Errors in Singular-plural Errors in Grammar

59 The cows is mammals. see Appendix E, text 2 revision: The cows are mammals. As the example given, the substitution of singular Be verb for plural Be verb occurred in the use of is instead of are. Substituting singular Be verb is for plural Be verb are would agree with the subject the cows. b Substitution of Plural Be Verb for Singular Be Verb The researcher found that a few substitution of plural Be verb for singular Be verb in the students’ report texts were are. Following were the example of substitution of plural Be verb for singular Be verb and the better revision provided by the researcher: The population of the whale are in the range of death see Appendix E, text 14. revision: The population of the whale is in the range of death. In this example, the substitution of plural Be verb for singular Be verb occurred in the use of are instead of is. Substituting plural Be verb are for singular Be verb is would agree with the phrase subject the population of the whale. b. Errors in Tense There were several errors in tense. It comprised of one part only. It was improper form of verbs in present tense. 1 Improper Form of Verbs in Present Tense Several improper form of verbs in present tense were noticed in the students’ report texts. First, there was improper form of verbs in passive present form. In addition, improper form of verbs found in active present form. 60 The example of improper form of verbs in passive present and the better revision formulated by the researcher were as follows: The grey kangaroo divided into two types namely the Eastern grey kangaroo and Western grey kangaroo see Appendix E, text 1. revision: The grey kangaroo is divided into two types namely the Eastern grey kangaroo and Western grey kangaroo. This first example was the improper form of verb occurred in passive present tense. Considering this case, Stanley 1991 revealed that in forming passive present verb, the passive should be formed with a past participle divided and the auxiliary verb to be is as in is divided. Below were the example and the revision formulated by the researcher for improper form of verbs in present tense: ...the mother bear and her cubs are shock... text 38 revision: ...the mother bear and her cubs shock... This second example was the improper form of verb in active present tense. According to Stanley 1991, the basic form of active verb is actually the infinitive form. Revising this text example of active present form, it should use only the infinitive form without addition of auxiliary verb to be are as in shock. c. Errors in Word Order Errors in word oder occurred when students disorder the words in a sentence. The errors in word oder consisted of one part only. It was adjectival modifier placed after noun. 61 1 Adjectival Modifier Placed after Noun In the students report texts, the researcher found that some adjectival modifiers placed after nouns. Here were an example of substitution of plural Be verb for singular Be verb as well as the better revision provided by the researcher: They give them a system warning see Appendix E, text 30. revision: They give them a warning system. As the example given, adjectival modifier warning was placed after noun system. For better revision the adjectival modifier had to be placed before the noun as in warning system. d. Errors in Article Errors in article were classified into two parts. The first part was omission of article. The second one was substitution of article. 1 Omission of Article Many articles were found in the students’ report texts. The omission of articles were a, an, and the. The following were an example of omission of articles and the better revision formulated by the researcher: It is furry animal see Appendix E, text 7. revision: It is a furry animal. In this example the omission of article was a. Since the article a preceded nouns furry animal that started with a consonant sound, the article a should be added to modify that noun as in a furry animal. On the other hand, the article an preceded nouns that started with a vowel sound and article the was definite that indicated a specific thing. 62 2 Substitution of Article There was substitution of article found. It consisted of one part only. It was substitution of article a for an. a Substitution of Article A for An The researcher discovered that there were a few substitution article a for an in the students’ report texts. Below were the example of substitution article a for an as well as the better revision provided by the researcher: the whale is special because it is a oceanic mammal. see Appendix E, text 7 better revision: the whale is special because it is an oceanic mammal. As the example given, the substitution of article a for an occurred in the use of a oceanic mammal instead of an oceanic mammal. Since the article an preceded nouns that started with a vowel sound, the researcher suggested to substitute article a for an as in an oceanic animal. e. Errors in Pronoun Errors in pronoun were discovered. It consisted of only one part. It was substitution of pronoun. 1 Substitution of Pronoun The substitution of pronoun could be subdivided into three parts. The first part was substitution of personal pronoun for reflexive pronoun. Substitution of possesive pronoun was the second one. The last part was substitution of relative pronoun. 63 a Substitution of Personal Pronoun for Reflexive Pronoun In the students report text, the researcher discovered a few substitution of personal pronouns for reflexive pronouns. Those were substitution of they for themselves , them for themselves, and it for itself. The example of substitution of personal pronouns for reflexive pronoun and the better revision formulated by the researcher were as follows: The tigers love to bathe to keep they cool in the hot day see Appendix E, text 8. revision: The tigers love to bathe to keep themselves cool in the hot day. This example presented the substitution of they for themselves. Since this sentence had to perform the use of reflexive pronouns for reffering to the subject of the sentence, the researcher provided a revision to substitute they for themselves as in the tigers love to bathe to keep themselves cool in the hot day . b Substitution of Possesive Pronoun The researcher found a few substitution of possessive pronouns in the students report text. Those were substitution of their for its and substitution of its for their. Below were an example of substitution of possessive pronoun and the better revision provided by the researcher: ...the girrafe can kick the enemy with their hind legs... see Appendix E, text 9 revision: ...the girrafe can kick the enemy with its hind legs.... 64 This example introduced the substitution of their for its. Because this sentence had to perform the use of possesive pronouns, the researcher provided a revision to substitute their for its as the following sentence the girrafe can kick the enemy with its hind legs . c Substitution of Relative Pronoun Several substitution of relative pronouns were found in the students’ report texts. It was the substitution of who for which. The following were an example of substitution of relative pronoun and the better revision formulated by the researcher: It is an animal who does not lay eggs see Apendix E, text 16. revision: It is an animal which does not lay eggs. This example used pronoun who to add information about the animal. It was totally wrong. According to Stanley 1991, pronoun who was used to modify a person, not a thing or an animal. Whereas, this sentence needed pronoun which to add information about the animal. The researcher provided a revision to substitute who for which as in It is a animal which does not lay eggs.

