(A Case Study at Second Year of MTs. Al-Khairiyah Jakarta)
A ‘Skripsi’
Presented to the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers’ Training In a Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of S. Pd (Bachelor of Art) in English Language Education
By:
LAILATUSSAIDAH NIM : 104014000299
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH EDUCATION
THE FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHERS’ TRAINING
SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
JAKARTA
ii
Second Year of MTs. Al-Khairiyah Jakarta). A “skripsi” presented to
the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers‟ Training in a Partial Fulfillment of
the Requirements for the degree of S. Pd. In English Education “Syarif Hidayatullah”. State Islamic University Jakarta.
Advisor: Drs. Zainal Arifin Toy, M. Sc
Key words: Simple present, present progressive and simple past tense, grammatical errors, MTs. Al-Khairiyah.
This study is proposed to analyze the error that is commonly made by the students at the second grade of MTs. Al-Khairiyah Jakarta in transforming simple present, simple progressive and simple past tense from affirmative into negative and interrogative.
The aim of this research is to know the common errors that mostly did by the students of MTs. Al-Khairiyah Jakarta in transforming simple present, simple progressive and simple past tense from affirmative into negative and interrogative form and its reason.
The sample of the research was 40 students of the second year students of MTs. Al-Khairiyah Jakarta. This research was using descriptive qualitative method by giving a written test as sentence exercise about simple present, present progressive and simple past tense.
The data collected in this research were analyzed by using percentage. The findings of the study state that the most common errors made by the students at second year of MTs. Al-Khairiyah Jakarta are verb tense, word order, auxiliary, omission and punctuation.
Based on the research findings, it can be concluded:
a. The highest frequency of error made by the students is verb tense with 1150 errors or on percentage 38.12% and as the lowest frequency of error made by the students is punctuation with 132 errors or on percentage 4.37%.
iii
Acknowledgements
The writer is profoundly grateful to Allah SWT. He has blessed her with patience and strength, so that she can accomplish this paper. She knows that it needs a lot of effort to write this paper, and she realizes that without His blessing she cannot complete it. Peace and Blessing be upon our prophet Muhammad SAW, his family, his companions and his followers.
She is grateful to her parents, Drs. Khairuddin and Etty Sodiqoh, and her husband H. Ahmad Syarif for all their supports. Every time she was down and feel reluctant to carry on writing, they made her realize to keep going. They inspired her to keep working hard and never give up. They are her inspiration to be strong to overcome every obstacle she faced when she was working on this paper.
Her special thanks go to Drs. Zainal Arifin Toy, M. Sc, the advisor, for all his guidance and advice. Without all of his assistance she cannot complete this paper.
She offers her gratitude to all of people who have contributed to her study at Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University.
1. All of the lecturers of English Education Department
2. Drs. Syauki, M.Pd, the Head of English Education Department.
3. Neneng Sunengsih, M.Pd, the Secretary of English Education Department. 4. Nurlena Rifa‟i, MA, Ph.D, the Dean of Tarbiyah and Teachers‟ Training
Faculty.
Finally, the writer would like to thank all of her best friends, Najiulloh, Muzakir, Zaima, Liza Fauziah, Hangi Latifah, Nuraini Qomariyah, Ade Laili Akhiliyah, Rizki Awaliyah, Mutiara Fani, M. Arif Setiadi and A. Dearobi. For their supports so that she can keep her spirit to finish this paper.
Jakarta, July 29th 2011
iv
Abstract ……… ii
Acknowledgements ……….. iii
Table of Contents ……….. iv
List of Appendices ……… vi
CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION A. The Background of the Study ……….. 1
B. The Formulation and Limitation of the Study ……. 5
C. The Objective of the Study ..………. 5
D. The Significance of the Study ………... 6
E. The Organization of Writing ………. 6
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK A. Error Analysis ……….. 8
1. The Understanding of Error ……….. 9
2. The Cause of Error ……… 10
3. The Types of Grammatical Errors ………. 12 B. Simple Present Tense 1. The Understanding of Simple Present Tense …. 14
2. The Rules of Using Simple Present Tense …… 15 3. The Form of Simple Present Tense ………... 16
4. The Usage of Simple Present Tense …………... 20
5. The Way of Transforming Simple Present Tense Sentences ……… 20
C. Present Progressive Tense 1. The Understanding of Present Progressive Tense 22
2. The Rules of Using Present Progressive Tense .. 22
v D. Simple Past Tense
1. The Understanding of Simple Past Tense …… 27 2. The Rules of Using Simple Past Tense ……… 28 3. The Form of Simple Past Tense ………... 30 4. The Usage of Simple Past Tense …………... 33 5. The Way of Transforming Simple Past
Tense Sentences ……… 34
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH
FINDINGS
A. Research Methodology
1. The Place and Time of Research ……… 37 2. The Method of Research ……….. 37 3. The Population and Sample of Research ……… 38 4. The Technique of Collecting Data ……… 38 5. The Procedure of Error Research ……… 38 6. The Technique of Data Analysis ………. 39 B. Research Findings
1. Data Description ………. 39
2. Data Analysis ………. 46
CHAPTER IV CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
A. Conclusion ……….. 48
B. Suggestion ……….. 49
BIBLIOGRAPHY ……… 50
vi Appendix 2 : Surat Bimbingan Skripsi
Appendix 3 : Surat Permohonan Izin Penelitian
Appendix 4 : Surat Keterangan Penelitian dari Sekolah Appendix 5 : The Instrument of Research
1
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
A.
The Background of Study
English language in Indonesian schools has been one of the compulsory subjects for junior high school until university. In English language learner, the students are expected to be capable of communicating which include the skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing. By mastering those skills, the students are also capable of expanding their knowledge in every field of their learning.
English is not only difficult to learn but also it is difficult to teach as well. It has its own grammar rules which have a great role on one‟s acquisition in English.
Wisdom said “grammar may be roughly defined as the way a language manipulates and combines words (or bits of words) in order to form longer units of meaning.”.1
Although the students have learnt simple present tense, present progressive tense and past tense pattern sentences from the first level, many of them still undergo and many complications to transform simple present tense, present
1
progressive tense and past tense sentences from affirmative into negative and interrogative form, especially the students at second level of MTs. Al-Khairiyah Jakarta. Some of them have many errors in their writing, for example “The postman do not deliver letters every morning.”, “Does Anto seldom wears shirt?”,
“The soldiers are creeping not in the jungle.”, “Do is selling vegetables?”, “I stayed not at home yesterday.”, “How Risa and her mother went to theater last
night?”. It should be “The postman does not deliver letters every morning.”,
“Does Anto seldom wear shirt?”, “The soldiers are not creeping in the jungle.”,
“Is she selling vegetables?”, “I did not stay at home yesterday.”, “Did Risa and her mother go to theater last night?”.
