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Running head: ERROR ANAYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 1
Al-Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University
College of Languages & Translation
Department of English Language and Literature
Error Analysis of Subject-Verb Agreement in the Writing of EFL Saudi Female Students: A
Corpus-Based Study
Dalal A. Al-Dubib
Imam Mohammad bin Saud University
Rabie Awwal 1434 - January 2013
A thesis Paper Submitted to the Department of English of the College of Languages and
Translation in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in
Linguistics
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 2
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 3
Abstract
The objective of this study is to investigate the written English errors of level four
students at the Languages and Translation College of Prince Noura University, Riyadh, Saudi
Arabia. Error analysis technique was used in this research to find their errors, identify them, and
explain their sources. The corpus of this study was collected from the writing courses of 20
Saudi female students of EFL (level four) at Prince Noura University. Each student has her own
folio that consists of 6–7 essays, divided into different types designed by the teacher. The
students’ teachers used the Writing Process Approach to teach writing skills. The study was
designed to explore whether students are facing problems with subject-verb agreement in terms
of the present tense of the verb to be in their writing and identify the causes of these problems.
The findings are as follows: firstly, EFL Saudi female students at Prince Noura University,
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, do have problems in applying this rule in their written production. There
were 103 total errors found relating to subject-verb agreement of the present verb to be: is (82
errors), are (17), and am (4). Secondly, the study reveals that a lack of knowledge of English
grammar is the main source of students’ errors, accounting for 63.2% of the total errors found.
Thus, it was concluded that students are still facing problems in applying SVA rules in their
writing and their lack of knowledge of the rules of the target language is the main factor causing
the written production errors.
Keywords: Error Analysis, Corpus, Subject-verb Agreement.
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 4
الملخص
يهدف هذا البحث إلى إيجاد األخطاء التي يرتكبها طالبات المستوى الرابع في كلية اللغات والترجمة في جامعة األمير نورة بنت
عبدالرحمن. استخدم الباحث نظرية تحليل األخطاء والتي تهدف إلى استكشاف أخطاء الطالب ومعرفة نوعها وإيجاد أسبابها.
طالبة، كل طالبة لديها ملف خاص 02عبارة عن مجموعة من المقاالت المكتوبة بواسطة المادة المستخدمة في البحث هي
مقاالت تتمحور حوَل عدة مواضيع مختارة بواسطة المعلمة. معلمات الطالبات يتبعَن منهج "عملية الكتابة" 7-6يحتوي على
ى معرفة إذا ما كانت الطالبات يعانين من مشكلة وذلك خالل تدريس مهارات اللغة اإلنجليزية للطالبة. تهدف هذه الدراسة إل
تطبيق قاعدة موافقة الفعل المساعد للفاعل في الجملة اإلنجليزية وإيجاد أسباب هذِه المشكلة، وقد أثبتت الدراسة أّن الطالبات
للفعل المساعد 37و ”is“للفعل المساعد 20خطأ مقسمة على 321يعانين بالفعل من تطبيق هذِه القاعدة حيُث تّم اكتشاف
“are” للفعل المساعد 4و“am” باإلضافة إلى ذلك، أثبتت الدراسة ان المسبب الرئيسي لهذِه المشكلة لدى الطالبات هَو عدم .
معرفة القاعدة بالشكل الكامل والصحيح والذي أدى إلى ظهورها في كتاباتهّن.
كلمات البحث :
مساعد للفاعل في الجملة.نظرية تحليل األخطاء، موافقة الفعل ال
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 5
Acknowledgments
First and foremost I would like to express my gratitude to Allah, who has helped me in
this long journey and enabled me to finally finish my thesis despite all the challenges I
experienced.
I am extremely appreciative of the assistance, total commitment, kindness, and support I
received from my supervisor, Dr. Abdulhameed Eliwa.
I also wish to extend my full gratitude to my husband, who has been the rock in my life.
Thanks for providing the support and help that I needed.
Thanks are also due to my mother, who has constantly been behind me, never hesitating
to offer all that she can to facilitate my journey. My deepest thanks also go to my dad, my
brothers, and the rest of my family.
Finally, I am sincerely grateful to all the people who have helped and supported me
throughout my project.
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 6
Table of Contents
Introduction ................................................................................................................................................. 2
I.1 Statement of the Problem......................................................................................................................... 9
I.2 Purpose and Questions of the Study ........................................................................................................ 9
I.3 Significance of the Study ......................................................................................................................... 9
I.4 Definition of Terms ............................................................................................................................... 10
II. Literature Review ................................................................................................................................... 11
II.1 Error Analysis ...................................................................................................................................... 11
II.1.1 Background ....................................................................................................................................... 11
II.1.2 Classification and Types of Errors .................................................................................................... 13
II.1.3 Error Sources ..................................................................................................................................... 14
II.1.4 Stages of Error Analysis .................................................................................................................... 15
II.1.5 Corpus Linguistics and Language Teaching ..................................................................................... 15
II.2 The Standard View of Subject-Verb Agreement and Some Problems ................................................. 16
II.3 Practical Studies ................................................................................................................................... 19
III. Methods and Procedures ....................................................................................................................... 25
III.1 Corpus Description ............................................................................................................................. 25
III.2 Data Collection ................................................................................................................................... 25
III.3 Instruments of the Study ..................................................................................................................... 25
III.4 Study Design ....................................................................................................................................... 26
III.5 Procedures of the Study ...................................................................................................................... 26
III.5.1 General Procedures .......................................................................................................................... 26
Results of the Study .................................................................................................................................... 28
First Step: Frequencies ................................................................................................................................ 28
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 7
Second Step: Concordances ........................................................................................................................ 29
The occurrence of the present tense of the verb to be in the corpus ........................................................... 29
Discussion and Conclusion ......................................................................................................................... 50
Application for English Teaching ............................................................................................................... 54
Conclusions ................................................................................................................................................. 55
Recommendations ....................................................................................................................................... 56
References ................................................................................................................................................... 57
Appendix ..................................................................................................................................................... 61
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 8
Introduction
“Corpus linguistics is the study of language as expressed in real-world text. In some areas
it is related to computational linguistics, then at last it moves towards language processing
applications” (Yousif, 2009, p. 104). In corpus linguistics, people deal with real text produced by
native speakers, whether it is written or spoken. Therefore, it is a very useful process for
identifying the most important features and principles of any language. In addition, corpus
linguistics analysis is very helpful in the teaching field, allowing both teachers and students to
benefit from it. By this kind of analysis, teachers can become aware of their students’
weaknesses by identifying their errors. The collection of their results can produce better teaching
methods. One of the most common mistakes in standard written English is subject-verb
agreement. Marzuki and Zainal (2004) analyzed the errors of writing reports in an examination
situation and found that the most frequent error was subject-verb agreement with 95.5%
occurrence. Moreover, Adira et al. (2010) found, based on the 66 paragraphs they analyzed, that
subject-verb agreement was one of the errors which was recorded with 85 errors (7.07%).
Clearly, although making subjects and verbs agree seems easy, there are certain errors that many
students commit. The basic rule of subject-verb agreement is that a verb must agree in number
and person with its subject. Singular subjects need singular verbs; plural subjects need plural
verbs (Hudson, 1998). However, there are different versions of subject-verb agreement, and one
variable involves verb tenses. This paper explores whether EFL Saudi female students at Prince
Noura University (PNU) have problems with subject-verb agreement, particularly with the
present tense of the verb to be.
