Benefits of the Study Definition of Terms

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E. Benefits of the Study

It is hoped from the study that the readers, especially the English Language Education Study Program students who take Structure V, will have better understanding about the non-finite clauses. It might be useful for them because not all English grammar books provide adequate information about the non-finite clauses. This study may provide the readers with a sufficient explanation about these matters and they can also enrich their knowledge. The study discusses the errors the students committed in producing the non- finite clauses. Therefore, it may give beneficial inputs for the Structure V lecturers. The lecturers can see which parts of the non-finite clauses the students consider difficult and in which they often make mistakes so that later on the lecturers can give more attention to the difficult parts. The study is also beneficial for the students. The research reveals the errors in constructing complex sentences by using the non-finite clauses. Hence, this can make students more aware not to make such mistakes as described in the study. The study may also give opportunity to other researchers to explore the non- finite clauses more. For example, one may seek out how the students’ mastery of the non-finite clauses can help them in writing. The relevance of the mastery of non-finite clauses to the students’ writing product can be conducted through examining the students’ writing. Future researchers can develop this study by changing the sampling or the format of the test. Besides, they can also employ more than one instrument such as test and classroom observation in order to obtain more accurate data. 6

F. Definition of Terms

In this part, several terms which are used in the study are explained. It is necessary to define them since they are the key words of the research. The terms are as follows. 1. The Non-Finite Clauses The non-finite clauses are described as clauses with non-finite verb phrases as the elements of the verbs Quirk and Greenbaum, 1985: 310. The non-finite verb phrases themselves are verb phrases that consist of non-finite verbs forms only Quirk et al., 1992: 149. The non-finite verbs include the verbs in the form of to-infinitive, bare infinitive, -ing participle, and –ed participle. In the study, the use of bare infinitive to introduce the non-finite clauses is excluded since it is rarely used in the sentences. According to Quirk et al. 1992: 995, the non-finite verb phrases have no tense or mood, and it is impossible for them to occur with the subject of a main clause. It implies that the non-finite clauses cannot occur as the main clauses. In the study, the non-finite clauses refer to clauses which contain the non-finite verb forms as the verb element, and are always embedded to their main clauses. 2. Subordinate Clauses Subordinate clauses are “parts of their superordinate or main clauses” Quirk et al., 1992: 991. Feigenbaum 1985: 211 states that “subordinate or dependent clause can be a noun-equivalent, an adverb-equivalent, or an adjective- equivalent.” In this study, the functions of subordinate clauses are classified into three types; those are, noun clauses, adjective clauses, and adverbial clauses. 7 3. Error An error is “a noticeable deviation from the adult grammar of a native speaker, reflecting the interlanguage competence of the learner” Brown, 1994: 205. In other words, an error is caused by lack of knowledge. According to Dulay, Burt, and Krashen 1982: 138, errors are parts of one’s saying or writing which deviate from the rules of language. People sometimes differentiate between errorrs and mistakes. Brown 1994: 205 defines a mistake as “ a performance error which refers to a failure to utilize a known sytem correctly.” Further, Brown 1994: 205 explains that mistakes are the imperfection of speech production such as hesitations and slips of the tongue. Sometimes, it is difficult to judge whether a deviation is a mistake or an error. This study does not differentiate between errors and mistakes. In the study, errors refer to the students’ answers which are inappropriate and deviate from the rule of the non-finite patterns without considering whether they are really errors or mistakes. 4. Mastery Fries 1948: 3 states that “a person has learned a foreign language when he has thus first, within a limited vocabulary mastered the sound system, that is, when he can understand the stream of speech and achieve an understandable production of it and has, second, made the structural devices or the basic arrangements of the utterances as a matter of automatic habit.” In the study, the second criteria of mastery, that is making structural devices, is emphasized. It means that the person know how to construct a correct sentence. Mastery, in this 8 study, refers to the understanding and ability to use the non-finite clauses correctly in the sentences. PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI 9

CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE