Vietnam National University, Hanoi
University of Languages and International Studies
FACULTY OF POSTGRADUATE STUDIES
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iM.A THESIS Field: English Methodology
Code: 60. 14. 10
Supervisor: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Võ Đại Quang

Hanoi - 2010

- vii - TABLE OF CONTENTS
Declaration p. i
Acknowledgements ii
Abstract iii
List of abbreviations iv
List of tables and figures v
Glossary of linguistic terms vi
Table of contents vii

PART A: INTRODUCTION 1
1. Rationale of the study 1
2. Aims and objectives of the study 1
2.1. Aims of the study 1
2.2. Objectives of the study 1

2.2.4. Data collection procedures 23
2.2.4.1. Data collection 23
2.2.4.2. Techniques of analysis 23
2.3. Summary 23
Chapter 3: Findings and Discussion 24
3.1. Scoring and evaluation of students’ performance in doing test 24
3.2. Number and types of students’ actual errors 26
3.3. Errors and their causes 28
3.3.1. Intralingual errors 30
3.3.2. Interlingual errors 32
3.3.3. Mixed causes 33
3.4. Summary 33
Chapter 4: Possible solutions to the students’ errors in using English 34
multi-word verbs
4.1. Possible solutions to the errors commonly made by students 34
at Nguyen Hue Gifted High school in using multi-word verbs.
4.2. Suggestions for teaching and learning multi-word verbs in English 34
4.2.1. Suggestions for teaching 35
- ix -

4.2.2. Suggestions for learning 35
4.3. Summary 37

PART C: CONCLUSION 38
1. Conclusions 38
2. Recommendations for further research 39
References 40
Appendices I
Appendix 1: Written grammar test I
Appendix 2: Answer key V

V
Verb
V
intr
Intransitive verb
V
phr
Phasal verb
V
phr.prep
Phrasal-prepositional verb
V
prep
Prepositional verb
V
tr
Transitive verb
=
Equal to / the same as
*
An asterisk signifies that what follows it is incorrect
^
Caret indicates omissions


- vi - GLOSSARY OF LINGUISTIC TERMS

Code
The systems (grammar, meaning and sound) of a language.
Error
A systematic deviation from the accepted code.
Global error
An error which affects the meaning of the whole sentence.
Local error

An error which only affects the meaning of the clause in which it is
found.

hypotheses about English language from his limited related
experience. - 1 -

PART A: INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale of the study
Multi-word verbs are said to be one of the most important and complicated elements of
English. In modern English, many multi-word verbs come into existence and cause a lot of
troubles for users, especially non-native speakers.
As a teacher of English at a secondary school in Hanoi, I found that my students have
faced many problems when they learn English multi-word verbs. They often fail to
understand the meaning of multi-word verbs and make errors in using them.
Therefore, the idea of doing something useful for my colleagues and students has urged me
to do the research on “Multi-word verbs in English: Errors commonly made by students
at Nguyen Hue gifted High school and possible solutions”. The study is expected to make
a great contribution to improve the quality of teaching and learning English at Nguyen Hue
gifted High school.

2. Aims and Objectives of the study
2.1. Aims of the study
 To help teachers and students gain an insight into multi-word verbs in English.
 To facilitate the teaching of multi-word verbs to Vietnamese learners of English.
2.2. Objectives of the study
 To identify the students‟ common types of error in using English multi-word verbs.

Chapter 1 provides literature review focusing on the issues related to multi-word verbs in
English, error and error analysis in second language learning.
Chapter 2 presents the methodology applied in this work. It also includes an overview of
the context of the study.
Chapter 3 discusses the findings of the study based on the test and interview results.
Chapter 4 offers possible solutions to errors commonly made by students at Nguyen Hue
Gifted High school. Some suggestions for teaching and learning English multi-word verbs
are also provided.
Part C: Conclusion
This part summaries all the major issues in the previous parts with conclusions drawn from
the findings. Some recommendations for further research are also included.
PART B: DEVELOPMENT
- 3 -

CHAPTER 1: LITERATURE REVIEW
The following issues are to be dealt with in this chapter:
- Definition of multi-word verb
- Classification of multi-word verb
- Error and Error Analysis
- Classification of errors
- Possible causes of error in second language learning

1.1. An overview of multi-word verbs in English
1.1.1. Definition of multi-word verb

Multi-word verbs may be defined differently. According to Seidl, multi-word verb is
“…a general term for all combinations of verb + adverbial particle and / or preposition.

