An analysis of errors made by high school student in the use of subject verb agreement in english writing = phân tích lỗi sai của học sinh PTTH về sự tương hợp giữa chủ ngữ và động từ trong văn viết tiếng anh

Vinh university
Foreign language department
----------------------------

An analysis of errors made by high school
students in the use of subject- verb
agreement in english writing
( phân tích lỗi sai của học sinh PTTh về sự tơng hợp giũa
chủ ngữ và động từ trong văn Viết tiếng anh)

graduation thesis
Field: linguistics

Student: Cao Thị Việt Hà, 44A2
Supervisor: Vũ Thị Việt Hơng, M.A.

Vinh 2007

1


Acknowledgements
First of all, I would like to express my deep gratitude to my supervisor, Vũ
Thị Việt Hơng, M.A, who gave me the enthusiastic help and encouragement to
complete this thesis.
I would also like to express my sincere thanks to all of my teachers at
Foreign language department of Vinh university for their lectures which enable
me to gain a lot of theoretical and practical knowledge.
Furthermore, I want to thank many teachers and students at Ngun Du high
school- Hµ TÜnh province, who helped me carry out the investigation of the
study.

Finally, I am really grateful to my parents and my friends for their
encouragement and support to my process of writing of the thesis.

Vinh, summer 2007
Cao Thị Việt Hà

2


Symbols and abbreviations
SVA: subject- verb agreement
L1: the first language
L2: the second language
c a: contrastive analysis
e a: error analysis
s: subject
V: verb
i.e: that is
e.g: for example
etc: et cetera
*: the place of error

3


List of tables

Table 2.1
Table 2.2
Table 2.3

Table 2.4
Table 2.5
Table 2.6
Table 2.7
Table 2.8
Table 2.9

4


Table of contents:

Acknowlegements
Symbols and abbreviations
List of tables
Table of contents
Part 1: IntRoduction
1. Rationale of the study
2. Aims of the study
3. Subjects of the study
4. Scope of the study
5. Method of the study
6. Design of the study
Part II: Content
Chapter I: Literature review
1.1. The overview of subject- verb agreement in English grammar
1.1.1. Subject and its features
1.1.2. Verb- verb phrase and its features
1.1.3. Definition of subject-verb agreement
1.1.4. Types of English subject- verb agreement and their principles

1.1.4.1. Grammatical concord
1.1.4.2. Notional concord
1.1.4.3. Proximity principle
1.1.4.4. Special agreement problems
1.2. Errors in language and learning process
1.2.1. The notion of error
1.2.2. Errors and mistake
1.2.3. Error analysis
1.2.4. Causes of errors
1.2.4.1. Interlingual errrors and mother tongue interference
1.2.4.2. Intralingual errors and developmental errors
(1) overgeneralization
(2) incomplete application of rules
(3) ignorance of rule restrictions
(4) false concepts hypothesized
1.2.5. Error correction
Chapter II: The study
2.1. Research questions
5


2.2. Research setting
2.3. Description of subjects
2.4. Description of Data collection
2.5. Procedure
2.6. Preliminary results and data analysis
2.6.1. Results of section 1 of test 1
2.6.2. Results of section 2 of test 1
2.6.3. Results of section 3 of test 1
2.6.4. Results of test 2

2.6.5. General tendency
2.7. Errors and their causes
2.7.1. Errors and their causes in section 1 of test 1
2.7.2. Errors and their causes in section 2 of test 1
2.7.3. Errors and their causes in section 3 of test 1
2.7.4. Errors and their causes in test 2
Chapter III: Findings and Implications
3.1. Major findings
3.2. Implications for teaching and learning SVA in English writing to
Vietnamese high school students
3.2.1. Suggestion for teaching SVA in English writing
3.2.1. 1. Suggestion for presentation
3.2.1.2. Suggestion for practice
3.2.1.3. Suggestion for production
3.2.2. Suggestion for learning SVA in English writing
Part III: Conclusion
References
Appendix 1
Appendix 2

