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……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية Investigating the Students’ Ability to Recognize Adjectives through Suffixes Ass.Inst. Zainab Al-Kaisy Teacher Training Institute Ministry of Education 2011/10/6:تقديم البحث 2012/1/26:قبول النشر Abstract Adjectives are important parts of speech that are used in every day language. Their importance is clearly obvious as there is no sentence without an adjective of any kind. They can be easily recognized if one has the knowledge to differentiate between the different parts of speech of the language. And when words have adjectival suffixes, the task will be easier. The present study aims at investigating fifth-year institute students’ ability to identify adjectives by their suffixes. To fulfill the aim of this study, the researcher has constructed a test, which comprises two questions: the first is a multiple-choice question at the recognition level and the second is a completion question at the production level. المستخلص استقصاء قابلية الطلبة في التعرف على الصفات من خالل اللواحق تكمن أھمية.الصفات ھي قسم مھم من أقسام الكالم التي نستخدمھا في حياتنا اليومية يمكن التعرف على.الصفات في أنه ال توجد جملة بدون وجود نوع من أنواع الصفات ،الصفات بسھولة إذا كان الشخص له القدرة على التمييز بين أقسام الكالم المختلفة تھدف.ولكن عند إضافة اللواحق الخاصة بالصفات فأن المھمة تكون أسھل بكثير الدراسة الحالية إلى استقصاء قدرة طلبة المعھد في التعرف على الصفات من خالل ومن أجل تحقيق ھدف البحث عمدت الباحثة إلى بناء.وجود اللواحق الخاصة بالصفات األول اختيار من متعدد لمستوى التعرف وسؤال التكملة،اختبار يتكون من سؤالين .لمستوى اإلنتاج 76 ……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية Section One 1.1 The Problem Teaching all vocabulary in English is an impossible task for teachers to teach and for learners to learn. So teachers must find a way to facilitate teaching vocabularies. A tricky way to solve this problem is to group words into their syntactic category and teaches students how to figure out what unknown words could be or mean. Teachers can teach their students to infer meaning by analyzing the context clues and the morpheme clues (Ebbers, 2009). Knowing morpheme clues especially the most common suffixes for distinguishing parts of speech can help students to figure out the part of speech of the word. Suffixes combine words into groups; i.e. into the different part of speech because there are certain suffixes for each part of speech. There are noun, verb, adverb and adjective suffixes (though some can be used for more than one part). Suffixes which are in concern in this paper are some adjectival suffixes. It is difficult to determine an adjective when it stands alone, as there is nothing in the adjective that determines its syntactic function, but when suffixes are added and these words positioned in sentences the problem become much easier (Quirk and Greenbaum, 1973:131). Though the task of identifying adjectives may seem easy, as there are few adjectival suffixes that can be memorized, EFL students find difficulty in determining adjectives. They neglect the syntactic clues and the morpheme clues that clarify the part of speech and pay attention to meaning only. Iraqi EFL learners face difficulties in identifying and recognizing adjectives and even when suffixes are added the problem is still there. 1.2 The Aim of the Study The aim of the study is to investigate EFL students' ability to recognize adjectives by their position, and their suffixes. 1.3 The Hypothesis of the Study It is hypothesized that fifth year institute students are unable to recognize adjectives neither by their suffixes nor by their position. 77 ……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية 1.4 The Limits of the Study This study is limited to the fifth year students, Department of English, Teacher Training Institute of the academic year 20102011. It is limited to certain adjectival suffixes (able, ent, ive, ic, ous). It is also limited to adjectives in the predicate position as it is an essential pattern of sentences. 1.5 The Significance of the Study The present study sheds light on fifth year institute students' ability to recognize adjectives since they are an important part of speech and add colour to sentences, paragraphs and texts. Adjectives add details to the noun and are used to describe people, things, etc. Section Two: A General Survey on English Suffixes and Adjectives 2.1 Introduction To mention all derivational suffixes in English would be somehow a hard task, so this paper will focus on a handful of derivational suffixes. It will be restricted to adjectival suffixes; i.e. adjectives that are made by adding adjective suffixes with specific emphasis on the most well known ones in English. 