V. CLAUSES Sau khi nam bat dugc cau tao cac cau ca ban, phan nay se giai thieu viec ma rong mot cau vcri nhieu loai menh de. Simple Sentence Compound Sentence Independent Clause Dependent Clause Noun Clause Adjective Clause Appositives Adverbial Clause 88
CLAUSES Mot nhom tir vai chuc nang van pham (subject va verb...) hap thanh mot clause. Mot cau co the gom mot hay nhieu clause. Thi du duai day la mot cau co 2 clause: Fanners worked hard, and crops thrived, s v adv s v clause 1 * Co hai loai clause: 1. main clauses, cung goi la independent clauses 2. subordinate clauses, cung goi la dependent clauses Neu mot clause hoi du dieu kien van pham de dung mot minh (alone) thi goi la main clause (independent clause). Mot cau phai co (it nhat) mot subject, va verb(s)... (predicate / xem lai 5 Basic Sentence Patterns); nghia la c^n co it nhat mot main clause. N u mot clause khong dung dugc mot minh nhu mot cau thi goi la subordinate clause (dependent clause). Nghia la subordinate clause chua noi het dugc y, chua du nghia (not complete); do do, can co main clause trong cau thi moi noi het dugc y, du nghia (a complete sentence). Observation: I went to school, (independent clause) 89
When I went to school, I studied my lessons, (clause thu nh4t la subordinate [dependent] clause) Note: BSt cu clause nao bat dau bang mot trong nhirng subordinating word: what, that, who, which, when, since, before, after, i f se d u la subordinate clause (dependent clause). Observation: U p prnnnmv grew when farms prospered. main clause subordinate clause Clause thu nhat noi het dugc y, du nghia va co the dung mot minh nhu mot cau. The economy grew la mot main clause. Clause thu 2, when farms prospered co ve con muon noi them gi nua mac du co subject va verb... (predicate). Clause thu 2 khong dung duoc mot minh nhu mot cau vi clause nay bat dau voi tir when (subordinating word). Simple Sentence & Compound Sentence Mot cau chi co mot clause thi goi la simple sentence. Subject co the la mot compound subject, va predicate co the co compound verb. Ca subject va verb co the dugc mo ta them bang cac chuc nang van pham theo sau nhu 90
adjectives, hay adverbs, hay infinitives, hay participles, va prepositional phrases. Observation: Farmers worked hard, (simple sentence) Farmers and ranchers worked hard, (simple sentence with compound subject) Farmers worked hard and lived well, (simple sentence with compound verb) Farmers in the Tennessee Valley have prospered in recent years, (simple sentence expanded) Mot cau co 2 main clauses hay nhieu hon thi goi la compound sentence. Cac main clauses trong mot compound sentence co the dugc noi lien (connect) bang mot comma, va mot coordinating conjunction and, but, or, for hay bang mot semicolon thay vi la comma. O bservation: Farmers worked hard, but the winter was severe. Farmers worked hard, the winter was mild, and food prices dropped. The drought struck; crops were destroyed. ' O T H ER CLAUSES Trong van chuomg, ta thuang thay co nhimg n h a n xet Id cach viet nhe nhang hay kho khan. Ve ky thuat, co 91
nguai viit d i hieu, co nguai viet kho hieu. Chung ta vua tim hiiu gom cac dieu can thiet de viet theo qui luat van pham. Song khi viet, mdi nguai se co loi viet rieng de dien ta y tuang, mien sao giu duoc qui luat van pham chu khong nhat thiet phdi xep dat cac nhom tu theo thu tu truac sau, nghia la giu van pham nhung uyen chuyen cach chon cac qui luat. Nhitng phan tiep theo se co mot so clauses de nguai hoc co the dung the cach (style) cua rieng minh khi viet. Noun Clause Mot so tir vcri chuc nang khac nhau tao thanh mot noun clause (la mot dependent clause), chira dung y nghia cua mot noun ma nguai viet muon thay the tir da noi truac, thi du: Your plan is interesting. (Day la mot cau dan gian, khong co dependent clause. Subject la plan [noun]) Quan sat nhung cau duai day de lam quen vai cach viet mot cach uyen chuyen ma giu duac y muon noi: What you intend to do (your plan) is interesting. (Noun clause la subject cua dong tir is^ nghia la tir plan (noun) co the dugc thay the bang mot noun clause m ai) Tell me what you intend to do (your plan). (Noun clause la direct obiect cua dong tir tell.) That is what you intend to do (your plan). 92
