Analysis on the students' error in learning reported speech of question sentence at the third year students of AMKIT Nurul Qolbi Bekasi (A cse study at the third year students of SMKIT Nurul Qolbi bekasi)

AN ANALYSIS ON THE STUDENTS’ ERROR IN LEARNING
REPORTED SPEECH OF QUESTION SENTENCE AT THE
THIRD YEAR STUDENTS OF SMKIT NURUL QOLBI
BEKASI
(A Case Study at the Third Year Students of SMKIT Nurul Qolbi Bekasi)
A “Skripsi”
Presented to the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers Training in partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of S.Pd (Bachelor of Arts) in English
Language Education

By:
Sesilia Umdatul Qori
107014000439

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLIH EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHERS TRAINING
STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH
JAKARTA
2011

AN ANALYSIS ON THE STUDENTS’ ERROR IN LEARNING
REPORTED SPEECH OF QUESTION SENTENCE AT THE
THIRD YEAR STUDENTS OF SMKIT NURUL QOLBI
BEKASI
(A Case Study at the Third Year Students of SMKIT Nurul Qolbi Bekasi)
A “Skripsi”
Presented to the Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers Training in partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree of S.Pd (Bachelor of Arts) in English
Language Education

By:
Sesilia Umdatul Qori
107014000439

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLIH EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHERS TRAINING
STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY
SYARIF HIDAYATULLAH
JAKARTA
2011

AN AI{ALYSIS ON TIIE STUDENTS' ERROR IN LEARNING
REPORTED SPEECH OF QUESTION SENTENCE AT TIIE
THIRD YEAR STUDENTSOF SMKIT NTIRUL QOLBI
BEKASI
(A CaseStudy at the Third YearStudentsof SMMT Nurul Qolbi Bekasi)
A "Skripsi"
Presented
to the Facultyof TarbiyahandTeachersTrainingin PartialFulfillment
of theRequirements
for the Degreeof S.Pd(Bachelorof Arts) in English
LanguageEducation

Approvedby advisor:

NIP. 150041070

DEPARTMENT OF ENGLTH EDUCATION
FACULTY OF TARBIYAH AND TEACHERS TRAINING
STATE ISLAMIC UNIYERSITY

SYARIF HIDAYATULLAII
JAKARTA
20tt

ENDORSEMEI\T SHEET

The examination committee of the Faculty of Tarbiyah and TeachersTraining certifies
that the 'Skripsi' entitled "An Analysis on the Students' Error in Learning Reported
Speechof Question Sentenceat the Third Year Studentsof SMKIT Nurul Qolbi Bekasi
(A Case Study at the Third Year of SMKIT Nurul Qolbi Bekasi)", written by Sesilia
Umdatul Qori, student's registration number: 107014000439was examined by the
committee on December 23'd 20ll

and,was declared to have fulfilled one of the

requirementsfor the degree of S.Pd in English Language Education at the Department
of Enslish Education.

Jakarta.December28th2011

ExaminationCommittee

Chairman

Drs.Svauki.M.Pd
NrP.1964t2t2 t99t 031002

Secretary

NenengSunengsih.
M.Pd
NrP. 19730625199903200r

Examiner I

NIP. 194407197965102 001
Examiner II

Drs.Syauki.M.Pd
NIP. 1964l2t2 I99I 031002

Acknowledged by:
Dean of Tarbiyah and TeachersTraining

NurlenaRifa'i. Ph.D

NrP. 19591020 t986032 001

DEPARTEMEN
AGAMA
UINJAKARTA
FITK

FORM(FR)

J,. lr. H. Juanda No 95 Ciputat 1*12 lndc,nesla

No. Dokumen :

FITK-FR-AKD-089

Tgl.Terbit

:

1Mare12010

No. Revisi:
Hal

;

01
1t1

KARYASENDIRI
SURATPERNYATAAN
Sayayang bertandatangandi bawah ini,
Nama

: SesiliaUmdatulQorr

Tempat/Tgl.Lahir
: Bekasi,25Februari1989
NIM

: l070l4AAA4J9

Jurusan/ Prodi

: PendidikanBahasaInggns

JudulSkripsi

:

AN ANALYSIS ON THE STUDENTS'ERROR IN LEARNING REPORTED
SPEECHOF QUESTION SENTENCEAT THE THIRD YEAR STUDENTSOF
SMKIT NIJRUL QOLBI BEKASI
(A CaseStudyat the Third Year Studentsof SMKIT Nurul Qolbi Bekasi)

DosenPembimbins:
Drs.NasrunMahmud.M.Pd
Denganini menyatakan
hasil karyasendiridan
bahwaskripsiyangsayabuatbenar-benar
jawabsecaraakademisatasapayangsayatulis.
sayabertanggung

Jakarta,30 Desember2011
. - --- - I4aha+isrxa-,Ybs.
PAIAXIEUE4EIN
TGL

tsINEEA
20

SesiliaUmdatulOori
NrM. 107014000439

ABSTRACT

Qori, Sesilia Umdatul, 2011, An Analysis on the Students’ Error in Learning
Reported Speech of Question Sentence at the Third Year Students of
SMKIT Nurul Qolbi Bekasi (A Case Study at the Third Year of SMKIT
Nurul Qolbi Bekasi), ‘Skripsi’, English Department, the Faculty of
Tarbiyah and Teachers Training, Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic
University, Jakarta.
Advisor
Key Words

: Drs. Nasrun Mahmud, M.Pd
: Error Analysis – Reported Speech of Question Sentence