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 9
I.1 Statement of the Problem
One of the major common errors in written English is making subjects and verbs agree.
Although this rule seems easy, many students seem to have difficulty applying it. This could be
due to their lack of knowledge of the rule itself or interference from the student’s mother tongue.
Therefore, the present study intends to find out whether students have difficulty applying the
subject-verb agreement rule and establish the causes of SVA errors.
I.2 Purpose and Questions of the Study
The purpose of this study is to explore the frequency and types of SVA errors in the
present tense of the verb to be produced by EFL Saudi female students at PNU in their writings.
The study aims to examine the following research questions:
1- Do EFL Saudi female students at PNU face problems with subject-verb agreement when
using the present tense of the verb to be in their writings?
2- What are the main sources of EFL Saudi female students’ errors of subject-verb
agreement when using the present tense of the verb to be in their writings?
I.3 Significance of the Study
A number of studies have been conducted on error analysis of subject-verb agreement.
However, hardly any studies have examined subject-verb agreement in the present tense of the
verb to be using the corpus-linguistics-based error analysis approach in Saudi Arabia. Therefore,
this study provides insight into the types of SVA errors relating to the present tense of the verb to
be in the writing of EFL Saudi female students at PNU. In addition, the stated value of errors and
error analysis used in this study is to offer solutions, recommendations, and suggestions for PNU
teachers and instructors to avoid these errors in future.
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 10
I.4 Definition of Terms
Error analysis: a branch of applied linguistics that studies and analyzes errors made by second-
language learners.
Corpus-based study: a study that depends on collecting written or spoken linguistic data to
explore different topics.
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 11
II. Literature Review
This chapter presents the literature review, which includes error analysis background,
corpus-based background, and the standard view of subject-verb agreement and some of its
problems. The first part focuses on the theoretical studies and theories written about these
approaches. The second part deals with the practical studies conducted on error analysis of
subject-verb agreement and corpus-based studies. The final part discusses the gap in those
studies, which helps in conducting this research.
II.1 Error Analysis
II.1.1 Background
Because this study uses error analysis techniques in students’ writing, it is essential to
discuss the theory of error analysis (EA). Evidence in the literature (T. Maicusi, P. Maicusi,
& Lopez, 2000; Sanal, 2008; AbiSamra, 2003; Khodabandeh, 2007) indicates that EA
was a development of contrastive analysis (CA). Contrastive analysis stems from the behaviorist
view that language learning is based on habit formation. In addition, it viewed the mother tongue
as the hindrance to learning new languages. The CA hypothesis reinforced this view of
“interference”: the learners’ existing habits prevents correct utterance, which results in errors that
are signs of the learner’s failure (Chanier, Pengelly, Twidale, Self, 1992). Ehsan (1995)
explained the behaviorist view that perceives the similarities between two languages’ structures
as easy to learn, referring to it as “positive transfer.” However, if major differences exist between
the two languages, the learning becomes more difficult. Thus, negative transfer occurs when
learners inappropriately transfer L1 rules to the structure of L2. Contrastive linguistics
essentially studies inter-lingual errors (errors caused by things other than the target language)
and takes into account the aspect of transfer of learning (Khan, 2011, p. 107)
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 12
However, CA proved to have some weaknesses. For example, it lacks 100% predictive
ability (Ehsan, 1995). This happens when teachers are familiar with learners’ errors, but linguists
cannot predict those errors. In addition, mother-tongue interference is not the only cause of errors
produced by SL learners. In fact, some errors are attributed to the complexity of L2 structure,
and CA is more appropriate to explain observable difficulties than to predict them (Ehsan, 1995).
Therefore, error analysis was produced to overcome the weaknesses in CA, and it is the most
effective tool for describing errors made by speakers of other languages (Johnson, 1951).
In fact, EA became an essential part of applied linguistics as a result of Corder’s (1967)
work. He explained that errors produced in the L2 learning process are similar to those
committed by a child learning his mother tongue. This concept is based on the Chomsky idea
that “a child generates language through innate universal structures” (T. Maicusi & P. Maicusi,
2000, p. 169). With regard to errors in the learning process, Corder (1967) emphasized the
different system of language in the learners’ learning process and the idea that learners’ errors
are an indication of their learning stages. In fact, according to him, learners’ errors are significant
in three different ways. First, they are significant for teachers because the learners’ errors could
determine the goals that must be achieved. Second, they are significant for the learners because
they can view them as a tool to use in learning. Third, they are significant for researchers
because they show the process of language acquisition. In addition, Sanal (2008) examined error
analysis based on second-language teaching strategies and found that errors are no longer seen as
“unwanted forms”; instead, they indicate the student’s learning-process level. In contrast,
Chanier et al. (1992) pointed to errors as a guide to the learner’s internal process.
These theories led to the study of EA in Applied Linguistics, which focuses on the
comparison between the errors made in the target language (TL) and that TL itself
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 13
(Khodabandeh, 2007, p. 3). Therefore, researchers are interested in identifying those errors and
analyzing them. Lennon (1991) defines errors as a linguistic form or combination of forms that
would not be produced under similar conditions and contexts by a native speaker. Brown (1987)
defines errors as those that are made by learners that can be observed, analyzed, and classified to
reveal their learning systems. Catalan explains error as “an infringement or deviation of the code
of the formal system of communication through which message is conveyed” (n.d., p. 66, as
cited in Gutilo & Mango, 2012, p. 3). It is important to note that researches and theories cannot
all have the same definition of errors.
II.1.2 Classification and Types of Errors
Before examining the various types of errors, it is important to differentiate between two
important terms: errors and mistakes. Corder (1967) defines “errors” as systematic errors that are
errors of competence. On the other hand, he defines “mistakes” as unsystematic errors that are
“lapses” or slips of the tongue (errors of performance). In the applied linguistic field, the term
“error” means the idiosyncratic or “un-native-like” language produced systematically by a
foreign language learner. However, “mistakes” are the lapses or slips of the tongue that are not
systematic and that the learner can correct (Chanier et al., 1992). They are simply a result of
imperfection in the process of producing speech (Brown, 1987). In addition to the previous
classification, Corder (1981) himself specified another classification of errors: “covert” and
“overt.” According to him, “overt idiosyncratic” errors are ungrammatical at sentence level,
while “covert idiosyncratic” errors are completely grammatical at sentence level but not
interpretable within the context.
Therefore, errors, not mistakes, are what researchers are focusing on, and many
researchers are interested in categorizing errors and the literature containing various types of
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 14
errors. For example, Gustilo and Mango (2012) classified errors as omission errors, addition
errors, misformation errors, wrong order, spelling errors, system errors, and the like. This
classification is similar to those found in Dulay, Burt, and Krashen (1982), who categorize errors
into four types. They are omission (i.e., excluding a linguistic item that is obligatory in a
grammatically correct utterance), addition (including a linguistic item that is not required in a
grammatically accurate sentence), misformation (mixing up the use of linguistic items), and
misordering (placing linguistic items in an inappropriate order). Sun (2010) examined other
kinds of errors: misuse of words, grammatical errors, syntactic errors, and errors of discourse
construction and content.
