An investigation into the linguistic features of catenative verbs in english

te enough never to be without partners, which was all that they had 
yet learnt to care for at a ball. [43, p.15] 
 Verbs of finding and leaving: find, leave 
(100) She had obtained private intelligence that Mr. Darcy did not wish for cards; 
and Mr. Hurst soon found even his open petition rejected. [43, p.80] 
Type 10 : GET + -en clause (the get-passive) 
This type enables a person affected by an action or event to be made the 
grammatical subject, for example: 
(101) She got arrested by the Feds last night. [24, p.167] 
(102) We got delayed because of the holiday traffic. [1, p.245] 
As we have seen above, it is obvious that the first verbal groups can combine 
with one of four types of non-finite complements to set up verbal group complexes. 
Based on the common verbs, the syntactic features of English Catenative 
Verbs can be summarized as in table 2.3 
Table 2.3.The Summary of the Syntactic Features of English Catenative Verbs 
1 The same subject constructions 
Catenative verbs to -inf -ing bare inf -en form 
try + + - - 
avoid - + - - 
begin + + - - 
help + - + - 
get - + - + 
2 The different subject constructions 
want + - - - 
keep - + - - 
see - + + - 
help + - + - 
get + - - + 
have - + + - 
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II. THE SOLUTION OF THE STUDY 
1. The Novelty of the study 
The study has carried out an investigation into catenative verbs in English. 
From results discussed above, we can see that the novelty of the study is denoted as 
follows: 
+ The features of catenative verbs are divided into two kinds 
a. The same subject constructions 
b. The different subject constructions 
 As analyzed above, the study has cleared the role of subjects in relation with 
the first verbs and the second verbs. 
+ The semantic features of catenative verbs are classified according to 
categories on semantic ground, namely, the same subject constructions including 
seven groups of verbs and the different subject constructions by six groups. Thanks 
to the classification provided, learners have better awareness of the catenative verbs 
when using them precisely in detailed situations. 
+ Ten characteristics of the syntactic features of catenative verbs are regarded 
as Ten Golden Rules helping learners of English solve problems related to 
catenative verbs that they often face up to. From the previous analysis, we can find 
that the findings are also the useful way for learners to grasp catenative verbs and 
take advantage of them effectively in many cases. 
2. Applied Solutions of the Study 
The study deals with the results of the analysis of the frequency of catenative 
verbs in English basing on the novel ‘Gone with the Wind’ by Margaret Mitchell. 
The work is extracted 20 typical verbs in the first verbal groups to reckon the 
frequency of catenative verbs as follows: 
26 
Table 2.4 The Frequency of English Catenative Verbs 
The same subject constructions The different subject constructions 
Catenative 
verbs 
Combine 
with the 
other 
verbs 
Percentage 
causative/ 
perception 
verbs 
Combine 
with the 
other verbs 
Percentage 
begin 45 10,34% cause 4 1,02% 
keep 11 2,53% make 101 25,7% 
stop 54 12,41% get 10 2,54% 
finish 4 0,92% keep 29 7,38% 
try 191 43,91% want 51 12,98 
succeed 3 0,69% prevent 5 1,27% 
seem 114 26,21% let 11 2,8% 
appear 4 0,92% help 20 5,08% 
regret 8 1,84% see 64 16,29% 
happen 1 0,23% hear 98 24,94% 
 435 100% 393 100% 
The table shows the frequency of phased verbal groups in ‘“Gone with the 
Wind” by Margaret Mitchell’ with 20 common first verbal groups. 
From the table presented above, we can see that the frequency of phase 
verbs together is 435 occurrences with 10 common catenative verbs, of which ‘try’ 
occurs 191 times (43,91%), “seem” 114 times (26,21%) , ‘stop’ 54 times (12.41%), 
‘begin 45 times (10.34%) . The others are from 1 times to 11 times; That of phase 
verbs separated by an object is 393 occurrences, of which eight directive verbs 
occur 231 times ( 58.77%) and two perception verbs 162 times (41.23%). 
In short, as can be seen from the result of statistics carried out above, it is 
clear that English catenative verbs are commonly used in novels, short stories, 
27 
prose, poem, newspapersTherefore; the study is considered a useful solution 
helping learners know to use catenative verbs more effectively in different 
circumstances. 
