78 107
a. Question: She had not telephoned us. We were surprised about it. b. Student’s answer: Had not telephoned us, we were surprised R :
35. c. Intended answer: We were surprised about her not having
telephoned us. There were some mistakes made by the students in 107b. The first was that the
clause was still in finite form. The second was the word not, which was used to express negative meaning, was misplaced. The third was the clause was an
adverbial, not a noun clause. 108
a. Question: She had not telephoned us. We were surprised about it. b. Student’s answer: Her not telephoning surprised us R : 15.
c. Intended answer: We were surprised about her not having telephoned us.
From 108b, it was clear that the perfective aspect found in the question was omitted. The perfective aspect should be retained, and the form should be in the
non-finite verb form.
c. The Errors in the Non-finite Adverbial Clauses
The following are the errors committed by the students in constructing the non-finite adverbial clauses. The errors were classified into several categories.
They are described in Figure 4.3. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
79
Figure 4.3: The Errors in the Non-finite Adverbial Clauses
1 The Occurrence of Finite Subordinate Clauses
The fact that the students still produced finite clauses was also occurred in adverbial clauses. This meant that this type of mistake could be found in each type
of subordinate clauses. This fact showed that the students had not understood about the non-finite clause. These are the examples.
109 a. Question: I shall be satisfied if I can get my money back out of this
business deal. b. Student’s answer: I shall be satisfied if I could have gotten my
money back out this business deal R : 45. c. Intended answer:
I shall be satisfied to get my money back out of this business deal
. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
80 In 109b, the students changed the tenses. The fact was sentence 109b was still
finite. It was obvious that the clause still had modal auxiliary. Thus, the students might have not understood what the non-finite clause was.
110 a. Question: If it is used economically, one tin will last for at least six
weeks. b. Student’s answer: If it used economically, one tin will last for at
least six weeks R : 51. c. Intended answer: Used economically, one tin will last for at least six
weeks. In 110b, the subordinate clause was in the past tense. In order to transform the
clause into the non-finite clause, the pronoun it should be deleted. 111
a. Question: The taxi driver misunderstood my directions to the hotel. Therefore, he took me to the wrong place.
b. Student’s answer: The taxi driver took me to the wrong place because he misunderstood my direction to the hotel R : 40.
c. Intended answer: Misunderstanding my directions to the hotel, the taxi driver took me to the wrong place.
In 111b, the student had combined the two sentences in the correct way. The problem was that the sentence was still in the finite form. The student had not
changed the finite verb into the non-finite verb form.
2 The Occurrence of Verbless Clause
When the students were asked to produce sentences containing the non- finite clause, there was a student who made a verbless clause. The student omitted
81 the verb and it made the sentence become a verbless clause.
112 a. Question: She is a foreigner. So she needs a visa to stay in this
country. b. Student’s answer: As a foreigner, she needs a visa to stay in this
country R : 7. c. Intended answer: As a foreigner, she needs a visa to stay in this
country. In 112b the verb was also deleted. The student should have changed the verb
into the non-finite form.
3 Wrong Choice of Main Clauses and Subordinate Clauses
In the test, some students were wrong to choose the clause to be the main clause and clause to be the subordinate clause. In the instruction of Part B on the
test paper, it had been clearly stated that the sentence which was italicized should be the subordinate clause. In fact, the students used it as the main clause. The
following are the example. 113
a. Question: Rachel wanted to watch the news. She turned on the TV. b. Student’s answer: Turning on the TV, Rachel wanted to watch the
news R : 55. c. Intended answer: Rachel turned on the TV to watch the news.
In 113a, the students were asked to use the sentence She turned on the TV to be the main clause. The fact was it was used as the subordinate clause in 113b.
Basically, sentence 113b was grammatically correct. The problem was the PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI
82 sentence was semantically incorrect. The relationship between the main and
subordinate clauses was not clear. 114
a. Question: Larry didn’t want to disturb his sleeping wife. He tiptoed out of the room.
b. Student’s answer: Tiptoed out of the room Larry didn’t want to disturb his sleeping wife R : 42.
c. Intended answer: Not wanting to disturb his sleeping wife, Larry tiptoed out of the room.
If sentence 114b was compared to the original sentence, it was found out that the clause that should be the main clause was made to be the subordinate clause,
while the clause that should be the subordinate clause was made to be the main clause. Besides, in 114b, the subordinate clause was placed in the beginning of
the sentence. Thus, it should be separated from the main clause by using comma.
4 Transforming into Wrong Types of Subordinate Clauses
In the test, there were some students who produced wrong types of subordinate clauses. The subordinate clause should be an adverbial. In fact, some
students made the clause into a noun clause or an adjective clause. For example: 115
a. Question: Rachel wanted to watch the news. She turned on the TV. b. Student’s answer: The fact that Rachel wanted to watch the news
she turned on the TV R : 64. c. Intended answer: Rachel turned on the TV to watch the news.
In 115b, the students might have misinterpreted the relationship between the two sentences in 115a that made them constructed wrong type of clauses. The first
83 sentence in 115a could be an adverb of reason and adverb of purpose. The fact
was that the student constructed a noun clause. In addition, the noun clause in 115b was also grammatically incorrect because the subject of the main clause
was unclear. 116
a. Question: The taxi driver misunderstood my directions to the hotel. Therefore, he took me to the wrong place.
b. Student’s answer: The taxi driver who misunderstood my directions to the hotel took me to the wrong R : 58.
c. Intended answer: Misunderstanding my directions to the hotel, the taxi driver took me to the wrong place.