1.1.2. Classification of English multi-word verbs
English has a large number of multi-word verbs, which consist of a verb and one or two
other elements. These multi-word verbs fall into four classes:

 Phrasal verbs (e.g. carry out, find out, or pick up)
 Prepositional verbs (e.g. look at, talk about, listen to, wait for, depend on, etc.)
 Phrasal-prepositional verbs (e.g. put up with, get away with, keep up with, etc.)
 Other multi-word verb constructions (e.g. take into account, bear in mind, etc.)
(2009. Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English, p.123-124)

According to Jennifer Seidl (1990. Exercises on Phrasal Verbs, p.7), there are three basic
combinations of verb, adverbial particle and preposition. These combinations have the structures as
follows:
• Verb + Particle: Phrasal Verbs (Vphr)
• Verb + Preposition : Prepositional Verbs (Vprep)
• Verb + Particle + Preposition: Phrasal-prepositional verbs (Vphr.prep)
I‟ll pick you up at six. (Collect)
How can we deal with the traffic problem? (Take action to solve a problem)
You are going too fast! I can‟t keep up with you! (Stay in the same place as)
Michael Vince (1993. First Certificate Language Practice, p.158-152-151)
 Other multi-word verb constructions.
- Verb + prepositional phrase combinations
You have to take into account where the younger shoots are dominant.
(= consider)
- Verb + verb combinations
- 5 -


dictionary.
Get
Through
I tried to phone her but I couldn‟t
get through
I tried to phone her but I
couldn‟t get a connection.
1.1.2.1.1. Phrasal verbs can be idiomatic and non-idiomatic in terms of usage.
 Phrasal verbs are used non-idiomatically. This means the meaning of the verb is
the combination of the two elements: E.g. Find out (discover); Look over
(inspect), Set up (organize), sit down. The verb and the particle keep their
individual lexical meanings; therefore, the meaning of these verbs is often
deducible from their parts.
- 6 -

 Phrasal verbs are idiomatic or highly idiomatic. This means the total meaning of
the combination may bear no relationship to the meaning of the individual words
combined. Those verbs have a special meaning which can not be easily guessed
from the meaning of separate words. E.g. take in (= deceive / cheat sb).
Here is an example using the phrasal verb pack something in. In the following sentence it
has a non-idiomatic meaning:
+ She opened her suitcase and packed all the clothes in.
However, in the sentence:
+ She decided to pack her job in.
The individual meanings of pack and in do not convey the idiomatic meaning, which
(here) is „leave‟. Because of this, phrasal verbs have to be learnt and practised in their
combinations.
- 7 -

She tore the letter up. (V
tr
+ Od + Part.)
Colin McIntosh (2001. Oxford Phrasal Verbs, p. 12)
- The position of direct object depends on whether it is a noun / noun phrase or a pronoun
(me, him, it, us, etc.)
- When the direct object is a noun or noun phrase, it can stand either before the particle or
after the particle:
(a) He took George Bush off. (i.e. imitate someone in a humorous way)
(b) He took off George Bush.
- If the noun phrase is long (as a guide-line four words or more), the particle is not placed
too far away from the verb. Look at the length of the noun phrases and their positions in
the following sentences:
He took George Bush off. or He took off George Bush.
but He took off George Bush and some other politicians.
Jennifer Seidl (1990. Exercises on Phrasal Verbs, p. 20)
She tore up all the letters he had sent her
Colin McIntosh (2001. Oxford Phrasal Verbs, p. 12)
- When the direct object is a pronoun (me, you, him, her, it, us, them), it must stand before
the particle:
She brought six boys up
or She brought up six boys (i.e. She raised / reared them.)
but She brought them up Not *She brought up them.
Jennifer Seidl (1990. Exercises on Phrasal Verbs, p.20)
- Transitive phrasal verbs can be seen in their acceptance of passivization
E.g. The rest of the food was thrown away