From the reality, the results of the study provide learners with well – founded 
applied solutions so that they are able to practice using constructions with 
catenative verbs successfully in any case. The following are applied exercises 
related to catenative verb constructions that students often deal with in the 
examinations at school or in national ones. 
Exercise 1: Fill in the blanks with the - ing form or - to infinitive of the verb at the 
left. If both are possible, write the sentence twice. 
1. steal The man denied  the money. 
2. become He expected . a doctor. 
3. meet I expected  her at the theater. 
4. take He intended a long rest. 
5. learn She enjoys to cook. 
6. be You just escape .killed ! 
7. watch Jane likes .the ballet. 
8. do He quit that. 
9. travel They prefer . by car. 
10. see I hope ..him this afternoon. 
Answer key: 
1.stealing 2. to become 3. to meet 4.to take 
5. learning 6. being 7.to watch/ watching 
8. doing 9.to travel/ travelling 10. to see 
Remark: With exercise 1 given above, it is clear from sentence 1 to 10 that 
the subject of actions is by only one person. Therefore, this is the exercise related to 
the same subject construction. 
28 
Exercise 2: Choose the best answer to complete the following sentences 
1. I hope you don’t mind me so late at night. 
A. to telephone B. telephone C. telephoning D. telephoned 
2. Do you think her father let her .........................for a picnic? 
A. go B. to go C. going D. goes 
3. The teacher asked all his students .. on time. 
A. come B. came C. coming D. to come 
4. They caught him................. things in the shop. 
 A. steal B. to steal C. stolen D. stealing 
5. The teacher told his students _____ laughing. 
 A. stop B. stopping C. to stop D. stopped 
6. They forced us _________ their invitation. 
A. to accept B. accepting C. accepted D. accept 
7. My teachers always expected me .........................well in exams. 
A. do B. to do C. does D. doing 
8. My father had a worker ....................... a fence round our garden. 
A. to make B. making C. make D. made 
Answer key: 1 C 2 A 3 D 4 D 
 5 D 6 A 7 B 8 C 
Remark: This is the exercise related to the different subject construction. We 
see that the objects of the sentence 1 to 8 function as the subjects of the second 
verbs. 
Exercise 3: Give the correct form of the verbs in parentheses. 
1.If you’ve finish (use) .., I’d like (borrow)..it. 
2. The medical authorities warned everyone (not, drink) ..the water without 
first boiling it. 
3. I was furious when I caught my brother (read) . my diary. 
4. I’m sorry that I didn’t remember (borrow)..100 dollar from you, but I 
promise (pay) ..you back as soon as I get my salary next week. 
5. Do you really expect him (not, object to)  (treat)in this way ? 
6. I saw Lan (enter) the hall at that time, and she seemed (be)..nervous. 
7. We got (delay)..because of the holiday traffic. 
8. I saw the children (beat) . by their rival. 
29 
Answer key: 
1. using / to borrow 2. not to drink 
3. reading 4. remembering / to pay 
5. not to object to/ being treated 6. entering / to be 
7. delayed 8. beaten 
Remark: The provided exercise related to catenative verbs that students 
often deal with in school examinations as well as national ones. 
With a general look through 50 papers collected from students of Vo Giu 
high school, I am quite pleased with the results because the score are not so low. 
Learners are able to know how to do kinds of exercises related to catenative verbs 
rather successfully thanks to “Ten Golden Rules” of catenative verbs mentioned. 
Therefore, they made careful consideration and decisions before choosing the most 
suitable answers in sentence. However, it does not mean that all of students could 
perform successfully in the test. There are also many errors needing to be described 
and analyzed so that the students can realize their own errors and perfect in the next 
time. The following table will brief depict the proportion of students’ results in 
categories 
Table 2.4 The percentage of correctness in three exercises (26 sentences) of 50 
students distributed respectively 
Grade 
Number of 
students 
Number of 
correct sentences 
Percentage (%) 
Excellent 4 26 8 
Good 9 22-25 18 
Rather good 12 18-21 24 
Average 17 13-17 34 
Below average 8 5 - 12 16 
Total 50 40 100 
30 
Most of the students could not do the given exercises successfully because of 
the lack of the theoretical understanding of catenative verbs. To deal with it, it is 
necessary for them to review the theoretical knowledge by themselves to understand 
the problem more clearly because theoretical knowledge is of really importance in 
the process of achieving the success in practical field. 
