A THESIS
Submitted to the Faculty of Teacher Training and the Education Muhammadiyah University of Makassar in Partial Fulfillment of the requirement for the Degree of
Education English Education Department
NUR IZZAH DINILLAH 105351100116
ENGLISH DEPARTMENT
FACULTY OF TEACHER TRAINING EDUCATION MUHAMMADIYAH UNIVERSITY OF MAKASSAR
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Training and Education. Muhammadiyah University of Makassar. Supervised by Nunung Anugrawati and Ariana.
This study aimed at finding out how the students' ability in using subject-verb agreement in writing an essay. The method of this research was a descriptive quantitative method. The data of this research was collected through a writing test as the instrument. The sample of this research was the fifth-semester students of English Education at the Alauddin State Islamic University of Makassar. The sample was taken by using simple random sampling.
Based on the analysis and discussion about this research, the researcher concluded that the students' ability in using subject-verb agreement for the fifth- semester students of English Education at the Alauddin State Islamic University of Makassar was categorized into very good level with a score was 88.24. This score was got based on the result of all the students' scores that were divided into the total of students who became the sample of this research.
From 35 students, there were 7 students whose mastery levels were excellent, 16 students gained a very good level, 8 students whose mastery levels were good, 3 students gained a fairly good level, 1 student gained a fair level, no student gained a poor level. And the last level is very poor and no student gained this level.
Keywords: Subject-verb agreement, writing test, descriptive essay, students' ability
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Subject Verb Agreement dalam Menulis Esai. Tesis Jurusan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Keguruan dan Ilmu Pendidikan. Universitas Muhammadiyah Makassar. Dibimbing oleh Nunung Anugrawati dan Ariana.
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui bagaimana kemampuan siswa dalam menggunakan subject-verb agreement dalam menulis karangan. Metode penelitian ini adalah metode kuantitatif deskriptif. Data penelitian ini dikumpulkan melalui tes menulis sebagai instrumen. Sampel penelitian ini adalah mahasiswa semester V Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Islam Negeri Alauddin Makassar.
Pengambilan sampel dilakukan dengan menggunakan simple random sampling.
Berdasarkan analisis dan pembahasan mengenai penelitian ini, peneliti menyimpulkan bahwa kemampuan mahasiswa dalam menggunakan subject-verb agreement pada mahasiswa semester V Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris Universitas Islam Negeri Alauddin Makassar termasuk dalam kategori sangat baik dengan skor. adalah 88,24. Nilai ini diperoleh berdasarkan hasil nilai seluruh siswa yang dibagi menjadi jumlah siswa yang menjadi sampel penelitian ini.
Dari 35 siswa terdapat 7 siswa yang tingkat penguasaannya sangat baik, 16 siswa memperoleh tingkat sangat baik, 8 siswa yang tingkat penguasaannya baik, 3 siswa memperoleh tingkat cukup baik, 1 siswa memperoleh tingkat cukup baik, tidak ada siswa memperoleh nilai buruk tingkat. Dan tingkat terakhir sangat buruk dan tidak ada siswa yang mencapai tingkat ini.
Keywords: Subject-verb agreement, writing test, descriptive essay, students' ability
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Dream, Believe, Hope, Get it, and Do it. It’s never be late as long as you never stop trying
I decicate this thesis was to : My family especially to my parents, my beloved mom Husnah and my father Hamsah . All my beloved siblings and all my best friends, for lots of pray in supporting the writer making her dream comes true.
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Alhamdulillahi Robbil Alamin. The researcher expresses her highest gratitude to the almighty Allah SWT, who has given guidance, blessing, and mercy to her in completing this thesis. Salam and Shalawat are addressed to the final, chosen, religious messenger, the prophet Muhammad S.A.W.
Further, the researcher also expresses sincerely deepest gratitude to her beloved parents and brothers; her father Hamsah Ibrahim, her lovely mother Husna Yuddin, and also her brothers Syaiful Haq Al Faruqi and Fikri Azis Rabbani for their prayers, financial, motivations and sacrificed for her success, and their love sincerely and purely without time.
The researcher realized that in carrying out the research and writing this proposal, many people have contributed their valuable suggestions, guidance, and advice for the completion of this thesis. Therefore she would like to acknowledge them:
1. Prof.Dr. H. Ambo Asse, M.Ag, the Rector of Muhammadiyah University of Makassar.
2. Erwin Akib, M.Pd., Ph.D., the Dean of FKIP UNISMUH Makassar.
3. Ummi Khaerati Syam, S.Pd, M.Pd, the head of English Education Department of FKIP UNISMUH Makassar, who gave his valuable authorities and suggestion in doing this thesis.
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5. My biggest thanks to mam Ariana, S.Pd., M.Pd. as my second supervisor who has given my valuable time and patients, to support assistance and guidance to complete this thesis.
6. My greatest thanks to the family as the supporting family in all conditions to me.
7. My greatest thanks to all her classmates ( Awesome Class ) who have given me many experiences in developing my character.
8. Finally, for everyone who has given the valuable suggestion, guidance, assistance, and advice to complete this thesis may Allah S.W.T. be with us now and happily ever after.
Amin.