II.1.3 Error Sources
Identifying errors and their types are not the only concerns of EA research. In general,
researchers are interested in investigating the sources of these errors. Corder (1971) classified
error sources into two types. The first is interlingual/transfer errors, which refer to the native
language. These errors occur when the learner’s L1 prevents him from acquiring the rules of L2.
Sanal (2008) describes interlanguage errors as the mistakes committed by learners in the TL
because of the influence of their mother tongues. The second is intralingual/developmental
errors, which refer to the TL that is being learned. Sanal (2008) describes intralanguage errors as
the mistakes committed by learners in the TL due to a lack of knowledge of that TL’s rules.
Richard (1970) agrees with Sanal and elaborates by stating that intralingual errors are items
produced by learners that represent the structure of neither the mother tongue nor the TL. He
mentions the overgeneralization view and explains that because learners tend to follow the new
rules they have learned, they may develop a hypothesis that does not correspond to L1 or TL. In
addition, Zawahreh (2012) states that the error source could be attributed to mother-tongue
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 15
interference, intralingual interference, teachers, false analogy, and the familiarity of the
appropriate collections.
II.1.4 Stages of Error Analysis
In order to conduct error analysis studies, certain stages in the literature must be
followed. Corder (1967 and 1974, as cited in Sun, 2010, p. 86) suggested three models in EA
research, which includes three stages: 1) data collection; 2) description; 3) explanation. In
addition, Gass and Selinker (1994, p. 67) elaborate on this model and give six steps that include
data selection, error identification, error classification, error explanation, error evaluation, and
error correction.
II.1.5 Corpus Linguistics and Language Teaching
Technology and computers play an important role in our lives, and teaching is one of the
areas that uses them to facilitate students’ and teachers’ learning process and provide researchers
with answers. Therefore, corpus linguistics is considered a tool that could be very useful for
pedagogical purposes, an idea that will be applied in the present study.
In general, corpora can be describes as “a large body of linguistic evidence typically
composed of attested language use” (Mitkov, 2003, p. 449). Also, we can say that a collection of
more than one text that is put together on a computer-readable system and used for different
purposes is a corpus (Yusuf, p. 2009). It is important for these electronic forms to be easy to
access by end users to enable both common users and researchers to use these data. Therefore,
these collections can be used in corpus linguistics, which is the study of language collected from
real-world texts and ordered according to explicit criteria. These texts must be a true replica of
physical text, gathered from a genuine normal spoken or written source (Dash, 2008). Corpus
linguistic deals with real input, and it is based on the linguist’s intuition. Thus, a corpus collector
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 16
must not include any text taken from experimental conditions and/or artificial circumstances
(Dash, 2008).
For pedagogical purposes, there is a relationship between corpora and language teaching.
Figure 1 is taken from Lüdeling and Kytö (2009) to illustrate the relationship between corpus
linguistics (CL) and language teaching (LT).
Figure 1. The relationship between corpus linguistics (CL) and language teaching (LT).
As seen in the above figure, corpora and teaching are closely related to each other,
meaning that corpora can be used as a tool applied in the language teaching process. In order to
use it, some common steps must be followed. First, real data must be collected from native
speakers. Then, these data are entered into a software program for corpus access. Finally, certain
methods must be used to achieve the desired purposes, such as using the analytic technique with
students’ writing.
II.2 The Standard View of Subject-Verb Agreement and Some Problems
The grammar of any language is not just a simple matter of rules; in order to achieve
correct formal writing, the students must follow some basic principles, such as subject-verb
agreement. In English, there are three verbs used both as a main verb and as a helping verb, such
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 17
as to be. Their distribution in regard to present tense is represented in Table 1 (Werner, Church,
& Baker, 1996 a, p. 3).
to be, to have and to do: Present Tense
Singular Subject and Verb Plural Subject and Verb
First Person I am We are
Second Person You are You are
Third Person
He
She
It
They are
Table 1. The distribution of to be in the present tense.
As illustrated in Table 1, verbs in the present tense for the third person take singular
subjects: she, it, and he. Moreover, verbs in the first and second person are almost the same
except for the verb to be; the first person takes am and the second person takes are.
On the other hand, it is not always easy to trace the subject in the sentence. Sometimes,
subjects are separated from their verbs by a prepositional phrase (Werner, Church, & Baker,
1996 b, p. 5). The prepositional phrase includes the preposition and its object, which will never
be the subject of a sentence. This emphasizes the fact that this phrase cannot agree with the verb.
The most common prepositions in English are at, from, in, of, on, and with.
In addition, there are other cases of subject-verb agreement of indefinite pronouns
(Werner et al., 1996 b, p. 139-216). They do not refer to specific nouns; some of them are
considered singular, and some are plural. Indefinite pronouns, such as anyone, everyone,
someone, anything, nobody, anybody, no one, nothing, one, somebody no one, someone,
is
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 18
something, none, and much, are always singular and require singular verbs. However, indefinite
pronouns, such as all and some, are singular or plural depending on what they refer to.
Furthermore, some phrases in English give the sense of the meaning. For example,
together with, as well as, and along with are not the same as and. Thus, the use of one of these
phrases does not compound the subject, so a singular verb is required. The same is true for the
phrases neither and either (Werner et al., 1996 a, p. 39). Even though they seem to be referring
to two things, they are singular, and they require singular verbs. They join as parts of a subject,
and the verb must agree with the part nearest to it.
Another principle in subject-verb agreement involves collective nouns (Werner et al.,
1996 a, p. 187). They are a collection of different types of names. The agreement between them
and a verb depends on the context of the sentence. The most common collective nouns include
audience, team, band, class, cast, family, unit, troop, crowd, and jury.
In some situations in English, subjects come after verbs. In these cases, the verb must be
identified and any prepositional phrases must be removed in order to complete the action of the
verb. Usually, there are some indicators to the verb preceding its subject, such as there and here
(Benner, 2000).
Finally, verbs must agree with relative pronouns. These pronouns include who, which,
whom, and that. The agreement is simply identified by the relationship between the relative
pronoun, its antecedent, and its verb. Thus, if the relative pronoun refers to a singular antecedent,
then it requires a singular verb. However, if the relative pronoun refers to a plural antecedent,
then it requires a plural verb (Werner et al., 1996 b, p. 324).
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 19
II.3 Practical Studies
So far, this paper has presented some theoretical background of error analysis corpus
linguistics and rules related to subject-verb agreement of the present tense of the verb to be.
The latter part reviews previous studies made on EA and EA of subject-verb agreement and the
present tense of the verb to be. They have been ordered in relation to the main topic.
Zawaherh (2012) investigated the written English errors of tenth-grade students in female
and male schools in Ajloun, Jordan. The sample for the study consisted of 350 students selected
randomly from a group of schools in Ajloun. They were asked to write an essay about “a journey
to the ancient city of Jerash in Jordan” in an ordinary English-language exercise in the class. The
essays were then analyzed for errors. Zawaherh found that the most dominant error among tenth-
grade students in Ajloun schools was lack of agreement between the subject and the main verb.
The number of errors due to lack of agreement between subject and verb was 104, and the cause
of these errors was Arabic interference. In addition, the study found that omission of the verb to
be occurred 3 times, and again the cause was Arabic interference.