This research aimed to analyze the errors made by the third year students
of SMKIT Nurul Qolbi Bekasi in learning reported speech of question sentence.
More specifically, it aimed to find out the most types of errors made by the
students. The writer used the descriptive analysis technique in this research to
analyze the data by using formula:
�
P = X 100 %. The data is taken from the students’ test.
�

The finding of the research states that the third year students of SMKIT
Nurul Qolbi Bekasi still made errors in learning reported speech of question
sentence, especially when they are asked to transform from direct question into
indirect question.
Based on the data that the writer got, the most types of errors made by the
students in learning reported speech of question sentence are in area of
Misordering which consists of 139 or 75.1% errors. It is followed by the
percentage of errors in over-generalization area. It is 36 or 19.5% errors. There are
5 or 2.7% errors in area of omission. In over-regularization area, there are 4 or
2.2% errors made by the students. In addition area, error made by the students is 1
error or 0.5%. And there is no error made by the students in double marking area.
After analyzing the errors made by the students, the writer interprets that
errors made by students are caused by language interference, students’ incomplete
application of rule, false concept hypothesized, and students’ carelessness.

i

ABSTRAK
Qori, Sesilia Umdatul, 2011, An Analysis on the Students’ Error in Learning

Reported Speech of Question Sentence at the Third Year Students of
SMKIT Nurul Qolbi Bekasi (Studi kasus di SMKIT Nurul Qolbi Bekasi),
Skripsi, Jurusan Pendidikan Bahasa Inggris, Fakultas Ilmu Tarbiyah
dan Keguruan, UIN Syarif Hidayatullah, Jakarta.
Pembimbing : Drs. Nasrun Mahmud, M.Pd
Kata Kunci : Menganalisa Kesalahan-Reported Speech of Question
Sentence
Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisa kesalahan yang dilakukan
siswa kelas 3 SMKIT Nurul Qolbi Bekasi di dalam belajar reported speech of
question sentence. Secara lebih spesifik, penelitian ini bertujuan untuk
menemukan type atau jenis kesalahan apa yang paling banyak dilakukan siswa.
Peneliti menggunakan tehnik descriptive analisis to menganalisa data dengan
�
menggunakan rumus: P = X 100 % Data diambil dari tes siswa.
�
Hasil penelitian menyebutkan bahwa siswa kelas 3 SMKIT Nurul Qolbi
Bekasi masih melakukan kesalahan di dalam belajar reported speech of question
sentence, khususnya ketika mereka diminta untuk mentransform dari kalimat
pertanyaan langsung menjadi kalimat pertanyaan tidak langsung.
Berdasarkan data yang diperoleh oleh peneliti, kesalahan yang paling
banyak dilakukan siswa dalam mempelajari reported speech of question sentence
adalah pada area Misordering yang terdiri dari 139 atau75.1% kesalahan. Diikuti
oleh persentase kesalahan pada area Over-generalization sebanyak 36 atau 19.5%
kesalahan. Ada 5 atau 2.7% kesalahan pada area Omission. Di area Overregularization ada 4 atau 2.2% kesalahan yang dilakukan siswa. Di area Addition,
kesalahan yang dilakukan siswa sebanyak 1 atau 0.5%, dan tidak ada kesalahan
yang dilakukan siswa pada area Double Marking.
Setelah menganalisa kesalahan-kesalahan yang dilakukan siswa, maka
peneliti menginterpretasikan bahwa kesalahan yang dilakukan siswa disebabkan
oleh language interference, students’ incomplete application of rule, false concept
hypothesized, and students’ carelessness.

ii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

In the name of Allah the Beneficent the Merciful
All praises be to Allah, the writer thanks Allah SWT, lord of the universe
Who has given her some mercy and blessing until she can finish the „skripsi’
entitled “An Analysis on the Students’ Difficulties in Learning Reported Speech of
Question Sentence at the Third Year Students of SMKIT Bekasi” properly.
Moreover, peace and salutation be upon our Prophet Muhammad SAW and his
family, his companions, and his followers.
This „Skripsi’ is proposed as one of requirements to get Strata I Degree
(S1) of English Language Education (S.Pd).
In this opportunity, the writer would like to express her deepest gratitude
and thanks to her beloved father and mother Drs. H. Mulyadi MM and Hj. Najuah
S.Pd.I who have given the greatest love, prayer, financial and moral support. It
also will be expressed to the whole members of her family for their biggest love
and kindness to support her in finishing this „skripsi’. Then, the writer also would
like to express her thanks and gratitude to her advisor Drs. Nasrun Mahmun, M.Pd
for his valuable help, guidance, corrections, suggestions, and kindness in
completing this „skripsi’.
Her appreciation and thanks also go to:
1. All lecturers of English Department who have dedicated themselves
for education and taught the writer during her study in Syarif
Hidayatullah State Islamic University Jakarta.
2. Drs. Syauki, M.Pd, as the head of English Department.
3. Neneng Sunengsih, M.Pd, as the secretary of English Department.

iii

4. Nurlena Rifa’i, Ph.D, as the acting dean of Faculty of Tarbiyah and
Teachers’ Training Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University
Jakarta.
5. All staffs of English Department and Faculty of Tarbiyah and
Teachers’ Training Syarif Hidayatullah State Islamic University
Jakarta.
6. Syamsurizal, SEI, the principal of SMKIT Nurul Qolbi Bekasi, the
English teacher, and the third year students of SMKIT Nurul Qolbi
Bekasi who allowed and helped the writer to do the research in their
school.
7. All friends in English Department especially classmates of PBI class A
for academic year 2007 who have endeavored together in improving
English skill. May Allah bless them all
May this „skripsi’ be useful for the writer in particular, and for the
readers in general. The writer realizes that this „skripsi’ is far from
being perfect. Therefore, she would like to accept suggestions for
valuable improvement in another research.

