ABSTRACT
The usage of denominal verbs in English is quite pervasive, which attracts a number of scholars both at home and abroad. The studies done by these scholars are mainly generalized into the following three aspects: the perspective of semantics, pragmatics and cognitive linguistics. These studies attach great importance on the study of theories and in-depth mechanisms of denominal verbs, however, they ignore the explorations in students’ acquisition of denominal verbs. Based on Clark & Clark’s classification of denominal verbs, this paper attempts to explore college students’ competence of acquiring English denominal verbs on the basis of empirical data with the purpose of analyzing the obstacles existing in the use of denominal verbs correctly among college students and helping teachers design the teaching strategies of denominal verbs. Three research questions are proposed and answered: 1. Do junior English major and non-English major students have acquired denominal verbs? 2. What is the status quo of those students in acquiring denominal verbs and is there any difference between English major and non-English major students? 3. What factors influence their applying denominal verbs correctly? The results indicate that: junior students could apply denominal verbs subconsciously yet with unsatisfactory result; their awareness of using denominal verbs is weak and non-English major students are inferior to English major students in applying denominal verbs; factors such as teaching method, culture, and metaphor influence the accuracy of students’ utilization of denominal verbs.
Keywords：denominal verbs; acquisition; empirical research
Contents
1. Introduction 1
2. Introduction of denominal verbs 2
2.1 Definition of denominal verbs 2
2.2 Classification of denominal verbs 2
3. Literature review of denominal verbs 7
3.1 Studies abroad 7
3.2 Studies in China 8
3.3 Comments on the previous studies 9
4. Methodology 10
4.1 Subjects 10
4.2 Research instrument 10
4.3 Data processing 11
5. Research results and analysis 12
5.1 Research results 12
5.2 Analysis of the research results 20
5.3 Pedagogical implications 25
6. Conclusion 26
Acknowledgements 27
References 28