6


Symbols and abbreviations

SVA: subject- verb agreement
L1: the first language
L2: the second language
c a: contrastive analysis
e a: error analysis

s: subject
V: verb
i.e: that is
e.g: for example
etc: et cetera
*: the place of error

7


Part 1: Introduction.
1. Rationale for the study
For a long time, English has confirmed its position as an international language. It is
considered as a useful tool to communicate with each other. Therefore, it is not surprising
when the number of English learners is growing more than ever. Together with the
increasing need of studying English, great efforts have been made in order to improve the
quality of teaching and learning this subject. Textbooks have been renovated, new methods
have been applied and various aspects of teaching English have been covered. Realized that
description and analysis of students' errors play an important role in the practical teaching
and learning, error analysis has been an interesting area which has attracted the attention of
an increasing number of researchers. In fact, there are many famous ones on this field.
Typically, Corder and Richards have made great contribution to the development of error
analysis area- a main branch of applied linguistics.
Since Vietnamese and English have very distinct grammar systems, Vietnamese
students tend to encounter alot of difficulties in acquiring the target language. Among these
difficulties is the use of subject- verb agreement (SVA) in English writing. It can not be
denied that SVA is an important element in grammar. The correct use of SVA contributes
to producing accurate sentences. Besides, SVA is so popular that nearly every sentence
requires it. Therefore, special attention has been paid to this item of grammar. This is
revealed in the works of Swam (1980), Quirk (1972), Maclin (1996) and so on. In Vietnam,

there have been a number of studies and B.A graduation theses by some linguists and
students, focusing on SVA, such as Nguyễn Đăng Liêm (1975), Lơng Nh Huế (2002).
However, they mainly focus on the theory of SVA. To the best of my knowlege, very little
research so far has been done in Vietnam on the error analysis in the area of English SVA.
In the thesis by L¬ng Nh HuÕ, although the writer predicted difficulties that Vietnamese
students may face in learning SVA and made some suggestions, no causes of errors have
been found. That is why this study should be carried out.
Another reason for my conducting this research results from my own experience of
practising teaching English at Ngun Du high school, Hµ TÜnh province. Failure to use
SVA is a recurring problem in the students' writing. It is the fact that the students usually

8


make a lot of errors involving SVA when they write a paragraph or an essay. If this
continues, it can be a major obstacle to their success . Besides, there seems to be a neglect
of SVA in teaching materials , especially at low levels.
For all the reasons above, in this thesis, the writer would like to make an analysis of
errors made by high school students in the use of subject- verb agreement in English writing

2. Aims of the study
The study reported in this thesis aims to:
- Identify the errors in using SVA in English writing made by high school students.
- Find out the causes of these errors.
- Make some suggestions for teaching and learning SVA in English writing.
3. Subjects of the study
The subjects of the study include 200 students at NguyÔn Du high school, Hµ TÜnh
province. One hundred of them are in the tenth form. The rest are the students who are in
the eleventh form. They learn English as a compulsory subject at school. All of them are
qualified enough to do the test.

4. Scope of the study
Due to limitation of time and other objective factors , I do not hope to cover all the
aspects of SVA. In this thesis, I only would like to deal with the error analysis of SVA in
English writing.
The study is carried out at NguyÔn Du high school, Hµ TÜnh province.
5. Method of the study
In this study, the writer used the methods below:
- Investigating method
- Contrastive analysis
- Analytic and synthetic
- Descriptive method
6. Design of the study

9


Except for the acknowledgement, the table of contents and the references as well as the
appendix, this thesis includes three main parts.
Part I:

Introduction

In the introductory part, the rationale of the study is presented. The aims, subjects,
scope and method of the study are then identified. The design of the study is also provided.
Part II:

Content

This part consists of three chapters:
Chapter I: Literature review

This chapter will deal with a review of the relevant literature related to the issue under
the investigation. It has two sections. The first one focuses on the overview of SVA in
English grammar. The second briefly presents the theory about the sources of errors which
help us explain what factors caused errors committed by students in using SVA in English
writing. Error analysis , the basic tool for analysing the data is also included.
Chapter 2: The study
The methodology used to collect data for the research will be presented in this chapter.
It includes the information of research setting, participants, and data collection techniques.
Besides, it presents some preliminary results of the study, the analysis of errors committed
and the general tendency.
Chapter III: Findings and implications
This chapter will summarise some major findings. The application of the study with
some implications for teaching and learning English SVA is also presented.
Part III: Conclusion
This is the final part of the thesis. It summarises what has been presented in the thesis
and includes some suggestions related to English SVA for further research.