Jakarta, December 4th 2011

The writer

iv

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page

ABSTRACT ...................................................................................................................... i
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT ……………………………………………………….…….. iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS …………………………………………………………….… v
LIST OF TABLES …………………………………………………………………….... vii
LIST OF APPENDICES ……………………………………………………………….. viii
CHAPTER I:

INTRODUCTION
A. The Background of the Study ……………………………………. 1
B. The Identification of the Problem ……………………………...… 4
C. The Limitation and Formulation of the Problem ………...………. 4
D. The Method of the Study …………………………………...……. 5
E. The Objective of the Study ………………………………...…….. 5
F. The Organization of the Study …………………………...………. 5

CHAPTER II:

THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
A. Grammar ………………………………………………..………… 7
1. The Definitions of Grammar ……………………..…………... 7
B. Reported Speech …………………………………….…………… 8
1. The Definitions of Reported Speech ……………..…………... 8
2. The Kinds of Speech …………………………….…………… 8
3. The Transformational Rules from Direct (Quoted) Question into
Indirect (Reported) Question ……………......……………... 13
C. Students’ Error in Learning Reported of Question Sentence........... 16
1. The Definitions of Error …………..…………………...…….… 16
2. The Difference between Error and Mistake …………………… 17
3. The Causes of Error ……………………………………………. 18
4. The Types of Error ………………………...….……...………... 19
5. The Procedures of Errors Analysis .............................................. 21
6. The Error in the Change of Tenses and Pronouns …....…..……. 21

v

CHAPTER III:

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS
A. Research Methodology ………………………………….…...…… 24
1. The Purpose of the Study …………………………….…...…… 24
2. The Time and the Place of the Study ………………........…….. 24
3. The Population and Sample ……………………………...……. 24
4. The Instrument of the Research ………………………...……... 24
5. The Technique of Data Collecting ……………………..……... 25
6. The Technique of Data Analysis ……………………..……….. 25
B. Research Findings ……………………………………..…………. 26
1. Data Description …………………………………...………….. 26
2. Data Analysis ………………………...………………………... 28
3. Data Interpretation …………………………….………..……... 39

CHAPTER IV:

CONCLUSION AND SUGGESTIONS
A. Conclusion ………………………………………………...……… 41
B. Suggestions ………………………………………………...……... 41

BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................. 42
APPENDICES ................................................................................................................... 44

vi

LIST OF TABLES

Page
1. Table 2.1: List of Reporting Verbs ………………………………………. 11
2. Table 2.1: Common Expressions of Time in Indirect Speech …………… 12
3. Table 2.3: List of Verbs Used before if and whether clauses ……………. 14
4. Table 2.4: List of Verbs Used before Clauses Beginning WH Words …… 14
5. Table 2.5: Characteristics Changes in Tense ……………………………. 15
6. Table 2.6: Changes of Pronoun and Possessive Adjectives ………...…… 16
7. Table 3.1: Area Tested of Reported Question and Each Item………....…. 26
8. Table 3.2: The Total of Students’ Error ……………………………….… 27
9. Table 3.3: Description of Students’ Error in Omission ………….……… 28
10. Table 3.4: Description of Students’ Error in Addition…………………… 29
11. Table 3.5: Description of Students’ Error in Over-Regularization….….… 29
12. Table 3.6: Description of Students’ Error in Over-Generalization…….…. 29
13. Table 3.7: Description of Students’ Error in Misordering …………...…... 31
14. Table 3.8: The Percentage of Students’ Error ……………………………. 36
15. Table 3.9: Error Classification Based on Surface Strategy Taxonomy ...… 37
16. Table 3.10: Error Types Classification and It’s Percentage ………………. 38

vii

LIST OF APPENDICES

1. Appendix 1: Test Instrument...................................................................44
2. Appendix 2: Answer Key ........................................................................46
3. Appendix 4: SuratPengajuanJudulSkripsi ...............................................46
4. Appendix 5: SuratBimbinganSkripsi ......................................................47
5. Appendix 6: SuratPerubahanJudul ..........................................................48
6. Appendix 8: SuratKeteranganTelahMelakukanPenelitian ......................49
7. Appendix 9: Profile of SMKIT NurulQolbiBekasi .................................50

viii

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

A. The Background of the Study
When people do the communication with others, they will use a
language. Language has a big role for every individual in making a good
relationship with other people. It is an important communication tool that
people can use toexpress their feelings, thoughts and also share ideas so they
can interact with others easily. Without capability of mastering alanguage, it
is almost impossibleto communicate with people around the world. World
population that is so multifarious and multi cultural has languages of their
own. Therefore, world interaction and communication must be supported by
one global or international language. And this one global or international
language is English. As a global or an international language, as Christopher
Brumfit said “English is an international language...,”1 it has an important
role in the world. It has become the popular language which is learnt by most
people in the world. One of the reasons why they learn it is because they hope
that they can master English entirely; with English they can develop their
science, technology, art and create relationship with other countries.
In Indonesia,English has become the first foreign language that must
be learnt by students from elementary school level up to senior high school
level, it is because the government considers that mastering English is one
way to absorb the sciences and technology in order to create great human
resources. And it is no doubt that great human resources are very important
for national development and existences toward other nations. Besides,
English has become a medium instruction in teaching-learning activity
especially for particular lesson in certain school.