Wahyudi (2012) attempted to analyze the errors made by a first-semester student of the
English Department, Faculty of Humanities and Culture, Maulana Malik Ibrahim State Islamic
University, Jawa Timur, Indonesia. The student was a 19-year-old male majoring in English at
the university, and he was in his first semester. He was asked to do three separate tasks, each of
which included writing essays of 250 words. The research examined the errors in subject-verb
agreement of the student’s writing, and its taxonomy was based on Duley, Burt, and Krashen
(1982), who categorize errors as those of omission, addition, misinformation, and misordering.
The learner made a significant number of errors in each task with an accuracy of 46, 42%
incorrect use of verb to be agreement (omission error = 3 times and misinformation = 12 times)
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 20
in the first composition, 31, 58% (omission = 5 times and misinformation = 21 times) in the
second composition, and 40, 62% (omission = 3 and misinformation = 16 times) in the third
composition.
Salebi (2004) investigated Saudi college students’ perception of their errors in written
English. His aim was to find what kinds of errors Saudi female college students of EFL usually
make. The subjects of the study were 32 Saudi females aged 22–24 years old who were in the
fourth level at the Department of Foreign Languages at King Faisal University. They had
attended an error analysis course where they were taught how to identify, classify, and describe
errors in English committed by second-language learners. The research used two instruments: a
test and students’ comments on their errors. The study found that the percentage of subject-verb
agreement was 44.03%. In addition, it found that the percentage of errors caused during
translation from Arabic was 18.75%. Further, it showed that the main reason for errors was the
difficulty of the target language, which resulted in generalization of rules.
Stapa and Izahar (2010) investigated errors in subject-verb agreement among Malaysian
ESL learners. The study used error analysis to explore these errors. The subjects of the study
were 20 trainee teachers from a postgraduate teaching course who were majoring in English
language studies. They had at least 16 years of experience in learning the English language. The
study examined errors in five types of subject-verb agreements: person, number, coordinated
subject, indefinite expression of amount, and notional agreement and proximity. Two types of
written compositions (argumentative and factual) were analyzed to identify the students’
problems in writing grammatically correct statements with subject-verb agreement. The study
found that ESL learners still have problems at all levels of proficiency and face difficulties in
applying the subject-verb agreement rule.
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 21
Sun (2010) applied a corpus-based study of errors in Chinese English majors’ English
writing. It focuses on the general features of errors in these students’ English writing, the reasons
for those errors, the developmental features of errors in different grades, and the reasons for
those developmental features. The research design was based on a study by Corder (1974) that
suggested the following four steps in EA research: collection of data, description of errors,
explanation of errors, and evaluation of errors. The corpus of the study consisted of compositions
by English majors in Ludong University of Grade 2008, 2007, and 2006 in the first semester of
the school year 2008–2009. The study found that “grammatical errors” ranked the highest and
agreement errors were estimated at 11.48%. The reasons for these errors were vocabulary and the
influence of negative transfer of the mother tongue.
Gustilo and Mango (2012) investigated learners’ errors and their evaluation of Filipino
ESL writers. The aim of the study was to examine sentence-level errors. The data of the study
was collected from previous studies, and it consisted of 150 essays written by freshmen college
students during their first week of classes at Metro Manila. The essays were processed and
subjected to ratings and codings for errors. The raters were asked to fill out open-ended questions
to focus on their perspective on the different aspects of writing that impacted the essay scores.
To answer the research questions, the study used frequency counts, standard deviations,
MANOVA and NOVA results, and the data from regression analyses. The study found that there
were errors in subject-verb agreement in the verb category in the students’ writing.
Ericsson (2008) investigated the subject-verb concordance errors in writing produced by
eighth-grade students at a Swedish compulsory school. The study involved a written essay and
fill-in-the-gap test taken by twenty-four 14-year-old pupils (12 girls and 12 boys). The research
hypothesis stated that pupils would commit more errors in the essays than in the test. The
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 22
research used quantitative methods, which involve the collection and analysis of numerical data
and statistics. The study found that in the essay task 50% of the pupils used the verb form be
(are) incorrectly due to the similarity between the Swedish single present-tense verb forms and
the English forms (the English are and the Swedish ar). In addition, the students faced some
difficulties with unmarked plurals such as “people.”
Wulandari & Erni (2005) explored the analysis and classification of subject-verb
agreement errors in order to determine the frequency of concurrence of each. The sample in the
study was 48 fourth-semester students out of 245 students of the English Department at
Muhammadiyah University of Malang. The data for this study were gained from the results of a
writing test. The study found that there were 107 errors and the highest frequency of occurrence
was due to omission, followed by addition and misformation. The study also found that students
still had difficulties with the differences between singular and plural verbs or singular and plural
subjects, and the highest frequency of errors was for basic subject-verb agreement error
(82.21%).
Shamsudin and Mahady (2010) applied a corpus-based study to examine the writing
errors of first-year students at University Teknologi in Malaysia. The study used 66
questionnaires, and they were distributed to first-year UTM students from the Faculty of
Mechanical Engineering and the Faculty of Civil Engineering. Further, students’ paragraph
samples of were also used to collect data. It was found that the first-year students in the
university were still producing grammatical and lexical errors in their writing. Students writing
in a second language are faced with social and cognitive challenges related to second-language
acquisition, where CAH and EAH can be used to explain the causes of these errors. In addition,
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 23
from the 66 paragraphs analyzed, a total of 1,202 errors were found, and 85 of them were
correlated to subject-verb agreement (7.07%).
Misra (1985) made a detailed linguistic analysis of errors in different areas of English by
the undergraduate students of Madhya Pradesh. The sample of the study consisted of 225
randomly selected undergraduate students studying in different disciplines. The students were
asked to write an essay in English on any one of six topics provided. The first 200 words of these
essay compositions were taken for the purpose of analysis. Errors in this study were first
assigned to the levels of language description. They were further classified within each level in
terms of systems. The hierarchy of errors based on frequency of recurrence was as follows: verb
phrases, spelling, lexis, prepositions, articles, number, subject-verb agreement, pronouns, syntax,
miscellaneous errors, omission of major constituents, adjectives and verbs, connectives, and
generative suffixes.
Cronnell (1985) analyzed the Spanish- or Chicano-English-influenced errors made by
third- and sixth-grade Mexican American children. The study identified seven error categories:
Spanish spellings, pronunciation, consonants, pronunciation-vowels, verbs, nouns, syntax
(excluding verbs and nouns), and vocabulary. It was found that errors such as subject-verb
agreement, subject pronoun omission, article usage and word order, and the use of
prepositions—especially in and on—were the most frequent errors for Spanish-speaking
Mexican American students.
At The University of Texas, Austin, Holling (2004) studied a random sample of 100
eighth-grade writing samples drawn from the 2002 TAAS exam administration. He found that, in
general, mechanical errors such as capitalization, punctuation, and spelling were most frequent.
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 24
On the other hand, verbal errors, such as subject-verb agreement and verb tense errors, were
rarer.
Marzuki and Zainal (2004) investigated errors produced by students when writing
reports. The participants of the study were Malaysian students studying at University Teknologi
Malaysia (UTM, Johor Bahru). The researcher analyzed 59 examination scripts produced by
students from the Faculty of Science. The task given to them was to write a report of three to
four pages using information given in the examination question. The study found that students
tended to produce grammatical errors, including SVA errors. Subject-verb agreement errors
showed a high percentage of occurrences, registering a total of 95.5%.
