CHAPTER II
REVIEW OFLITERATURE
2.1 RelatedStudies
Previousstudiesareneededto helpthewriter in completing thethesis.Some of
theprevious studiesare:
Prambandarie(2008)inherthesis entitledAnAnalysisOnPrimarySchool Students’
AbilityTo Use Personal Pronouns: ACaseStudyOn TheSixth Year
StudentsOfSDNNO.101878 Tg.Morawa,concludesthat thisstudyismainlyaimed
atdescribingthestudents’ability tousepersonalpronouns.Thestudentswhohave very
goodabilityinusing personalpronounsassubject are11students(36,7% outof
30respondents),9students(30%outof30respondents)havegoodability inusing
personalpronouns as subject.6students (20%outof30respondents)haveaverageability
inusingpersonalpronounsassubject,4students(13,3%outof30 respondents) havepoor
abilityin usingpersonalpronounsas subject.
Batubara(2009)inherthesisentitledAnErrorAnalysisofAuxiliaryVerbs Madeby
the2006/2007 Ninth GradeStudentsofMadrasahTsanawiyahAl-Ullum
Medan,concludesthatthemosterrormadeby studentsistheusingofdo(36,26%),
theusingof be(32,90%), and an errorin usinghave(30,84%).
Pujiasi(2010)in her thesisentitledThe ErrorsofUnityandCoherence in Writing
English ParagraphMadebyTheSixthSemester Students ofD-3 English
StudyProgramofUSU,concludesthat theerrorsare appearedespeciallyinusing the
Napitupulu(2010)inherthesisentitledAnErrorofUsingAdverbsbythe
EleventhYearStudentsofSMANegeri7Medan.Basedonherresearch,thereare
someerrorswhichmadeby studentsomission(21,12%),misinformation(25,35%),
misordering(23,94%),and overgeneralization (29,57%).
Rukiah(2011)inherthesisentitledAn ErrorAnalysisInUsingPassiveVoice Made
ByEleventh YearStudents OfMAN 1 Panyabungan, concludesthat theprocess
ofteaching andlearning EnglishPassiveVoiceinMAN1Panyabunganisgood enough, but
itneedsto be improved to decrease thenumber of errorsin using passive
voicewhichmadebythestudents.Shefindsthemosterrormadeby studentsin
simplefuturetense(27,75%),simplepasttense(26,59%),andthe lastissimple present
tense(20,23%).
Achirani(2011)inherthesis entitledAnError Analysis ofUsingPresent Tense
Made by Students of Second Year Junior High School of Madrasah
TsanawiyahAl-Washliyah16Perbaungan,concludesthatthemosterror madeby studentsinpresentperfect
continous(93,27%),simple present(75,74%).Present Perfect(69,28%),and
presentcontinous(61,71%).
Djayanti(2012) in her thesis An Error Analysis Of The Use Of Simple
SentenceMadebyTheNinthGradeStudents ofSMPNegri2 Pancur Batu,concludes
thatsomany problemswhichmadeby ninthgradestudentsofSMPNegri2Pancur
Batu.Shefindsoutthemosterrormadebystudentsisformationerrors,involves: preposition,
conjunction, noun, adverb, adjective, gerund, modals, be, article,
pronoun,anddeterminer(48,52%),arrangingerrors,involves:misorderingofverb
phraseandmisorderingofnounphrase(19,95%),deductionerrors,involves:-ing,
and be (25,15%), adding errors, involves:determiner, plural maker (s/es), -ing,
modal,be,possesivemaker, verb,preposition,pronoun, adjective,article,noun, third
personsingularverbmaker(11,39%).So, theconclusionistheabilityinusing simple
sentencesof studentsin SMPnegeri2 Pancur Batu isnotgood.
2.2 GeneralConceptof TheSimple Past Tense
2.2.1 TheUnderstandingof Tense
Many Learnershaveconsiderabledifficulty withEnglishtensesystem.As
with,otherareasofthegrammar,difficultiesmayarisefromthenatureofthesystem itself or
fromdifferencebetweenEnglish and thelearners’ mothertongue.