Billahi Fi Sabillil Haq Fastabiqul Khaerat
November 2020, Makassar The Researcher
NUR IZZAH DINILLAH
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LEMBAR PENGESAHAN ... ii
APPROVAL SHEET ... iii
COUNSELING SHEET 1 ... iv
COUNSELING SHEET 2...vi
SURAT PERNYATAAN ... viii
SURAT PERJANJIAN... ix
ABSTRACT ... x
MOTTO ... xii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ... xiii
TABLE OF CONTENTS ... xv
CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION ... 1
A. Background ... 1
B. Problem statement ... 5
C. The Objective of the Study ... 5
D. Significance of the Study ... 5
E. Scope of the Study ... 5
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3. Subject-Verb Agreement in Simple Present Tense ... 14
4. The Rules of Subject-Verb Agreement in Simple Present Tense ... 15
C. Writing ... 16
D. Conceptual Framework……….…………19
CHAPTER III. RESEARCH METHOD ... 21
A. Research Design ... 21
B. Research Variable………22
C. Population and Sample ... 22
D. Research Instrument ... 22
E. Data Collection ... 23
F. Data Analysis ... 23
CHAPTER IV. FINDINGS AND DISCUSSION ... 26
A. Research Findings ... 26
B. Discussion ... 34
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B. Suggestions ... 42
BIBLIOGRAPHY ... 48
APPENDIX ... 51
CURRICULUM VITAE... 89
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1 A. Background
Writing is one of the main language skills that the students should learn because it is one of the ways to communicate with other people. Writing is an activity where someone explains something or shares information about something with people in writing form (Hogue, 1996:2). It means in giving information to other people, the information must be clear and able to be understood by the receiver of the information. From all of the main language skills, writing is one of the difficult skills that the students generally consider. Moreover, in writing, grammar is one of the important elements that should be learned and given attention well and carefully by the students.
Grammar is the rules in a language where the form of words is changed and also combining the words into sentences which has a goal to deliver meanings of a message (Mahda. et al, 2016). It means the grammar rules are very important to be mastered. Without understanding the grammar of the language, a learner cannot make good and correct writing. Therefore, in learning English, grammar becomes an important thing to invent an understanding in using the language.
Specifically, grammar determines a message from sentence structure which should be considered well by the students as the user of language (Mahda. et al, 2016).
Students of the university, especially English learners are supposed to learn grammar rules because they will always be given a task to write. Sometimes they are asked to write sentences, paragraphs, or even essays. Their writing should be good and correct grammatically. Good in writing means the sentences should follow or agree with the rules of grammar in making sentences. It is very suitable with their subject of writing so that they are easier to face the task when their lecturer asks them to write well (Nurjanah, 2017).
In making sentences well and correct grammatically, the students need to pay attention to the subject-verb agreement in every single sentence. Eastwood (1994) stated that subject-verb agreement is selecting the correct singular or plural verb after the subject. Besides, Pyle and Page state that the subject and verb in a sentence must agree in person and number (Pyle and page, 2002). The writer can conclude that if the subject is singular, so the verb is singular too, and if the subject is plural, so the verb is plural too.
Learning the Indonesian language is very different from learning the English language. In creating Indonesian sentences, the verbs are not changed even though the subject is singular or plural, even though it happens in the present time, past time, or even in the future time. In contrast, English verbs always depend on the subject
and the time when an action happens (Ginanjar, 2015). As a statement that Rozakis (2003:32) stated that by observing the form of a verb, the reader mayfind out: 1. some kinds of tense (when the action is done in present time, past time, or future time); 2.
A subject can be a person or non - person (who or what does the action); 3. Several subjects (how many subjects act the action), 4. Active or passive voice (the subject acts or is acted). Based on the discussion above, the verbs in English sentences are influenced by the subject, the number of subjects, and time (tenses). Therefore, the material of subject-verb agreement is chosen to be the main focus of this research.
Orlove, (2004:271) states that subject-verb agreement is a singular subject that is followed by a singular verb and a plural subject that is followed by a plural verb.
Based on the researcher's experience when the researcher got a chance to teach one of the classes in the first semester students of the English Department at Muhammadiyah University of Makassar for about two months, the researcher gave material about simple present tense and how to make the sentence correctly. After all of the materials about the simple present tense had been given, the researcher tried to know the students' understanding by asking the students to make some sentences about simple present tense correctly which followed the rule of grammar that was explained before by the researcher. Then a result, the total of the students in that class was about 20 students, and the students who made sentences correctly were only 3 students, and other students were still incorrect in making sentences. Most of the students in that class were still incorrect in laying the verb after the subject. The
students also could not differentiate what verb is correct for the singular subject and what verb which is correct for the plural subject. Therefore the researcher concluded that the students were still confused about differentiating how to put the correct verb after the subject.
Another problem that has been found by Norhalimah (2016) in her research
"The Subject-Verb Agreement Problems in Writing at the Eight Grades of MTS An- NurPalangkaraya" concluded that the students had problems in using the auxiliary verb (have, has), to be (is/am/are) and they were still confused about using verb for singular subject and plural subject and also the adjustments to be / verb in sentences (has a friend), and adjustments to be / verb in the sentence. Then, another research about the problem of subject-verb agreement that has been found and explained in the journal of Suryo and Yustisia(2017) entitled “The students’ ability in using subject- verb agreement in Senior High School” they concluded that the ability of the students inusing subject-verb agreement can be categorized into poor as 15 from 27 students that in the class made an error (58%). From the statements that the researchers have mentioned, it can be concluded that the students are still confused in using the verb after the subject. The students also still do not master the grammar rules well.
Because of some reasons above, the researcher is interested in researching subject-verb agreement. The researcher wants to research subject-verb agreement in a tense that has been studied by the fourth semester of the English Department at the Alauddin State Islamic University of Makassar. The tense is simple present.
Therefore, the researcher proposes research by the title: Students’ Ability in Using Subject-Verb Agreement in Writing an Essay by the Fourth Semester Students of English Department at the Alauddin State Islamic University of Makassar.
B. Problem Statement
The problem statement of this researchis how is the ability of the fifth- semester studentsin using subject-verb agreement in writing an essay?
C. The objective of the Study
The objective of the research is to find out the students’ ability of the fifth- semester students in using subject-verb agreement in writing an essay.
D. Significance of the Study
This study has theoretical and practical significances. Theoretically, this researcher is expected to give special information related to the main problems of subject-verb agreement applied in writing. This information could motivate the English teachers to prepare the special consideration in making concrete expectations to the teaching done. Practically, the result of this study could motivate the English teachers to make the special material for subject-verb agreement. The material should be suitable for the students' condition. By doing this, the teaching-learning process would be better than before.
E. Scope of the Study
This research focuses on the subject-verb agreementof simple present tense in writing a descriptive essay to know the ability of the students. The subject of this
study is the fourth-semester students of the English Department at the Alauddin State Islamic University of Makassar.