The researcher believes that this study gained its distinct importance because many of the
previous studies shed light on one area of errors related to subject-verb agreement in general.
However, few studies have been conducted on SVA in the present tense, and none were found on
SVA for the present tense of the verb to be, especially in Saudi Arabian students. For this reason,
this study is an attempt to focus on SVA errors of the present verb to be made by female students
at Prince Noura University (PNU).
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 25
III. Methods and Procedures
This section discusses the methods and procedures of the study, including participants,
data collection, instruments, study design, and procedures.
III.1 Corpus Description
The corpus of the present study is based on the data collected from 20 students of level-
four at Prince Noura University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Each student has her own folio consisting
of six to seven essays divided into different types designed by the teacher. These essays contain
short paragraphs and short stories, a compare-and-contrast essay, a cause and opinion essay of
the student’s own choice of topic, a narrative essay about a personal experience, and a
descriptive essay about the student’s favorite dish. The students’ teachers are using the Writing-
Process Approach when teaching writing skills. Writing lessons are taken in writing labs
designed in a way that allows each student to work at a PC individually. Many functions are
available on these computers, such as Microsoft Office, internet access, and databases.
III.2 Data Collection
The study aimed at analyzing the SVA errors of the present tense of the verb to be that
occur in the English essays written by EFL Saudi female students at Prince Noura University,
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The corpus used in this study is collected from the writing courses of 20
students of level-four, and each student has her own folio that consists of six to seven essays
divided into different types designed by the teacher.
III.3 Instruments of the Study
The instrument used for corpus-based error analysis approach is the MonoConc program.
This program is specialized for fast concordance (text searching), which helps the researcher
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 26
with the analysis of research. Also, it can be used in corpus linguistics courses for different
purposes, such as vocabulary learning, exploring the most common grammar mistakes,
collocations, and language learning in general. In addition, the researcher used the Notepad
program to write their essays in an electronic form.
III.4 Study Design
The method used in this study is mainly qualitative with some quantitative parts. This is
because it focuses on the collection and analysis of numerical data and statistics, then describes
the types of errors and finds their causes.
III.5 Procedures of the Study
III.5.1 General Procedures
1- The first step was to get permission from PNU to conduct the research.
2- Then the researcher collected data from the students to create the corpus.
III.5.2 Data analysis
1- This study followed Corder’s (1967 and 1974, as cited in Sun, 2010, p. 86) three stages of
error analysis, which consist of 1) data collection; 2) description; 3) explanation.
2- Data were written in a computer form using the Notepad program. The input was added into
the computer manually and saved as documents (.txt).
3- The data were analyzed by using the MonoConc program to find the frequency of errors and
concordances of the present tense of the verb to be (am, is, and are). Each error of the verb to
be was analyzed according to its frequency in the corpus.
a. The errors were classified according to Dualy, Burt, and Karshen (1982) into four types:
omission (excluding a linguistic item that is obligatory in a grammatically correct
utterance), addition (including a linguistic item that is not required in a grammatically
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 27
accurate sentence), misinformation (mixing up the use of linguistic items), and
misordering (placing linguistic items in an inappropriate order).
b. A source analysis was done for each error based on two sources: inadequate knowledge
of second language or Arabic interference. In addition to the literature and researcher’s
judgment, a number of English teachers and instructors were asked to advise on the
sources of error.
c. A taxonomy was built using Microsoft Word based on the literature (Abisamra, 2003;
Khodabandeh, 2007; Stapa & Izahar, 2010; Sun, 2010; Zawahreh, 2012), which is
included in Table 2: numbered, verb to be type (am, is, are), the line number of the
error’s occurrence in the corpus, number of errors, error occurrence in the text, error
classification (omission, addition, misinformation, and misordering), and the source
(over-generalization or Arabic interference).
Numbered Verb to
be type
(am, is,
are)
The line #
of its
occurrenc
e in the
corpus
Number
of errors
Error
occurrence
Error
classification
(omission,
addition,
misinformation,
and disordering)
The source
(over-
generalization
or Arabic
interference)
Table 2. Taxonomy of errors analysis based on the literature.
4- The results were discussed based on the literature.
5- A number of recommendations and suggestions were stated for teachers in order to enhance
their students’ performance.
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 28
Results of the Study
First Step: Frequencies
The first step was to analyze the corpus as a whole to identify the words that were used
most frequently. It was found that the total number of words was 32,263. In addition, Figure 2
and Figure 3 show a screen capture of the frequency count of the corpus.
Figure 2. Most frequently used words Figure 3. Least frequently used words
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 29
As Figure 2 and Figure 3 highlight, the most frequently used words are articles (definite
and indefinite), prepositions and conjunctions, personal pronouns (mainly first- and second-
person pronouns, I and you, because the essays were about the students’ general lives), indefinite
pronouns, and the verb to be. The most frequently used noun is people, and the next most frequent
nouns are time, life, and family, because most of the essays focused on topics involving the
students’ present and past experiences. On the other hand, the least frequently used words are not
from the same category; they are worldwide, woman’s, and wife.
Second Step: Concordances
In this step, the researcher focused on two things: the occurrence of the present tense of
the verb to be and the errors that occurred in the corpus with their classifications. The following
is detailed description of each of them.
The occurrence of the present tense of the verb to be in the corpus
The researcher calculated the occurrence of the present tense of the verb to be in the
corpus and all the forms in which it can be written. For example, the search included is, it is, it’s,
he is, he’s, she is, she’s, they are, they’re, we are, we’re, I am, and I’m. In addition, because the
students were expected to make some spelling mistakes, the researcher looked for other mistaken
forms, such as r, iam, shes, hes, theyr, wer, and its (without the apostrophe). Moreover, to make
sure nothing was missed, the researcher checked the forms your and It’s. The researcher found
that is was used a total of 576 times. It occurred in the corpus with different forms: is was used
500 times, she’s seven times, its four times, it’s 51 times, that’s 12 times, there’s one time, once
as a spelling mistake of if, and again as a misspelling of his. However, are appears in the corpus
308 times with different forms: are was used 306 times, you’re one time, and we’re one time. On
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 30
the other hand, “am” occurs in the corpus 79 times. Its forms are the following: am 35 times, I’m
44 times, and Im as a spelling mistake of “in.”
For the purpose of validity and reliability in this study, some sentences have been
excluded because they were ambiguous sentences or they did not have a subject. This procedure
was important for the researcher to make a clear judgment about each sentence. Eight sentences
in total were found with no subject, accounting for 7.65% of the total number of examined
sentences. In addition, there were 15 ambiguous sentences, accounting for 14.56% of the total
number of studied sentences.
The researcher calculated the occurrence percentage of the verb be in the corpus. First,
the researcher calculated the total number of words in the corpus and then multiplied the total
number of instances of be by 100. After that, the result was divided by the total number of
words, which was 32,275 words. The following is an example of the occurrence of is:
Is:
The results were 2.71% for is, 0.95% for are, and 0.24% for am. Figure 4 demonstrates
these percentages in the corpus.
576× 100
32,275 1.78% =
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 31
Figure 4. The percentage of verb to be occurrence in the corpus.