10


Part II: Content

Chapter I: Literature review
1.1.The overview of subject-verb agreement (SVA) in English grammar:
Normally, every simple and declarative sentence consists of two obligatory main
elements: a subject and a verb (or a verb phrase). They must agree with each other in
number and person. Before their agreement is discussed, their typical features should be
describled.
1.1.1. Subject and its features:
According to Collin Cobuild English grammar (1990),"subject is the noun group in a

clause that refers to the thing or the person who does the action expressed by the verb".
The more specific features of subject are drawn out by Leech and Svartvik (1975:293):
The subject of a clause is a noun phrase or pronoun, a non-finite verb form, or a
nominal clause, usually with introductory "it". The subject normally occurs before the verb
in statements. In questions, the subject occurs immediately after the operator. The subject
has number and person concord (where this applies) with the finite verb. The most typical
function of a subject is to denote the actor, that is, the person, etc. causing the happening
denoted by the verb.
1.1.2. Verb, verb phrase and their features:
According to Collin Cobuild English grammar (1990), "verb is a word used with a
subject to say what someone or something does, or what happens to them (e.g: sing, pill,
die)
Leech and Svartvik (1975) state that there are 2 types of verb: main verbs (e.g:
sleep,learn,go, etc.) and auxilary verbs which include primary auxilaries (do, have, be) and
modal auxilaries (e.g: may, could...). They also argue that "verb phrase consists of either of
a main verb (e.g: She writes several letters every day) or of one or more auxilary verbs

11


together with a main verb. As the name applies, auxilary verbs help the main verb to make
up phrases (e.g: She has been writing letters all the morning).
1.1.3. Definition of subject-verb agreement:
In a sentence, the verb must concord with the subject, or the subject of the sentence
determines the form of the verb that goes with it. This concord is also called subject-verb
agreement, whose simple rule can be drawn as follows:
- A singular subject requires a singular verb
- A plural subject requires a plural verb
- A subject of the first person requires a first person verb
- A subject of the second or the third person requires a second or third person

verb.
E.g:

(a) The book is intersting
(b) These pictures are beautiful
In sentence (a), the singular subject "the book" requires the singular verb"is", while in

sentence (b), the plural subject "these books" requires the plural verb "are". Therefore, these
verbs are said to agree in number with the subjects.
E.g:

I am a student
He is an architect
The subject of the first singular person "I" needs the first singular verb form "am", and

the subject of the third singular person "he" requires the third singular verb form "is". It is
said that the different forms of the verb "be"agree with the pronouns as subjects in person
and in number as well.
1.1.4. Types of subject-verb agreement and their principles:
Quirk et al (1972) classify subject-verb concord into three main types: grammatical
concord, notional concord and proximity principle. Besides, there are other cases of special
agreement.
1.1.4.1 Grammatical concord
Grammatical concord is a concord of number and person existing between a verb of a
sentence and its subject.

12


(1) Concord of subject-verb in number

The term "number" indicates whether a noun or pronoun is singular or plural. The term
is also applied to verbs.
The common rules are as follows:
- A singular subject takes a singular verb
- A plural subject takes a plural verb
E.g:

A dog keeps a house
(a dog: singular subject ; keeps: singular verb)
These flowers are beautiful
(These flowers: plural subject ; are: plural verb)

Note: when we use an uncount noun as the subject of a verb, we use a singular form of the
verb
E.g:

Knowledge is necessary for every body
(Knowledge: uncount noun ; is: singular verb)

(2) Concord of subject-verb in person
- What is person?
As a grammatical item, "person" means the way the writers express their ideas as their
own (the first person), directly to the reader or listener (the second person), or as ideas of
others (the third person). Pronoun forms that show these differences are called personal
pronouns, which are classified into subject pronouns and object pronouns.
(Maclin, 1994:240)
Here is a list of subject pronouns
person
singular
st