1

Christopher Brumfit, English for International Communication, (Oxford: Pergamon
Press, 1982), p. 1.

1

2

When students are learning English, they will learn language skills
and language components. Grammar is one of English language components
that must be learnt and understood by the students because it is a very basic
knowledge for students in understanding the English language.
Grammar is an essential part to be learnt in the process of acquiring a
language. It is a skill that must be mastered to use the language accurately and
meaningfully. According to Penny Ur, “There is no doubt that a knowledge –
implicit or explicit – of grammatical rules is essential for the mastery of a
language: you cannot use words unless you know how they should be put
together.”2 Based on the description above, by learning grammar students will
be able to use the language precisely and accurately.
There are many aspects discussed in English grammar, one of them is
reported speech. Reported speech is one of many grammatical categories
which is important to be learnt by the students. It is needed to be learnt
because it is one of the three ways for students to report or share their
statements or thoughts to other people especially when they communicate
between each other. It is as Marianne Celce-Murcia and Diane LarsenFreeman stated in The Grammar Book an ESL/EFL Teacher’s Course,
“Grammar and rhetoric books generally recognize three ways for a speaker
and writer to attribute statements or thoughts to other people:direct quotation,
indirect speech, and paraphrase.”3
Indirect or reported speech is commonly used to give the exact
meaning of a remark or a speech, without necessarily using the speaker’s
exact words. There are two ways to report what a person has said or thought.
They are: direct and indirect speech.4
Indirect or reported speech is essential for students to be learnt,
because by learning reported speech, the students will be able to quote
2

Penny Ur, Grammar Practice Activities, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press,
1988), p.4.
3
Marianne Celce-Murcia and Diane Larsen-Freeman, The Grammar Book an ESL/EFL
Teacher’s Course, (New York: Heinle Publisher, 1999), 2nd edition, p.687.
4
A.J. Thomson and A.V. Martinet, A Practical English Grammar, (Oxford: Oxford
University Press, 1986), 4th edition, p. 269.

3

somebody’s words or thoughts, whether in direct or indirect speech, and also
they will understand the way to report speeches, such as statements,
questions, and commands.
In addition, the students should be learnt reported speech is because it
is also one of the linguistic features that are used by students when they try to
write the text of news item or report text.
Therefore, it can be denied that the use of reported speech has
important role because it is often used by people in writing or communicating
in their daily conversation.
Learning reported speech is not easy for many Indonesian students as
it has already known that English and Indonesian have many different aspects
in grammatical form. Of course by this differentiation, there are many errors
that will be made by the students when they learn reported speech.
In fact, there is different process which happens when the students
want to report somebody’s word from direct into indirect form in English
language; the students should have made grammatical changes in their effort
to reproduce the words.
On the contrary, when the students want to report somebody’s word,
thoughts and ideas in Indonesia language, the grammatical changes will not
happen or they do not need to change the tense or pronoun like in English
language. It means there are often grammatical differences between Indonesia
and English language. That is why the students often make the errors when
they transform or quote direct into indirect/reported speech in English.
From the statement above, it can be concluded that, the grammatical
changes which happened when direct form is transformed into indirect form
has become one of the difficulties that happens when the students learn
reported speech. Therefore, because of that difficulty, it will lead them to
produce many errors in their learning.
Based on the description above, the writer would like to conduct the
research on the students’ error in learning reported speech. Because reported
speech is still general, so the writer only does the research on the students’

4

error in learning reported speech of question sentence. The study is done in
the third year students of SMKIT Nurul Qolbi Bekasi. So, the writer would
like to discuss it in her “skripsi” under the title:
“AN ANALYSIS ON THE STUDENTS’ ERROR IN LEARNING
REPORTED SPEECH OF QUESTION SENTENCE AT THE THIRD
YEAR STUDENTS OF SMKIT NURUL QOLBI BEKASI”
B. The Identification of the Problem
Based on the background of the study above, there is a problem that
can be identified in this research. It is the students’ error made by the third
year students of SMKIT Nurul Qolbi Bekasi in learning reported speech of
question sentence.

C. The Limitation and Formulation of the Problem
1. The Limitation of the Problem
Based on the identification of the problem above, it can be seen
that the study is still general. There are many errors made by the students
when transforming direct speech into indirect or reported speech such as
error in changing the tense, pronoun, word order, and adverb. Besides,
reported speech is divided into three kinds, they are: statements, questions,
and commands. Therefore, to avoid misunderstanding in interpreting the
problem, it is necessary for the writer to make the limitation of the
problem. The writer limits the problem only on: the error made by the
students in learning reported speech of question sentence in the change of
tenses and pronouns.
2. The Formulation of the Problem
Based on the statement above, the writer would like to formulate
the problem of the study as follows: (a) Do the students make errors in
learning reported speech of question sentence? (b) What are the most types
of error made by the students in learning reported speech of question
sentence?

5

D. The Method of the Study
The writer used the descriptive method in this study. It describes the
errors made by the third year students of SMKIT Nurul Qolbi Bekasi.

E. The Objective of the Study
As it has been stated in the formulation of the problem, the general
objective of this study is to find out the most types oferror made by the third
year students of SMKIT Nurul Qolbi Bekasi in learning reported speech of
question.

