The Definition of Error

8 nouns whether they are singular or plural, and not the uncountable ones. In Indonesian, the noun „money‟ is almost always considered plural, without concerning its quantity, contradictory with that in English, which is always considered singular since it is an uncountable noun. Another example of the interlingual error is the words „each‟ and „every‟. These two determiners are usually translat ed into Indonesian as „setiap‟, such as „setiap siswa‟ each student or every student . In Indonesian, the word „setiap‟ usually refers to all members of a group or all parts of something. In fact, it is always considered singular or refers to personal in English language structure. b. Intra-lingual Transfer Interferences for the students‟ own language is not the only reason for committing errors. As Ellis states, “some errors seem to be universal, reflecting learners‟ attempts to make the task of learning and using the target language simpler. ” 14 The u se of past tense suffix „-ed‟ for all verbs is an example of simplifications and over-generalization. “Intra-lingual errors result from faulty or partial learning of the target language rather than language transfer. They may be caused by the influence of one target language item upon another. For example, learners attempt to use two tense markers at the same time in one sentence since they have not mastered the language yet. ” 15 Norrish classifies the causes of error into three types, they are carelessness, first language interference, and translation. 16 The three types of causes of error will be stated briefly below. a. Carelessness Carelessness is often closely related to lack of motivation. Many teachers will ad mit that it is not always the student‟s fault if he loses interest, perhaps the materials andor style of presentation do not suit him. 14 Ellis, op.cit. , p.266 15 Vacide Erdogan, p.266 16 Norrish, J., Language Learning and Their Errors, 1983, London: Macmillan Publisher Ltd, p.21-26