They had an argument, but they've made up now.
(= end a quarrel)
- Transitive can be seen in their acceptance of passivization, whereas passive constructions
are impossible with intransitive verbs because they do not take an object.
All the lights in the house have been turned off. (V
tr
)
Alexander, L.G (1988. Longman English Grammar, p.156)
but Not *The house was walked past by him (V
intr
)
- Some intransitive patterns can become transitive by the addition of a direct object:
The driver slowed down. (V
intr
)
The driver slowed the car down. (V
tr
)
Note however that the patterns are not always related in meaning, as with take off, take
something off and take someone off.
The plane took off. (= It left the ground)
He took his coat off. (= He removed his coat)
He took Mrs Thatcher off. (= She imitated Mrs Thatcher)
- When the intransitive phrasal verb is in isolation, the stress is always on the particle.
Within a sentence the stress is also on the particle when the phrasal verb stands alone at
the end of a sentence (or clause) as in the following:
The lorry slowed `down and came to a halt.
Do Tom and the new man get `on?
What time did the flight eventually take `off?
- In other cases, especially when an adverb follows the phrasal verb, the usual rules for

Not * I look her after carefully.
However, the separation is sometimes possible in relative clauses and questions.
The picture at which you are looking was bought at an auction.
“To whom is John talking?”
- Prepositional verbs allow an inserted adverb after the verb and a relative pronoun after
the preposition:
They called early on the man (= visit)
The man on whom they called
- 10 -

- Prepositional verbs can be seen in their acceptance of passivization, whereas verbs with
prepositional phrases do not admit of the passive.
They called on the man ~ The man was called on
Not * Lunch was called after. (Non-V
prep
)
- Prepositional verbs accept pronominal question form with who(m) for personal and what
for non-personal objects.
Who did you come across yesterday?
What are you looking for?
Sometimes, it is very difficult for learners of English to distinguish prepositional verbs
and prepositional phrases. Let‟s consider the following sentences:
He looked at the girl
This sentence can be given two analyses. In one, there is an intransitive verb (looked)
followed by a prepositional phrase (at the girl) as adverbial. In the other, the prepositional
verb (looked at) is a transitive verb and (the girl) is direct object.
Quirk, R. (1973. A University Grammar of English, p. 350

We joined in April 1980
She waited for her boyfriend
She waited for a long time
He looked at his watch
I looked at six o‟clock

TABLE 1: Differences between Prepositional verbs and
Verbs with prepositional phrases
Syntactically, prepositional verbs can be divided into monotransitive and ditransitive:
■ Monotransitive prepositional verbs take only one object.
The police are searching for the escaped prisoner.
- For this kind of verbs, the preposition must always precede its complement or object.
I ran into an old friend yesterday. (= met by chance)
I ran into her yesterday.
- Some of them can take (a gerund) or a (Wh-clause) as their objects
Don‟t look out of the window. Concentrate on studying!
It depends on what he does.

■ Ditransitive prepositional verbs are the verbs whose direct object must be introduced by
a preposition. Verbs of this kind have the form:
Verb + X + Preposition + Y
With most of the verbs X is usually a person and Y is usually a thing, so preposition of
ditransitive prepositional verbs is separated from its verb and is placed right after the
indirect object. For example, congratulate on, convince of, introduce to, remind of…
When I heard that he had passed his examination, I phoned him to congratulate him
on his success.
I love this music. It always makes me feel very happy. It reminds me of a warm spring day
Raymond Murphy (1985. English Grammar in Use, p.258- 261)
However, there are some exceptions. In some structures, X could be a thing and Y may be
a person.

- For prepositional verbs, when the prepositions are monosyllabic, the stress usually falls
on the verb “He `called on the man”. But when the prepositions have two syllables, the
preposition is usually stressed “Look `into something.”
* The difference between Phrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs
According to Quirk, R et al (1972. A Grammar of Contemporary English, p. 815-816),
Phrasal Verbs and Prepositional Verbs display certain phonological and syntactical
differences:
+ Phonologically, the particle in phrasal verbs is normally stressed and, in final position,
bears the nuclear tone, whereas the particle in the prepositional verbs is normally
unstressed and has the „tail‟ of the nuclear tone on the lexical verb.
E.g. He called `up the man ~ The man was called `UP
He `call on the man ~ The man was `called on
+ Syntactically, the particle of a phrasal verb can often stand either before or after the
noun, but it can only stand after a personal pronoun: Call up the man, call the man up, call
him up, but not *call up him. Table 2 shows these and other criteria that distinguish the
two classes of verbs. Those differences are summarized in the table below:

Phonological and
syntactic features.
Prepositional verb
Call on = „visit‟
Phrasal verb
Call up = „summon‟
Stress placement

They `CALL on the man.
They call `UP the man.