The students think that English grammatical sentences as same as with their first language (Bahasa Indonesia). English as foreign language has differences from Indonesian language and one of the differences between the two languages is in sentence pattern. In English sentence consists of subject, predicate, and object or complement.
be in negative sentence is by adding “not” after to be (am, are, is). In interrogative sentence for simple present tense with verb “do or does” and for simple present
tense with be “am, are, is” is moved before the subject, and at the end of the sentence put a question mark (?).
In present progressive tense the pattern of affirmative sentence is subject + to be + present participle (ing-form), for negative sentence add “not” after to be, and for interrogative sentence the pattern is by moving to be before the subject and put a question mark (?) at the end of the sentence. The pattern of simple past tense divide into two parts; simple past tense with verb, and simple past tense with be. The pattern of simple past tense with verb in affirmative sentence is “subject + verb2 + object or complement”. The pattern of simple past tense with be in affirmative sentence for subject (you, they, we) is “subject + were + adjective/noun/adverb of place”, the pattern of simple past tense with be in affirmative sentence for subject (I, he, she, it) is “subject + was + adjective/noun/adverb of place”. The pattern of simple past tense with verb in
negative sentence is by adding “did + not” after the subject. The pattern of simple
past tense with be in negative sentence is by adding “not” after to be (was, were).
In interrogative sentence for simple present tense with verb “did” and simple past
tense with be “was, were” is moved before the subject, and at the end of the sentence put a question mark (?).
In Bahasa Indonesia verb doesn‟t change eventhough the subject and adverb rechanged. For example:
Bahasa Indonesia:
1. (+) Ani makan roti setiap hari.
(-) Ani tidak makan roti setiap hari. (?) Apakah Ani makan roti setiap hari? 2. (+) Ani sedang makan roti sekarang. (-) Ani sedang tidak makan roti sekarang.
(?) Apakah Ani sedang makan roti sekarang? 3. (+) Ani makan roti kemarin.
(?) Apakah Ani makan roti kemarin? English:
1. (+) Ani eats bread every day.
(-) Ani does not eat bread every day. (?) Does Ani eat bread every day? 2. (+) Ani is eating bread now.
(-) Ani is not eating bread now. (?) Is Ani eating bread now? 3. (+) Ani ate bread yesterday.
(-) Ani did not eat bread yesterday. (?) Did Ani eat bread yesterday?
From its differences, the students do not understand and can not apply to transform or change affirmative simple present, present progressive and simple past tense sentences into negative and interrogative form based on their pattern rules properly. Therefore it is very important for student to master grammatical rules. As mentioned by Penny Ur in Practice Activities A Practical Guide for
Teacher that “A learner who know grammar is one who has mastered and can
apply the rules to express him or herself in what would be considered acceptable
language forms”.2 So, to understand more about grammar must to know more about how grammar is used and misused.
According to the writer‟s experience in teaching second year of MTs. Al-Khairiyah Jakarta during PPKT (Praktik Profesi Keguruan Terpadu), the writer found that students at second year of MTs. Al-Khairiyah Jakarta had many difficulties in learning English especially in grammar. The students had many errors in transforming simple present, simple progressive and simple past tense even they have learnt at the first grade.
2
Based on the problem above, the writer interested in analyzing how far the students‟ English grammar comprehension in transforming simple present, present progressive and simple past tense from affirmative into negative and interrogative form. In this case, the writer wants to find out the common errors that the students made in transforming simple present, present progressive and simple past tense from affirmative into negative and interrogative form at MTs Al-Khairiyah Jakarta.
The writer formulated the topic in her paper with the title “The Analysis
of Students’ Errors in Transforming Simple Present, Present Progressive and
Simple Past Tense from Affirmative into Negative and Interrogative Form”.
B.
The Formulation and Limitation of the Study
In this research, the writer focuses her study in the subject matter in analyzing English grammatical errors made by the students. The writer uses Betty
Schrampfer Azar‟s error classification for this research, singular-plural, word form, word voice, verb tense, + add a word, - omit a word (omission), word order, incomplete sentence, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, article, meaning not clear and run-on sentence. Then she limits the error classifications that would be used in this analysis, she only uses five of them based on her research findings, verb tense, word order, auxiliary, omission and punctuation.
Based on the limitation above, the writer formulated the problem with the following question:
“What are the common errors that students at the second year of MTs.
Al-Khairiyah Jakarta make in transforming simple present, present progressive and simple past tense from affirmative into negative and interrogative form?”
C.
The Objective of the Study
simple present, simple progressive and simple past tense from affirmative into negative and interrogative form and its reason.
D.
The Significance of the Study
The writer hopes that this research can be appropriately useful for the writer to increase her knowledge to write well and it is useful for English teachers. By knowing the student errors in transforming simple present, present progressive and simple past tense from affirmative into negative and interrogative form. They will be able to create better teaching and learning activities, especially in grammar.
E.
The Organization of Writing
This research is systematically divided into five chapters.
The first chapter, as an introduction consists of describing the background of the study, the formulation and the limitation of the study, the objective of the study, the significance of the study and the organization of writing.
The third chapter is research methodology and finding. In research methodology, it contains of the place of the research, the methodology of research, the population and the sample technique of collecting data, the procedure of error research and the technique of data analysis, in research findings tell about, data description, and data analysis.
8
CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A.
Error Analysis
In the process of learning foreign language, students will find many new language characteristics must be learnt that are different from their mother tongue or first language. Learning mother tongue is not influenced by other language. On the other hand, learning English as a second language will face an influence by his mother tongue as the first language. It causes someone do some errors and mistakes in his learning process. So that, it is impossible that learner never makes some errors and mistakes in the process of learning. In fact, it becomes a common thing in English learning process as a second language. H. Douglas Brown stated
in his book “Second language learning is a process that is clearly not unlike first language learning in its trial and error nature. Inevitably learners will make mistakes in process of acquisition, and that process will be impeded if they do not commit errors and then benefit from various forms of feedback on those errors”.1 In other words, it is natural that the learners do some errors in their second language learning process. Errors in this case, will help students in acquiring the material and they will learn more from their own writing.
