Types of Errors in Simple Present Tense

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B. Types of Errors in Simple Present Tense

After identifying and classifying the sentences, the writer, then, analyzed and classified the errors made by 26 students based on Dulay’s theory. According to the theory written in the previous chapter, there were four types of errors which would cover the data analysis. Those are the error of omission, addition, misformation, and misordering. The number of the Simple Present Tense errors could be seen in this following table.

4.3 The Number of Errors of Simple Present Tense 1

Simple Present Tense Omission Addition Misformation Misordering 33 3 22 1 Besides, the researcher discussed some errors which were made by the students in Simple Present Tense sentences. The error sentences discussed below were based on the data findings which were put in the appendix A. The errors could be seen as follows.

1. Omission

As seen in the table presented above, the most frequent errors made by the students were the error of omission. These following sentences are the results of errors omission made by the students. 1. It seem that blog limits the movement of students who do not have access and burden the teachers. 5b. Online sources also available 247 in our life. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 42 6a. This program help us to express ourselves, like in music, dance, and instrument. Those sentences are included omission errors. The students omitted one or more item that should be in the sentence which made the sentences, not in a well- formed. In the first case 1, the omission occurred two times. The errors were in the verb seem and burden. A form of a verb is determined by a subject of a sentence. As seen in the sentence, the subject of the sentence is It. It is pronouns of the third person. According to the theory explained in the previous chapter, pronouns of the third person in Simple Present Tense, the verb should be followed by –s or –es. In line with the case 1, the verb of the sentence should be followed by –s or –es but the students omitted morpheme –s in the verb seem and burden. The verb burden which appears in the second clause must be followed by –s because it refers to the subject blog. It also has the same case as in the sentence 6a. The student omitted morpheme –s in the verb help. While in the second case 5b the students forgot to add to be in the sentence he made. The student should add to be are right after the subject of the sentence. The to be is are because the subject of the sentence is plural. Although those sentences can still be understood by the readers, it is grammatically incorrect. The possible correction of those sentences can be seen as follows. 1. It seems that blog limits the movement of students who do not have access to it and it burdens the teachers. 5b. Online sources are also available 247 in our life. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 43 6a. This program helps us to express ourselves, like in music, dance, and instrument.

2. Misformation

The second types of errors which were mostly made by the students were the error of misformation. A good sentence should have correct morpheme or structure. If the sentence does not have correct form of morpheme or structure it can be categorized as misformation error. Here are some sentences of misformation errors students made based on the data. 7d. All in all, small classes is better than big classes. 14a. According to Martin 2011, pulp and paper is the third largest industrial polluter of air, water and soil in both Canada and the United States. 15a. In this matter teacher who also have the responsibility to educate students also can use video games for helping students to learn. From the sentences above, it can be seen that those sentences were grammatically incorrect. The students put a verb and to be wrongly to the sentence they made. In the first and second example, there was a mistake of choosing to be. The students did not pay attention to the subject of the sentence. The first and the second cases 7d14a have wrong to be. The subjects of those sentences are plural so the students should put to be are instead of is in the present sentences. The possible correction of the ungrammatical sentences presented above can be seen as follows. 44 7d. All in all, small classes are better than big classes. 14a. According to Martin 2011, pulp and paper are the third largest industrial polluter of air, water, and soil in both Canada and the United States. Besides, the third case 15a shows that a student put the wrong form of a verb in the sentence he made. The student put the verb have in the dependent clause of the complex sentence he made. That was grammatically incorrect because the subject of the main clause he made was teacher. The subject was singular so it should be followed by verb –s or –es. The verb have that he chose to complete his sentence was incorrect. It should be has because it refers to the subject teacher which is singular. The possible correction of the third example of the misformation error can be seen in the following sentence. 15a. In this matter, the teacher who also has the responsibility to educate students can also use video games for helping students to learn. Most students ignored the subject of the sentence which made the sentences they made grammatically incorrect. The students should pay attention to the subject of the sentence, whether it is singular or plural because it determines the auxiliaries or the verbs that will be used in the sentence.

3. Addition

In the previous paragraph, the researcher has explained about omission error which occurs when there are one or more items which are omitted in a sentence so that the sentence can be considered as an incorrect sentence. Then, in contrast with PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 45 omission, addition errors can be defined as ‘the presence of an item which must not appear in a well-formed utterance’ Dulay et.al., 1982. After analyzing the data, the researcher found some addition errors made by the students. Addition error was the next type of error which appeared in the documents. The researcher found four times of occurrences of addition error in the sentences students made. Here are the sentences. 6b. We are become more talented and be more better, and better in every practices. 15f. … learning is not always be boring but it can be fun and enjoyable. 26f. It is never costs many energies for the students to bring the handouts. Those three sentences are grammatically incorrect. Those sentences have the same case. In each of those sentences is included in the double marking of addition error. If there are two tense markers in a sentence, according to Dulay et al.1982 it can be categorized as double marking of addition error. Based on the examples, the students gave double tense markers in the sentence. The first were are and become, the second were is and be, and the third were is and costs. The possible correction of the sentences can be seen as follows. 6b. We are become more talented and be more better, and better in every practices. 15f. … learning is not always be boring but it can be fun and enjoyable. 26f. It is never costs many energies for the students to bring the handouts 46 A sentence at least should have one clause. A clause must have a finite verb. According to Cameron 2007 ‘a main clause has to have a finite verb-one which is marked, whether on the main verb or an auxiliary verb, as being either present or past tense’. So, a main verb is the only verb which exists in a clause. It will become another case if the clause has an auxiliary, the auxiliary will become the tense marker no more the main verb. As seen in the examples, each sentence of the examples has already had the main verb but the students put also an auxiliary in the sentence -the sentence only has one clause- which made the sentence grammatically incorrect. A clause must only have a finite verb or an auxiliary as the tense marker.

4. Misordering

Misordering was the fewest type of error which occurred in the document. After processing the data, the researcher found only one occurrence of misordering error student made in Simple Present Tense sentence. Dulay et al.1982 say that ‘the incorrect placement of a morpheme or group of morphemes in an utterance’ can be defined as misordering error. The sentence can be seen as follows. 18a. Also, in doing work individually, student more focus if they do it with their learning styles. The error of the sentence was also included in omission error. The omission error occurred in the word student which should be students. The word student becomes plural because the next pronoun, in the next clause, is plural which is they. While, this sentence was also categorized as misordering error because a student put the word more wrongly. The word more was put in the wrong place or position 47 by the student. The student forgot that verb has a different form with adjective when it is implemented in comparative or superlative form. Teschner 2007 explains that all adjectives which have three or more syllables will put more for comparative form or most for superlative form just before the equative form, for example, more beautiful or most beautiful. He, then, also states that the morpheme –er and –est are put as suffixes in all adjectives which have one syllable and in certain types of adjectives which have two syllables. That is for all adjective words. It is a bit different for verbs. Teschner 2007 say ‘adjectives and adverbs directly enter into equative, comparative, and superlative structures: nouns and verbs enter into them in a more peripheral way.’ It means that verbs and nouns have a bit different structures of comparative and superlative. Teschner 2007 gives an example of comparative in a verb ‘She studies more than you do.’ This example shows that the comparative word more is put right after the main verb, not before the main verb. So, the student who made the sentence presented above should put the comparative word more right after the main verb focus. The possible correction can be seen in the following sentence. 18a. Also, in doing working individually, students more focus more on learning if because they do it with their own learning styles.

C. Types of Errors in Present Perfect Tense