Phrasal prepositional verb = Verb + Particle + preposition.

For example, „look forward to’ has the lexical verb look, the adverbial particle forward,
and the preposition to:
I‟m looking forward to the weekend
. You should look up to your teachers
Phrasal-prepositional verbs are always transitive because they end with a preposition and
must therefore be followed by an object.
I don‟t know how you put up with these conditions.
Alexander (1988. Longman English Grammar, p.158)
+ Some verbs can be used in the passive but others cannot.
All the old regulations were done away with. (passive)
I find it difficult to keep up with you. (no passive)
+ Adverbs cannot be inserted immediately before the object of these verbs but can be
placed between the particles.
*He puts up with willingly that secretary of his.
- 14 -

He puts up willingly with that secretary of his.
We look forward eagerly to your next party.
Quirk (1973. A University grammar of English, p.351)
+ In relative clauses and questions, the particles are positioned after the verb.
The party which we were looking forward to so eagerly.
Who(m) does he put up with willingly?
Or (less commonly) the final particle can be brought into initial position:
The party to which we were looking forward so eagerly.
With whom does he put up willingly?


+ Many verb + prepositional phrase combinations are idiomatic. These include
combinations like bear in mind, fall in love, take into account, take into consideration.
Such combinations function semantically as a unit that can often be replaced by a single
lexical verb, as in the following sentences:
I also have to bear in mind the interests of my wife and family. (= Remember)
The triumph came as a surprise to many. (= Surprised)
The organization had to take into consideration human feelings. (= Consider)

+ A second idiomatic category involves verb + verb combinations, such as make do
(with) and let NP go / be:
Patient had to make do with quiche or ham salad.
He was very reluctant to let him go.
+ There are a few verbs – such as take, make, have, and do – that can be used for many
meanings. These verbs can combine with noun phrases to form idiomatic verbal
expressions. In many cases, the combination also includes a following preposition. For
example:
Yes, I‟ll take care of it.
Let‟s have a look at this.
But you know how you make fun of me sometimes.
Douglas Biber et al (1999. Grammar of Spoken and Written English, p. 427)
You have to study harder to keep pace with your classmates.
I haven‟t sent letters to her for a long time. In fact, we have lost touch with each other.
I‟d like to take advantage of this opportunity to explain the difficulty I‟ve met
English 12 (2007, p. 89)

In short, English multi-word verbs have been described and classified into phrasal verbs,
prepositional verbs, phrasal-prepositional verbs and other multi-word verb constructions
with their own syntactical, semantic and phonological features. A clear understanding of
the different types of multi-word verbs provides a basis for teachers in analyzing students‟

1.2.3. Classification of errors

A number of different categories for describing errors have been identified. According to
Corder, S.P (1973. Introducing Applied Linguistics), errors fall into four categories:
Omission of some required element; Addition of some unnecessary or incorrect element;
Selection of an incorrect element; and Misordering of the elements. Corder also includes
the linguistics level of the errors under the sub-areas of morphology, syntax, and lexicon.

John Brian Heaton divides errors into two main types: Global and Local errors.
According to him: “Those errors which cause only minor trouble and confusion in a
- 17 -

particular clause or sentence without hindering the reader‟s comprehension of the
sentence are categorized as Local errors”. “Global errors are usually those which involve
the overall structure of a sentence and result in misunderstanding or even failure to
understand the message which is being conveyed”.
J. B. Heaton (1998. Dictionary of Common Errors, p.154)
Richards, Jack C. (1984. A Non-Contrastive Approach to Error Analysis, p.172-188)
distinguishes three major types of errors: Interlingual errors, Intralingual errors and
Developmental errors.
Richards, J.C. (1992. Dictionary of Language Teaching and Applied Linguistics) defines
“Interlingual errors as being the result of language transfer, which is caused by the
learner‟s first language”. Interlingual errors may occur at different levels such as transfer
of phonological, morphological, grammatical and lexico-semantic elements of the native
language into the target language.
“Intralingual errors are those which reflect the general characteristics of rule learning,
such as faulty generalization, incomplete application of rules, and failure to learn