1
Actually, the learners‟ errors do not always give feedback for themselves only. From the result of the test that the learners‟ have produced is an evidence
for the teacher or researcher to know and analyze whether the learners‟ have
acquire the material or not. According to Cordeer “A learners‟ errors…are significant in (that) they provide to researcher evidence of how language is learned or acquired, what strategies of procedure the learner is employing in the discovery of the language”.2 In learners‟ errors, the teacher will also know which part of the subject matter that most students make errors and most students do not. To know more why the students make error, we need the study that
concerned with it. According to Douglas Brown, “The study of learners‟ errors called error analysis.3 Rod Ellis stated, “The use of error analysis (EA) as a tool for investigating how learners acquire a second language (L2).4
Corder also stated in Brown‟s book that the investigation of error can be at the same time either diagnostic or prognostic. It is diagnostic because it can
tell use the learners‟ state of the language at a given point during the learning
process and prognostic because it can tell course organizer to reorient language
learning material on the basis of the learners‟ current problem.5
Based on the statement above, the writer concludes that error analysis is
the process of analyzing learners‟ second language learning which has function to
investigate the language learning process.
1.
The Understanding of Error
Learning the foreign language is a process which involves an error. Many factors can affect the error. One of them may because of each
2
H. Douglas Brown, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, 4th ed, (New York: Addison Wesley Longman, Inc, 2000), p. 164
3
H. Douglas Brown, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, 3rd ed, (New York: Prentice Hall Inc., 1994), p. 206
4
Rod Ellis, The Study of Second Language Acquisition, 2nd ed, (New York: Oxford University Press, 2008), p. 45
5
language have different pattern that is why, the students who learn English may produce many errors in English grammatical.
Ellis in Hudelson stated, “Errors are a natural and essential part of
second language acquisition”.6
It means that when learning a second language essentially can do errors. It happens naturally because second language learners are actively engaged in figuring out rules for the language they are learning.
Peter Hubbard states “All incorrect forms produced by the student
called error. Errors caused by lack of knowledge about the target language (English) or by incorrect hypothesis about it.7 Jeremy Harmer said that the errors are part of the learner inter language that is the version of the language which a learner has at any one stage of development and which is continually reshaped as he/she aims toward full mastery.8
According to the statements above, the writer concludes that error is a part of learning process and it is caused by lack of comprehending the linguistic competence.
2.
The Cause of Error
Error occurs for many reasons. One of the strategies to prevent the learners from making same error again is by looking at the causes of error itself.
Hubbard mentioned that the causes of errors by slightly different names as follow:9
a) Mother tongue interference
Although young children appear to be able to learn foreign language quite easily and to reproduce new sounds very effectively, older learners experience considerable difficulty. The sound system
6
Sarah Hudelson, Write on Children Writing in ESL. (New Jersey: CAL, 1989), p. 3 7
Peter Hubbard et, al. A Training Course for TEFL, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1983), p. 134
8
Jeremy Harmer, The Practice of English Language Teaching, (Pearson Education Limited, 2001), p. 34
9
(phonology) and the grammar of the first language impose
themselves on the new language and this lead to a “foreign”
pronunciation, faulty grammatical pattern and occasionally to the wrong choice of vocabulary.
b) Overgeneralization
The mentalist theory claims that errors are inevitable because they reflect various stages in the language development of the learner. It claims that the learner processes new language data in his mind and produces rules for its production, based on the evident. Where the data are inadequate or the evidence only partial such rules may produce incorrect pattern.
c) Error encouraged by teaching material and method.
The teaching material or method can also contribute to the students errors. Unfortunately, these errors are much more difficult to classify. If the material is well chosen and presented with meticulous care, there is not error made by the student.
Douglas Brown claimed that there are major sources of error, they are:10
a. Inter-lingual transfer
The beginning stages of learning a second language are characterized by a good deal of inter-lingual transfer from the native language or interference, in these early stages, before the system of the second language is familiar, the native language is the only linguistic system in previous experience upon which the learner can draw.
b. Intra-lingual transfer
One of the major contributions of error analysis was its recognition of sources of error that extend beyond just inter-lingual errors in learning a second language. It is now clear that intra-lingual
10
transfer is a major factor in second language learning. The errors proceeded by the learner which does not reflect the structure of mother tongue but generalization based on partial exposure to the target language.
c. Context of learning
Context refers to the classroom situation that is built by both teacher and material. The situation can urge the learners to make
faulty hypothesis about the language. The teacher‟s explanation
also pushes the learner to make errors because something the teacher provided in correct information by way of a misleading definition word or grammatical generalization.
d. Communicative strategy
Communication strategies were defined and related to learning styles. Learners obviously use production strategies in order to enhance getting their messages across, but at the same time these techniques can themselves become a source of error.
3.
The Types of Grammatical Errors
Every learner has different types of making errors, in this case, especially for the students at the second years of MTs. Al-Khairiyah Jakarta the most common errors that the learners are made on making simple present tense, simple present progressive tense and simple past tense such as:
a. Verb tense
Tense is the form of the verb that indicates the time at which the action or state is viewed as occurring. In this problem, the writer explains on the using verb tense in simple present tense, simple present progressive tense and simple past tense.
b. Auxiliary verb
Some auxiliaries verb are used in simple present tense consist of two kinds:
Am, is, are
Auxiliaries verb to be (am, is, are) are not followed by verb (V1/Ves,s) in the affirmative statement, but they are followed by noun phrase, adjective and adverb or complement.
Do, does
Do and does are not only used as part of the sentence structure for questions but also as part of the sentence structure for negative statement.
The auxiliary verb is used in simple present progressive tense:
Am, is, are
Auxiliaries verb to be (am, is, are) are followed by verb-ing in the affirmative, negative and interrogative statement with the simple present progressive tense.
Some auxiliaries verb are used in simple past tense consist of two kinds:
Was, were
Auxiliaries verb to be (was, were) are not followed by verb (V2) in the affirmative, negative and interrogative statement but they are followed by noun phrase, adjective and adverb or complement.
