a. What are the types of grammatical errors made by the students at the second year of the SMP YAPERA Ciledug on transforming affirmative to negative
and interrogative sentences of simple present tense?
D. Objective of the Study
As the writer has stated in the formulation of the study, the objective of this study is to find the types of grammatical errors made by the students on
transforming affirmative to negative and interrogative sentences of simple present tense.
E. Significances of the Study
The result of this study can provide useful information for four important groups of people, namely 1 the writer, herself, 2 English teacher of SMP
Yapera, 3 Students of SMP Yapera, and 4 Further researcher. 1. For the writer, the significance of the study expected to improve the writer’s
knowledge about tenses, particularly in transforming affirmative to negative and interrogative sentences of simple present tense.
2. For English teacher of SMP Yapera, the result of the study for english teacher of SMP Yapera is to get clearly information about the types and the source of
students’ error on transforming affirmative to negative and interrogative sentences of simple present tense, so they will know what should they do to
decrease the students’ error. 3. For the students of SMP Yapera, they will get right treatment in decreasing
their errors on transforming affirmative to negative and interrogative sentences of simple present tense.
4. For Further researchers, this paper will be useful for other researcher who interested in analyzing about transforming affirmative to negative and
interrogative sentences of simple present tense, they can read this paper as additional information, and they can do their research deeper and better than
this study.
5
CHAPTER II THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
This chapter covers some theories and definitions related to the study. The discussion focuses on Error and Error analysis, differences between error and
mistake, source of errors, procedure of error analysis and types of error. In addition, it discusses simple present tense and the way of transforming simple
present sentences.
A. Error and Error Analysis
It is impossible that the learners never make some errors in language learning process and it is very normal and unavoidable during the process of
learning. Therefore, it needs to analyze or to find out where the learners make some error do in order they repeat the same errors. In the 60’s, some linguists
considered errors as negative results. Errors must be avoided in learning language, that was why linguists tried to identify the area of the difficulties by comparing
the first language with the target language in order to avoid learners committing errors. However, in the 70’s, errors are being considered as the evidence of the
process of acquiring the target language. Errror analysis shown up with the methodology of investigating the language learning and the guide of remedial
action.
1. Definition of Error
Errors are the flawed side of learner speech or writing. They are those parts of conversation or composition that deviate from some selected norm of
mature language performance
1
. It would be better to distinguish between errors and mistakes, before
describing what errors are. Mistakes refer to “errors of performance” which are occured by carelessness, memory lapses, psychological condition, etc. Errors, on
the other hand, refer to “errors of competence” which are considered as the
1
Heidi Dulay, et al, Language Two, New York: Oxford University Press, 1982, p. 138.
6
transitional step while students are developing the grammatical rules
2
. Mistakes can be self-corrected when the attention is called, but errors cannot be self-
corrected because the learners don’t know what are correct. Errors may also be viewed as Global or Local. As Brown in “Principles of
Language Learning and Teaching Fifth Edition” 2007:263, when the message
cannot be comprehended by the listener or the reader is called Global Errors; they hinder communication. For example, “I buy a pen but he loves pets so she cries
again in the bathroom”, it would be difficult to comprehend that. In contrast, Local Errors
do not hinder communication; the meaning of the message is still able to be comprehended by the listener or the reader. For example, “ if I knew
your house, I will visit you”, although the sentence is grammatically incorrect, but the message is still able to be comprehended.
Corder, in Brown, differentiates errors between Overt and Covert. “Overtly erroneous utterences are unquestionably ungrammatical at the sentence
level. Covertly erroneous utterences are grammatically well-formed at the sentence level but are not interpretable within the context of communication
3
”. While the overt errors are clearly ungrammatical form, the covert errors are
clearly grammatical, but those cannot be interpretable. For example, “i’m fine” this sentence is grammatically correct, but this is covertly error as being the
answer of “who are you?”. Corder also classifies errors on a superficial basis as errors of omission
where some element is omitted which should be present. Errors of addition where some element is present which should not be there. Errors of selection where the
wrong item has been chosen in the place of the right one. Errors of ordering where the elements presented are correct but wrongly sequenced
4
.
2
J. C. Richards, Error Analysis: Perspective on Second Language Acquisition, London: Longman, 1973, p. 25.
3
Douglas Brown, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, San Francisco: Pearson Education, 2007, Fifth Edition, p. 260.
4
S. P. Corder, Error Analysis and Interlanguage, New York: Oxford University Press, 1981, p. 36.