1 person
I
2nd person
You
3rd person
She/ He/ It
- Rules of Subject-verb agreement in person

Number
plural
We
You
They

As well as concord in number, there is concord in person between subject and verb. The
rule is that if the subject is in the singular or plural first person, the verb must agree and if
the subject is in the singular or plural-second or third person, the verb must agree too.
E.g: (a) I am your friend (1st person singular concord)
(b) We were going to Ha noi (1st person plural concord)
(c) You are too far from me (2nd person concord)

13


(d) He plays football very well (3rd person singular concord)
(e) They are my relatives (3rd person plural concord)
1.1.4.2. Notional concord
"Notional concord is agreement of verb with subject according to the idea of number
rather than the actual presense of the grammatical marker for that idea"
(Quirk et al, 1972:360)

(1) Concord of verb and collective noun as subject
- If the collective nouns shows that the members of the group it denotes are considered as a
singular unit, the noun takes a singular verb
- If the collective noun shows that the members of the group it denotes are considered as
individual members, then the noun requires a plural verb.
E.g: a. Family is an important part of the society
b. My family are very friendly
In example (a), the collective noun "family" refers to a singular unit, so it takes a
singular verb "is". While the same collective noun in example (b) refers to individual
members, it requires a plural verb "are".
Note that:
1. Some collective nouns always require plural verbs for agreement. They are such nouns
as: people, police, cattle, clergy, livestock, vermin and noun phrases derived from adjectives
that describle people, for example: the rich, the young and so on.
E.g: The people of our state are voting for a new governor.
The police have asked for more funds.
The young want to live in cities.
2. If you want to refer back to a collective noun, you choose a singular pronoun or
determiner if the previous verb is singular, and a plural pronoun or determiner if the
previous verb is plural.
E.g: The goverment has said it would wish to do this only if there was no alternatives.
The goverment have made up their minds that they are going to win.
(2) Concord of verb and uncount noun ending in "s"

14


Some nouns end in "s" or "es' and look as if they are plural but in fact, they are
uncount nouns. Thus, when they are the subject of the verb, the verb must be in the singular
form.

These nouns refer mainly to subjects of study, activities, games and diseases. E.g:
acoustics, aerobics, economics, statistics, bowls, cards, darts, measles, mumps, rabies,
rickets...
E.g: Linguistics interests me much
Billiards is popular in many places
(3) Concord of verb and coordinated noun as subject
- If the elements of the compound subject joined by "and" ,"both....and" and "all but" are
considered separate entities, the subject will take a plural verb because this conjunction
always suggests more than one. This rule must be obeyed regardless of whether the
individual subjects are singular or plural.
E.g: Both the boy and the girl are happy.
All but Suzie have left.
- A subject still takes a plural form when its elements are uncount nouns
E.g: Butter and milk are my favourite food
Note that there are some exceptions as follows:
+ When a compound subject joined by "and" is preceded by the word "every", "each",
"many", "a" or "no", the subject is considered separately. As a result, a singular verb is
needed.
E.g: Each adult and child has to pay to enter the show room
Every man and woman is asked to vote
Many a youth and many a maiden has misinterpreted freedom.
No boy and no girl is eager to go fishing.
+ On some occasions, subjects joined by "and" refers to one person or thing or to something
that is considered as a unit. In this case, the verb must be singular.
E.g: Cheese and crackers is my favourite food
( Cheese and crackers is considered one item of food)
The Bat and Ball sells good beer.
( The Bat and Ball names a single pub)

