grammar is the set of rules that allow us to combine words in our language into larger units. Another term for grammar in this sense is syntax. Donald and Kneale,
2001: 78-79 state: “Grammar is the science which formulates rules to describe the workings of language.” Further, Brinton and Brinton 2010: 7 add that
grammar is as the rules or principles by which a language works, that is, its system or structure.
Meanwhile Brindley 1994: 198-201 defines that grammar is 1 Correct or incorrect? A way of prescribing usage? Only found in standard English?
Unchanging? 2 Maintaining standards? ‘Proper’ English? Closely connected with reinforcing discipline and maintaining social order? 3 A useful discipline? Parts
of speech like nouns and adjectives? Gender and tenses? Based on Latin grammar? 4 A description of usage? Rules every speaker of a native language
knows implicitly? The structure of words, clauses and sentences? From the explanation above, it is concluded that grammar is the principals
to combine or change the rules of language such as tenses to form a meaningful and correct language.
b. The Aspects of Grammar Mastery
Many advocates explain about the aspects of grammar in different ways. Some of them call that they are aspects of grammar and others say grammatical
categories. Donald and Kneale 2001: 71-71 draw the traditional grammar assigns words to different classes, known as parts of speech, of which English has
eight: nouns, pronouns, articles, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions and conjunctions. Within each class, words are then further categorized according to a
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number of other features, e.g. a noun can have gender, number and case, a verb can have tense, voice and mood. Further, Brindley 1994: 201-202 explains that
some aspects of grammar consist of: 1 Knowledge of some terminology, e.g. noun, verb, but not confined to ‘parts of
speech’. 2 The ability to write well-constructed and effective prose, using the grammar of
standard English where appropriate. 3 Knowledge of sentence structure
a in children’s writing: clauses within sentences, linking words besides ‘and’;
b from children’s reading: how sentences are built up, e.g. main clause, subordinate clauses, phrases, etc.
4 Knowledge of word formation a past tenses, plurals—regular and irregular, e.g. I went, bringbrought,
mouse mice if necessary, comparatives and superlatives—er-est; b prefixes, suffixes. nouns formed from adjectives, and vice versa, etc., e.g.
entertainentertainment, beautybeautiful, 5 Some knowledge about the variation in grammar when writing or speaking
a how the grammar of standard English may differ from dialect grammars known to the children and contexts when each may be appropriate, e.g. past
tense uses of diddone and how each works according to rules; b how grammatical choices may vary according to the speaker’swriter’s
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purpose, audience and context of use, e.g. when you might or might not use whom;
c how grammatical choices may be shaped by the demands of different types or genres of writing or speaking, e.g. grammar of non-fiction books—word
order, use of the passive, etc.: ‘Because brown bears sometimes killed cattle, they have been hunted and many have been destroyed.’
6 Some knowledge about the ways in which writers’ choices of grammar affect them when they read or listen
a This might involve developing ways of talking and writing about language that encourage a critical awareness, leading to an ability to ‘see through’
language and understand the ways in which messages are mediated or shaped and how grammatical choices can be used to persuade, manipulate or
dominate. Ur 2009: 78 draws some grammatical terms in English grammar, as
follows: 1 Units of Language consist of from the largest into the smallest units of
language, such as, the discourse or text, the sentence, the clause, the phrase, the word, and the morpheme
2 Parts of sentence consist of subject, verb, object, complement, and adverb. 3 Parts of Speech consist of nouns, verbs, adjectives, Adverbs, pronouns,
auxiliary verbs, modal verbs, determiners, and preposition New South Wales Department of Education and Training 2006: 3
explains some aspects of grammar such as elements of sentence; subject, verb and perpustakaan.uns.ac.id
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object, parts of speech; noun, pronoun, verb, sentence structured etc. Those theories describe that grammar has many aspects or elements in it
from the smallest into the largest groups of words which form those words into a standard sentence. The sentence should not only correct grammatically but also
meaningful to make the sentence acceptable and understandable. In this research, I would limit the explanation of grammar aspects based on what I need to observe,
that is, tenses.
c. Tenses