(Noun clause la predicate nominative.) I am interested in what you intend to do (your plan). (Noun clause la object cua giai tu in.) Adjective Clause Dung adjective clause (dependent clause) ds mo ta them (tell more about) hay cho them chi tilt (more details) ve mot noun hay pronoun khi dang vilt mot cau. Nhung tu thuomg dung de m a dau nhom tu nay la who, which, whose, that (relative sir ***** *! j- ' > (relative adverbs). Cach vist nay giup nguai viet dien ta dugc nhieu y muon noi trong mot cau thu gon, chu khong can viet nhieu independent clauses, lam nguai doc mat thu nhan lien tuc (flow). T it ca nhung nhom tir in nghieng trong cac cau duai day d u la adjective clauses: friend. She is a woman who is respected by everyone. Mr. Johnson, whose son attends the University, is our He saw the place where he was born. It was a time when money did not count. I know the reason why I failed the course. Appositives Doi khi adjective clause cung lai co the viet ngan hon bsnc cach dung mot tu hay mot nhom tir de noi them chi 93
tilt cho tir dung truac, cach nay goi la appositive. So sanh va phan tich van pham nhung cau mau duai day de biet cach viet: Sweden, a Scandinavian country, is very beautiful. Note: a Scandinavian country (appositive) nam giua hai diu phiy (comma), sau chu ngu Sweden va truoc dong tir be, giai thich them Sweden la gi va chuc nang la modifier cua Sweden. Nhan xet hai cau duai day: cvic ^/m nhnnv Hall which is the home of the Boston Symphony, (djective clause) She visited Symphony Hall, the home o f the Boston Symphony, (appositive) Va cach appositive con co the thu gon (combine) hai cau: Nhan xet nhirng cau mau duai day: San Francisco is a fascinating city. San Francisco is famous for its cable cars, (two sentences) San Francisco, fam ous fo r its cable cars, is a fascinating city. (appositive) My mother was bom in Lima, Ohio. She was the oldest o f seven children, (two sentences) 94
My mother, the oldest o f seven children, was bom in Lima, Ohio. (appositive) Steve Nilssen has told me much about Sweden. He is my close friend and a pianist, (two sentences) Steve Nilssen, who is my close friend and a pianist, has told me much about Sweden, (relative clause) Steve Nilssen, my close friend and a pianist, has told me much about Sweden, (appositive) A d v e rb ia l Clause Adverbial clause la mot dependent clause, co chuc nang hoan toan nhu adverb de mo ta them viec lam cua mot verb, dac ti'nh cua mot adjective, va mot adverb khac trong cau, hay tit ca y tuang dien ta trong mot independent clause. Dung subordinating coniunction a clause nay se lam cho cau van song dong, dien ta true tiep cac y tuang muon noi ve time, place, cause, purpose, result, condition, concession, manner, va comparision. * Time ( when, before, since, as, while, until, after, whenever) I will stay until you come. When the whistle blew, the laborer stopped. * Place (where, wherever, whence, whither) He went where no one had ever set foot before. Wherever you go, I will go too. * Cause (because, since, as) 95
Since I had no classes on Saturday, I went home. Because he was afraid o f being late, Henry ran all the way. * Purpose ( in order that, so that, that) My family made many sacrifices so that I could have an education. Men work thai they may eat. * Result (so... that, such... that) school. The weather was so cold that I decided not to walk to I was so late that I missed the lecture. * Condition ( if unless, provided that, on condition that) \ ou will hurt your hand i f you are not careful. Unless you apply at once, your name will not be considered. Stop me if you have heard this before. I shall go provided that you will drive carefully. I f you told me earlier, I could have helped. * Concession (though, although) Although she had no money, she was determined to go to college. Though I was tired, I did not stop to rest. Although he is quite small, he plays basketball very well. Our car is dependable even if it is old. * Manner (as, as if as though) The\ write as if they knew something. 96