15

+ When the subject consists of two elements joined by "with' , "together with", "as well as",
"accompanied by", " along with", "in addition", "including", the form of the verb depends
on the 1st element preceding these connectors. If it is singular, the verb is singular too. If it
is plural, it requires a plural form of the verb
E.g: a. The actor, along with some friends, is going to a party tonight
b. The chilren, as well as their sick mother, are dying
In the example (a), since "the actor" and "some friends" are joined by along with and
the emphasis is on "the actor", which is a singular subject, so the singular form of the verb
"is" is required. In the sentence (b), the additive "as well as their mother" has no influence
on the subject "the chilren" which is plural, so the plural verb "are"is taken.
1.1.4.3. Proximity principle
The principle of proximity "denotes agreement of the verb with whatever noun or
pronoun closely precedes it, somtimes in preference to agreement with the headword of the
subject"
(Quirk et al, 1972:360)
(1) Concord of verb with disjunctive subject
- According to Crews, compound subjects joined by "or", "neither...nor", or " either...or" are
called disjunctive
- The verb agrees with the subject nearest to it in number and person
Neither/either + noun + nor/or + noun(plural) + verb (plural)
noun(singular) + verb(singular)
E.g: Either his friends or the poor boy is going to be punished
Neither John nor his friends are going to the beach today
Neither you nor I am prepared for the exam
(2) Concord of verb and "there" as subject
The form of the verb depends on the number of the noun nearest to it.
E.g: a. There is a picture and four pencil on the table
b. There are four pencils and a picture on the table

In the sentence (a), the singular noun "picture" is nearest to the verb, therefore the verb
is singular. Similarly, in the sentence (b), the plural noun "four pencils" is nearest to the
verb so a plural verb is taken.
[[

16


(3) Concord of verb and some indefinite pronouns as subject
The proximity principle may lead to plural concord even with the indefinites: each,
every, everybody, anybody, and nobody, which are singular.
E.g: a. Noone except his own supporters agree with him
b. Each member of the group of five people work very hard
For such cases, where the proximity principle overrules grammatical concord, the term
ATTRACTION is often used. In two examples above, the plural nouns "supporters" and
"people" are nearest to the verbs so the plural verbs are taken for agreement.
Other examples of attraction arise with singular nouns of kind and quantity.
E.g: a. A large number of people are gathering in the square
b. The majority of them are American
c. Lots of wood is going to be exported to Japan
In examples (a), (b), the heads of noun phrase is "number", "plenty", and "majority",
each of which is singular and thus require singular verbs. But the plural forms "people" and
"them" in the "of- phrase" influence the form of the nearby verb.
The opposite phenomenon , singular attraction, is observed in example (c) where
phrases like "lots of" are treated as equivalent to singular "much".
(4) Other cases of proximity
- Multiple units in which the first coordinate is negative but the second is affirmative use a
verb form that agree in number with the affirmative coordinate. This is explained by
proximity principle.
E.g: a. Not my younger brother but I am disappointed

b.Not the girl but her friends agree with that idea
Note that the above sentences can be rephrased as follows:
a'. I, not my younger brother, am disappointed.
b'. Her friends, not the girl, agree with that idea.
The sentences (a') and (b') can not explained by proximity principle. In fact, they obey the
principle of non- intervention that will be studied in part 1.1.4.4
- Such sentences as "one in nine go out" are also examples of proximity principle
1.1.4.4. Special agreement problems
¬

(1) Concord of verb and indefinite pronoun as subject

17


- Here are common indefinite pronouns
+ Singular indefinite pronouns:
anybody

anyone

anything

each

either

everyone

everybody

everything

neither

nobody

noone

nothing

one

somebody

someone

something

+ Plural indefinite pronouns
all

enough most plenty any more none some
Whether these pronouns are singular or plural depends on their antecedents. If the

antecedent is singular, the pronoun is singular. If the antecedent is plural, the pronoun is
plural.
E.g: All of the concert was good
Some of the houses have been painted
- Rule of subject- verb agreement

Singular pronouns as subject take singular verbs and plural pronouns take plural verbs
E.g: Everything looks new today
Several of the dishes have been washed
Most of the students are intelligent
Most of food has been eaten
(2) Concord of verb and title of work as subject
Titles of individual books, stories, plays, movies, television programmes and magazines
are generally regarded as singular and therefore take a singular verb even when they have a
plural form. Most names of countries, of businesses and of organizations are also
considered singular. They take singular verbs for agreement.
E.g: "Crime and punishment" is the best- constructed of Dostoyevesky's novels
Is Honduras in Central America or South America
¬