7 CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
A. Previous Research Findings
There are some researches related to this research:
The first research by Kurniawan and Seprizanna (2016)found that the students' ability in using subject-verb agreement of the eighth-grade students of SMP Islamiyah Kota Agung in the academic year of 2016/2017 had a fair level by the mean score of 58.03.
The second research by Norhalimah (2016) found that 10 students had problems in subject-verb agreement in writing a sentence and they made problems in using the auxiliary verb (have, has), to be (is, am, are) and they did not know the function between singular and plural subject (she have a friend), singular and plural verb (they has a friend), and adjustments to be / verb in the sentence.
The third research by Suryo and Yustisia (2017) found that the teacher used the deductive approach and grammar practice in raising the students' consciousness on students' ability in using the subject-verb agreement. The students' ability in using subject-verb agreement was categorized into poor as 15 from 27 students in the class make an error (58%).
The fourth research by Al Noori et al (2015). This research aimed at investigating the frequency of such subject-verb agreement errors among
thirty (30) Iraqi secondary school students. It also aimed at investigating the prevalent type of errors and the causes of such errors. Adopted tasks and questionnaires served as the instrument of the study. It was found that subject-verb agreement errors are frequent among the participants. The verb be was found to be the most contributor to subject-verb agreement errors. Interlingua and intralingual transfer were the main causes of such errors.
The fifth research by Karim et al (2015). This article analyzed errors of agreement between subject and verb among the tertiary level EFL learners at International Islamic University Chittagong, Bangladesh. The errors are pointed out in written essays of comparison and comparison method on "Two places I have visited". The errors are classified into three categories-error of agreement between verb and singular subject, error of agreement between verb and plural subject, and error of agreement between verb and relative pronoun. Thirty-six learners participated in the study. The study reveals that students commit the highest number of errors of agreement between verb and plural subject followed by the error of agreement between verb and singular subject.
From all of the findings of the research that some researchers mentioned, most of the students made problems in using the subject-verb agreement. Not only the students of Junior High School who made the problem but also the students of the university made problems in using subject-verb agreement in the sentence. The second research by Norhalima (2016) explained that some students had problems in
subject-verb agreement in writing a sentence and they made problems in using the auxiliary verb (have, has), to be (is, am, are) and they did not know the function between singular and plural subject (she have a friend), singular and plural verb (they has a friend), and adjustments to be / verb in the sentence.
The explanation above can represent the overall results of the students' research problems. Therefore the researcher will use a text writing essay as the instrument in this research and focus on using subject-verb agreement in the simple present tense. The researcher chooses simple present tense because the researcher wants to know how far the understanding of students of University about the subject- verb agreement in this tense is until the researcher can know and conclude the ability of the university students in using subject-verb agreement in writing an essay. The researcher also wants to use an essay writing test so that the researcher will let the students describe what they want to describe by the title that they choose and they also will focus on one tense only namely simple present tense.
B. The Concept of Subject – Verb Agreement 1. The definition of subject-verb agreement
The subject-verb agreement that has been defined by Sparks (2006:1) mentions that subject-verb agreement can be explained thoroughly: the subject and the verb in a sentence should follow each other. It means the verb must be suitable with the subject that agrees with the rules of grammar. Additionally, Straus (2014:19) mentioned that subject-verb agreement is a singular verb that is put after
a singular subject and a plural verb is put after a plural subject. Moreover, Orlove (2004:271) states that subject-verb agreement is a singular subject that is followed by a singular verb and a plural subject that is followed by a plural verb. From all definitions above, the researcher can conclude that the change of verb form in the sentence depends on the subject. It means that a subject-verb agreement is an agreement between subject and verb. If the subject is singular, so the verb is singular, and also if the subject is plural, so the verb is plural too.
2. The rules of the Subject-Verb Agreement
Some rules that should be given attention in subject-verb agreement material, namely:
a. The subject must agree with the verb in a sentence even though when other words or phrases come between them. Usually, prepositional phrases come between subjects and verbs. So, ignore these prepositional phrases.
1) Example: The group of university students is going to fort Rotterdam.
(The subject is group, so the verb should be is. You have to ignore the prepositional phrase of university students).
2) Example: The teacher, along with his students, gets confusing the instructions. (The subject is taught, so the verb should be getting. You have to ignore the prepositional phrase along with his students).
b. The Subjects that are combined by "and" usually assume the position as a plural verb.
1) Example: Ara and Danni go to the market.
Note: The subject above is plural subject because consists of two names that mean two subjects.
2) Example: Each girl and boy in the room has a different explanation about fort Rotterdam.
Note: Use a singular verb for two singular subjects that form or are one thing. For the phrases like each girl and boy or every rabbit and cat, where the subjects are known individually, use a singular verb.
c. Collective nouns are nouns that indicate groups of people or things (e.g., class, jury, family, and audience). Collective nouns can be singular or plural but it depends on the sentence context. If you feel that the context of the sentence is a group that doing something together, as one unit, so the noun is singular and takes the position as a singular verb. If you feel that the context of the sentence is different members of the group performing different actions, then the noun is plural and takes the position as a plural verb.
1) Example: The group feels that the action is needed. (The group is acting as a unit, so the word group is singular).
2) Example: The young groups have gone their separate ways. (The group members are acting individually, so the word group is plural in this sentence).
Note: To avoid awkward-sounding plural collective nouns, place the members before the collective noun.
d. The indefinite pronouns namely: one, body, or thing require singular verbs. The words each, either, every, much, and neither require singular verbs too.
1) Example: Neither wants to study hard.
2) Example: Everybody understands the material from the teacher.
e. The indefinite pronouns namely: all, any, more, most, none, and some can be either singular or plural, depends on whether the word they refer to is singular or plural.
1) Example: All the rice is given to the poor people. (Here, all refer to rice, which is singular.
2) Example: All the pencils are provided for the students. (Here, all refers to pencils, which is plural).
f. The indefinite pronouns both, few, many, and several take position as plural verbs.