Did
Did are not only used as part of the sentence structure for questions but also as part of the sentence structure for negative statement. It is followed by (V1).
c. Word order
d. Omission
Some students sometimes missed a word in their sentences, such as a main verb, an auxiliary verb, etc. The error indicates the students did not understand which word they must use and which word they must skip. Besides that the students often forget to use the correct form of sentence that consist of subject, predicate or verb, and object.
e. Punctuation
Punctuation marks are symbols that indicate the structure and
organization of written language and it‟s vital to disambiguate the
meaning of sentences. Some students made errors in punctuation. They did not realize that written English is different from spoken language. Gesture, tones, and stressing can make the meaning clear in spoken language but only punctuation can make the meaning clear in written English.
B.
Simple Present Tense
1.
The Understanding of Simple Present Tense
In Academic writing stated that “The simple present tense is the verb
tense used to state facts and describe repeated activities”.11 Mark Foley and
Diane Hall state that “The present simple is the most common ways of expressing present time in English and describes things that are generally
true.”12
Meanwhile Betty S. Azar says that “The simple present is something
way true in the past, is true in the present, and will be true in the future, is
11
Alice Oshima & Ann Hogue, Introduction to Academic Writing, (Massachusetts: Addison Wesley Publishing Company, 1988), p. 23
12
use for general statement of fact.”13 According to the Dictionary of Grammatical Terms in Linguistic, defines simple present tense as:
Present which the tense category is occurring in some languages in most regularly used to refer to actions or states in progress at the moment of speaking or which at least includes this function as one of its major uses. The term is sometimes used to label as a tense form of rather wider
applicability than this; in English, for example, the name „present‟ is
regularly used for the tense which would more explicitly be called the „non
-past‟, as it contrasts with a past tense.14
It can be conclude that simple present tense are the most common ways of expressing present time in English and describes things that are generally true, expressing facts and repeated events or habits.
2.
The Rules of Using Simple Present Tense
In simple present tense, there are many rules have to known on using
verb with “es” and “s” form as follow:
a. If the verbs that end in „e‟ add „s‟ at the end of the verb.
Write writes
Hope hopes
Shine shines
b. If the verbs that end in one and two consonants just add ‟s‟.
Set sets
Sing sings
Speak speaks
c. If the verbs that end by the letters as follow; ch, o, s, sh, x, z just
add „es‟.
Fix fixes
Teach teaches
13
Betty S. Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, 2nd ed, (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1989), p. 11
14
Wash washes
d. If the verbs that end by the letter „y‟ and preceded by the consonant
letter change „y‟ to „I‟ and add „es.
Carry carries
Fly flies
Reply replies
e. If the verbs that end by the letter „y‟ and preceded by the vocal
letter, only add „s‟.
Buy buys
Lay lays
Say says
3.
The Form of Simple Present Tense
a. Simple Present Tense with Verb
1) Affirmative Statement
To make an affirmative statement using verb for the subject (I, you, we and they), the formula is:
For Examples:
They work hard every day.
We visit our uncle every Sunday.
To make an affirmative statement for the subjects (he, she, and it), the formula is:
For Examples:
She studies hard every day. It makes me happy.
Subject + verb + object/complement
2) Negative Statement
To make negative statement for subject (I, you, we and they), the formula is:
For Examples:
I do not read a magazine every morning. They do not like swimming.
To make negative statement for subject (he, she, it), the formula is:
For Examples:
Farah does not study French every Thursday.
Mr. Rezki does not drink coffee every morning.
3) Interrogative Statement
To make interrogative statement for subject (I, you, we, and they), the formula is:
For Examples:
Do you eat fried rice every morning?
Do Alif and Venni visit their grandmother every week? To make interrogative statement for subject (he, she, and it), the formula is:
For Examples:
Does he study every night? Does cat eat fish?
b. Simple Present Tense with be 1) Affirmative Statement
Subject + do + not + verb1 + object/complement
Subject + does + not + verb1 + object/complement
Do + subject + verb 1+ object/complement + ?
To make affirmative statement for subject (I) with be, the formula is:
For Example:
I am a smart girl.
To make affirmative statement for subject (you, we, and they) with be, the formula is:
For Examples: We are busy.
They are students.
To make affirmative statement for subject (he, she, and it) with be, the formula is:
For Examples: She is sick. It is an animal.
2) Negative Statement
To make a negative statement using verb for the subject (I) with be, the formula is:
For Example:
I am not a singer.
To make a negative statement using verb for the subject (you, we, and they) with be, the formula is:
For Examples:
They are not an employer.
Subject + am + adjective/adverb of place/noun
Subject + are+ adjective/adverb of place/noun
Subject + is + adjective/adverb of place/noun
Subject + am + not + adjective/adverb of place/noun
We are not hungry.
To make negative statement for subject (he, she, and it) with be, the formula is:
For Examples:
Hendri is not handsome. It is not very big.
3) Interrogative Statement
To make interrogative statement for subject (I) with be, the formula is:
For Example: Am I beautiful?
To make interrogative statement for subject (you, we, and they) with be, the formula is:
For Examples: Are you sick?
Are Fika and Anto smart?
To make interrogative statement for subject (he, she, and it) with be, the formula is:
For Examples: Is he in Bali? Is it easy for you?
Subject + is + not + adjective/adverb of place/noun
Am + subject + adjective/adverb of place/noun +?
Are + Subject + adjective/adverb of place/noun +?
4.
The Usage of Simple Present Tense
The simple present says that something was true in the present, and will be true in the future. It is used for general statement of fact. The simple present tense is used to express habitual or every day activity.15
Some functions of simple present tense are as following: a. To express habitual or repeated action16
Example: my mother always cooks in the morning.
b. To express an action occurring at the present time with a
“mental activity” verb.17
Example: I think you are right. c. To express commentaries.18
Example: as broadcast during a supporting even such as football match.
d. To express general truth.19
Example: the sun rises in the east.
5.
The Way of Transforming Simple Present Tense
Sentences
a. Auxiliary Verb
There are following ways to transform simple present tense sentence with using auxiliary verb as the main verb, they are:
1) To transform affirmative statement into negative statement
with the subject (I, we, they, you), use or add to be “(am, are) + not” after the subjects.