In brief, the results of the study make learners clearly understand and able to 
do kinds of exercises related to catenative verb constructions more effectively. This 
is a desire of researcher when carrying out the study with view to contributing 
greatly to academic purposes. 
3. The Benefits of the Study 
- The study helps learners of English know how to use catenative verbs more 
effectively in particular situations, as follows: 
 When we are talking about two actions that are done by the same person, 
we use the second verb, non-finite complement, directly after the first verb. 
(103) Children enjoy playing alongside each other. 
(104) You deserve to know the truth. [6, p.148] 
 If we want to talk about two closely linked actions which are performed by 
different people, we follow the first verb with an object. This object then 
functions as the subject of the second verb, as in: 
(105) 'She asked Ginny to collect the book.’ [6, p.150] 
'Ginny' is the person who is asked, and she is also the person who performs 
the action of collecting the book. 
- Through the semantic features of catenative verbs, learners will be able to 
master the differences and the similarities in meaning in which two closely linked 
verbs that are performed either by the same person or by different people. 
- The study makes learners recognize that catenative verbs, like auxiliaries, 
forge links with other nonfinite verbs to express a complete meaning. However, the 
catenative verbs also differ from auxiliaries in the meanings they express due to 
their distinct linguistic features. 
31 
- Thanks to the syntactic features of catenative verbs, students are quite 
confident that they are able to know how to use catenative verbs precisely in 
studying and in speaking as well. 
- The study like a useful material for my colleagues who consult about 
teaching two closely linked verbs (verbal group complexes) more effectually. 
32 
Chapter 3 
CONCLUSION 
1. Some implications for language teaching and learning 
When dealing with catenative verbs in English, we realize that catenative 
verbs are so enormously used that learners normally have difficulty in grasping their 
semantic and syntactic features to use them effectively. From discussion of findings 
on catenative verbs, I hope that some implications for language teaching and 
learning as follows enable to help learners of English get a better of using them in 
different situations. 
Firstly, the findings of the study may be in one way or another beneficial to 
learners since it provides the semantic and syntactic features of catenative verbs as 
presented above. 
Secondly, the results of the study enable to help Vietnamese learners have a 
comprehensive understanding about the linguistic features of catenative verbs in 
detailed circumstances. From that point, learners of English are able to know for 
effective use of catenative verb constructions. 
Thirdly, the study is also a useful material for language teachers to give the 
lessons related to verbal group complexes (like to drink/ like drinking ) more 
productively. 
Lastly, when teaching constructions used catenative verbs as well as when 
teaching other areas of grammar teachers should make it clear to their students that 
there is always a cognitive connection, an inferential chain as it were, which links 
the message to the basic meaning. In other words, the message is always answerable 
to the basic meaning. 
2. The development of the study 
 As we know that grammar is always the foundation for any process of 
development in studying. Teaching grammar, especially the structural one is 
therefore inevitably in any case. For this importance, the study on the linguistic 
features of catenative verbs has been conducted to serve as the process of teaching 
33 
and learning English grammar in the modern stage. The study has brought learners 
many attempts to clear one of the most complicated issues, namely, non - finite 
verbs. From the results of the study, it is hoped that the learners of English can learn 
some valuable knowledge of the semantic and syntactic of catenative verbs. There 
forward, they can gain a better understanding on this field in particular and English 
grammar in general. 
3. Petition 
The study on catenative verb constructions is also a troublesome problem for 
learners of English to know how to use them efficiently , therefore, in order to avoid 
some mistakes when dealing with English catenative verbs, learners should be 
provided not only well-rounded knowledge of catenative verbs but also 
opportunities to practice them in context. Through practicing sentence patterns used 
catenative verbs regularly, learners gradually master and use them more effectively. 
From the results of the study, I hope to contribute to language teachers’ enjoyment 
of the experience as well as share a few difficulties within a huge one of our 
teaching work. 
Owing to the limited time and shortcomings mentioned above, the study can 
hardly achieve the best result. It is hoped that further studies are suggested to deal 
with some points as follows: 
- Pragmatic features of catenative verbs 
- Catenative verbs in the passive structure 
. 
34 
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