ABSTRACT
Compound verbs whose counterparts in English do not include a noun are often a source of confusion or mistake to learners who are English speakers. For example, verbs such as ‘to meet (someone)’, ‘to marry (someone)’ and ‘to divorce (someone)’ can have an object following them; however, their Chinese counterparts 见面 ( jiànmiàn: to meet), 结婚 ( jiéhEn: to marry), 离婚 (líhEn: to divorce) are compound verbs (面 means ‘face’; 婚 means ‘marriage’), and thus cannot have an object.