Examples:
15
Betty S. Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, 2nd ed, (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1989), p. 11
16
B. D. Graver, Advanced English Practice, 2nd ed, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1971), p. 44
17
Ann Rimes, How English Works: a grammar handbook with readings, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), p. 104
18
A. S. Hornby, Guide to Pattern and Usage in English, 2nd ed, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1975), p. 83
19
I am hungry. I am not hungry. You are a farmer. You are not a famer. 2) To transform affirmative statement into negative statement
with the subject (he, she, it), use or add to be “(is) + not” after the subjects.
Examples:
She is rich. She is not rich. It is beautiful. It is not beautiful. 3) To transform declarative statement into interrogative
statement, move to be (auxiliary verb) on the beginning of sentence and put a question mark (?) at the end of the sentence.
Examples:
You are a farmer. Are you a farmer? It is beautiful. Is it beautiful?
b. Verb Tense
The ways to transform simple present tense which has verb (V1/V(es/s)) can be presented as follow:
1) To transform affirmative statement into negative statement
with the subject (I, we, they, you), use or add to be“(do) + not” or “don‟t” after the subjects.
Examples:
I swim every Monday. I don‟t swim every Monday. We speak loudly. We don‟t speak loudly. 2) To transform affirmative statement into negative statement
with the subject (he, she, it), use or add to be “(does) + not” or “doesn‟t” after the subjects and followed by V1 without “s” or “es”.
Examples:
Lion eats meat. Lion doesn‟t eat meat. 3) To transform declarative statement into interrogative
statement with the subject, move (auxiliary verb) on the beginning of sentence and put a question mark (?) at the end of sentence.
Examples:
We speak loudly. Do we speak loudly? Lion eats meat. Does lion eat meat?
C.
Present Progressive Tense
1.
The Understanding of Present Progressive Tense
Present progressive tense belongs to the several tenses stand for the events in progress. “Present continues tense is also called the present progressive.”20 Present continuous tense is called the real present, in the sense that it can be demonstrated, seen, etc.21
According to A.S. Hornby “The present progressive is tense most often used for this purpose. It is the tense most closely associated with the present time. There may be an adverbial on present time (e.g. now, today), but this is not essential.22
The progressive forms represent actions or evens, or series of actions or evens, viewed at some point between their beginning and end. They imply that an action or series of actions has already begun but is not yet completed. At the same time, they indicate that the duration of the action or series of actions is limited.23
2.
The Rules of Using Present Progressive Tense
20
Martin Parrott, Grammar for English Language Teachers, 2nd ed, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2010), p. 192
21
Nasrun Mahmud, English for Muslim University, 3rd ed, (Jakarta: Pusat Bahasa dan Budaya UIN Jakarta, 2003), p. 86
22
A. S. Hornby, Guide to Pattern and Usage in English, 2nd ed, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1975), p. 82
23
There are some ways to spelling the present participle, like in a practical English grammar book, written by A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet explained as follow:24
a. When a verb ends in a single e, this e is dropped before ing:
Argue arguing
Hate hating
Love loving
Except after:
Age ageing
Dye dyeing
Singe singeing
Verb ending ee:
Agree agreeing
Free freeing
See seeing
b. When a verb one syllable has one vowel and ends in a single consonant (except h, w, x, y), this consonant is doubled before ing:
Hit hitting
Run running
Stop stopping
But fix (end in x) fixing
Greet (two vowel letters before consonant) greeting
c. Verb of two or more syllables whose last syllables contains only one vowel and end in a single consonant double, this consonant if the stress falls on the last syllables:
Admit admitting
Begin beginning
Prefer preferring
But suffer (accent on first syllable) suffering
24
d. Ing can be added to a verb ending y without affecting the spelling of the verb:
Carry carrying
Enjoy enjoying
Hurry hurrying
e. The infinitive ends vowel e preceded by vowel i, ie substituted with y, then added ing:
Die dying
Lie lying
Tie tying
3.
The Form of Present Progressive Tense
According to A. J. Thomson and A. V. Martinet the progressive tense is formed with the auxiliary verb be + the present participle:25 The present progressive tense consist of four form, they are:
a. Affirmative Statement
We form the affirmative statement by using this formula:
Example:
Subject Form of be Base form of the verb+ing
I am studying English
You are playing badminton
He/she/it is writing now
We/they are watching television
25
A. J. Thomson and A. V. Martinet, A Practical English Grammar, 4th ed, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986), p. 139
b. Negative Statement
To make a negative statement, we put not after the auxiliary be:
Example:
Subject Form of
be Not
Base form of the verb+ing
I am not studying English
You are not playing badminton
He/she/it is not writing now
We/they are not watching television
c. Interrogative Statements
To make an interrogative statement, we put the form of be before the subject:
Example:
Form of be Subject Base form of the verb+ing
Am I studying English?
Are you playing badminton?
Is he/she/it writing now?
Are we/they watching television?
4.
The Usage of Present Progressive Tense
There are some usages of present progressive tense, as follow:
Subject +To be (am, are, is)+ Not + Present Participle (ing-form) + object/complement
a) We use the present progressive tense when we talk about something that is happening at the time of speaking:26 For example:
“Where is Arsya?” “He is taking a bath.” (not he takes)
b) We also use present progressive tense when we talk about something that is happening around the time of speaking, but not necessarily exactly at the time of speaking, study this example situation:
“Tom and Ann are talking in Café. Tom says, “I am reading an
interesting book at the moment. I‟ll lend it to you when I‟ve
finished it.
Tom is not reading the book at the time of speaking. He means that he has begun the book and has not finished it yet. He is in the middle of reading it.”
c) We often use the present progressive tense when we talk about a period around the present.
For example:
Today, this week, this season, etc: “You are working hard
today,” “Yes I have a lot to do”.
d) We use the present progressive tense when we talk about changing situations:
For example:
The population of the world is rising very fast. Is your English getting better?
5.
The Way to Transforming Simple Present Progressive
Tense
26
There are the following of ways to transform simple present progressive tense which has (auxiliary + verb-ing) can be presented as follow:
a. To transform affirmative sentence into negative sentence with
the subject “I”, use or add to be “am + not + verb-ing”, the
subject “we, they, you”, use or add to be “are+not + verb-ing” after subjects.
E.g.:I am studying English. I am not studying English. You are writing a poem. You are not writing a poem. b. To transform affirmative sentence into negative sentence with
the subject “he, she, it”, use or add to be “is + not + verb-ing” after subjects.