F. The Organization of the Study
This “skripsi” systematically consists of four chapters. The first
chapter is introduction. It explains about the main problem of this paper. It
covers the background of the study, the identification of the problem, the
limitation and the formulation of the problem, the objective of the study, and
the organization of the study.
The second chapter is about theoretical framework. It consists of three
parts. Part A is about grammar, containing the definitions of grammar. Part B
is about Reported Speech, containing the definitions of reported speech, the
kinds of speech, and the transformational rules from direct question into
indirect/reported question. Part C is aboutthe students’ error in learning
reported speech of question sentence. This part contains the definitions of
error, the difference between error and mistake, the causes of error, the types
of error, the procedures of Errors Analysis, and the errors in the change of
tense and pronoun.
The third chapter is research methodology and findings. This chapter
consists of two parts. Part A is about research methodology. It contains the
purpose of the study, the time and place of the study, the population and
sample, the instrument of the research, the technique of data collecting, and
the technique of data analysis. Part B is research findings. It contains data
description, data analysis, and data interpretation.

6

The fourth chapter is conclusion. In this chapter the writer divided
into two areas: first is conclusion. It summarizes the entire paper. And second
is suggestion.

CHAPTER II
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK

A. Grammar
1. The Definitions of Grammar
Grammar is the natural, inherent meaning-making system of the
language, a system that governs the way words come together to form
meanings; grammar is also the study of that system; the various theories or
perspectives that attempt to understand and describe it. 1
According to James R. Hurford in Grammar a Student’s Guide,
“Grammar of a language is a conventional system of rules for making and
putting together the expression (e.g. sentences and phrases) that belong to
the language.”2
David Nunan defined in Second Language Teaching and Learning
Grammar as “A description of the structure of a language and the way
which linguistic units such as words and phrases are combined to produce
sentences in the language.” 3
According to some English dictionaries:
a. Grammar is the study of the classes of words, their inflections,
and their functions and relations in the sentence.4
b. Grammar is the study and practice of the rules by which words
change their forms and are combined into sentences.5
From all definitions above, it can be concluded that grammar is the
study of the systematic rules which describe the way words change their
form and are combined into good sentences.

1

Craig Hancock, Meaning-Centered Grammar, (London: Equinox, 2005), p. 6.
James R. Hurford, Grammar a Student’s Guide, (Cambridge: Cambridge University
press, 1994), p. 87.
3
David Nunan, Second Language Teaching and Learning, (Massachusetts:
Heinle&Heinle Publishers, 1999), p. 97.
4
Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary eleventh edition, (New York, 2003), p. 543.
5
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English International Student Edition, (London:
Longman Group, 1978), p. 494.
2

7

8

B. Reported Speech
1. The Definitions of Reported Speech
Reported speech refers to reproducing the idea of another person’s
words. Not all of the exact words are used: verb forms and pronoun may
change.6
A.J. Thompson and A.V. Martinet stated in A Practical English
Grammar, “In indirect speech we give the exact meaning of a remark or a
speech, without necessarily using the speaker’s exact words.”7
Betty Schrampfer Azar stated in Understanding English Grammar,
“Reported speech refers to using a noun clause to report what someone
has said.”

8

Reported speech (also called indirect speech) is used to
communicate what someone else said, but without using the exact words.
From some definitions above, it can be concluded that reported
speech is to quote somebody’s idea or thoughts without exactly repeating
the exact word produced by the speaker.

2. The Kinds of Speech
There are two ways of relating what a person has said: direct and
indirect.9
a.

Direct Speech
Direct speech conveys exactly what someone has said.

10

It is

usually found in conversations in book, in plays, and in quotations.11
Example:
She said, “I want to go to the market.”
6

Betty Schrampfer Azar, Fundamentals of English Grammar, (London: Prentice Hall,
1992), 2 edition, p. 366.
7
Thomson, A Practical…, p. 269.
8
Betty Schrampfer Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar Edisi InggrisIndonesia, (Jakarta: Binarupa Aksara, 1993), 2nd edition, p. 275.
9
Thompson, A Practical…, p. 269.
10
Martin Parrot, Grammar for English Language Teachers, (Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press, 2000), p. 217.
11
Thompson, A Practical…, p. 269.
nd

9

Quotation marks are used when we quote direct speech.
Single quotation marks („…’) are more common in British English,
and double quotation marks (“…”) in American English.12
In direct speech, usually the words quote are introduced by
one of the words say or think. It is put before the quotation. In
writing, quotation marks („…’ or “…”) are used. In literary writing,
a large number of other verbs are used (to add variety and to give
additional information); for example, ask, suggest, recommend,
remind, etc.
b. Indirect Speech
It can be made a speaker’s words or thoughts part of his
sentence, using conjunction (e.g. that), and changing pronouns,
tenses and other words where necessary. This kind of structures
called „indirect speech’ or „reported speech’.13
Example:
She said that she wanted to go to the market.
Commas are not put before that, what, where, etc in indirect
speech structures.
Example:
He explained that he never ate meat. → (Not) He explained,
that he never ate meat.
Reported speech is used when it is interested not in the
words that someone has chosen, but in the essential information
they conveyed. It is often used far fewer words to report this than
were originally spoken. Reported speech found in newspaper
reports, fiction, talking, or writing about conversation, reports,
articles or speeches that have been heard or read.14

12

Michael Swan, Practical English Usage, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), p.

13

Swan, Practical English…, p. 501.
Parrot, Grammar For…, p. 217.

471.
14

10

When turning direct speech into indirect, some changes are
usually necessary. The tenses, pronouns and other words may
different from the original sentence. 15
If the introductory verb which is introduced in indirect
speech is a present, present perfect or future tense, so if someone
wants to report the direct speech into indirect, the change of tense
will not happen. Or in the other word, there is no change of tense if
someone reports from direct speech into indirect speech
Example: Paul says, “I’m trying to get a taxi.”
Paul says he is trying to get a taxi.
However, if the introductory verb is in the past tense, the
tense of indirect speech have then to be changed into
corresponding past tense.16
Example:
Direct Speech

Indirect Speech

He said, “I’m waiting for Ann.”