AccordingtoLyons’ideathattheterm‘tense’isderiviedfromthelatinword
‘tempus’meaning‘time’.Itmeansthattraditionally thetenseisdefinedintermof
time.ItisinlinewithSidneyGreenbaumwhodefinedthetenseasagrammatical category
thatisrealizedby verbinflection.Meanwhile,A.SHornbysaidthattense
referstoanaction,activity orstatemay occurinpast,presentorfuture.Hence,there are
threetensesin language, present, pastand future. Regardingthosedefinitions, the word
‘tense’ standsfor averb formor seriesof verbsused to expressa timerelation.
SinceEnglishhasnofutureinflectedformoftheverb,SidneyGreenbaum
claimedthatEnglishhastwotense:thepresentandthepast.Thesituationdescribed
inthepresent tenseisrelatedassimultaneouswiththemomentofspeaking,the situation
describedin thepast asrelates subsequent to the momentof speaking.
Here,thewriter concludedthattenseis agrammaticalcategory, typically marked
2.2.2 TheUnderstandingofSimple PastTense
Englishinsistsonmarking everyfiniteverbgroupforabsolutetense,whether or
notthe time orientation would be clear without it. Many other languages, however,
often do not require such marking of the verb group where the time
locationiseitherunimportantorisclearfromthecontext.Thismay partly explain why
somelearnersofEnglishtend,forexample,tousepasttenseswhenwriting narratives.
AccordingtoWeiner,thesimplepasttensedescribesanactionorsituation
thatbeganand ended in thepast. Inaddition,Hallstatedthatsimplepasttense
indicatesapastaction thatoccured atadefinitetimeinthepast,whetherthattimeis
statedornot.ItisinlinewithA.JThomsonandA.VMartinetwhodefinedthe simplepasttense
astheactioncompletedin thepastaatdefinitetime.
Fromthoseseveralstatementabove,the writerconcludedthatthesimplepast tenseis
used to express adefiniteeventin thepast.Simplepasttenseis alsoused if the
eventhappened completelyin thepasteven the time isnotmentioned.
2.2.3 Definitionof Simple Past Tense
Azar(1941:32)saysthatthesimplepasttenseisusedtotalkaboutactivities
orsituationsthatbeganand ended ataparticulartime in thepast(e.g.,yesterday,last night,
two daysago, in 1990).
AccordingtoManurung(2007:107), “Thesimplepast tense isused to express
pastactionwhenadefinitepointoftimeinthepastis given,apasthabit,andin
Woods(2010:30)saysthatthesimplepasttensetellsaboutwhathappened before
thepresenttime.
HarligandReynolds(1995:114-116)haveidentifiedthedifficultiesdealing
withtheuseofsimplepasttenseanditsrelationshiptolexicalaspect.Theirstudy
indicatesthatnonnativelearnersofEnglishhaveastrongconceptofthepresent tensewhen
dealingwith adverbsof frequency.
2.3 Form ofSimple Past Tense
AccordingtoMcGraw,thesimplepasttenseisclassifiedintotwotypes.
Theyarethesimpleinregularverbandthesimplepastinirregularverbincluding past tenseof
the verb be. The formulaof each type consists of three parts: affirmative, negative and
interrogative.
2.3.1 Simplepast tense inregularverb
Thefirsttypeofthesimplepasttenseinregularverbformusestheformula
asfollowing:
S+ V2 +O+Adverb
For Examples:
1. Shehelped hermother in thekitchen thismorning
2. The children playedgameslastnight
3. We listened tothe music after dinner
According totheexamplesabove,theformisusedforallsubjectsboth
singularandplural.Allregularverbstakean–edending inthepasttense.Moreover, there
Meanwhile, thenegativeformulaof simplepast tenseasfollowing:
S+Didnot +V1 +O+Adverb
For examples:
Her roommatedid notorder apizza lastnight
Wedid not live in an apartmentlastyear
Myfamilydid notown a computer untilrecently
Basedontheexamplesabove, it canbeseenthat theverbin thesentenceis returned
tothesimpleform. Then, theusedidnotisbeforethesimpleformofthe main verb.
Thecontraction for did notisdidn’t.