Example: Both understand the explanation.
g. The verb should agree with its subject even though when the subject follows the verb. Questions, sentences beginning with here or there, and sometimes sentences beginning with a prepositional phrase place the subject after the verb.
1) Example: Is cheating forbidden or permitted?
2) Example: Are cheating and asking answers the same thing?
3) Example: Playing in the field were three children and their mother.
4) Example: Here are my course certificate and student card.
5) Example: There is my umbrella
h. Manynouns that end in – ics (such as economics, statistics, and politics) take singular or plural verbs, it depends on how they are used. When these words refer to a course of study or a body of knowledge, they are singular.
When they refer to activities or qualities, they are plural.
1) Example: Economy (in Indonesia) is one of the talks now 2) Example: The economics make the businessmen work hard.
i. The subject that looks plural (because the end is) but refers to only one thing is singular.
Example: The glass is broken. (The plural of glass is glasses
j. Some nouns (such as glasses, pants, pliers, scissors, and trousers) are considered plural unless they are preceded by the phrase pair of.
1) Example: My glasses need to be cleaned.
2) Example: This pair of glasses needs to be cleaned.
k. Linking verb (usually a verb form to be) follows the subject (which usually comes before the verb), not the subject complement (which usually comes after the verb).
1) Example: Low salaries are the problem.
2) Example: The problem is low salaries.
l. In a dependent clause with a relative pronoun (who, that, which), the verb agrees with the antecedent.
1) Example: They have a roommate who always studies day and night.
(The antecedent of who is the third person singular noun roommate, so the verb in the dependent clause is third-person singular, studies).
2) Example: Selfi bought one of the ten famous books that have been published. (The antecedent of that book so the verb is third-person plural, have).
m. Tittle and words referred to as words take singular verbs.
1) Example: Harry Potter is my favorite movie.
2) Example: Children is misspelled in her writing.
3. Subject-Verb Agreement in Simple Present Tense
Eastwood (1994) states that in the present tense, there is an agreement that should be given attention. He points that the third person singular subject is followed by a verb that endings/es. Therefore, the researcher can conclude that the verbs in simple present either verbal or nominal form must be suitable with their subject. Moreover, in verbal sentence form, the verb follows the subject and the auxiliary uses do or does for all the subjects in negative and also in question sentence. While in nominal form, adjective, noun, or adverb are put after the subject. Nominal sentence form does not consist of the verb but in nominal sentence consists of to be (is/am/are). To be (is) used for subject (she, he, it), to be (am) used for the subject I and to be (are) used for subject You, They, We.
Azar (1989:11) also states that simple present tense is general truth and also expresses daily activity or habitual action.
For example:
a) The vegetable is a healthy food
b) My mom always eats fruit before eating
4. The rules of Subject-Verb Agreement in simple present
Subject-verb agreement in the simple present tense, the subject of singular (she, he, and it) followed by a verb that ending -s, -es, or is. It is concluded that verbs in simple present tense, verbal and nominal form should work together with their subject. For example, "Ara studies at the campus",
"Dani's mom is retired", "Zaskia is Alam's sister", or "Anggun stays in Surabaya". Plural subject (you, they, we) with to be “are” and I with “am", for example:" I am Arabic teacher in Makassar". In the verbal form, the subject is followed by a verb, and do or does is used as an auxiliary for all of the subjects in negative or question sentences. For example, "Nia doesn’t have any sister”.
“Does Nia have any sister?”
Besides, Suherman (2017) explained the rules of the simple present tense, namely:
a. Verbal sentence form (+) S + V1 (s/es ) + O + Adv
(-) S + do/does + not + V1 + O + Adv (?) Do/does + S + V1 + O + Adv Example:
(+) They study English at Locus English Course
(-) They don’t study English at Locus English Course (?) Do they study English at Locus English Course Example:
(+) She studies English at Locus English Course (-) She doesn’t study English at Locus English Course (?) Does she study English at Locus English Course b. Nominal sentence form
(+) S + is, am, are + 3C (Adjective, Noun, Adverb) (-) S + is, am, are + not + 3C (Adjective, Noun, Adverb) (?) Is, am, are + S + 3C (Adjective, Noun, Adverb)?
Example :
(+) They are happy (-) They are not happy (?) are they happy?
Example:
(+) She is happy (-) She is not happy (?) Is she happy?
C. Writing
Many experts have defined the definition of writing. According to Brown and Lee (2015), writing is an activity of improving yourself to write where you are free to think presently, and fell. Another linguist, the statement of Hyland
(2004) points out that writing is one of the ways to share meanings personally. It means that writing is one of the activities where someone can communicate in terms of writing.
According to Browne (2007), writing is an activity that feels more difficult because it is complex since it involves many skills, such as determine what to write, determining the best way to convey it, and determining the way to put the ideas onto paper as a text which is understandable for the readers to read.
Writing is one of the main skills of English. Because of writing, we can share some of our ideas, information, and also story with other people (Norhalimah, 2016).
Students of English are familiar with writing activities. One of them is essay writing According to Hornby (2010) essay is a group of the paragraph which consists of explanation about the subject or certain idea. Then Layaalia (2015) in her journal added that an essay is a way of communication in the form of writing that is conveyed with extensive knowledge, thought, and understanding. An essay and paragraph are different. An essay is longer than a paragraph.
Also, Oshima and Hogue (2006) cited in Imroatus Sholikah (2017) explain that an essay has three main parts: an introductory paragraph, a body, and a concluding paragraph. The introductory paragraph consists of (1) a general statement: general topic and captures the reader's interest; (2) a thesis statement:
specific topic, the pattern of organization of the essay. The body discusses the
subtopics, one by one. It contains as many paragraphs as necessary to explain all subtopics are like the supporting sentences in a paragraph. The body paragraphs may have some patterns: chronological order, comparison, contrast, or a combination of patterns. The concluding paragraph reminds readers of what has been stated in the thesis. The writer can summarize the main ideas, paraphrase the thesis, and make a final comment on the topic. There are some kinds of Essay text, namely Expository, Narrative, Persuasive, and Descriptive. But in this research, the kinds of essay text that will be used by the researcher is descriptive text to know the ability of students in using the subject-verb agreement.