The present tense of the verb to be carries many functions in a sentence because it is
considered a helping verb. Therefore, its occurrence in the corpus can say a great deal about the
overall understanding of English grammar. In addition, aside from its occurrence, it is important
to determine the misusage and identify the error types. This technique is known as ER. The heart
of ER also includes identification of the errors’ source. To insure the validity and reliability of
data, the researcher consulted seven English teachers who majored in English and have been
teaching grammar for at least three years. Then, the researcher calculated the percentage of their
answers compared to her source analysis. Table 3 below demonstrates the occurrence of is, are,
and am and their different forms in the corpus. It contains seven columns: numbered, the error’s
occurrence line in the corpus, the error’s occurrence in the context, the correct form, the error’s
type, and the error’s source based on the researcher’s analysis (“A” is for Arabic interference and
“E” is for inadequate knowledge of the second language), followed by the percentage of the
teachers’ answers.
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
is are am
The percentage of verb to be occurrence in the corpus
The percentage of verb tobe occurrence in thecorpus
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 32
# # in the
Corpus
Occurrence Correct
Form
Error Type Source Teachers’
Percentage
Is
1 21 … Macrons is a main
meals in saudi home ...
are Misinformation A 28.5%
2 22 ... newspapers and
novels is a freat way to
...
are Misinformation A 28.5%
3 23 … but PNU is a new
building one …
has Misinformation E 85%
4 33 ... there is a lot of
recipes ...
are Misinformation E 85%
5 34 ... She - the only one I
tell her every thing …
is Deletion E 42.8%
6 34 ... She - a wise women
...
is Deletion E 42.8%
7 38 ... And Brazil - located
in south America ...
is Deletion E 42.8%
8 38 ... Rome – famous for
Colosseum ...
is Deletion E 42.8%
9 39 ... because she - shy ... is Deletion E 42.8%
10 40 ... In Riyadh there is are Misinformation A 85%
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 33
about 3 universities for
girls ...
11 49 ... He is always adjusts
the time in the ...
Addition E 57%
12 54 ... In addtion KAU is
an old building
university ...
has Misinformation E 100%
13 58 ... In addition, the
Passport must be ready
if your trip's places-
outside of your country
...
are Deletion E 57%
14 64 ... and there's alot more
to represent her nice
personality ...
are Misinformation E 100%
15 68 ... Dubai - full of life
and joy ...
is Deletion E 42.8%
16 72 ... you will know that it
- worth ...
is Deletion E 42.8%
17 74 ... Stydying at RNS was
difficult, but it is better
than AS …
was Misinformation E 100%
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 34
18 82 ... Also it is built before
many years …
was Misinformation E 85.5%
19 83 … Dubai is buldings
are more modern …
Addition E 42.8%
20 91 ... My graduation from
high school is change
my personality …
has changed Misinformation E 100%
21 93 ... The components of
the pasta
is:chicken,vegitsbles,oi
l,onion,Garlic,milk and
cream ...
are Misinformation A 28%
22 97 ... you should obey
them even if it is
conflicting your
desiring. ...
was Misinformation E 100%
23 99 .. My family is contain
mother and father and
three girls and three
boys ...
contains Addition E 85.5%
24 100 ... it is contains for 7
people, each one of
them has a …
contains Addition E 100%
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 35
25 101 ... he is contribute and
participate in the new
ideas in the work …
Addition E 71%
26 108 ... Macrons is a main
meals in saudi home.
And is delicious but
sometimes healthy
macaronis ...
are Misinformation E 100%
27 112 … my old and new
house is different …
are Misinformation E 71%
28 123 ... to have a social
personality is
emotional and
physiacal ability ...
are Misinformation A 28%
29 127 ... Being active, proud
and serious is example
of having perfect
ethics. ...
are Misinformation A 28%
30 132 ... the doctor who is
follow-up the
pregnancy is one of ...
Addition E 57%
31 133 ... Studying tricks is
being able to know
Addition E 71%
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 36
what the best way for
you to study by is ...
32 137 ... but they have some
different. My new and
old house is generally
the same ...
are Misinformation A 85.7%
33 142 … , I did not know wht
is going on!! …
was Misinformation E 100%
34 148 ... The death of my
grandfather is greatest
change in my life …
was Misinformation E 57%
35 154 … After the plane
started to fly,we
listened to the
instuctions,the old man
was scared and
screaming,and,showed
signs strange on his
face.We think he has a
phobia of fly,but the
truth was different.The
truth is:he was dying.
…
was Misinformation E 71%
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 37
36 177 … You will not like it
is it gets cold. …
when it gets
cold
Addition A 28%
37 198 ... In london, there is
lots of celebrities ...
are Misinformation A 28%
38 204 ... The best layer which
containing beef with
sauce - it is make this
layer salty and juicy ...
Deletion of is A 57%
39 204 ... it is make this layer
salty and juicy …
it makes Addition E 85.7%
40 207 ... so, there is many bad
effect in life for
example …
are Misinformation A 71%
41 209 ... but in Chukit ther is
Miscellaneous
Industries …
are Misinformation E 100%
42 219 ... In short, these are
some of the differences
and there is more, but
differences make them
special and distinctive
...
are Misinformation E 100%
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 38
43 227 ... however,mthere is
one person in my
family who has done
more for me than
anyone else is is my
mothere ...
Addition A 57%
44 249 ... There is no children
palying or people
walking ...
are Misinformation E 100%
45 259 ... Another thing is the
rules and regulations.
In RNS, it is not easy to
beak them ...
are Misinformation E 100%
46 263 ... In contrast Riyadh is
not have ...
does not
have
Misinformation E 57%
47 265 ... is the only country
that is not allowing
woman's driving ...
does Misinformation E 100%
48 266 … Another reason to
make him a popular
among the people -, be
a person who is not
complicated personal
Deletion of is E 14.2%
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 39
and does not jealous of
others ...
49 282 ... In fact, the doctor
who is follow-up the
pregnancy is one of
themain things that
could prepare the new
mother and …
Addition E 57%
50 299 ... Also, rivers, forests
and lakes is places that
encourage …
are Misinformation A 14.2%
51 327 My new and old house
is similar
are Misinformation A 14.2%
52 331 ... I like to have the
pasta within chicken in
side ,that is small cut
…
with small
pieces of
chicken
inside
Addition A 42.8%
53 333 ... Malysia and Egypt is
so beautiful …
are Misinformation A 14.2%
54 336 ... It Is so delicious, I
will ask restaurant
waiter for way of the
sauce …
was Misinformation E 57%
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 40
55 345 ... The person who
confident of himself
usually is social person
...
The
confident
person is
usually a
social one
Ordering A 85%
56 346 ... Also, there is some
cheap version …
are Misinformation E 100%
57 350 ... For example, you
can add more tomato if
it spaghetti is …
if it is
spaghetti
Ordering A 85%
58 361 ... It was good and I
enjoyed it like I always
do. When she asked me
about my opinion , I
told her the truth, it is
tasty but zi think my
mother's is the best …
was Misinformation E 100%
59 363 ... And the most thing
that I was excited about
is that when I graduate
I'll have 2 certificates ...
was Misinformation A 28%
60 ... The last change
happened is that I
was Misinformation E 100%
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 41
moved in to a new
house …
61 446 … language and
translation is the most
interesting studt to me
…
are Misinformation A 14.2%
62 428 ... There are two places
is the most wonderful
in the world ...