Inaddition,theotherformofsimplepasttenseisinterrogativebyusingthe
formula:
Did/Didn’t +S+V1 +O+Adverb
For examples:
1. Didyou move to anewhouse lastyear ?
2. Didyour mother cook lastnight?
3. Didn’tyou studyEnglish lastnight?
Theexamplesaboveshowthatthemainverbinthequestionisalsoreturned to
2.3.2 Simplepast tense inirregularVerbs
Many verbshaveirregularpastforms.Thesedonottakean–edending inthe
pastform. Then, theverbsthathave irregular past tenseformfollowthenamepattern
inaffirmative,negativeandinterrogativeasregularverb.Hereistheexample of irregular
verb asfollowing:
SimpleForm Simple Past Tense Simple Form Simple Past Tense
Arise Arose flee Fled
Awake awoke/awaked fly Flew
Be was/were forbid forbade
Bear Bore forget Forgot
Beat Beat forsake forsook
Become Became freeze Froze
Begin Began get Got
Bend Bent give Gave
Bet Bet go Went
Bite Bit grind ground
Bleed Bled grow grew
Blow Blew hang hung/hanged
Break Broke have had
Breed Bred hear heard
Bring Brought hide hid
Broadcast Broadcast hit hit
Build Built hold held
Burst Burst hurt hurt
Buy Bought keep kept
Cast Cast know knew
Catch Caught lay laid
Choose Chose lead led
Come came leave left
Cost Cost lend lent
Creep Crept let let
Cut Cut lie lay
Deal Dealt light lit/lighted
Dig dug lost lost
Do Did make made
Draw Drew mean meant
Drink Drank meet met
Drive Drove overcome overcame
Eat Ate pay paid
Fall Fell prove proved
Feed Fed put put
Feel Felt quit quit
Fight Fought read read
Find Found ride rode
Ring Rang stand stood
Rise Rose steal stole
Run Ran stick stuck
Say Said sting stung
See Saw strike struck
Seek Sought strive strove
Sell Sold swear swore
Send Sent sweep swept
Set Set swim swam
Shake Shook swing swung
Shoot Shot take took
Show Showed teach taught
Shut Shut tear tore
Sing Sang tell told
Sit Sat think thought
Slide Slid thrust thrust
Slit Slit understand understood
Speak Spoke upset upset
Spend Spent wake woke/waked
Spin Spun wear wore
Split Split weave wove
Spread Spread wind wound
Spring Sprang write wrote
Basedon theexamples above, theverbbeis theexceptionof irregularverb.
Thisirregularverbisuseddifferently thanotheriregularverbinaffimative,negative and
interrogative.
Hereisthepatternofsimplepasttenseofverbbeasfollowingfor the
affirmativeform theformula asfollow:
S+Was/Were+ Substantive(Adverbialofphrase) + ...
For example:
1. Mario wasathomelastnight
2. Ratnawasastewardessoneyear ago
3. Somestudents were absentlastSunday
Allthoseactionsareinthepast,andTheyareallfinished;they donotcarry over into
thepresent.Two of themaresingular noun (Mario and Ratna);oneof them ispluralnoun
(somestudents) used.
Next, here istheformulaof thenegativeformof simplepast tensein irregular
verb.
For example:
1. Iwasnot in myroom lastnight
2. Wewerenothungryfor dinneryesterday
Thelastformofsimplepasttenseinirregularverbisinterrogativeform,here
istheformula:
Was/Were+S+ Substantive(Adverbialofphrase) +...
Was/Were+ Not +S+Substantive( Adverbialofphrrase) +...
For example:
1.Was Mario athomelastnight?
2. Were Theyin thefarrewellpartylastnight?
3. Wasn’t thedogfed thisafternoon ?
4. Weren’t thosesofasexpensive?
TheexamplesaboveshowthattheuseofwasisusedforthepronounsI,He,
She,It,ThisandThat,howeverthebeof wereisusedforpronounsuchas:You,We,
, theseand Those.So, theuseof wasisonlyused for thesingular noun and theuseof
wereisonlyforthepluralnoun.Furthermore,thenegativestatementusesnotafter
theverbbeinthesentence.Meanwhile,thecontractionforwasnotiswasn’t,the
contractionforwerenotis weren’t.Theconctractionis usedtotomakethesentence easier in
2.3.3 Spelling Rulesfor–edEndings
Ending Rule Example
-y Iftheformofaverbendsin–yafter
aconsonant,changethe–yto–iand add –
ed.
carry/carried
marry/married
study/studied
try/tried
Vowel + Consonant
inOne-syllableVeb
Ifthesimpleformofaone-syllable
verbends inoneconsonantaftea
vowel,doublethelast consonant
(exceptx) andadd –ed.