E.g.: He is swimming now. He is not swimming now. She is reading magazine. She is not reading magazine. c. To transform declarative statement into interrogative statement (yes/no question) move (auxiliary) on the beginning of sentence and put a question mark (?) at the end of sentence. E.g.: They are selling vegetables. Are they selling
vegetables?
He is teaching math. Is he teaching math?
D.
The Simple Past Tense
1.
The Understanding of Simple Past Tense
According to A. J. Thomson and A. V. Martinet, the simple past tense is defined as the action completed in the past at definite time.27 In addition, Eugene J. Hall stated that simple past tense indicates a past action that occurred at definite time in the past, whether that time is stated or not.28
The simple past tense is formed with the past form of the verb which may be either regular, by adding –ed to infinitive form (incidentally, most verbs are regular or irregular which must be learned and memorized in each case.29 For example: “She played volleyball yesterday” or “She ate a bowl of soup last week.”
Betty S. Azar described that simple past tense can formulate in diagram as follow:
Now
Certain Time
Past Future
From the diagram above she described that simple past tense indicates that an activity or situation began and ended at a particular time in the past.30
From those several statement above, the writer concluded that the simple past tense is used to express a definite event in the past.Simple past tense is also used if the event happened completely in the past even the time is not mentioned.
2.
The Rules of Using Present Progressive Tense
27
A. J. Thomson and A. V. Martinet, A Practical English Grammar, 4th ed, (New York: Oxford University Press, 1986), p. 147
28
Eugene J. Hall, Grammar for Use, (Jakarta: Binarupa Aksara, 1993), p. 173 29
Nasrun Mahmud, English for Muslim University Students, (Jakarta: Pusat Bahasa dan Budaya UIN, 2003), p. 88
30
According to the examples above, the form is used for all subjects, both singular and plural. All regular verbs take an –ed ending in the past tense. Moreover, there are some spelling rules of regular verbs. Those are as following:
a. If the simple form of a verb ends in –y after consonant, change the
–y to i and add –ed. For example:
Try tried
Carry carried
Dry dried
b. If the simple form of a one syllable verb ends in consonant + a vowel + a consonant, double the final consonant and add –ed. For examples:
Plan planned
Stop stopped
c. If the simple form of a two syllable verb end in a consonant + a vowel + a consonant, double the final consonant only if the syllable is stressed.
For examples:
Permit permitted
Prefer preferred
Occur occurred
d. If the simple form of a verb in –e, add only –d. For examples:
Tie tied
Change changed
Live lived
e. Add –ed to simple form of all other regular verbs. For examples:
Want wanted
Belong belonged31
3.
The Form of Simple Past Tense
According to McGraw, the simple past tense is classified into two types.32 They are the simple past in regular verb and the simple past in irregular verb including past tense of the verb be.
a. The simple past tense in regular verb
1) Affirmative Statement
To make affirmative statement we use the following formula:
For examples:
She watched a movie last night.
He helped his grandfather in the garage yesterday.
2) Negative statement
The negative formula of simple past tense as following:
For examples:
My mother did not cook fried rice yesterday. We did not live in a n apartment last year.
Based on the example above, it can be seen that the verb in the sentence is returned to the simple form. Then the use did not is before the simple form of the main verb. The contraction for did not is didn‟t
3) Interrogative Statement
To make an interrogative statement, we use formula:
31
Elaine Kirn, Interaction 1 Grammar, 4th ed, (New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc, 2002), p. 107
32
Elaine Kirn, Interaction 1 Grammar, 4th ed, (New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc, 2002), p. 106-109
Subject + Verb 2 + object/complement
For examples:
Did you meet my brother last night? Didn‟t Risa study math last week?
b. The simple past in irregular verb
Many verbs have irregular past forms. These do not take an –ed ending in the past form.33 Then, the verbs that have irregular past tense form follow the same pattern in affirmative, negative and interrogative as regular verb. Here is the example of irregular verb as following:
Simple
Form Past Tense Form Notes
Cost Cut Hit Hurt
Cost Cut Hit Hurt
The simple and the past form of some verbs are the same.
Build Lend Send Spend
Built Lent Sent Spent
With some verbs, the simple for end in –d and the past form end in –t.
Dream Have Hear
Dreamt Had Heard
Some verbs have other consonant changes or add a consonant in the past tense.
Begin Come Drink
Began Came Drunk
Many verb have vowel changes in the past tense.
33
Elaine Kirn, Interaction 1 Grammar, 4th ed, (New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc, 2002), p. 111
Drive Eat Fall
Drove Ate Fell Be
Bring Buy Catch Do Fly
Was/were Brought Bought Caught Did Flew
Many verbs have consonant and vowel changes in the pst.
Based on the examples above, the verb be is the exception of irregular verb. This irregular verb is used differently than other irregular verb in affirmative, negative and interrogative statement.
c. The simple past tense of verb be
1) Affirmative Statement
For affirmative statement the formula as follow:
Example:
Mr. Erwin was a pilot one year ago. They were in the laboratories at 7 o‟clock.
2) Negative Statement
For negative statement the formula as follow:
Example:
You were not there last night.
Mr. Heru was not in the office yesterday.
Subject + was/were + adjective/adverb of place/noun)
3) Interrogative Statement
For interrogative statement the formula as follow:
Examples:
Were you a secretary?
Wasn‟t the dog fed this afternoon?
The examples above show that the use of “was” is used for the pronouns I, he, she, it, this, and that, however, the be of “were” is used for pronoun such as; you, we, these, and those. So, the use of “was” is only used for the singular noun and the use of “were” is only.
4.
The Usage of Simple Past Tense
The use of simple past tense is declared by some linguist experts. One of them is Sydney Greenbaum who stated that the simple past tense is used to refer to a situation set at a definite time in the past, such as:34
a) The even past is used with dynamic verb sense to refer to a single definite event in the past. The even may take place over an extended period or at the point of time.
For example: The train left at 7 a.m
b) The habitual past is used with dynamic verb senses to refer to past events that repeatedly occur.
For example: We spent our holiday in Lombok when we were children.
34
Sidney Greenbaum and Randolph Quirk, Student’s Grammar of the English Language, (Harlow: Pearson Education Limited, 1990), p. 50
Was/were + Subject + adjective/adverb of place/noun + ?
c) The state past is used with state verb senses to refer to a single unbroken state of affairs in the past.
For example: She once liked writing poems.