(3) Concord of verb and numeral as subject
-When we use any cardinal number except "one" infront of a noun, we use a plural noun
and therefore a plural verb is required . We use "one" infront of singular nouns and singular
verbs are taken.
E.g: Eight girls are reading books in the room
There is a flower in the vase

18


However, when we talk about an amount of money or time, speed or weight, we usually
use a number, a plural noun and a singular verb because in these cases, a singular unit is
mentioned.
E.g: Twenty dollars is too much to pay for that shirt
Three years is a long time
400 metres is the length of this lane

- Ordinals are often used infront of nouns. If the noun is singular, then the verb afterwards
is singular. If the noun is plural, it requires the plural verb.
E.g: The 2nd runner is Mr David.
First products have been made by these handy workers.
¬

(4) Concord of verb and fractions, verb and percentages
With fractions and percentages, verb agreement depends on the nouns or clauses after
them.
- With singular nouns, clausal subjects or non- count subjects, the singular verb is taken,
and with plural nouns, a plural verb is needed.
E.g: 20% of students have failed in the exam.
One thirds of this novel focuses on the countryside life.
About two thirds of what I planed is done.
- With collective nouns, either the singular or the plural verb is required.
E.g: Three fifths of our class live/ lives in Vinh city.
10% of the population comes/ come from Germany.
¬

(5) Concord of verb and subject in inverted order
Most sentences are in natural order- the subject comes before the verb. Some sentences,
though, are in inverted order- the subject follows the verb or part of a verb phrase.
Regardless of whether a subject is in a sentence, the verb must agree with it in number.
For an inverted sentence, we should first identify the subject by rewriting the sentence
and then make the verb agree with it in number.
There are several types of inverted sentences. They may be questions or sentences
initiating wih "here" or "there".
E.g: Here comes the bus.
There comes the drinks.
Is the girl beautiful?

19


Under the table are some pairs of shoes.
(6) The principle of non intervention
A verb always agrees with the subject whether the verb is next to the subject or it is
separated from the subject by other words. Some confusion about subject-verb agreement
may be made if there is separation between the main subject and the verb. The verb may
wrongly agree with the object, instead of the subject if a prepositional phrase or some other
words which are nearer to the verb. Therefore, the rule of subject- verb agreement is as
follows:
The agreement of a verb with its subject is not changed by any interrupting words,
phrases or clauses.
E.g: The gardens in the valley are full of flowers.
The house painted with blue and green is mine .
(7) Concord of verb and subject using the word "number"
When the word "number" is preceded by "the", a singular verb is taken. When "number"
is preceded by "a" and it refers to a total unit, a singular verb is needed. But if it refers to
individual parts, a plural verb is required.
E.g: a. A great number of pictures were sold before Tet holiday.
"Number" in the sentence (a) refers to individual parts.
b. A number like 13 is not lucky
"Number" in the sentence (b) refers to a total unit.
¬

[

1.2.Errors in language learning process
¬

1.2.1.The notion of error
Learning a language in general and a foreign language in particular is really a long and
complex process in which errors are unavoidable. According to Dulay et al (1982:138),
errors are understood as "the flawed side of learner speech and writing, those parts of
conversation or composition that deviate from some selected norms" .
Corder has the same view as Dulay et al. He refers to errors as breaches of the code.
Errors deviate from what is regarded as the norm. The problem, however, is that sometimes
there is not agreement on what the norm is. The norm is affected by the medium, the social
context and the speaker- hearer relationship (Els et als, 1984:147). In other words,
languages have different varieties or dialects with rules that differ from the standard.

