken m y bia/clc, aud tw w , i f you 
p i c a ^ e , h e ĨUC t o

Cff it nu'ndcd so that he ÙÌỈĨ wst* it a*ịíìin. 
' T l e a s e o n es el f" is n liierni i d i o m ,

m e a n i n g c i t h e r " d o w h a t e v e r o n e l i k e s

w i t h o u t h a v i n g to o b e y o t h e r s ' ' o r as a n
infom ial impernlive: " D o w h a te v e r y o u like,
it d o e s n 't m a tte r to "P lease God'" is a
p u r e idiom u sed form ally in its s e n se of “ I
hopo; m a y G o d let it hnppon; m a y G o d g ra n t
som ething".

A p a r t rru m ' pl(MS0ti' (ncl)), Ihe roo i
'please" has cinothor diTÌvotive as adjccUve:
"pleasing" w ith ih v idcniicnl form of prescn i
piirtidplo. Unliki* "pICi'istHi" (adj), " p le asin g "
(adj) has n d eriv e d a d v erb "pICiisingly".
"Pleasing" is iorm«illy u se d in th e sen se
of "'likable, g iv in g plccisurc or e n jo y m e n t" , in

w h ic h " p le a s in g '' is n p r e -m o d if ie r o f a n o u n
phfcisc as in "a pleasing y o u n g m a n " ,
“pleosing d rcn m s" a n d ''p leasin g ey e or
face''; o r n c o m p lem ent ta k in g th e
c o m p le m e n ta ỉio n type of p rep o sitio n al
phrases w ith "lo'' as in:

l}ĩc results were plca$in<^ to ỉìotlì o f US,

T he adjective "p leasan t" is also related to
'p lea se " (v) in ierm s 0Í form. It, h o w e v e r, h as
such d e riv a tiv e s by m ean s o f d e r iv a tio n as:

"p lea sa n tn e ss'' (n) " p le a sa n tly " (adv),
" u n p le a sa n t" (adj), " u n p le a sa n tn e ss " (n) an d
"u n p le a sa n tly " (adv). " P lc a sa n l" is a
po ly sem o u s w o r d with three senses. T he first
sen se is '"giving on e cl feeling of e n jo y m e n t or
happiness, enjoyable". Il collocates vviỉh

" m e a l " , " e v e n i n g " , ' ' v i e w " , ' ' w a l k ' ' ,

''atm o sp h ere", "smel!'', " s u r p r is e '', etc.. In
th e sccond sen se of 'iik a b le , friendly",
"p leasan t" occurs w ith " w o m a n " , "girl",
"sm ile", "voice", " m a n n er", eỉc-. A p a rt from
th e funcHon of pre-m o d i/ier of n o u n phrases,
it can b e a c o m p le m e n t w i t h o r w i t h o u t

t a k i n g t h e c o m p l e m e n t a i i o n ty p e o f

prepositíonal p h rases w ith " to " a s in:

Please miikc an effort io be p h is a n t to yotư 
brother,

"P leasant” moans ''fine, fair an d
com fortable'' w h e n it is u sed to describe the
w eather. " U n p leasan t'' (tidj) is ih c a n to n y m
o f " p le a s a n t " in all senses.

The n o u n derived from "'please'' (v), also
from "p le ase d '' (adj), is " p le a su re ''. T h e first
se n s e of " p le a s u r e " fo u n d a lot in Ihe s t u d y is
" th e positive staie or feeling of h a p p in e s s or
saHsfiiction f r o m tin o x p o r i o n r o t ha f
o n e enjoys'". In this sense, it is a non-count
noun and it can be ust‘d in prepositional
phrases ^iccompnnied by ''w ith" nnd ''of" as in:

He listcfwd w ith I*leasurv to the bcautifịỉl ìĩỊi4íik\ 
' T l c i i s u r e " is also 4i n o n - c o u n t n o u n in iis

second sense "d o in g things for fun rath er
th a n for w ork", In Ihis sense, it h as a
restricted cotlocđíion ''p le a su re c ru ise ” a n d it
c an b e u s e d in p r e p o s i t i o n a l p h r a s e s w i t h
"for'" as in:

He has ịỊone to Paris fo r pleasure.

'T le a s u re '' is also a n o n - c o u n t n o u n
d e n o tin g desire o r wish. In th is case, it can
a lso be fo rm a lly o r p o lite ly u s e d in
p repositional phrases w ith " ã i” a s in:

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164 N .T T . Ĩiuoĩìt^, N.T.V. ỉ.am / V7VU Ịourm l o/Sâcnce, Foreign LatìỊịuages 24 (2(H)8) Ĩ57'Ĩ66

"Plciisurc*" as a count n o u n denotes a
th in g thal causes happiness, enjoym ent or
satisfaction.

