THE USE OF INFINITIVE OR GERUND AS PHASAL VERBS COMPLEMENT BY MACEDONIAN LEARNERS OF ENGLISH.

The goal of the research presented in the paper is to conduct an analysis of the use of infinitive or gerund as a complement to the phasal (aspectual) verbs in English such as begin, start, finish, stop, by the Macedonian learners of English. For that purpose, a questionnaire was made based on the Likert scale in which the respondents were supposed to judge the acceptability of the use of an infinitive or a gerund complement with phasal verbs. The respondents were divided in two groups: native speakers of English and Macedonian learners of English. In addition, the Macedonian learners’ group was divided into subgroups according to their level of mastering the language. Since in Macedonian the phasal verbs are used with the da-construction as a complement, the hypothesis is that Macedonian learners of English will use the infinitive form much more than the native speakers. The results from this research should show whether and how the mother tongue influences the process of complement acquisition. This will help in the analysis of the process of acquisition of these constructions by Macedonian learners of English, hence to contribute to their easier learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]