Note:Theletterswandyattheend
ofwords arevowels,notconsonants. Do
notDouble them. knit/knitted plan/planned rob/robbed stop/stopped bow/bowed play/played row/rowed stay/stayed
Stressed syllable Ifthesimpleformofaverbendsin
an accented (stressed) syllable,
follow the preceding rule for one final
consonant after onevowel.
occur/occured
permit/permitted
prefer/preferred
submit/submitted
-e If thesimpleformofaverb endsin
–e, add only–d.
tie/tied
like/liked
Allotherverbs Add –edtothesimpleformofall
other regular verbs.
ask/asked
belong/belonged
need/needed
2.4 Ability
2.4.1 Definitionsof Ability
AccordingtheOxfordDictionary,“Ability ispossessionofthemeansorskill
todosomething.”Itmeansthatsomebody/somethingwhohasabilityisabletodo
something.Someonemeasuredorassessedthatshe/hecould dosomething withthe
abilityshe/hehas.Ifsomeonehasability thenshe/heisconsideredtobedoing something
witheffectiveoritscontrary.Suchthing canbeobtainedby way of learningand
practicingcontinuously.
AccordingtoRobbin(2007:58)capabilityconsistsoftwofactors,namely:
1.Intellectualability thattheskillsneededtoperformavarietyofmentalactivity- thinking,
reasoningand problemsolving.
2.Physicalabilityistheabilitytoperformtasksthatrequirestamina,skill,strength, and
similar characteristics.
Carroll(1993) an influentalpsychologistin thefield of educationallinguistics
divided thefour abilitycomponentsasfollows:
1. Phonetic codingabilityisabilityto perceive distinct sounds, associate a
symbolwith thatsound and retain thatassociation.
2. Grammaticalmemoryisabilitytorecognizethegrammaticalfunctionofa lexical
element(word,phrase,etc) inasentencewithoutexplicittraining in grammar.
3. Associativememoryisabilitytolearnassociationsbetweenwordsinforeign
4. Inductivelearningabilityisabilitytoinferorinducerulesgoverningthe structureof
alanguage.
2.4.2 FactorsofAbility
AccordingtoEllis(1985),thereareseveralfactorswhichmayaffectaperson's abilityin
learningaforeign language:
1. PersonalFactorsaredivided intothreeheadingsasfollows:
a) Group dynamics
Differencesinability/levelofdifferentstudentsin understanding aforeign
languagecausecompetitivenessamong students.Thiscompetitionencourages
studentstobe able tomaster aforeignlanguagewithactivelearning intheclassroom or
even suppressthestudentsasenseof mistrustin studyingaforeign language.
b) Attitudesto theteacher andcourse material
Theroleof the teacher intheclassinapplicating the teaching styletothe
studentandteachingmaterialsareusedbystudentsalsoaffectstudents'abilityto
learnaforeignlanguage.Mostly studentpreferusetheirownlearningpathssuch as
student-studentinteractionintheclassordemocraticteaching style.Studentsalso prefer
useavarietyof materialsthana coursebook.
c) Individual learningtechniques
Somestudentspushthemselvestobeabletouseaforeignlanguageby using
theirownlearningtechniquessuchaspreparingandmemorizingvocabulary lists
vocabularyfromparagraphthatusuallyusedincontext,andpracticingvocabulary
meansusevocabularyin asentence,conversation, playing games, etc.