T h e re arc five idiom s of w h ich ''pleasure"
{n) is a lexical com ponent. 'T a k e p leasu re in"
is form ally u sed in its sense of "enjoy; get

e n j o y m e n t o r s a t i s f a c t i o n f r o m " . It i s u s e d f o r

Ihe en jo y m en t gained by d o in g som eth in g
w h ic h gives the d o e r unfair p o w e r ÌO others.
"P leasure" here can collocatc w ith "no",
"liule", "g re at", etc... "Have the pleasure o r is
used Í0 m ak e polite requests, invitatìons as in:

M a y / have the piensurc o f the dance? 
"W ilh p leasure", m ean in g "'willingly; of
co u rsc" is form ally used to reply requests or
invitaHon. T w o o lh cr idioms: ''m y pleasure'"
a n d "ii is a p l e a s u r e " is f o r m a l l y u s e d to
reply tD ex pressions of than k s w ilh the same

d escrip tiv e m e a n in g as "you are welcome'',
''n o t at all" o r ''it's no trouble''.

'TleasLiro" is also a verb by m ean s of zero
d eriv a tio n a p p lied to "p leasure'' (n).
'T le a s u re " (v), though rarely used, can be
m o n o -transitive in ils sense of "give pleasure
o r en jo y m e n t to" as in:

O u r host pleasured us w ith his company, an d
in tr a n s itiv e in iis tw o o i h e r s e n s e s "ta k e
p le a s u r e " a n d " g o in s e a rc h OÍ p le a s u r e o r
en jo y m en t" as in:

The hiker Ị)(tt4:ficd, pleasuring in the sounds o f 
the forest.

"P leasu re" (n) has tw o dcrivaHves
" p le a s u r a b le " (adj) iind " p le a s u r a b ly '' (a d v )
by v irtu e of d eriv atio n 'T lc a s u ra b le " (adj) is
a formal w o rd w ilh the sense of "giving

enjoym ent; enjoyable'', collocating with

typical such w o r d s as "scnsaiion" as in "a
p le asu rab le sen salio n " o r "com panionship"
as in ''p le a su ra b le co m p anio nship ".

By m e a n s of c o m p o u n d in g , "pleasure"
(n) is a co n stitu e n t of six co m p o un d s.

" P leasu re boach'' (n) is u s e d in British
English to d en o te places of o u td o o r

e n te rta in m e n t at the seaside, w ith lar^e
m a c h in e s to rid e on n n d o t h e r am u sem e n ts-
'Tlea,sure seeker" (n) d en o tes p e o p le w h o do
so m eth in g for p le a su re w ith o u l con sid e rin g
o th er people. 'T le a su re -se e k in g '' (adj) h as the
sense of " d e v o te d to a w ish or desire'".
'T le a s u re boat" (n), th o u g h d ated , d e n o te s
boats u sed for sh o rỉ tourisi trips. "Pleasure
c r a f r (n), w ith th e sam e fo rm for both
s in g u lar a n d plural, is a descrip tiv e sy n o n y m
of " p leasu re b o a t" (n). Finally, "p leasu re-
g r o u n d " (n) d e n o te s areas u sed for public
e n terta in m e n t o r rccroation.

In this section, no! only has "pleased"
been discussed, b u t o lh e r w o r d s a n d idiomb
related to ''p lease d ", especially “p leasu re" as
a n o u n d e n o tin g h a p p y states h av e been
d ealt w ith as well. It follows that '"pleased" is
a p o ly sem o u s w o rd ; w o r d s related to
"'pleased" in term s of form, ho w ev er, m ay or
m a y not be p o ly sem o u s nnd related to
''p le ase d ” in tcrm.s of motining.

3. C o n c lu sio n

We h a v e co n d u c te d the investigalion Uitu

the gram m atical fCiituros a n d scm aniic
s tru ctu re s of the five English adjcctivcs

d e n o t i n g p l e a s u r e : " c h c e r i u t " , " g a y ' ' , " g l a d " ,

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N T .T . ỊỊuori‘ị, N.T.V'. Lam / VNU Ịourml of Science, Foreign Uingna^es 24 (2008) 157-166 165

O n e sense of ''m e rrv " d escribes the o u tw a rd
m anifestations of e n j o y m e n t especially in
entertain m e nt.

O n teaching a n d learn in g these five
w o rd s, like Icaching the w o r d “h ap py ",
a llh o u g h the in tro d u c ỉio n of Ihcir

g r r ỉ m m a t i r . ì l f e a t u r e s m a y b e s i m p l e r t h a n

that of their sem antic structures, they m u st
not b e sep arated from cach other. Different
techniques of p resen tin g th eir m ea n in g (as in
U r 19] ) sh o u ld b e a p plied . The stu dy has
p ro v e d that thcro aro no absolute; but
descriptive, s y n o n y m s; thus, the teaching of
these w o rd s by m ean s of sy n o n y m s cannot
be c o n d u c tc d alone. By m e a n s of the c o n te x t

both their descrip tiv e m e a n in g and

connotntion can be co nveyed. W ith regard to
the p o ly sen io u s w o rd s, o th er m eanings

s h o u ld be in tro d u ce d to the English learners
after they h av e m aste re d the central m eaning
of d e n o tin g h a p p y stales. T he c o m p o u n d s
an d id io m s of w h ich th e w o rd s are a
con stitu en t sh o u ld b e p r o v id e d then; for, in
each c o m p o u n d or idiom , the w o rd s m ay noỉ
carry th eir literal m oaning.

