1 Simple Sentence
Simple sentence is the sentence that consists of a single independent clause. Independent clause can be simple sentences even if they have a compound subject
or a compound predicated. The examples of the simple sentence are; The manager and her secretary went out for lunch.
He lives in New York.
2 Compound Sentence
Compound sentences contain at least two independent clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction. The following is the example of compound sentence;
The weather was very bad, so all classes were canceled.
3 Complex Sentence
Complex sentence contains one or more dependant or subordinate clauses. A dependant clause contains a full subject and predicate beginning with a word
that attaches the clause to an independent clause called the main clause. Here is the example of the complex sentence;
All classes were canceled because the weather was bad.
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In general, these grammatical areas error are mostly made by the students using tenses. They made errors because they were still interfered by their mother
tongue interference.
5. Differences between Error and Mistake
Error and mistake is different. Error is unintentionally deviantand is not self-corrigible by its author. Then, errors are the result of the failure of
performance. Besides, errors cannot be self corrected until the relevant to that error input implicit or explicit has been provided and converted into intake by
41
Marcella Frank, Modern English, Exercise for Non-native Speakers, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc, 1972, p. 1.
the learner. In other words, errors require further relevant learning to take place before they can be self-corrected.
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Meanwhile, mistake is either intentionally deviant or self-corrigible. Then, mistake is a problematic criterion tonapply in practice. Moreover, mistake can
only be corrected by their agent if their deviance is pointed out to him or her. If a simple indication that there is some deviance is a sufficient prompt for self-
correction, then we have a first-order mistake. Moreover, an error cannot be self corrected, according to James 1998: 83,
while mistakes can be self-corrected if the deviation is pointed out to the speaker. Then, error reveals a portion of the learner’s competence in the target language.
Meanwhile, mistake refers to a performance error that is either a random guess or a “slip”.
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42
Carl James, Error in Language Learning and Use, London: Longman, 1998, p. 78-83.
43
H. Douglas Brown, Principles of Language Learning and Teaching, p. 217-218.
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CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS
A. Research Methodology
1. Purpose of Research
The purpose of the research in this paper is to find out the tenses errors and their causes made by the second grade students of MTs Al-
Mursyidiyyah Pondok Benda Pamulang, in their tenses test.
2. Time and Location
This writing is accomplished by using a field research. This field research held at MTs Al-Mursyidiyyah, Pondok Benda Pamulang,
Tangerang Selatan, on May 2011, conducted by using the written test made by the teacher from some sources, consisting of 30 multiple choice
questions about tenses.
3. Population and Sample
At MTs Al-Mursyidiyyah, the total population of the second year
students, academic year 2010-2011 is 80 students. They are divided into
two classes. The sample for this research is 30 students that were taken randomly from those two classes in order to get representative data.