2. GeneralFactorsdivideinto :
a) Age
Ellissays,“...children arebetter languagelearnersthanadults.”Itmeans that
theleveloflanguageacquisitionatchildhoodbetterthanadulthood.Becausethe
moreweolder themorewelackof ability inlanguagelearning. Althoughthereare adults
who are able tolearn the language, and theywho hasthereach higher levelsof
proficiency.
b) Intelligence andaptitude
Intelligence and aptitudeinfluence the abilityin learningL2.Learner who has
highlevelinintelligenceandaptitudeis abletounderstandtheusingofL2rapidly especially
informalteachingmethodinsomeskillssuchasreadingcomprehension, dictation, and
freewritingbut much lessof in naturalisticSLA.
c) Cognitivestyle
Cognitivestyleisatermtousethe mannerinwhichpeopleperceive,
conceptualize,organize,andrecallinformation.Ittalkabouttheprocessinreceiving
theinformation(understanding ofSLA).Howthelearnersable tounderstandthe foreign
language and usepracticallysuchasin communication andtesting.
d) Attitude and Motivation
Gardner andLambert(1972)define‘motivation’ interms of theL2 learner’s
striving foragoal.Ifthelearnershavemoreor lessmotivationin learningL2,itwill
beshownintheirattitude.GardnerandLambertdividemotivationintointegrative
andinstumental.Integrativemotivationoccursforlearnerwhowant tomaintain their
mothertonguewhentheylearnaL2.ItmeanstheynaturallylearnL2forhaving
knowledge.Instrumentalmotivationoccursforlearnerswhowant tolearningL2for
functionalsuchaspassinganexamination,furtheringcareeropportunities or
facilitatingstudyof other subject.
e) Personality
Personalityrefersto personal traits. In pshycology, personalitydivideinto :
- Extroversion andIntroversion :Extrovert learn L2 rapidlythan introvert
becausethey havemorecontactwithothers.Themorewehavecontactwith
otherindividual,themorewecanuse languagepractically andbecome habitual.
- Socialskills:AccordingtoStrong(1983)therearesevensocialstylesbut only
‘talkativeness’andresponsiveness’whichmoreeasy inlearningL2 rapidlybecause
theyhave interactwith othersin using L2 practically.
- Inhibition:InhibitionisnegativefactorstatedbyGuiora(1972a;1972b).It
determinethewayofthelearnersintakingriskwhilelearningL2andturn leadsto
2.5 Test
2.5.1 Definitionsof Test
AccordingtoEllis(1985:112),thepurposeof testistomeasuretheabilities
oflearnerstodiscriminatethemeaningfulsoundsoflanguage,toassociatesounds
withwrittensymbols, and to identify thegrammaticalregularities ofalanguage.
Throughthetest,studentscanknowhowgoodtheirability inlearningforeign
languages,especially inunderstandinggrammarofconditionalsentencesinorderto
studentscan improvetheir performance tobecomeexpert.
According toU.SCongress,“A testisanobjectiveandstandardizedmethod for
estimatingbehavior, based on asampleof thatbehavior.”
McNamara(1949:196)states,“....thetesttakerisunderstoodasasocial
beingwhosesubjectivity isafunctionofsubjectpositionsrealizedinthetestitself.
Fromthisperspective,testsbecometechnologiesofsubjectivity.Theact as
mechanismbothforthedefinitionofsubjectpositions andfor therecognitionof
subjects.Testscreatethe identitiesthattheymeasure.”Testing needtobecarriedout
asevidenceofstudentlearningoutcomes inschools.Thetesttakersperformteststo
examineanddeterminetheextenttowhichthestudenthastheability tounderstand
grammarofconditionalsentences.Thetestwillproducetheidentity ofthetested
2.5.2 Kindof Test
AccordingtoLado (1961:32), there are5 typeof testsasfollows:
1. Translation
Translationtestistheway examineesintestingtheskilloftransfermeaning fromone
language to another language. Examinees willbegiven a text in theformof
paragraphsandthenparticipantsshouldtranslate thesourcelanguageintothe target
languageorthetargetlanguageintothesourcelanguage.Translationtestareused to measure
general achievement in foreign language courses, as a measure of proficiency
todetermineentranceinschoolthatrequireaforeignlanguage.A
translationtestisavalidtestofabilitytotranslate.Inscoringatranslationcanbe
madeobjective if thosepeople trustthe translation test asthebest testingdevice.