W ith regard to tra n sla tin g an English

v l i s n » u I vvl ú^- h lliL'M.' f i v e v \A )id s,

into a n o th e r lan g uag o o r v i a ' versa, the
tr.inslalors sh o u ld carcfully aniilyze the
conte'.t of the d isco u rse a n d I he linguistic
features OÍ the d isc o u rse w ith n view to

u n d e r s ta n d in g clearly the message

co m m u n icalcd . W h en d e a lin g w ith these
English w o rd s, the Iranslaỉors sh o uld base on
the context, w h c lh e r inform al or formal or
literarV; to m a k e a h a p p y choicc of the words.
The h tip p y choice a n d th e correct use of the
w o rd s by the translators, as a m atter of fa c t

are sub ject to th e m asterin g of the

gram m atical features a n d se m a n tic stru c tu res
of the w ords. These English w o rd s, ap art

from their description of happiness^ h av e
their connotations. They also h av e their
b ro ad collocational ran g es o r restricted
collocations. If the tra n sla to rs h a v e a
com p re h en siv e an d system atic k n o w le d g e of
these English w o rd s, Ihey will ceriainly h av e
no difficulty in translating them . Hopefully^
the stu d y of the five English w o r d s can help
Ihe teachers, learners a n d tra nslato rs of
English w ith m o re or less k n o w le d g e about
these w ords.

R eferences

[1] R. Q u ir k , S. G r e e n b a u m , G . l-cech , j. S v a rtv ik ,

A Gramniíĩr o f Coĩĩtemporary English, L o n g m a n ,
L o n d o n ,

1972-[2] G . Y ulo, V ie Stỉidy o f ÍMn<ịtifíỊịe, C a m b r id g e
U n iv e rs ity P re s s . C a m b r i d g e a n d N e w Y o rk ,
1985.

[3] J. L y o n s, C a n i b r i d g c U n iv e r s ity
P re s s , C a m b r id g e , 1977.

|4 ) J. L y o n s, A n Introduction.

C a m b r id g e U n iv e rs ity P re s s , C a m b r id p o ,
1995-|5] c . F e rn a n d o . Idioma nnd liiioniiJlicitv. 0%inr<\

U n iv e rs ity P ro ss, O x fo rd a n d N e w Y o rk , 1996.
|6) Oxford Advntĩced Leanu'r's Dictionary o f Current

I. n ^lish, K ỈÌ cy cl o p e d i c [id 11 lu n , O x f I )fd
U n iv e rs ity P rc s .s O x fo rd , 2000.

[7) The American Hcriin^c Dictionarỵ of Tlie English 
Lnn^uaịỉe, H o u g h to n M ifflin , B iỉsto n , 2000.
[8) A .P . C o w ie , R. M iick ln , I.R . M c C a ig , Oxford

Dictionory of tnỊ^ìish ĩảioms, O x f o r d U n iv e r s ity
P re s s , O x fo rd , 1993.

[9) P . U r , A C oun^e i n L ũ tiịỊu a g c T e a c h in g : 
P r a c tic e a n d T h e o r y , C a m b r i d g e

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166 N.T.T. ỊỊiuyn^. N.T.V. Larn / VNU lo u rm i o/Saeỉĩce, Foreign 24 (2(X)8) 157-166

Đặc điếm ngữ pháp và ngữ nghĩa

của các tính từ' chi hạnh phúc

N g u y ề n T h ị T h a n h H ư ơ n g V N g u y ề n T h ị V â n L a m

-^ K h o a N < ị ô h n g ữ v ì ì V ã n h ó a A n h - M ỉ ) ,

Trường Dại học NsỊoại tĩỊỊir, D ại học Qtiôc ị;ia H à Nội, ỉ là Nội, Việt N am 
' Khoa N ^oợi n\Ịữ, TrườìĩỊị D ại học Viỉĩh, N g h ệ A n , V\ệt N am

</div>

Grammatical and semantic features of some adjectives denoting happiness - the feeling of pleasure

<b>Grammatical and semantic features of some adjectives </b>

<b>denoting happiness - the feeling of pleasure</b>

<b>Đặc điếm ngữ pháp và ngữ nghĩa </b>

<b>của các tính từ' chi hạnh phúc</b>

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