– that are Misinformation A 14.2%
63 450 ... I think that the most
important causes for
survival of friendship is
their interest to each
other …
are Misinformation A 14.2%
64 460 … The Factors that
determine if there is
someone who can be
successful in his job is
to consider the work
tasks and relationships
…
are Misinformation A 14.2%
65 479 ... On one hand, my old
neighborhood is very
was Misinformation E 14.2%
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 42
life …
66 481 ... Some of the Italian
restaurants is very tasty
…
are Misinformation A 28.5%
67 490 ... I was studying
abroad and it wasn't
easy.in the first page of
my journey in learning
this is what happened ,
in airport of
Washingtin DC. …
was Misinformation E 100%
68 490 ... he is wish to have his
name occupies a high
position …
wishes Misinformation E 85%
69 494 ... , she is worry about
me …
worries Misinformation E 100%
Its
70 21 ... its smell strong and
spicy. ...
it smells Misinformation E 85%
71 25 ... so when I study hard
and get good excellent
grade its automatically
it’s
automatic
Addition A 57%
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 43
I will get a well paying
job …
72 31 ... First of all, what I
love the most about hot
chocolate - its
bittersweet taste …
Deletion of is E 100%
It’s
73 9 ... and it's contains
caffeine …
contains Misinformation E 100%
74 10 ... but it's different in
their size …
are Misinformation E 85.7%
75 25 … the wall was red
with whit and it's my
favorait colour, …
are Misinformation A 28.5%
78 37 ... These causes I think
it's the main points for
the survival of
friendship …
are Misinformation A 14.2%
79 42 ... Actually, I like these
similarity because it's
the basic thing to me, I
would like to not
they are Misinformation A 28.5%
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 44
change them …
80 45 ... These causes I think
it's the main points for
the survival of
friendship …
are Misinformation A 28.5%
81 47 ... It's two completely
different …
are Misinformation A 14.2%
That’s
82 10 ... was happy and
excited and we ask our
brother how did he
manage to carry her
since we knew our
mom was heavier than
everybody else that's
when my brother told
us everything in the
water …
was Misinformation
E 71%
Are
1 24 ... The last thing is the
are of the academic
campus ...
Addition E 100%
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 45
2 54 ... the differences are in
the size of the yard. ..
is Misinformation A 28.5
3 73 ... Bit in Brazil they are
speak Portuguese
language …
they speak Addition A 28.5%
4 77 ... In other countries
are allowed to women
to travel alone …
women are
allowed to
Ordering A 100%
5 120 ... Also, the countries
economics are based in
two different things ...
economy is Misinformation E 100%
6 154 ... Do you want know
wht it's put in this
pasta! …
what to put Addition A 100%
7 156 … Am surrprised what
are they wanted of me!
…
what did
they want
from me
Misinformation E 42.8%
8 163 ... In my opinion, both
they are I love it ...
In my
opinion, I
love them
both
Addition A 71%
9 167 ... Now, you are know you know Addition E 71%
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 46
the practice and
creativity …
10 170 … now there are a
professional chef ..
is Misinformation E 100%
11 173 ..They are afraid of the
reaction me …
were Misinformation E 100%
12 256 ... almost the same
entertaining activities
which are large
shopping malls. These
shopping malls have ...
is Misinformation E 85%
13 266 ... Honest eyes, eyes
are smiling from the
heart …
are eyes .. Ordering A 71%
14 268 ... The smell of vanilla
flavor and chocolate
are like drug to me …
The smell of
vanilla
flavor and
chocolate is
like a drug
to me.
Misinformation E 100%
15 288 ... both cities are speak
Arabic …
speak Misinformation E 57%
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 47
16 293 ... sucessful students
strive to achieve
maximum benefit that
school in which they
are in offers, by
investing time and
energy in their studies
...
in their
schools
Addition E 42.8%
17 297 ... In fact, the hidden
benefit is that that you
are mastering the art of
achievement ...
mastering
the art of
achievement
Addition E 28.5%
Am
1 34 ... I had deepest fear in
not that i am
inadequate ...
.. Addition A 42.8%
I’m
2 19 … I Know that I’m not
accepted in the major I
wanted ...
.. I knew
that I was
not accepted
..
Misinformation E 57%
3 29 ... and I'm tried to
Screaming loudly …
Addition E 71%
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 48
4 30 ... And I'm care about
it in many ways …
Addition A 42.8%
Table 3. Error analysis of verb to be error occurrences in the corpus, with their types and sources.
From Table 3, it can be seen that the most frequent errors of the verb to be occurred with
is, which had 82 errors, followed by are with 17 errors and am with four errors. Thus, from the
data above, it can be seen that the learners made a significant number of errors with is. In
addition, the error type showing the highest number of occurrences was misinformation at 62
times: errors occurred 53 times with is, eight times with are, and once with am. Next is the
addition error type with 23 occurrences: 14 with is, seven with are, and none with am. The
deletion type is next, appearing only 11 times with is. Finally, the ordering type occurred twice
each with both is and are. Figure 5 and Figure 6 represent these data.
Figure 5. The percentage of errors of each type in the corpus.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
The percentage of errors of each type in the corpus
The percentage of errorstype in the corpus
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 49
Figure 6. The percentage of verb to be errors that occurred in the corpus.
The data show some differences between the researcher’s analysis of error sources and
the teachers’ percentages. The researcher calculated the percentage of these differences and
found that the teachers’ results match the researcher’s analysis results by 36.8%, proving the
credibility of the students’ error sources in this study. Further, the data reveal that Arabic
interference accounts for only 36.8% of the total error sources, whereas the biggest percentage is
due to a lack of knowledge of English grammar with 63.2%.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
misinformation Addition Deletion ordering
is
are
am
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 50
Discussion and Conclusion
The results of this study show that female students in the English Department of
Languages and Translation College at PNU are facing difficulties in applying the SVA rule in
their writings. The findings of this study are in line with those provided in the literature that have
been conducted on ESL/EFL learners (Zawahreh, 2012; Wahyudi, 2012; Salebi, 2004; Stapa &
Izahar, 2010; Sun, 2010; Gustilo & Mango, 2012; Ericsson, 2008; Shamsudin & Mahady, 2010;
Wulandari & Erni, 2005; Mirsa, 1985; Cronnell, 1985; Holling, 2004; Marzuki & Zainal, 2004).
In addition, this study shows that the highest percentage of errors occurred with is, followed by
are and then am. These findings contrast with those shown by Ericsson (2008), which found that
50% of the pupils used the verb form be (are) incorrectly.
Furthermore, the analysis of data shows that the highest number of errors of the present
tense of the verb to be was found in the error type misinformation. This is similar to Wahyudi’s
(2012) findings that indicated misinformation as the highest error type followed by omission.
However, the present result shows the opposite to the finding of Wahyudi and Erni (2005),
which ranks omission of errors as the highest type and revealed misinformation as the least
frequently committed error type. The following error type in the present study is addition,
agreeing with the results found by Wulandari and Erni (2005) that revealed addition as the
second type. Therefore, this study reveals that with subject-verb agreement, students have a
tendency to use the wrong form of the morpheme or structure and to omit the verb to be in many
cases.