He said (that) he was waiting
for Ann.

“Do you know John?”

He asked if/whether I knew
John.

He said, “I love you.”

He said he loved me.

From some examples above it can be seen that, when
transforms direct speech into indirect speech, some changes are
needed.
For example in the first statement:
Direct speech → He said, “I am waiting for Ann.”
Indirect speech → He said (that) he was waiting for Ann.

15
16

Swan, Practical English…, p. 501-502.
Thomson, A Practical…, p. 269-270.

11

Tense of the direct speech is present continuous tense, so
when it is transformed into indirect, the tense of indirect speech is
past continuous tense. Pronoun of I is changed into he.
Besides, from examples above, it also can be seen that the
most neutral and most common verbs which are used to introduce
what are reported are say and tell, and choosing between these
verbs often poses a problem to learners. Say is never followed by
an indirect object (e.g. him, us, them, my sister, etc) whereas it has
to use an indirect object after tell. It is better to choose to tell when
to draw attention specifically to the person who is being addressed.
Example: He said (that) he was ill. He told me (that) he was
ill.17
Here is a list of reporting verbs which can be used to report
what people say:18

Table 2.1
The List of Reporting Verbs
Acknowledge
Add
Admit
Advise
Agree
Allege
Announce
Answer
Argue
Ask
Assert
Assure
Beg
Begin
Boast
Call
17
18

315.

Dispute
Enquire
Explain
Forbid
Grumble
Guarantee
Hint
Imply
Inform
Inquire
Insist
Instruct
Invite
Maintain
Mention
Mumble

Recall
Recite
Recommend
Record
Refuse
Remark
Remind
Repeat
Reply
Report
Request
Respond
Reveal
Rule
Say
Scream

Parrot, Grammar For…, p. 217-218.
John Sinclair, Collins Cobuild English Grammar, (London: Harper Collins, 1990), p.

12

Claim
Command
Comment
Complain
Concede
Confess
Confirm
Contend
Continue
Convince
Cry
Declare
Decree
Demand
Deny
Describe
Direct
Discuss

Murmur
Muse
Mutter
Note
Notify
Object
Observe
Order
Persuade
Plead
Pledge
Pray
Predict
Proclaim
Promise
Prophesy
Propose
Reassure

Shout
Shriek
State
Stipulate
Storm
Suggest
Swear
Teach
Tell
Threaten
Thunder
Urge
Vow
Wail
Warn
Whisper
Write
Yell

The following table is some expressions of time in indirect
speech.

19

Table 2.2
The Common Expressions of Time in Indirect Speech
Direct

Indirect

Today

That day

Yesterday

The day before

The day before yesterday

Two days before

Tomorrow

The next day/the following day

The day after tomorrow

In two days’ time

Next week/ year, etc.

The following week/ year, etc.

Last week/ year, etc.

The previous week/ year, etc.

A year, etc, ago

A year before/ the previous
year

19

Thompson, A Practical…, p. 274.

13

3. The Transformational Rules from Direct Question into Indirect or
Reported Question
As mentioned in the previous chapter, the writer limits the problem
only on reported speech of question sentence. Reported question is used
when people want to relate a question that someone has asked.20
When turning direct questions into indirect speech some changes
are necessary. Tense, pronouns and possessive adjectives, adverb of time
and place change as in statements. In indirect question, the interrogative
form of the verb changes to the affirmative form, and the question mark
(?) is omitted in indirect questions. For example: Direct question: He said,
“Where does she live?”→Indirect question: He asked where she lived.21
Besides, there are two types of report structure for questions. The
first is yes/no question. These are questions which can be answered
simply with yes or no. the second type is WH-Question. These are
questions in which someone asks for information about an event or
situation. WH-Questions cannot be answered with yes or no.22
When one reports a yes/no questions, he or she uses an „if’-clause
beginning with the conjunction ‘if’, or a ‘whether’-clause beginning with
the conjunction ‘whether’. ‘If’ uses when the speaker has suggested one
possibility that may be true. Meanwhile, ‘whether’ uses when the speaker
has suggested one possibility but has left open the question of other
possibilities. 23
There are few verbs which can be used before ‘if’-clauses or
‘whether’-clauses.
Here is a list of other verbs which can be used before ‘if’-clauses
and ‘whether’-clauses:24

20

http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/learningenglish/radio/specials/820_gramchallenge4
4/ Friday, August 5th 2011
21
Thompson, A Practical…, p. 277.
22
Sinclair, Collins Cobuild…, p. 322.
23
Sinclair, Collins Cobuild…, p. 322.
24
Sinclair, Collins Cobuild…, p. 323.