She looked as though she wanted to laugh. Do as you like, but take the consequences. Please do the work as you have been instructed. * Comparison ( as, than ) Gold is heavier than iron. Your dress is as new as hers. I run faster today than (I ran) yesterday. 97
VI. CORRECT WRITING Nguai hoc da di qua tat ca cac phan can ban cua qui luat van pham, phan ke tiep se gom nhung dieu so dang (fundamentals) de tach biet cac grammatical elements trong mot cau va tranh cac loi thong thuang. Punctuation Diction 98
Punctuation Cho tai day nguai hoc da thu nhan dupe nhung qui luat van pham tuang doi du de viet mot cau van, tiep theo den phan q u a n tro n g vai vai trd cua Punctuation. Dat dung vi tri cho cac d a u se chung to nguai viet da hieu ro qui luat cau true cac chicc nang van pham. Qui luat dung cac dau trong mot cau se dupe coi la can va du; nghia la, neu dat dau khong dung cho thi tat ca cau van viet ra khong co nghia hay khong ro nghia, hay nguai doc khong hieu nguai viet muon noi gi. End Marks The Period Dung period (dau cham.) sau mot cau xac dinh (declarative statement) hay mot cau de nghi / ra lenh (request / command), hay noi mot cach tong quat la khi cham het mot cau. The study hall is too noisy. Please stop your whispering, (declarative) (request) John answered the telephone, (declarative) A nsw er the telephone, (imperative) She asked whether John had answered the telephone, (indirect question) 99
Dung period vai nhung tu da quen nhu Mr.. Mrs., Ms., Dr. truac mot proper noun (Mr. Smith, Dr. Smith). Jr., Sr., Ph.D. sau names. Chu y: khong dung period voi tu Miss (vi t tit la Ms.), va nen vilt chu Ms. chu khong viet Miss hay Mrs. khi chua biet ro tinh trang hon nhan cua mot nguai (marital status), co gia dinh hay chua. The Question Mark Dung? sau cac cau hoi true tiep (direct question), thuang bat dau vai cac tu nhu who, when, what, etc. Note: Subject va verb dao ngugc. When did you study chemistry? Do you ever wonder what your future will be? You want to make a good impression, don t you? Dung? sau nien hieu khong biet chac: King X was bom in 1661 (?) and died in 1701. The Exclamation Point Dung! sau nhung cau chua dung cam xuc manh (strong feeling). What a horrible accident! Fire! Help! It was exciting, wasn t it? Oh, I had a pleasant time. 100
Ngucri viet van ngay nay (modem writing) it dung dau! (cam than), nhung tu oh, goodness, well, yes, no, thuang dugc theo sau bang dau phay (comma) chu khong dung dau cam than. The Comma Khi dung mot trong nhung coordinating conjunctions sau day de noi lien (connect) cac main clauses ( and, but, or, nor, for, so, va yet ) thi luon luon co comma dung truac. Dau comma hien ra de cho biet mot independent clause cham dut va bao hieu la clause ke tiep sap den. The game was over, but the crowd refused to leave the park. I placed the typed sheet on his desk, and he picked it up and read it slowly. His face turned red, but he did not say a word. I knew he was angry, for he rose and stamped out of the room. Uyen chuyen: Khi nao mot hay ca hai main clauses dupe noi lien bang mot conjunction neu clause dai hay co nhiiu ddu thi co the thay co m m a bang sem icolon : The Mounties, dressed in red tunics and riding welltrained horses, were a familar sign on the Canadian frontier; but few people in the United States saw Mounties except in the movies. (Mountie or Mounty : [colloq.] a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police [canh sat cuai ngua]) 101