Grammatically, sentence 116b was correct. The problem was that the subordinate clause was still finite. Another mistake was the subordinate clause
functioned as an adjective clause to explain the taxi driver. It was considered wrong because the sentences in 116a had a cause and effect relation. The second
sentence in 116a was the result or effect of an action which happened in the first sentence.
5 Problems between Active and Passive Sentences
Problems between active and passive sentence also occurred in the other two types of subordinate clause. Some students used passive form for clauses that
had active meaning. On the contrary, they used active form of verb to refer to passive voice. For example:
117 a. Question: Because they were impressed by the young man’s
qualifications , they offered him a good job with their firm.
84 b. Student’s answer: Impressing by the young man’s qualifications,
they offered him a good job with their firm R : 24. c. Intended answer: Being impressed by Jo’s work, the manager
extended her contract for a year. In 117b, the students used active verb to refer to passive form. Therefore, it was
incorrect. The word impressing should be replaced by the word impressed. In other words, the subordinating conjunction because, the subject of the subordinate
clause, and the be form of the verb should be deleted. 118
a. Question: Larry didn’t want to disturb his sleeping wife. He tiptoed out of the room.
b. Student’s answer: Not wanted to disturb his sleeping wife, he tiptoed out of the room R : 32.
c. Intended answer: Not wanting to disturb his sleeping wife, Larry tiptoed out of the room.
From 118b, it was obvious that the student used –ed participle, which had passive meaning, to refer to an active meaning. The fact that the student used –ed
participle instead of –ing participle might reveal that the student did not understand the difference between –ed participle and –ing participle.
6 Incorrect Use of Comma
Frank 1972: 234 states that the adverbial clause can be placed in initial position, and it is usually separated from the main clause by using a comma. In
the test, some students forgot to put a comma after the subordinate clause. The examples are:
85 119
a. Question: Rachel wanted to watch the news. She turned on the TV. b. Student’s answer: Wanting to watch the news she turned on the TV
R : 31. c. Intended answer: Wanting to watch the news, Rachel turned on the
TV. The adverbial clause in 119b was placed in the initial position. Thus, a comma
should be located after the word news.
7 Problems with Pronoun
In the non-finite adverbial clause, the subject had been omitted. Therefore, the subject of the main clause should be stated. In fact, the students used the 3
rd
person pronoun. The following are the examples. 120
a. Question: Larry didn’t want to disturb his sleeping wife. He tiptoed out of the room.
b. Student’s answer: Not wanting to disturb his sleeping wife he tiptoed out of the room R : 59.
c. Intended answer: Not wanting to disturb his sleeping wife, Larry tiptoed out of the room.
Sentence 120b required a comma, which should be put after the word wife. Besides, the 3
rd
person pronoun he in 120b was unclear. Since the subject in the subordinate clause had been omitted, then in the main clause the subject should be
mentioned explicitly. Thus, the pronoun should be Larry. 121
a. Question: She is a foreigner. So she needs a visa to stay in this country.
86 b. Student’s answer: His being foreigner make her need a visa to stay
in this country R : 59. c. Intended answer: Being a foreigner, she needs a visa to stay in this
country. The subordinate clause in 121b was actually a noun clause. Besides, it was clear
that the student did not use the genitive pronoun consistently. In the beginning of the sentence, the student used his, but later he used possessive pronoun her. The
use of possessive pronoun his was incorrect because it referred to a woman.
8 Problems in Constructing the Non-finite Adverbial Clauses in Perfective
Form
The results of the test showed that the students still had problems in constructing the non-finite adverbial clause in perfective form. Having + past
participle indicates that an action in the subordinate clause is completed Celce- Murcia and Larsen-Freeman, 1999: 501. The fact was some students omitted the
perfective form. Below is the example. 122
a. Question: The room had been painted in dark colours. The room needed some bright lights.
b. Student’s answer: Painted in dark colours, the room needed some bright lights R : 13.
c. Intended answer: Having been painted in dark colours, the room needed some bright lights.
Sentence 122b was grammatically correct. The problem was the students omitted the perfective form. If sentence 122b was compared to the original
87 sentences, it was obvious that it should use the perfective form, which was used to
indicate the completion of an action, had been omitted. Thus, it was considered as a wrong answer although grammatically the sentence was correct.
9 Retaining Subordinator because for Clause of Reason
Azar 1989: 317 states that the subordinator because is omitted in participle
clause of cause. In the test, some students still retained the subordinator because. The following is the example.
123 a. Question: Larry didn’t want to disturb his sleeping wife. He tiptoed
out of the room. b. Student’s answer: Because not wanting to disturb his sleeping wife
he tiptoed out of the room R : 17. c. Intended answer: Not wanting to disturb his sleeping wife, Larry
tiptoed out of the room. It was obvious that the student put the subordinator because for clause of reason.
It should be omitted. In addition, sentence 123b needed a comma, and the subject of the main clause should be specified.
10 The Occurrence of Coordinate Clauses
The results of the test showed that there was a student who produced coordinate clause instead of subordinate clause. This revealed that the student
might have not understood the difference between coordinate clause and subordinate clause.
124 a. Question: Rachel wanted to watch the news. She turned on the TV.
88 b. Student’s answer: Rachel turned on the TV and watch the news R
: 29. c. Intended answer: Rachel turned on the TV to watch the news.
From 124b, it was clear that the verb did not show parallelism. Another problem was the clause was a coordinate clause, not a subordinate clause.
2. The Students’ Mastery on the Non-finite Clauses