20


Therefore, certain forms or structures which are acceptable in some situations become
deviant in others.
Lenon gives a clear definition of error. It is "a linguistic form....which, in the same
context .....would in all likelihood not be produced by the learner's native speaker
counterparts" (1991:182).
Carl James in "Error in language teaching and use" defines error "as being an instance
of language that is unintentionally deviant and not self- corrigible by its author"
According to Richard et al (1992:95), in "Longman dictionary of applied linguistics",
the term "error" refers to "the use of a linguistics item (e.g: a word, a grammatical item, a
speech act,etc.) in a way which a fluent or native speaker of the language regards as
showing faulty or incomplete learning".
An error is also defined as "an utterance, form, or structure that a particular language
teacher seems unacceptable because of its inappropriate use or its absence in real life
discourse" (James.M.Hendrickson,1987) in "Methodology in TESOL".
1.2.2. Errors and mistakes

In the 1960s, researchers started to pay much attention to the concept of errors in
language learning process. Although they found it impossible to indicate any clear
differentiation, distinction was drawn between the two terms "error" and "mistake".
According to Chomsky (1995 ), there are two different types of errors: one orginating
from verbal performance factor and the other from inadequate language competence. And
the distinction between error and mistake was introduced into morden debate by Corder
(1967). He took advantage of Chomsky's distinction and classified it. A mistake, he says, is
" a performance error" and the term "an error" is associated with failures in language
competence.
Ellis (1997) has the same view: "errors reflect gaps in a learner's knowledge. They occur
because the learner does not know what is correct. Mistakes reflect occasional lapses in
performance. They occur because , in a particular instance, the learner is unable to perform
what he or she knows".
Mistakes are the result of psychological or neurological factors such as fatigue, lack of
attention or lapse of memory. They are also due to physical states such as tiredness (Corder,

21


1992:24). On the other hand, errors are caused by the incomplete understanding of language
competence.
The intentionality plays an important part in distinguish errors and mistakes. James
(1998) points out that error is an instance of language that is unintentionally deviant and is
not self- corrigible by the learner. A mistake is either intentionally or unintentionally
deviant and self- corrigible.
The distinction between errors and mistakes also bases on whether it is systematic or
not. According to Norrish (1983), errors are " a systematic deviation when a learner has not
learnt something and consistently gets it wrong". He adds that they are generally caused by
learners of English as a second or foreign language. In contrast, mistakes are
characteristically unsystematic. And they are made by native speakers as well as foreign

language learners.
Mistakes are not significant to the process of language learning because they do not
reflect a defect in our knowledge but can be traced to performance failure. "We are
normally immediately aware of them when they occur and can correct them with more or
less complete assurance" (Corder,1967: 167). On the contrary, errors reflect knowledge and
cannot be self- corrected until further relevant (to that error) input has been provided and
converted into intake by the learner ( C. James, 1998:83). Besides, errors play an important
part in the process of learning. Discussing the significance of learners' errors, Richards
(1992) says that they provide evidence of the system of the language that they are using at a
particular point in the course ( and it must be repeated that they are using some systems,
although it is not yet the right system). He adds that errors are significant in three different
ways:
First to the teacher, in that they tell him, if he understates a systematic analysis, how far
towards the goal his learners have progressed and consequently, what remains for them to
learn.
Secondly, they provide the teacher evidence of how language is learned or acquired,
what strategies or procedures his learners are employing in their discovery of the language.
Thirdly, they are indispensable to learners themselves, because the making of errors is
regarded as a device learners use in order to learn. It is a way learners have to test their
hypothesis about the nature of the language they are learning.
For all the reasons above, only errors can be the object of study of error analysis (EA).
It is not interested in mistakes since they do not show the true state of learner 's knowledge.

22


1.2.3. Error analysis
Many of the predictions of the target language learning difficulty formulated on the basis
of contrastive analysis (CA) turned out to be either uninformative (teachers had known
about these errors already) or inaccurate: errors predicted did not materialise in