The descriptive text has a function to show and describe things.
Hefferman and Lincoln mentioned that description is writing which describes the way a person, animal, or thing appears. The description makes people can imagine the way things look, smell, taste, feel, or sound; it can also evoke moods, like happiness, loneliness, or fear. Descriptive writing appears to the senses, so it tells how something looks, feels, smells, tastes, and/sounds. It means that a good description can be a word picture. The reader can imagine the object, place, or person in his or her mind.
1. Generic Structure of Descriptive Text
Gerot and Wignell (1994:208) state that the generic structure of descriptive writing is:
a) Identification identifies the phenomenon that will be described. This part is put in the first paragraph. The purpose is to introduce to the readers the object
which will be explained in the text. The object can be a person, a place, an animal, and others.
b) The description describes parts, qualities, or characteristics of something or someone in detail. This part is put in the second paragraph and so on.
2. Example of Descriptive Text
My best friend is Anna and she is my classmate. We always go to school together. Anna comes from a well-educated family. Her father is the head of the school and her mother is a teacher.
She is on time; she has a good education and has a good attitude. She always does her homework. She also always wears a uniform neatly and behaves well. All of the teachers like her too.
Anna has a strong body. She speaks politely but never feels afraid. She is a brave girl. She takes some parts in activities of sport, scout, trekking, and climbing. She is very kind and honest. She also obeys all the rules.
She can play guitar and she makes her parents proud of her. She always gets good scores and usually becomes the best student in my class. She inspires me to study harder. She brings me in a good way. I am very happy to have a friend like her.
D. Conceptual Framework
The researcher described this research through this conceptual framework. Where the writing is applied in this research. One of the writing activities that the students did was English essay writing. There are some kinds
of essay writing but in this research the researcher used descriptive writing. In writing the descriptive essay, generally the writers use simple present tense.
In the simple present tense, usually the verb that can be used are V1 or Vs/es in verbal sentence. And the auxiliary to be that can be used are “is, am or are”. In this research activity, the students that were researched by the researcher would be free to choose one of the tittles of the essay that the researcher gave.
In this research, the researcher would focuss on the subject verb agreement of simple present tense in each sentence in the students’ essay writing.
The purpose of this activity is to find out the students’ ability in using subject verb agreement in writing an essay. The result of this calculating would answer the question in the problem statement in chapter one.
Essay Writing
Simple Present Tense
Subject Verb Agreement
Students’ ability
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CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD
A. Research Design
In this research, the researcher used descriptive quantitative research.
According to Schreiber, descriptive studies simply describe some phenomenon using numbers to create a picture of a group or individual (Schreiber, 2011).
Furthermore, descriptive research can be either quantitative or qualitative. It can involve collections of quantitative information that can be tabulated along in continuum in numerical forms, such as scores on a test or the number of times a person chooses to use a certain feature of a multimedia program, or it can describe categories of information such as gender or patterns of interaction when using technology in a group situation. Therefore, the researcher decided to use quantitative data because the researcher wanted to know the students' ability in using the subject-verb agreement. The research employed this method to collect and analyze data which was suitable for this research to get information about the students' ability in using subject-verb agreement in writing an essay.
B. Research Variable
In this research, the researcher researched the use of subject-verb agreement in students' essay writing.
C. Population and Sample 1. Population
The population of this research was the fourth-semester students of the English Department at the Alauddin State Islamic University of Makassar.
The total population was 71 students. The 71 students were divided into two classes. A class consisted of 35 students, and B class consisted of 36 Students.
2. Sample
The researcher applied a simple random sampling technique.
According to (Gay, et al, 2012:131) Simple random sampling is the process of choosing a sample in such a way that all individuals in the defined population have an equal and independent chance of selection for the sample. The researcher chose 35 students as the sample, where the researcher took half of the Students in each class because the students of the fourth semester of the English department at Alauddin state Islamic university of Makassar were divided into 2 classes.
D. Research Instrument
In this research, the researcher applied a writing test as the instrument. The writing test was writing a descriptive essay. The writing test was used to know the
students' ability in using subject-verb agreement of simple present tense in writing an essay.
E. Data Collection
In collecting the data, several steps were completed. The steps in collecting the data included:
1. The researcher gave some topics to the students. For the descriptive essay, the topics were Losari Beach, My Campus, My Hometown, My Best Friend, and My Favorite Singer.
2. The researcher allowed the students to choose one of the topics that have been given.
3. The researcher asked the students to write an essay based on the topic that they chose.
4. The researcher analyzed the students’ writing test.
F. The technique of Data Analysis
The data analysis was conducted to describe the data by classifying it one by one based on the topic. The first data were those concerning the result of writing a descriptive essay. A writing test was used to find out the students' ability in using subject-verb agreement of simple present tense in writing an essay. The students' scores were classified into the classification of students' abilities such as excellent, good, fair, poor, and very poor according to their result of writing the essay.
1. Scoring the students' correct sentences at writing test by using this formula :
̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅̅
(Depdiknas as cited in Hermawan, 2016) 2. Indicator
No Criteria Score Note
1. Correct 1 The student's subject-verb agreement used is correct ( the subject-verb agreement used follows the rules of the simple present tense ) 2. Incorrect 0 The student's subject-verb agreement used is
incorrect (the subject-verb agreement used doesn't follow the rules of the simple present
tense )
(redesign by Nababan, 2012: 57) 3. Scoring Classification of Students’ Writing Achievement
NO Interval Score Classification
1. 96 - 100 Excellent
2. 86 - 95 Very good
3. 76 – 85 Good
4. 66 – 75 Fairly good
5. 56 – 65 Fair
6. 36 – 55 Poor
7. 0 – 35 Very poor
(Depdiknas as cited in Hermawan, 2016)
4. The researcher calculated the percentage of students who were categorized into some classifications level, namely Excellent, very good, good, fairly good, fair, poor, and very poor by the following formula:
% Note:
P: The percentage of students
f: frequency of students who were categorized into a classification level n: Number of respondents
5. Mean score of the result (Sugiyono, 2007, p. 48)
̅
Note:
X = Average score
X1, X2,…Xn = 1st, 2nd, …, data (scores) n = data (number of students)
26
CHAPTER IV
FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS
A. Research Finding
The objective of the study was aimed how the ability of the fifth-semester studentsin using subject-verb agreement of simple present tense in writing an essay.