Although application of subject-verb agreement is different between English and
Standard Arabic, this study revealed that Arabic interference is not the main cause of SVA errors
committed by EFL students, because they account for only 36% of the total errors. Instead, the
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 51
study showed that inadequate knowledge of the second language has the highest percentage as
the main cause of errors. This result is the opposite of that found by Zawahreh (2012), where
most agreement errors were caused by Arabic interference. In addition, this study’s findings
contrast with Sun (2010), who studied errors committed by Chinese students and found that the
highest percentage of errors was due to agreement errors, with 11.4% caused by vocabulary and
influence of negative transfer of the mother tongue.
This result may indicate that the participants might not have been able to understand the
SVA rule in English. Therefore, in the latter part of this study, the researcher provides English
teachers with some implications collected from the literature to help them in developing their
students’ proficiency level.
An interesting point that needs further exploration is the fact that the students’ writing
contained a great deal of ambiguous sentences and sentences without a subject, which prevented
the researcher from analyzing the errors and their types and causes. Because these students are at
level four at Languages and Translation College, they were expected to demonstrate a better
understanding of writing and grammar. Therefore, these amounts of problems were not expected.
These kinds of mistakes are due to their inadequate knowledge of English grammar. Table 4
below shows the occurrence of ambiguous sentences and sentences without a subject in the
corpus.
Line number in
the corpus
Occurrence Ambiguous sentence or
sentence without a subject
Is
13 ... Most of its territory in Avriqiaghir that part
of its territory, the Sinai Peninsula, is located in
Ambiguous
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 52
the cotinent of Asia, it is a country
transcontinental …
36 … also in a touch is a soft, thin, gooey, mushy,
and fluffy …
Ambiguous
37 ... While traveling is a must to have a camera
with you …
sentence without a subject
45 ... brasilia is the capital city of Brazil is also
modern city …
Ambiguous
76 ... both they are I love it, but I think the best is
al-faisaliah mall bigger and modern …
sentence without a subject
79 ... Is bordered by Syria to the north and east … sentence without a subject
121 ... In Downtown clothing is Egyptian industry
but in Chukit ther is Miscellaneous Industries ...
sentence without a subject
136 … out of this communication is gaining culture
…
Ambiguous
177 … You will not do it, is old. … sentence without a subject
192 ... Most of its territory in Avriqiaghir that part
of its territory, the Sinai Peninsula, is located in
the cotinent of Asia, it is a country
transcontinental …
Ambiguous
208 … In order to become a successful employss, Ambiguous
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 53
you have to do tasks work. Is mean the
employee must be always on time. …
218 ... The most important different between school
and university is that is more flexible …
Ambiguous
262 ... these reasons are not convincing men if they
wantednto harassment Every place is not
restricted to driving a car …
sentence without a subject
266 ... Another reason to make him a popular
among the people, be a person who is not
complicated personal and does not jealous of
others, if the person has a complicated character
, will be dominated by self-love, and limit their
contact with others people …
Ambiguous
355 ... when I smell this pasta I become hungry even
if I don't, is sweet and faint …
Ambiguous
It’s
31 … Do you want know wht it's put in this pasta!
..
sentence without a subject
50 … Connection with other people it's very
important to change our life …
Ambiguous
Are
255 … They are very dry … sentence without a subject
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 54
257 … Madinah and Riyadh's differences are that
their similarities …
Ambiguous
That’s
8 ... That's close for tow Asian countries despite
other distances! …
Ambiguous
Am
24 … am surprised what are they wanted of me … Ambiguous
30 … am sure that even in the future … Ambiguous
I’m
20 ... In concoljn Raghd is one of a kind. And I'm
apret to be the best friends …
Ambiguous
Table 4. The occurrence of ambiguous sentences and sentences without a subject in the corpus.
Application for English Teaching
The key component of learning is making errors, correcting them, and promoting the
acquisition level. Languages teachers should pay more attention to students’ errors and classify
them in order to determine remediation strategies for learning. Thus, ER helps SLA researchers,
students, and teachers to learn more about the nature of their errors. Consequently, a number of
researchers have recommended appropriate application of these methods for English teaching.
Sun (2010, p. 91) mentions three implications: strengthening language teaching for basic
knowledge; utilizing positive transfer of the mother tongue that includes translation, back
translation, and bilingual extensive reading; and countermeasures against native transfer, which
consists of encouraging learners to think in English and use proper dictionaries. Further, Salbi
(2004) stresses the importance of grammatical drills and exercises used in EFL classrooms.
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 55
Likewise, Zawahreh (2012, p. 296) discusses five important implications for teachers based on
his study results. Firstly, teachers should focus more on the errors and include more exercises
about these errors. Secondly, he stresses the value of an English teacher and how they should
adopt approaches to writing and related activities. Thirdly, Zawahreh says that, during grammar
teaching, teachers should provide their students with rules and limitations on how to use the
information in different meaningful contexts. Furthermore, he says that teachers should deal with
errors as a natural process, not as if they are only the result of mother-tongue interference. He
also suggests that mother-tongue interference and intralingual interference are the main sources
behind errors. Similarly, Salbi (2004) points to the importance of the learner’s awareness to the
differences between their native and second languages. In addition, Chanier et al. (2012) provide
insight into the process of language acquisition and deemphasize the idea of errors as failure.
Conclusions
This study attempted to investigate the errors of applying subject-verb agreement in the
written English of 20 students in level four at Language and Translation College of Prince Noura
University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The study aim was to apply a corpus-based study using an
Error Analysis technique in order to investigate two main questions. The first is whether these
students are facing problems in applying this rule in their writings. The second is to explore the
main source of these problems. As a conclusion, what seems to be important is the fact that this
study provides evidence that students are still facing problems in applying SVA rules in their
writing. In addition, it shows that their lack of knowledge of rules of the target language seems to
be the main factor in causing the written production of the errors. This lack of knowledge causes
them to use incorrect forms of the morpheme or structure, which leads to the misinformation
error type. Furthermore, this rule ignorance leads students to omit the verb to be entirely in many
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 56
sentences. Similarly, this inadequate knowledge has caused other problems, such as writing
ambiguous sentences or sentences without a subject. Clearly, it is very important for students or
learners of a foreign language to have a strong foundation in the rules of the target language.
Therefore, the researcher presents a number of applications for English teachers to use in their
classrooms to help their students avoid these errors.
Recommendations
In the light of the results of this study, which showed that deleting the subject accounted
for 7.65% of the total errors found during SVA analysis, the recommendation given in this study
is to explore the error analysis of deleting the subject in the sentence and its sources. In addition,
it is recommended to find the relation between the verb to be and the deletion of the subject in a
sentence.
ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 57
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ERROR ANALYSIS OF SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT 61
Appendix
Table 1. The distribution of to be, with present tense
Table 2. Taxonomy of Errors Analysis based on the literature
Table 3. Errors Analysis of verb to be error occurrences in the corpus (types and sources)
Table 4. The occurrence of ambiguous sentences and sentences without a subject in the corpus
Figure 1. The relationship between corpus linguistics (CL) and language teaching (LT)
Figure 2. Most frequently used words
Figure 3. The least frequently used words
Figure 4. The percentage of verb to be occurrence in the corpus
Figure 5. The percentage of errors of each type in the corpus
Figure 6. The percentage of verb to be errors that occurred in the corpus.