interlanguage and some which appeared in fact were not predicted by the CA (James,
1998). Pointing out some weaknesses of C A in deciphering learning difficulty, many
researchers believe that learners' actual errors are worthier. These errors are lively evidence
of the failure learners have and they are very helpful in various ways. It is in this setting that
a new approach called error analysis came into being
EA has been defined by many linguists in different ways. Richards et al ( 1992) gives
the definition of EA as " the study and analysis of the errors made by second language
learners". Discussing EA, James (1998:1) says: "Error analysis is the process of
determining the incidence, nature, causes, and consequences of unsuccessful languages.
Cook (1993:22) states: "Error analysis is a methodology for dealing with data rather than a
theory of acquisition".
The role of EA is undeniable in language learning and teaching. It is claimed that EA
has a number of following benefits in helping construct an account of L2 learners' linguistic
competence and assisting teachers and researchers in teaching and designing syllabuses.
In the first place, one of the functions of EA is to identify the causes of the learner 's
errors which are very useful for teaching and learning languages.
Secondly, at the level of classroom experience, we feel that EA supplies a chief means
by which teachers assess learning and teaching and determine priorities for future effort.
Lim (1976) states: "One of the main aims of error analysis is to help teachers assess more
accurately what remedial work would be necessary for English as a second language".
The third significance of EA is that the study of learner's errors should permit the
formulation of rules for learners' interlingual systems, thus providing incidentally teachers
with information of what remains to be learned.
Finally, "EA has an important Applied Linguistic justification in that data from the
classroom can both serve as input to theoretical consideration and after evaluation, feedback
to the designing of remedial curricula" (Richards, 1992)
The procedures for EA consists of the following steps set by Corder (1974):
1. A corpus of language is selected

23

2. Identification of error
3. Description of errors
4. Explanation of errors
5. Evaluation of errors
6. Prevention of errors
1.2.4. Causes of errors
In fact, foreign language learners make a number of errors in the process of learning.
They are unavoidable but very useful. Corder indicates that learners' errors are invaluable to
the language learning process. By discovering their causes, researchers can find suitable
solutions to improve the quality of teaching and learning.
It is claimed by Richards (1971) that there are two main causes of errors. Some errors
result from mother tongue interference.They are called "interlingual errors". Others are
commited by 2nd language learners regardless of their mother tongue and they are called
intralingual and developmental errors.
1.2.4.1. Interlingal errors and mother tongue interference
[

When learning a foreign language, learners already know their mother tongue. It is
known that the habits of their mother tongue affect their acquisition of the second language.
They use their previous experience of their first language as a means of organising the L2.
They "tend to transfer the form, meanings and the distribution of forms and meaning of
their native language and culture to the foreign language and culture" (Lado, 1957:2).
According to Oldin (1989), transfer is the influence resulting from similarities and
differences between the target language and any other language that has been previously
acquired.
There are two types of language transfer occurence: positive and negative. Positive
transfer or facilitation is the one which makes learning easier and may occur when L1 and
L2 have something in common. Negative transfer or inteference is the borrowing of the 1 st

language pattern or rule which leads to an error or inappropriate language usage.
Interference may be caused by the difference between the two languages .
Here is an example:

24


Everybody have to pay more than five dollars. ( instead of " everybody has to pay more than
five dollars." ).
In fact, some English words that end with the plural form "s" are actually singular in
number, whereas others indicate a singular or plural number while maintaining the same
form. Faced with this complexity, Vietnamese students resort to translation from
Vietnamese when determining whether a certain word is singular or plural, resulting errors
in subject- veb agreement. In the example above, the word "everybody"- "mäi ngêi" is
plural in Vietnamese but singular in English. Therefore learners use the plural verb "have"
incorrectly instead of the singular verb "has".
Another example is:
Vietnamese

English

Hä yªu cËu

They love you

Anh ta yªu cËu

He love you (1)

Vietnamese verbs have no conjugation, thus "yªu" can go with any person. This

grammatical feature of Vietnamese greatly influences the way how Vietnamese students
conjugate English verbs. This usually results in such a phenomenon as in sentence (1)
above.
1.2.4.2. Intralingual and developmental errors
¬

According to Richard (1971: 74), intralingual errors are those which reflect the general
characteristics of the learning, and failure to learn conditions under which rules apply.
Developmental errors illustrate the learner 's attempt to build up hypotheses of it in the
classsroom or text books. He presents the causes of the above errors in terms of overgeneralization, ignorance of rule restriction, incomplete application of rule, false concept
hypothesized.
(1) Overgeneralization
Overgeneralisation is defined by Jakobovits as "the use of previously available
strategies in new situations....Some of these strategies will prove helpful in organising the
facts about the second language, but others, due to superficial similarities, will be
misleading and inapplicable'.

25