2. Essay
Essay orcompositiontestarequestionsthatrequirestudentstoanswerinthe
formofdescribing,explaining,discussing,comparing,giving reasons,andother
similarformsinaccordancewiththedemandsofthequestionbyusingwordsand
languageitself. Examinees willbegivenafew questions thatcontain answer
questionsortasksthatmustbedoneinawaytoexpressideasinanarrativetest
participants.Characteristicof thetestdescription is theanswer to thatquestion is not
provided by thepeoplewhoconstructitems,butsuppliedby thetestexaminees. examinees
arefree to answer test questions. Each participanttests can select,
connect,andorconveyideasusinghisownwords.Essayuseasatestoftheability to write
3. Dictation
Dictationistypeoftestwheretheexaminerdictatestextand examinees rewrite
thetextreadout.Participantswillbeasked tohearthen rewritewhatwillbe
readbytheexaminer.Examinerswillreadoutthesentencebysentencetogivea
breaktotheexamineesinrewritingthetextthatwasread.Thereadingmaterialis usually
intheformofanarrativetext.Inthistest,participantspractiseslisteningand writing skills
such as letter formation to spelling, punctuation and lay-out, vocabulary, syntax, and
grammar.
4. ObjectiveTests
Objectivetestsisoneofthetypesofteststhatconsist ofquestionsthat canbe
answered bytheexamineesby selecting oneormoreofseveralpossibleanswersthat
havebeenattached totherespectiveitems,or by wayofwritetheanswerintheform
ofwordsinplaceorspacethathasbeenprovidedforeachitemconcerned.Objective testis
alsoknown as shortanswer test,yes-no testandnew typetest.Objectivetest
cantestinashorttimetheentirerangeofthesoundsystemofalanguage,orthe
majorgrammaticalpatterns,orrepresentativesampleof thevocabularytaughtduring
awholeyear or severalyear. Theycan scoredeasily.
Ingeneral theobjective testscan bedivided into six kinds, namely:
a.Completiontest: Completiontestistypeoftestthataskstudentto complete/fill
thetest.Completiontestconsistsofsentencesthat thepartshad
beenremoved(already eliminated).Itwasreplacedby dots(....).Thepoints
shouldbefilledorcompletedorperfectedby examineesandtheanswer (which
b. Shortanswer: Theshortanswertestistypeoftestwhichisgivenquestions
thatcanbe answeredin theformof statementswith asingleword,aphrase,a
number or aformula.
c. True-false:True-falsetestisoneformoftestthatgivesthequestionsinthe
formofastatement(statement),thereis atruestatementandfalsestatement. Then
examinees wereasked todeterminewhether thestatementis trueor false.
d.Multiplechoice: Multiplechoicetest isatestthatconsistsofpartof information,
parts of the possible answers or alternatives and one right answer
amongpossible answer.
e. Matching:matchingtestisatesttoadjustortesttomatchaseriesof questions
andaseries ofanswers.Examinees asktofindandputanswers are
alreadyavailable, so itisappropriateor suitableor aspouseof thequestion.
f. Rearrangementexercise:Rearrangementtest isatest intheformof aseries
ofcompletesentencesandcorrect, thendivorcedirregularly,sothatthe
originalformunrecognizable,examineesareaskedtorearrangethesentence in
accordancewith the correctsequence..
In testing student'sability,therearetwo waysthatcan beused to obtain the
dataofstudentlearningoutcomes.Inthisresearch,Thewriteruses twotypesoftest that
2.6 VerbForm
Auxiliary Verb Past
Did
Saw
Ate
Came
2.7 TimeExpressions
Sincethesimplepasttensereferstotheactivity endedinthepast,the
expressionoftimecanbeneglectedfromthepattern.Theexpressionofpasttime specify
thetimeinthepastwhenanactionwascompleted.Herearesomeexample expressionsfor
past time:
Time Meaning
Yesterday
LastNight
ThismorningYesterd
ayafternoon
Thedaybeforeyesterday
Lastweek
Last month
Lastyear
A week ago
Two monthsago
Threeyearsago
Kemarin
Tadimalam
Tadipagi
Kemarin sore
Kemarin lusa
Minggu lalu
Bulan lalu
Tahun lalu
Semingguyanglalu
Duabulan yanglalu
2.8 Diagram of Simple Past Tense
Weuse theSimplePastwhen we talk aboutsomethingwhich started and