The result of this objective is presented in the research finding table below:
Table 4.1 Percentage of the Students’ Level Mastery in the subject-verb agreementof simple present tense
Number Classification Number Percentage
1. Excellent ( 96 – 100 ) 7 Students 20 %
2. Very Good (86 – 95 ) 16 Students 45.71 %
3. Good ( 76 –85 ) 8 Students 22.86 %
4. Fairly good ( 66 – 75 ) 3 Students 8.57 %
5. Fair ( 56 – 65 ) 1 Student 2.86 %
6. Poor ( 36 – 55 ) 0 Student 0 %
7. Very poor ( 0 – 35 ) 0 Student 0 %
Total : 35 Students 100 %
From the table above, the researcher got the result that there were 7 or (20%) students whose mastery level were excellent, 16 or (45.71 %) students gained a very good level, 8 or (22.86 %) students whose mastery level were good, 3 or (8.57 %) students gained a fairly good level, 1 or (2.86 %) student gained a fair level, no
27
student gained a poor level. And the last level is very poor and no student gained this level.
Here are the examples of students' subject-verb agreement used for each level category:
(note : NR that is explained below is the students cod)
1. Excellent level category
NR 27 got this category because this student made 12 subject-verb agreements used of the simple present in the writing test, namely:
a. Losari Beach is a beach located in west of the city of Makassar, South Sulawesi province, Indonesia.
b. This beach is a place for Makassar residents to spend time in the morning, afternoon and evening.
c. This place is also for enjoying the beautiful sunset views
d. The distance of Losari Beach from Sultan Hasanuddin International Airport is approximately 20 KM.
e. Vendors and traders only operate at night.
f. The tent stalls lined the beach are less long over one kilometer.
g. One of the typical Makassar snacks sold in the tent stalls is the epe banana.
h. One of the typical Makassar snacks sold in the tent stalls is the epe banana.
i. It is raw banana that is burned, then made flat j. It is best eaten
k. It is still warm with various toppings on top such as grated cheese, strawberry jam, etc.
l. It is also still around Losari Beach.
All of the subject-verb agreements used above are correct because they follow the rules of simple present tense both verbal and nominal. This student’s result was 100. The score “100” was categorized into excellent level with the scores are (96 –100).
2. Very good level category
NR 18 got this category because this student made 16 subject-verb agreements used of the simple present tense in the writing test, namely:
a. This weather region is clammy b. Bogor has famous place c. It is puncak pusara
d. The travelers from others region always visit Bogor for visiting PuncakPusara Bogor
e. Bogor also has interesting history since 1937
f. It is about the kapitan who stayed there for comforting the colonizer
g. The government there build the statue of Kapitan in front of the gate Puncak Pusara Bogor. (Incorrect)
h. The people of Bogor has different language with other sundanese which the language is slightly rough with other sunda language (incorrect)
i. The people around Bogor, moreover, the girls there most of them are beautiful
j. The people Bogor are kind
k. They have a good attitude with the travelers and others
l. It is the place which is led by Ridwan Kamil as the up to date person in West Java
m. There is something new in Bogor n. It is exactly in Puncak
o. It is useful for the travelers p. It is also useful for the sales there
From 16 subject-verb agreements used above, there were 14 correct subject-verb agreements used. This student's result was 87, 5. The score “87, 5”
was categorized into very good level with the scores are (86 – 95).
3. Good level category
NR 15 got this category because this student made 16 subject-verb agreements used of the simple present tense in the writing test, namely:
a. I from Enrekang (incorrect)
b. I want to tell you about my story during learning online due to Covid 19 c. I live in a little village
d. Its name is Madata
e. I don’t access internet easily f. in my village is at mountain
g. the network is not good for learning online h. my lecture use whatsapp (incorrect) i. I sometimes attend the class
j. I don’t attend the class
k. During learning online if I want to access internet l. if there class (incorrect)
m. it is not far
n. I still walk a little to get there
o. I also wake up at 12:00 am to work my task p. if the night my network is good to access internet
From 16 subject-verb agreements used above, there were 13 correct subject-verb agreements used. This student’s result was 81, 25. The score “81, 25” was categorized into good level with the scores are (76 – 85).
4. Fairly good level category
NR 11 got this category because this student made 15 subject-verb agreements used of the simple present in the writing test, namely:
a. It is easier to get music based on our own personality b. One of my favorite singer is one direction
c. One direction are an English pop boy band formed in London, England in 2010 (incorrect)
d. Their name become more famous (incorrect)
e. The five boys who make a lot of young ladies hysterical are Niall Horrand, Zayn Malik, Lovis Tomlinson, Liam Payne and Harry Styles
f. He also want to make albums (incorrect)
g. he want to collaborate with world-renowned musicians (incorrect) h. Next boy is Zayn Malik
i. urban music is the main factor affecting his musical career in R&B and rap genre
j. Next boy is Lovis Tomlinson
k. The musician who is idolized and influenced his musical journey the most is Robbie Williams
l. Fourth Boy is Liam Payne
m. Liam is a fan of Justin Timberlake
n. Timberlake is the biggest influence in his musical career o. The last boy is Harry Style
From the 15 subject-verb agreements used above, there were 11 correct subject-verb agreements used. This student’s result was 73.33. The
score "73.33" was categorized into fairly good levels with the scores are (66 – 75).