Dung comma de tach nhung doan ngan hay menh de: I washed the dishes, I dried them, and I put them away. He walked into my office, took off his hat, and sat down. The old house was empty, cold, dark, and uninviting. She rushed into the house, up the stairs, and into her room. Dung comma vai nhieu adjective cung mo ta tinh chat mot noun: Hong Kong grew up around a beautiful, sheltered, accesible port. Dung comma sau Introductory' prepositional phrases: According to legend, Hercule had enormous strenght. After his long exile to France, Charles II returned to England in 1660. Dung comma sau Introductory verbal phrases: To succeed as a long-distance runner, a person must have strong legs. Exhausted by her effort, the swimmer fell back into the pool. Dung comma giua hai tu de tranh doc li n nhau (pause): While we were eating, the table collapsed. After we had washed, mother prepared breakfast. Shortly after ten, thirty new recruits appeared. 102
Whatever is, is right. Dung comma de tach appositives (words that immediately follow a noun or pronoun and stand for the same thing): Mr. Galloway, our science teacher, told me about it. The teacher, a friend o f many years, advised me to stay. The new boy, the one with red hair, sings beautifully. Dung comma trong mot direct address (goi ten nhau): Can you show me, Kathy, how to punctuate this sentence? Will you speak a little louder, George? Quan sat nhirng truang hap duai day de thay rang da dung thira comma va sai (incorrect): I had studied hard, but failed the test. (incorrect, vi studied va failed la hai joining verb, cung mot subject) The man at the far end o f the head table, is my uncle. (incorrect, vi khong the ngan cach giua subject va verb) T he Semicolon Dung semicolon de tach cac independent clause khi khong noi lien bang mot coordinating conjunction, va khi clause theo sau co conjunctive adverb (however, therefore, moreover, consequently, etc.) 103
There are only a few of the urgent problems concerning our ecology; many more exist, (no connective) You must fill out the application form; later you will be interviewed, (adverb with second clause) He is sick, she said; "therefore, he will not come." Dung semicolon de tach cac independent clauses khi noi lien bang mot coordinating conjunction ma trong cau da co nhieu dau: I invited Sara, Susan, Leon, and John to the party; but Joe, Robert, and Charles also dropped in. Dung semicolon trong mot cau dai co nhieu comma: Jean Smith, the cardiologist; Angelo Martinez, the dentist; and Alan Wilson, the psychiatrist, meet for lunch every Tuesday. The Colon Dung colon de bao hieu se co giai thich (explain), lam sang to (clarify), dan chung (illustrate), them chi tiet (specify detail). Charm, in the abstract, has something of the quality of music: radiance, balance, and harmony. The poets I likes best are these: Housman, Yeast, and Eliot. One characteristic accounted for his success: complete honesty. 104
The recommended treatment for a cold is as follows: plenty o f fluids, bed rest, and aspirin for fever. Dung colon sau nhung tir nhu he said truac khi co mot trich dan : The speaker rose to his feet and said: "Students and teachers, I wish to call your attention..." Dung colon de tach nhieu items (dieu noi tai) trong mot cau: For the most part we are an intemperate people: we eat too much when we can, drink too much, indulge our senses to much. The Hyphen Quan sat nhung truang hap duai day de dung hyphen: Compound noun Sister-in-law M other-in-law Daughter-in-law Head-ache Chinese-American Long-distance Com pound numbers: sixty-four sixty-fourth 105
Title eighty-seven eighty-seventh thirty-five thirty-fifth ex-president ex-director The Apostrophe Xem lai Possessive Noun a phan truac da dung apostrophe vai nhieu truang hap, quan sat cac truang hap duai day de dung dau nay: Units of time twenty minutes drive (a twenty-minute drive) one dollar's worth (one-dollar worth) ten days wait (a ten-day wait) Contraction I'm (I am) Y ou're (You are) There s (There is) W ho s (who is) You ve (you have) D on't (do not) 106
ITALICS Viet chu nghieng tat ca ten cac tac pham nghe thuat va nhat bao, tuan bao, va tap chi (khi muon trich dan). A Midsummer Night's Dream The Song o f Hiawatha Christina's World the Washington Post the Chicago Tribune The Economist Paris Match ViSt chu nghieng cac ten airplane, ship, train the Spirit o f St. Luouis (airplane) U.S.S. Constitution (ship) the Sunset Lim ited (train) 107