f. Errors in Preposition

Errors in preposition could be subdivided into two parts. The first part was omission of preposition. The second one was substitution of preposition. 1 Omission of Preposition In the students report text the researcher discovered several omission of prepositions. Those were omission of of, in, and, from. The example of omission of preposition and the revision formulated by the researcher were as follows: 65 It has very good senses smell and sight. see Appendix E, text 9 revision: It has very good senses of smell and sight. This example introduced the omission of preposition of. According to Stanley 1991, the presence of preposition was necessary to link group of words functioning as a noun to some other word in this sentence, the researcher provided a revision to add preposition of as in it has very good senses of smell and sight . 2 Substitution of Preposition Many substitution of prepositions were noticed in the students’ report texts. The following were an example of substitution of relative pronoun and the better revision formulated by the researcher: The Indiana bat usually hunts for food in night see Appendix E, text 31. revision: The Indiana bat usually hunts for food at night. In this example, the substitution of preposition occurred in the use of in instead of at . This sentence example needed a preposition that indicated the relationship in time between the linked words. Therefore, the researcher provided a revision to substitute preposition in for at to show a partcular time as in the Indiana bat usually hunts for food at night. 4. Errors in Vocabulary Table 4.4 showed the sub-category of errors, class of errors, and number of errors occurred in vocabulary. 66 Table 4.4 Errors in Vocabulary Found in the Students’ Report Texts .No Sub-category of errors Class of errors Number of errors 1 Word choice Inapropriate use of word choice 8 Total 8 The total errors in vocabulary were 8. In table 4.4, there was only one classification of errors in vocabulary, which was the word choice. The errors of word choice was the inapropriate use of word choice with 8 number of errors. The complete examples of errors in vocabulary were presented in Appendix E.

a. Errors in Word Choice

There were errors in word choice found. They consisted of one part only. It was inappropriate use of word choice. 1 Inapropriate Use of Word Choice The researcher found some inapropriate uses of word choice in the students report text. It dealth with words choice which was out of context. Below were an example of inapropriate use of word choice and the better revision provided by the researcher: Camels can travel in the desert with small food ... see Appendix E, text 11. revision: Camels can travel in the desert with little food ... In this example, the word choice small was out of context. Since the meaning of this word depended on the context, the researcher provided a revision to substitute the word small for little as the following sentence camels can travel in the desert with little food . 67

5. Errors in Mechanics

Table 4.5 showed the sub-category of errors, class of errors, sub-class of errors, and number of errors occurred in mechanics. Table 4.5 Errors in Mechanics Found in the Students’ Report Texts .No Sub-category of errors Class of errors Sub-class of errors Number of errors 1 Spelling Misspelling 11 2 Punctuation Omission of punctua- tion Omission of period 8 Omission of comma 7 Omission of apostrophe 4 3 Capitalization Omission of capitalization 6 Total 36 The total errors in mechanics were 36. In table 4.5, there were two classifications of errors in mechanics, which were spelling, punctuation, and capitalization. First, errors in spelling was misspelling with 11 number of errors. Second, errors in punctuation was omission of punctuation. It was classified into omission of period with 8 number of errors, omission of comma with 7 number of errors, and omission of apostrophe with 4 number of errors. Lastly, errors in capitalization was omission of capitalization with 4 number of errors. The complete examples of errors in mechanics were presented in Appendix E.

a. Errors in Spelling

There were errors in spelling found. It was subdivided into one part only. It was misspelling. 68 1 Misspelling In the students report text, the researcher noticed several misspellings. The example of misspelling and the revision formulated by the researcher were as follows: Buffalos are mamals see Appendix E, text 8. revision: Buffalos are mammals. This example presented the incorrect spelling mamals. Since there was no spelling mamal in the dictionary, the researcher revised this incorrect spelling into the correct one. The mamals must be changed into mammals.

b. Errors in Punctuation

Errors in punctuation were discovered. It consisted of one part only. It was omission of punctuation. 1 Omission of Punctuation This subdivision includes several main sections. The first section was omission of period. The second one was omission of comma. The last one was omission of apostrophe. a Omission of Period The researcher found some omission of period in the students report text. It dealth with the absence of punctuation mark full stop . to end a sentence. Below were an example of omission of period and the correct revision provided by the researcher: Each arm has claws for self protection see Appendix E, text 11. correct revision: Each arm has claws for self protection.