Another explanation stated by Douglas Biber and his friends about the
use of simple past tense that, “Past tense also has a common special use,
when it is backshifted from the present in reported speech or thought. That is, reports of earlier or thought can be given in the past tense, when the original quote (in the case of speech) was presumably in the present tense. in these cases, the tense of the verb in the indirect quote is adapted to agree with the past tense of the reporting verb;35
Example:
A girl at work said she worked at Woolworths. Direct speech “I work at Woolworths”
Then the next day he said he no longer loved me/
Direct speech “I no longer love you.”
From the explanations above, the write concludes that there are several uses of simple past tense, they are: to describe single completed actions, to show repeated events completed in the past and no longer happening, to talk about actions that happened in a sequence in the past, and to state indirect speech.
5.
The Way to Transforming Simple Past Tense Sentences
a. Auxiliary Verb
There are the following of ways to transform simple past tense with using auxiliary verb as the main verb, they are:
1) To transform affirmative statement into negative statement with the subjects (I, he, she, it), use or add to be was + not
after subjects.
For examples:
35
She was a nurse last year. She was not a nurse a last year. I was sick yesterday. I was not sick yesterday.
2) To transform affirmative statement into negative statement
with the subjects (you, we, they), use or add to be “(were) + not” after subjects.
For examples:
We were hungry yesterday. We were not hungry yesterday.
They were absent last Monday. They were not absent last Monday.
3) To transform declarative statement into interrogative statement (yes/no question), move to be (auxiliary verb) on the beginning of sentence and put a question mark (?) at the end of sentence. For examples:
She was at the movie last night. Was she at the movie last night?
They were in laboratory yesterday. Were they in
laboratory yesterday?
b. Verb Tense
The ways transforming simple past tense which has verb2 can be presented as follow:
1)To transform affirmative statement into negative statement, we
use or add to be “did + not” after subject and change verb2 into
verb1. Examples:
Anggi went to the zoo last week. Anggi did not go to the zoo last week.
2)To transform affirmative statement into interrogative statement, move (auxiliary verb) on the beginning of sentence, the verb used is verb1 and put a question mark (?) at the end of sentence.
Examples:
He drove a new car last month. Did he drive a new car last month? They ate noodles a few minutes ago. Did they eat noodles
a few minutes ago?
37
CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND RESEARCH FINDINGS
A.
Research Methodology
1.
The Place and Time of Research
This study was conducted at second year of MTs Al-Khairiyah Jakarta, Jln. Mampang Prapatan IV No. 74 Jakarta Selatan, the 1st semester of 2010-2011 academic years. The research was held on August 25th, 2010.
2.
The Method of Research
In this research, the writer used descriptive qualitative method to
3.
The Population and Sample of Research
The population of the research is the second year students of Islamic Junior High School at Mampang Prapatan IV no. 71-74 Jakarta Selatan. The total numbers of the population were 154 students who are divided into four classes, A, B, C, and D. The sample of research is four classes, they are 40 students. The writer used purposive cluster sampling technique decides the sample. The writer took only 10 students from each class.
4.
The Technique of collecting Data
To collect the data, she gave sentence exercise to the students with providing ten affirmative sentences for simple present tense, present progressive tense and for simple past tense (see appendix 5). Then she asked them to transform those of affirmative sentences into negative and interrogative form.
5.
The Procedure of Error Research
a. Identification of errors, the first step in the process of analysis is recognition/identification of errors. In this step teachers
recognize the students‟ errors from the task give by the
teachers.
b. Description of errors, the next step is the describing errors. It begins when an identification stage has taken place. The description of student errors involves classification of kinds of errors made by the students.
c. Explanation of errors, the third step in the process of analysis is the explanation of error that can be regarded as a linguistic problem. This step attempts to account for how and why the
students‟ errors happen.
e. Preventing/correction of error, finally the last step in the process of analysis is correction of error when the teacher checks the result from the task done by the students. And then the teacher gives the correct answer from the errors has been done by the students.1
6.
The Technique of Data Analysis
The technique of data analysis used by the writer was descriptive analysis technique (percentage), with the percentage from the frequency of information and divided with the number of cases. The formula is:
Notes P = Percentage
F = Frequency of wrong answer N = Number of sample2
B.
RESEARCH FINDING
1.
Data Description
The writer gave the test to get the valid data. She asked the students to transform simple present, present progressive and simple past tense from affirmative into negative and interrogative form in order to
analyze students‟ errors in their writing. Moreover, to know its result, the
writer made the table of students‟ errors. The writer identified their test of results which are divided into five components, they are; verb tense, auxiliary, word order, omission and punctuation with classifying and giving correction on each of sentences (see appendices 6).
1
Theo Van Els and friends, Applied Linguistics and the Learning and Teaching of Foreign Languages, (London: a Division of Hodder & Stoughton, 1983), p. 47
2
Sudjiono Anas, Pengantar Statistik Pendidikan, (Jakarta: PT Raja Grafindo Persada, 2007), p. 43
The table below is the recapitulation of students‟ error that classifying based on the type of error, which is made by the students.
Table 4.1.
The List of Recapitulation Result Students’ Error in Simple Present Tense.
S
tud
en
t
Errors
T
en
se
s (ve
rb
te
n
se
)
Auxi
li
ar
y Ve
rb
Wor
d
Order
Omiss
ion
Pun
ctuation
Fr
eq
u
en
cy of
E
rr
or
1 14 - 17 20 10 61
2 14 - 17 20 10 61
3 6 5 - - - 11
4 12 7 11 10 - 40
5 13 1 13 19 - 46
6 11 13 - 4 - 28
7 13 19 - - 1 33
8 14 2 9 19 5 49
9 12 2 8 13 - 35
10 10 5 9 11 - 35
11 - 3 - - - 3
12 12 19 - - - 31
13 11 12 3 2 - 28
14 4 13 2 5 - 24
15 14 1 8 19 - 42
16 2 4 - - - 6
17 1 - - - 1 2
18 12 15 - - 1 28
19 12 4 - - - 16
21 11 17 - 2 1 31
22 8 4 1 - 1 14
23 14 19 2 - 1 36
24 14 - 14 20 - 48
25 14 - 12 19 1 45
26 12 19 3 - 1 35
27 14 19 1 - 1 35
28 12 19 - - 1 32
29 13 19 - - 1 33
30 13 15 1 3 1 33
31 - 2 - - - 2
32 11 17 - 1 1 30
33 13 19 2 - 1 35
34 12 16 - - 9 37
35 13 15 2 1 - 31
36 11 17 2 2 - 32
37 12 8 8 11 - 39
38 11 14 - 3 - 28
39 6 14 2 - - 22
40 10 16 2 - - 28
Frequency
of Error 422 399 163 218 57 1259
Percentage
of Error 33,5% 31,7% 12,9% 17,3% 4,5% 100%
this error is 163 errors or 12.9% errors in this case. The fifth rate of error frequency is punctuation. The frequency of this error is 57 errors or 4.5% errors in this case.
Table 4.2.
The List of Recapitulation Result Students’ Error in Present Progressive Tense
S
tud
en
t
Errors
T
en
se
s (ve
rb
te
n
se
)
Auxi
li
ar
y Ve
rb
Wor
d
Order
Omiss
ion
Pun
ctuation
Fr
eq
u
en
cy of
E
rr
or
1 - - 6 - 10 16
2 - 1 5 - 9 15
3 - - - -
4 - 9 1 - - 10
5 - 1 3 - - 4
6 - - - -
7 - - - -
8 - 3 4 - 1 8
9 - - 5 - 2 7
10 - 4 2 - - 6
11 - - - -
12 - - - -
13 - 4 2 - - 6
14 - - - -
15 - 1 8 - 1 10
16 - - - - 2 2
17 - - - -
18 1 3 2 - - 6
20 - 2 10 - 9 21
21 - - - -
22 - - - -
23 - 1 - - - 1
24 - - - -
25 - - - -
26 - - - -
27 - - - -
28 - - - -
29 - - - -
30 - - - -
31 - - - -
32 - - - -
33 - - - -
34 - - - -
35 - - 2 - - 2
36 - 1 2 - - 3
37 - - 11 - - 11
38 - 1 - - - 1
39 - 14 - - - 14
40 - - 1 - - 1
Frequency
of Error 1 45 64 0 34 144
Percentage
of Error 0,7% 31,3% 44,4% 0% 23,6% 100%
this case. The fourth rate of error frequency is verb tense. The frequency of this error is 1 error or 0.7% errors in this case.
Table 4.3
The List of Recapitulation Result Students’ Error in Simple Past Tense
S
tud
en
t
Errors
T
en
se
s (ve
rb
te
n
se
)
Auxi
li
ar
y Ve
rb
Wor
d
Order
Omiss
ion
Pun
ctuation
Fr
eq
u
en
cy of
E
rr
or
1 20 10 9 10 10 59
2 20 10 9 10 10 59
3 20 10 10 10 - 50
4 19 20 3 - - 42
5 20 15 5 5 - 45
6 19 19 - - 3 41
7 20 20 - - - 40
8 20 18 6 2 - 46
9 20 5 5 10 - 40
10 20 8 9 10 1 48
11 - - - -
12 18 17 1 1 - 37
13 18 19 1 1 1 40
14 20 20 - - - 40
15 20 10 9 10 2 51
16 11 6 3 3 - 23
17 20 20 - - - 40
18 19 20 1 - 1 41
19 20 20 - - - 40
20 20 17 5 3 10 55
22 20 10 9 10 - 49
23 19 19 6 1 - 45
24 16 8 7 8 - 39
25 20 10 9 10 - 49
26 19 18 4 1 - 42
27 20 20 - - - 40
28 18 17 - 1 - 36
29 20 19 - 1 - 40
30 20 20 - - - 40
31 - - - 0
32 20 20 - - - 40
33 18 18 - - - 36
34 18 18 - - - 36
35 18 18 - - - 36
36 18 18 - - - 36
37 20 10 10 10 - 50
38 20 20 1 - - 41
39 20 15 2 - 2 39
40 19 19 1 - - 39
Frequency
of Error 727 595 128 122 41 1613
Percentage
of Error 45,1% 36,9% 7,9% 7,6% 2,5% 100%
error frequency is punctuation. The frequency of this error is 41 errors or 2.5% errors in this case.
2.
Data Analysis
[image:54.595.68.558.89.651.2]After presenting the errors into types of error which are written by Betty Schrampfer Azar and explaining the frequency and percentage of errors in the previous pages, the writer would like to talk more about the common errors in simple present, present progressive and simple past tense.
Table 4.4
The Recapitulation of Each Type of Errors in Simple Present, Present
Progressive and Simple Past Tense
Tenses
Errors
Ve
rb
T
en
se
Auxi
li
ar
y Ve
rb
Wor
d
Order
Omiss
ion
Pun
ctuation
Fr
eq
u
en
cy of
E
rr
or
Perce
n
tage
of
E
rr
or
Simple Present
Tense 422 399 163 218 57 1259 41.74%
Present Progressive
Tense 1 45 64 0 34 144 4.77%
Simple Past Tense
727 595 128 122 41 1613 53.48%
Frequency of Error 1150 1039 355 340 132 3016
Percentage of Error 38.12% 34.45% 11.77% 11.27% 4.37% 100%
The table above shows that the highest of error goes to verb tense with 38.12%. This proves that this verb tense becomes the most difficult grammatical area for the second year of MTs. Al-Khairiyah this one of
should be “Rika did not give me a novel two days ago.” Some students difficult to change the verb tense especially from verb 2 into verb 1. The second rate is auxiliary verb with 34.45%. This error happened because
students‟ still did not fully know or understand how to use the certain
auxiliary. Some students still using am, is and are in simple past tense. The third rate of error is word order with 11.77%. In this problem, some students have not been able yet to order words in right place, for example
“They swim every not Friday and Saturday.” It should be “They do not swim every Friday and Saturday.”
48
CHAPTER IV
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
A. CONCLUSION
Based on the data analysis and discussion in the previous chapters, the writer would like to make some conclusions. The highest frequency of error made by the students is verb tense with 1150 errors or on percentage 38.12% and as the lowest frequency of error made by the students is punctuation with 132 errors or on percentage 4.37%. The data showed that some of students at second year of MTs. Al-Khairiyah have many problems in transforming simple present, present progressive and simple past tense from affirmative into negative and interrogative form especially in verb tense.
The errors could happen because the students are still influenced by mother tongue interference. Indonesian has not tenses but English has its own rules. Lack of knowledge in English language can cause the errors and of course teaching learning process. Besides that, they usually take a note a