5. Fair level category
NR 33 got this category because this student made 19 subject-verb agreements used of the simple present tense in the writing test, namely:
a. They are can just friend and close friend (incorrect) b. Friends are people who know you
c. you just take a several time with them d. They are just know you (incorrect) e. they also admires you
f. they not know all about you (incorrect)
g. they not accepting your personality (incorrect)
h. The second aspect we talking about best friend who loves, cares, and always gives you support whatever your condition (incorrect)
i. They know our personality not only on the surface but overall j. They give us a chance
k. we make a mistake
l. they also give advice to be a good personality
m. They accepting negative and positive aspect in our personality (incorrect) n. Friendship is one of the greatest blessings that not everyone is lucky
enough to have
o. We meet a lot of people in the journey of life p. there is only few friends who stay with us
q. My best friends is one such person who has been able to make a positive impact in my life (incorrect)
r. I fell extremely fortunate to have someone as a best friend in my life s. we do the same thing
From 19 subject-verb agreements used above, there were 11 correct subject-verb agreements used. The student's result was 57.89. The score
“57.89” was categorized into fair level with the scores are (56 – 65).
Table 4.2 Mean Score of The Students’ Result
Total of students’ scores 3088.42
Total number of students 35
̅
Mean Score 88.24
From the table above, the researcher concluded that the students' ability in using subject verb-agreement of the simple present tense in writing an essay in the fifth semester of the English Department at Alauddin State IslamicUniversity of Makassar was categorized into the very good level as the score is 88.24. This score was got based on the result of all the students' scores that were divided into 35 or the total of the students.
This research described the students' ability in using subject-verb agreement of simple present tense in writing an essay at the fifth-semester students of the English Department at the Alauddin State Islamic University of Makassar. Based on the result of this research, the researcher would like to describe this research by using a table which is appended on the page appendix. The researcher found the scores based on the calculation that the researcher did.
B. Discussion
This part discussed the finding of the research which covered the ability of the students in using subject-verb agreement in writing an essay. The subject-verb agreement used focused on the simple present tense. The variables measured were the subject-verb agreement used of simple present tense both verbal and nominal.
In this finding, the researcher found correct and incorrect subject-verb agreement used of the simple present tense in students' essay writing. These are discussed as follows:
1. The correct subject-verb agreement used
The subject-verb agreement used that followed the rule of simple present tense was correct. And the score was one (1). And in this finding most of the samples that the researcher researched made the correct subject- verb agreement used that followed the rules of subject-verb agreement in simple present tense.
2. The incorrect subject-verb agreement used :
Some of the samples also made incorrect subject-verb agreement used, namely :
a. The using S + to be + V1 NR 1
SVA used: we are live in the same neighborhood.
There were some students made this kind of this incorrect subject verb agreement used namely, NR 6, NR 1, NR 13, NR 26, NR 28, NR 8, and NR 33. The example of subject-verb agreement used above is incorrect because, after the plural subject in the verbal sentence, it should be followed by the V1 directly without adding to be. This in line with the explanation of Suherman (2017) that the formula of the verbal sentence in the simple present tense is (+) S+V1 (s/es) + (O + adv). So the subject- verb agreement used above doesn't follow the rule. It is in line with the theory of Straus (2014) mentioned that subject verb agreement is a singular subject that is put after a singular verb and a plural verb that is put after a plural verb.
b. The using S + without to be (is/am/are) + Complement NR. 2
SVA used: Uland a beautiful woman
There were some students made this kind of this incorrect subject verb agreement used namely, NR 4, NR 2, NR 10, NR 14, NR 17, NR 22, NR 15, NR 28, NR 35, NR 8, and NR 30. The example of subject-verb agreement used above is incorrect because according to the rule, after the subject in the nominal sentence, it should be followed by to be (is/am/are) then complement. Uland is a singular subject so, to be which is correct for the SVA used namely "is". It is in line with the explanation of Suherman (2017) that the formula of the nominal sentence in the simple present tense is S + to be (is/am/are) + complement. So the subject-verb agreement used above doesn't follow the rule.
c. The using S + without V1 (s/es) + O NR. 2
SVA used: uland two brothers
There was a student made this kind of this incorrect subject verb agreement used namely, NR 2. The example of subject-verb agreement used above is incorrect because according to the rule, after the subject in the verbal sentence, it should be followed by V1 (s/es) then O. Uland is a singular subject so, Verb "has" is correct for the SVA used. This explanation in line with the theory of Orlove (2004:271) stated that
subject-verb agreement is a singular subject that is followed by a singular verb and a plural subject that is followed by a plural verb. So the subject- verb agreement used above doesn't follow the rule.
d. The using plural subject + to be (is) + complement NR.3
SVA used :These destinations is suitable to take pictures
There were some students made this kind of this incorrect subject verb agreement used namely, NR 3, NR 9, NR 17, NR 19, and NR 23. The example of subject-verb agreement used above is incorrect because according to the rule, after the subject in a nominal sentence, it should be followed by to be (is/am/are) then complement. "These destinations" is plural subject so, to be which is correct for the SVA used above namely
"are". This explanation has a correlation with the theory of Eastwood (1994) stated that to be (are) used for subject You, They, We. So the subject-verb agreement used above doesn't follow the rule.
e. The using singular subject + V1 + O NR.7
SVA used: She always participate in competition about writing via online There were some students made this kind of this incorrect subject verb agreement used namely, NR 3, NR 5, NR 10, NR 12, NR 14, NR 17, NR 18, NR 19, NR 21, NR 23, NR 24, NR 32, NR 1, NR 7, NR 13, NR 15, NR 26, NR 31, NR 35, NR 8, NR 11, and NR 30. The example of
subject-verb agreement used above is incorrect because according to the rule, after the subject in a verbal sentence, it should be followed by V1 (s/es) then O. the subject "she" is a singular subject so, verb "participates"
is correct for the SVA used because according to Eastwood (1994) stated the third person singular subject is followed by a verb that end s or es. So the subject-verb agreement used above doesn't follow the rule.
