transfer is a major factor in second language learning. The errors proceeded by the learner which does not reflect the structure of
mother tongue but generalization based on partial exposure to the target language.
c. Context of learning Context refers to the classroom situation that is built by both
teacher and material. The situation can urge the learners to make faulty hypothesis about the language. The teacher‟s explanation
also pushes the learner to make errors because something the teacher provided in correct information by way of a misleading
definition word or grammatical generalization. d. Communicative strategy
Communication strategies were defined and related to learning styles. Learners obviously use production strategies in order to
enhance getting their messages across, but at the same time these techniques can themselves become a source of error.
3. The Types of Grammatical Errors
Every learner has different types of making errors, in this case, especially for the students at the second years of MTs. Al-Khairiyah Jakarta
the most common errors that the learners are made on making simple present tense, simple present progressive tense and simple past tense such
as: a. Verb tense
Tense is the form of the verb that indicates the time at which the action or state is viewed as occurring. In this problem, the writer
explains on the using verb tense in simple present tense, simple present progressive tense and simple past tense.
b. Auxiliary verb Auxiliary verb also called as helping verb. It is used to assist the
verb and cannot be used without the main verb.
Some auxiliaries verb are used in simple present tense consist of two kinds:
Am, is, are Auxiliaries verb to be am, is, are are not followed by verb
V1Ves,s in the affirmative statement, but they are followed by noun phrase, adjective and adverb or
complement. Do, does
Do and does are not only used as part of the sentence structure for questions but also as part of the sentence
structure for negative statement. The auxiliary verb is used in simple present progressive tense:
Am, is, are Auxiliaries verb to be am, is, are are followed by verb-ing
in the affirmative, negative and interrogative statement with the simple present progressive tense.
Some auxiliaries verb are used in simple past tense consist of two kinds:
Was, were Auxiliaries verb to be was, were are not followed by verb
V2 in the affirmative, negative and interrogative statement but they are followed by noun phrase, adjective and adverb
or complement. Did
Did are not only used as part of the sentence structure for questions but also as part of the sentence structure for
negative statement. It is followed by V1. c. Word order
Word order is the syntactic arrangement of words in a sentence, a clause, or a phrase. Students had not understood yet to order the
subject, the verb, the object, etc in the right place.
d. Omission Some students sometimes missed a word in their sentences, such as
a main verb, an auxiliary verb, etc. The error indicates the students did not understand which word they must use and which word they
must skip. Besides that the students often forget to use the correct form of sentence that consist of subject, predicate or verb, and
object. e. Punctuation
Punctuation marks are symbols that indicate the structure and organization of written language and it‟s vital to disambiguate the
meaning of sentences. Some students made errors in punctuation. They did not realize that written English is different from spoken
language. Gesture, tones, and stressing can make the meaning clear in spoken language but only punctuation can make the meaning
clear in written English.
B. Simple Present Tense 1.
The Understanding of Simple Present Tense
In Academic writing stated that “The simple present tense is the verb tense used to state facts and describe repeated activities
”.
11
Mark Foley and Diane Hall state that “The present simple is the most common ways of
expressing present time in English and describes things that are generally true.”
12
Meanwhile Betty S. Azar says that “The simple present is something way true in the past, is true in the present, and will be true in the future, is
11
Alice Oshima Ann Hogue, Introduction to Academic Writing, Massachusetts: Addison Wesley Publishing Company, 1988, p. 23
12
Mark Foley and Diane Hall, Advanced Learner’s Grammar, Harlow: longman,
2003, p. 46
