A Contrastive Analysis of Sentences with Inanimate Subjects in English Compositions by Chinese and American University Students

Abstract

Abstract: This paper conducts a contrastive analysis of the sentences with inanimate subjects (SWIS) in 98 English compositions by 49 Chinese and 49 American university students respectively. The study shows that: (1) although the distribution ratio of SWIS in English compositions (EC) by Chinese university students (CUS) is higher than that in EC by American university students (AUS), SWIS in EC by AUS are better or more proportionally distributed; (2) AUS are better able to make English SWIS with simple verbs like “make; come, go; bring, take; give, provide” etc. in forms of set phrases, idiomatic collocations and common sentence patterns than CUS; (3) CUS and AUS are accustomed to making SWIS with two different kinds of special verbs respectively, and therefore some SWIS by CUS are less metaphorical or vivid than those by AUS due to a lower degree of animacy.

CLC Number:

H319

HE Mingzhu. A Contrastive Analysis of Sentences with Inanimate Subjects in English Compositions by Chinese and American University Students[J]. Contemporary Foreign Languages Studies, 2013, 13(04): 32-37.

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