f. The using plural subject + Vs/es + O NR.7
SVA used: usually people Ambon has dark skin
There were some students made this kind of this incorrect subject verb agreement used namely, NR 18, NR 7, and NR 33. The example of subject-verb agreement used above is incorrect because according to the rule, after the subject in a verbal sentence, it should be followed by V1
(s/es) then O. The subject “people Ambon" is plural subject so, the verb
"have" is correct for the SVA used above because the explanation of Suherman (2017) that the formula of the verbal sentence in the simple present tense is (+) S+V1 (s/es) + (O + adv ). This explanation in line with the theory of Orlove (2004:271) stated that subject-verb agreement is a singular subject that is followed by a singular verb and a plural subject that is followed by a plural verb. So the subject-verb agreement used above doesn't follow the rule.
g. The using singular subject + to be (are) + complement
NR.11
SVA used : One direction are an English pop boy band formed in London, England in 2010
There were some students made this kind of this incorrect subject verb agreement used namely, NR 7 and NR 11. The example of subject- verb agreement used above is incorrect because according to the rule, after the subject in the nominal sentence, it should be followed by to be (is/am/are) then complement. "One direction" is the singular subject so, to be which is correct for the SVA used above namely "is". This explanation has a correlation with the theory of Eastwood (1994) stated that To be (is) used for subject (she, he, it).
h. The using S + to be + modal NR 33
SVA used: They are can just friend and close friend
There were some students made this kind of this incorrect subject verb agreement used namely, NR 13 and NR 33. The example of subject- verb agreement used above is incorrect because according to the rule, after the subject in the nominal sentence, it should be followed only by to be (is/am/are) not adding modal after to be, then complement. This explanation correlates with the explanation of Suherman (2017) that the formula of the nominal sentence in the simple present tense is S + to be
(is/am/are) + complement. So the subject-verb agreement used above doesn't follow the rule.
i. The using Subject + without do/does + not + V1 NR 23
SVA used : EXO not just sing
There were some students made this kind of this incorrect subject verb agreement used namely, NR 23 and NR 33. The example of subject- verb agreement used above is incorrect because according to the rule, in negative sentence, the subject should be followed by do/does and directly put not after it then V1. The subject of the sentence above is singular subject so it should be followed by does not and the NR 23 did not put does after the subject but directly put not after subject so the subject verb agreement used above is incorrect because the explanation of Suherman (2017) that the formula of the verbal sentence in the simple present tense of negative sentence is (-) S + do/does + not + V1 So the subject-verb agreement used above doesn't follow the rule of grammar.
j. The using subject + Ving NR 29
SVA used : It depending on the topping variant you want
There were some students made this kind of this incorrect subject verb agreement used namely, NR 29, NR 32, NR 28, and NR 33. The example of subject-verb agreement used above is incorrect because
according to the rule of simple present tense, there is no verb that ending ing. The verb that can be put in the sentence are V1 or Vs/es.
This explanation in line with the theory of Easwood (1994) that points the third person singular subject is followed by a verb that ending s/es.
Then for the explanation of Suherman’s book explain that in positive sentence in simple present tense the formula is subject + V1 or Vs/es + Object. So the sentence that was made by NR 29 is incorrect. The subject-verb agreement used that did not follow the rule of simple present tense was incorrect. And the score was zero (0).
Based on the data analyses that the researcher found by using writing tests, the students' ability in using subject-verb agreement in writing an essay was categorized into very good level with an average score is 88.24. The researcher in this research divided into several levels such as excellent level, very good level, good level, fairly good level, fair level, poor level, and very poor level.
From 35 students, there were 7 students categorized into excellent level with the percentage sample is 20% from all the samples. Then, there were 16 students categorized into very good levels with the percentage sample is 45.71% from all of the samples. Furthermore, for the good level, 8 students were categorized into this level with the percentage sample is 22.86%. And the next is the fairly good level where 3 students were categorized into this level with the percentage sample is 8.57%. Then, there was only 1 student
categorized into fair level with the percentage sample is 2.86%. And for the poor level, there was no student categorized into this level with the percentage sample is 0 %. And the last level is very poor where no student was categorized into this level with a percentage sample is 0%. Their classification levels could be found because their works depended on the correct or incorrect in every single subject-verb agreement used of simple present tense.
The explanation above indicated that the first highest student number percentage is the students who got the very good level category with the students' number are 16, then the second-highest percentage is good level with the students' number are 8. Furthermore, the next percentage is excellent level with the students' number are 7. Then, the next percentage is fairly good level with the students' number are 3. The next percentage is fair to level with the student number is 1 and the lowest student number percentages are poor level and very poor level with the student number is 0.
The result of this research that had been mentioned that students' ability in using subject-verb agreement in writing an essay is categorized into very good level with a score is 88.24. This score was found by adding all of the students’ scores namely 3088.42. Then the researcher divided the scores according to the number of all the samples namely 35 students. Then the score result was 88.24 which categorized into very good levels with the scores are 86 – 95.
This research can be concluded that the number of students who understand using subject-verb agreement in writing an essay is more than the number of students who do not understand using subject-verb agreement in writing an essay. This can be seen from the number of percentages that had been explained above.
41 CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTION
A. Conclusion
Based on the analysis and discussion about this research, the researcher concluded that the students' ability in using subject-verb agreement for the fifth- semester students of English Education at the Alauddin State Islamic University of Makassar was categorized into very good level. This score was got based on the result of all the students' scores that were divided into the total of students who became the sample of this research.
B. Suggestion
According to the results in chapter four, the researcher presents suggestions that might be taken into consideration for students and lecturers.
1. Suggestion for students
Since the finding has described the quality of students' ability in writing essay results that they had made, thus, this study can be a reference for students in using subject-verb agreement in writing an essay, therefore the students are aware of their weakness in writing an essay.
2. Suggestion for lecturers
The finding of the research can be taken as consideration for lecturers to ponder their way to improve students’ ability in writing an essay about subject verb-agreement.
3. Suggestion for the other researchers
The last suggestion is proposed for the next researcher to conduct deeper research related to writing an essay about subject verb-agreement or the other related research.
43
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