14

Table 2.3
The Verbs Used Before ‘If’ and ‘Whether’-Clauses
Discover

Say

Know

See

Remember

Wonder

One the other hand, when ones report a ‘WH’ question, he/she
uses a ‘WH’ word at the beginning of the reported clause. There are few
verbs which can be used before clauses beginning with ‘WH’ words.
Here is a list of verbs which can be used before clauses beginning
with ‘WH’ words.25
Table 2.4
The Verbs Used Before Clauses Beginning ‘WH’ Words
Decide

Imagine

See

Describe

Know

Suggest

Discover

Learn

Teach

Discuss

Realize

Tell

Explain

Remember

Think

Forget

reveal

Understand

Guess

Say

Wonder

The following are the form of grammar for reported speech:26
1. Normal word order is used in reported questions, that is, the subject
comes before the verb, and it is not necessary to use „do’ or „did’:
Example: “where does Peter live?”
She asked him where Peter lived.
Sinclair, Collins Cobuild…, p. 323.
http://www.edufind.com/english/grammar/reported_speech_questions_forms.php
Friday, August 5th 2011
25

26

15

2. Yes/no questions: this type of question is reported by using ask +
if/whether + clause:
Example: “Do you speak English?”
He asked me if I spoke English.
“Are you British or American?”
He asked me whether I was British or American.
3. Question words: This type of question is reported by using ask +
question word + clause. The clause contains the question, in normal
word order and with the necessary tense change.
Example: “What is your name?” he asked me.
He asked me what my name was.
In addition, as discussed before, when someone reports another
person’s words in indirect question, he/she often has to change the tenses
and pronouns used in indirect question.
Here is a list of characteristics changes in tense forms.27

Table 2.5
The Characteristics Changes in Tense
Direct Question

Indirect/Reported Question

Simple Present

Simple Past

“What is the matter?”

She asked me what the matter
was.

Simple Past

Past Perfect

“How did you make this cake?”

I wondered how she had made
that cake.

Present Perfect

Past Perfect

“Have you bought a new car?”

She wondered whether I had
bought a new car.

27

http://www.athabascau.ca/courses/engl Friday, August 5th 2011

16

Present Progressive

Past Progressive

“Where are you going?”

I wanted to know where she was
going.

Future
“Will

Conditional
you

be

in

Paris

Monday?”

on He asked me if I would be in Paris
on Monday.

Here is some commons change in pronouns:28

Table 2.6
The Changes of Pronoun and Possessive Adjectives
Direct Question

Indirect/Reported Question

I

He/she

You

Me/he/she/them/I/him/her

My

His/her

Our

Their/our

Your

My/his/her

C. The Students Error in Learning Reported Speech of Question Sentence
1. The Definitions of Error
To get clear understanding about the error, it is better for the writer
to consider several opinions given by some linguists.
According to Jeremy Harmer as quoted by Brown, “Errors are part
of the students’ interlingua that is the version of the language which a
learner has at any one stage of development, and which is continually
reshaped as he or she aims toward full mastery.29

28

http://www.fileden.com/files/2009/4/23/2415017/My%20Documents/Struktur/DIRECT
%20-%20INDIRECT%20SPEECH.pdf Sunday, August 28th 2011
29
Jeremy Harmer, Principle of Language Learning and Teaching, (New York: Prentice
Hall Regents 1987) p. 170.

17

While, according to Dullay, error is the flawed side of learner
speech or writing, those are part of conversation or composition that
deviates from some selected norm of nature language performance.30
Brown has different opinion. He gives more attention on the
Interlingua competence of the speaker. He defines an error as noticeable
deviation from the adult grammar of a native speaker reflecting the
Interlingua competence of the learner.31
From all definitions above, the writer can summarizes that error is
flawed side of learner speech caused by the factor of competence. On the
other hand, they do not understand well the use of linguistics’ system of
the target language; it will lead the students to make errors consistently.

2. The Difference between Error and Mistake
Learning a language is fundamentally process that involves making
of mistakes or errors. The mistakes include with vocabulary items,
grammatical pattern and sound pattern as well.
James (1998) differentiates between errors and mistakes. He
defines errors as a systematic mistakes due to lack of language
competence, while mistakes refer to performance errors because of a
random guess or slip. Error cannot be self-corrected; mistakes can be selfcorrected if the deviation is pointed out to the speaker. 32
Meanwhile, Edge (1989) offers simpler definitions which are
especially important for classroom teachers to keep in mind. He states that
a slip or mistake is what a learner can self-correct, and error is what a
learner cannot self-correct.33
Furthermore, Corder (1967) defines mistake is a random
performance caused by fatigue, excitement, etc. and therefore can be

30

Heidi Dullay, et/al, Two (New York: Oxford University Press), p.139.
H. Douglas Brown, Principle of Language Learning and Teaching, 4th edition, (New
York: Longman, 2000) p. 215.
32
Brown, Principle of …, p. 217.
33
Brown, Principles of..., p. 217.
31

18

readily self-corrected, while error is systematic deviation made by learners
who have not yet mastered the rules of the target language. Consequently,
learners cannot self-correct an error because it is a product reflective of the
learner’s

stage

of

target

language

development

or

underlying

competence.34
In conclusion, mistakes are failure to use language because of slip
of the tongue or spelling. This failure is easily corrected by the learner
since they conceptually understand the language system. On the other
hand, errors are mistakes that student’s make due to lack of competence.
They are not able to be self-corrected because they do not know the
concept.

3. The Causes of Error
Error occurs for many reasons. One obvious cause is interference
from the native language. The learners may make errors because they
assume that the target language and their native language are similar.
While in fact they are different. They generalize the similarity between
target and native language. This cause of error is usually known as
Overgeneralization.
Another obvious cause is simply an incomplete knowledge of the
target language. The students are asked to produce words or sentence that
they have not yet learnt the grammar. Consequently, they made the
mistakes. The next common cause of error is the complexity of the target
language. For example, English has different tenses to indicate time of
happening, such as present, past, future, while Indonesian language does
not. Therefore, these differences obviously cause many Indonesian
learners make errors in tenses.

Diane – Larsen Freeman, and Michael H. Long, An Introduction to Second Language
Acquisition Research, (New York: Longman, 1991) p. 59-60.
34

19

Richard (1970) exposes four types and causes of errors:
a. Overgeneralization: it is associated with redundancy reduction.
It covers: instances where the learner creates a deviant structure
on the basis of his experience of other structures in the target
language. It may be the result of the learner reducing his
linguistic burden.
b. Ignorance of rule restrictions: i.e. applying rules to context to
which they do not apply.
c. Incomplete application of rules
d. Semantic errors such as building false concepts/systems i.e.
faulty comprehension of distinctions in the TL.35
To sum up, there are some aspects that may lead errors in learning
the target language. The cause of errors may come from the interference of
native language to the target one, the lack of competence of the target
language, etc.
4. The Types of Error
Dullay and Burtand Krashen in lengthy consideration of errors
described three major types of taxonomy: error types based on linguistic
category, surface strategy taxonomy, and error types based on comparative
taxonomy.36
In classifying the students’ error in this research the writer uses the
surface strategy taxonomy. The surface strategy taxonomy highlights the
ways surface structures are altered. Learner may omit necessary items
(omission), or add unnecessary ones (addition), they may deform items
(selection), or disorder them (disordering).
a. Omission
Omission errors are characterized by the absence of an item that
must appear in a well-formed utterance. Omission can occur in
morphology. Learner often leaves out the third person singular
morpheme-s, the plural marker-s and the past tense inflection-

http://abismra03.tripod.com/nada/languageacq-erroranalysis.html#theo Sunday, 14th of
August 2011
36
Jack C. Richard, Error Analysis: Perspective on Second Language Acquisition,
(England: Longman Group Ltd, 1974) p. 174.
35

20

ed. In syntax, learner may omit certain element which is an
obligatory element.37 E.g. I not crying
b. Addition
Addition error is the opposite of omission. It is characterized by
the presence of an item which must not appear in well-formed
utterance.38 E.g. we works our homework
c. Double marking
Learner who have acquired the tense for both auxiliary and verb
often place the marker on both. E.g. he doesn’t knows my name.
d. Over regularizing
This error is under the misinformation category, in which a
regular marker is used in place of an irregular. E.g. runned for
ran
e. Over generalization
According to Dullay, this error refers to an archi-form, the
selection of one member of a class of forms to represent others
in the class. This is a common characteristic of all stages of
second language acquisition; they have called the form selected
by the learner as an archi-form.39 The learner makes a rule on
the basis of his experience of other rule in the target language.
E.g. what does he putting on the top?
f. Misordering
As the label suggests, misordering errors are characterized by
the incorrect placement of morpheme or group of morphemes in
an utterance. E.g. where you did go yesterday?

Dullay, et/al…, p. 156.
Dullay, et/al…, p. 160.
39
Dullay, et/al…, p. 162.
37

38

21

5. The Procedures of Errors Analysis
In the language teaching, either a native language or a second
language teaching, study about the students’ errors is very important. Theo
Van Els and friends state that there are some procedures in errors analysis,
namely;
1. Identification of errors
2. Description of errors
3. Explanation of errors
4. Evaluation of errors
5. Preventing/correction of errors40
The first step in the process of analysis is identification of errors.
In this step, teachers recognize the students’ errors from the task given.
The second step is the description of errors begun when
identification stages have taken place. The description of the students’
errors involves classification of sort of errors made by the students.
The third step is explanation of errors that can be regarded as a
linguistic problem. This step attempts to account for how the errors can
happen and why the errors occur.
The fourth step is the evaluation of errors in which the teachers
will give the task to the students.
Finally, the last step is correction of errors where the teachers
check the result from the task done by the students. Then, they correct the
errors that the students made.

6. The Error in the Change of Tenses and Pronouns
As explained before, when someone reports another person’s words
in indirect or reported speech, he/she often changes the tenses and
pronouns which are used in the direct speech.

40

Theo Van Els and friends, Applied Linguistics and the Learning and Teaching of Foreign
Languages, (London: A Division of Hodder & Stoughton, 1983), p. 47.

22

If the time of reporting is expressed as later than the time of the
utterance, there is generally a change of verbs forms. The change is
termed backshift, and the resulting relationship of verb forms in the
reporting and reported clause is known as the sequence of tense.
A change of speaker may mean a change of pronoun. A change of
time may mean a change of tense; the person reporting uses tenses that
relate to the time when he/she is making the report, not to the time when
the original words were used.41 In other hand, when someone turns direct
question into indirect question, the following changes are necessary such
as in the change of tenses and pronouns. Beside the change of tense and
pronoun, other changes are also needed such as in the change of
possessive adjective, adverbs of time and place.
Martin Parrot stated in his book Grammar for English Language
Teacher, “Learner is sometimes confused by the tense and pronoun
changes that can occur in reported speech.”42
The example of the difficulty in the change of tense and pronoun:
Direct Speech:
The teacher asked, “Who speaks English?”
Indirect Speech: Incorrect →The teacher wanted to know who has
spoken English.
This type of error is Misoredering because it is characterized by
the incorrect placement of morpheme or group of morphemes in an
utterance.
The sentence of the direct speech above, if it is transformed into
indirect speech, so it must be: The teacher asked me who spoke English.
The tense of the direct speech is simple present, so when it is transformed
into indirect, it must simple past not present perfect.
From the statement above, it can be summarized that the
grammatical changes that occur in converting direct into indirect question
41
42

Swan, Practical English…, p. 501-502.
Parrot, Grammar For…, p. 225.

23

becomes the error for students whose their mother tongue or first
language does not have grammatical changes in reporting somebody’s
word or question.

CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS

A. Resear