2.2 The Importance of Adjective as Vocabulary in Language Learning English is the main language used in many countries for newspapers, magazines, radio, television and the internet. And it is the language used in almost all fields of knowledge. So, it is highly essential to master as it has become as an ideal language for expressing our feelings, needs, ideas, etc. (Stål, 2009:4). Learning vocabularies is a very important part of language learning and is necessary for communication and for the grammatical structure. “the more you know of the surrounding words, the more contextual support will be received, and the easier it will be to decode the unknown words” (Krantz 1998:118). Stal (2009) argues that since high-frequency words are more important than others, learners should first focus on words that occur more than once in their textbooks. Adjectives are one of 78 ……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية them. They are an essential part of speech. Adjectives compose a fundamental category of words in most languages. They can be found in the everyday language. Adjectives make the language more colorful. They add color and vibrancy to our language much like the rainbow, whether there are many of them in a text, speech or whether they are used sparingly. They are words that give your writing and speech flavor (woods:Int). Knowing as much adjectives as possible will build up the students' repertoire. However, by learning the variations in meaning that occur when suffixes are added to words, one can increase his vocabulary. 2.3 The Importance of Suffixes One way for improving EFL general reading comprehension is to know something about how suffixes function (DeForest, 2000). Suffixes are very useful in language learning because if one knows how to identify suffixes and what they mean, one can identify what kind of word it is in terms of grammar and increase one’s vocabulary. It is well known that the kind of final suffix determines the part of speech of the word. Students who are morphologically aware of this will readily realize what part of speech the word is (Schuster, 1965:98). The main thing that a suffix shows is how it will be used in a sentence and how it is classified, in terms of whether the word is a noun, a verb, an adverb, or an adjective. Suffixes help EFL learners to infer confidently unknown word meaning or grammatical function of the word without the help of the teacher as suffixes are considered to be an inside clues for the meaning of words; i.e. morphemes convey syntax through suffixes (Ebbers, 2009). Knowing these suffixes will help the learner to:1- work out the meaning of words. 2- recognize word class. 2.4 Definition of Adjective Adjectives are words that describe, modify, qualify, limit or give more information about another person or thing in a sentence whether nouns or pronouns. Adjectives give and describe nouns in 79 ……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية terms of such qualities as size, colour, number and kind. (Wikipedia, 2011: Int) 2.5 Classification of Adjectives Adjectives can be viewed according to their syntax and semantics (Eagles ,1996). 2.5.1 Syntactic classification of adjectives Syntactically adjectives can be viewed as to three features: position, complementation and alternation. 1- Position: Adjectives can occur in (a) Attributive position only as a noun modifier (in front of a noun) inside a noun phrase. These adjectives can be signified as those which identify something as being of a particular type. It is often referred to as classifying adjectives, and rarely occurs in the predicative position unless we specifically want to emphasize a contrast; other adjectives which generally appear in the attributive position are those which are used for emphasis. Some of the adjectives that are used attributively are principal, chief, main, utter, sheer (Quirk et al,1985:417). e.g. She wears a woolen jacket. (b) In a predictive position only after the verbs (be, seem, become, consider, stay, sound, taste or any other linking verb). These adjectives either include those which describe feelings, such as fine, content, glad, ready, sure, sorry and upset or they include a group of adjectives with prefix a-, such as asleep, alive, alone, ashamed, awake, aware, afraid, a float, aglow, etc. (Foley and Hall,2003:217). e.g. He was afraid. e.g. She is fine. (c) Both positions. These adjectives are called central adjectives. Most adjectives can occur in both positions; i.e. attributively and predicatively. (Quirk et al,1985:417). e.g. She has read an interesting story. e.g. Your ideas are interesting. (d) As an object complement after a direct object (whether this object is noun, noun phrase or a clause) and after certain verbs (those which express cause or 80 ……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية have a causative meaning, or express the result of a process denoted by the verb (Ibid:420). e.g. My sister keeps her room tidy. e.g. He pulled his belt tight. (e) After the definite article (THE) as a head of a noun phrase either to refer to a group or class of people or to refer to uncountable things which is usually in the superlative form. (Ibid:421) e.g. The rich should help the poor. e.g. I read two books to them; he preferred the sad book, but she preferred the happy. e.g. She admires the mystical. e.g. The best is yet to come. In a postpositive position: After a noun or pronoun they modify (in certain phrases especially in official and institutional terms), they are called post nominal adjectives and also after those ending in –body, -one, -thing, -where) (Ibid: 418). e.g. The people present are fat. e.g. The president elect is black. e.g. Anyone intelligent can do it. e.g. Something small and shiny would help. (g) After the noun: Some adjectives that describe size or age can immediately occur after the noun that indicates a unit of measurement. (Maxwell and Clandfield,2011) e.g. She was about five feet tall. e.g. Her baby is ten months old. (h) Interpolate position: They can either follow or precede the noun they modify; they should be punctuated as the following examples (Wikipedia: 2011: Int). e.g. Startled, the small yellow bird stopped singing. e.g. The boy, happy with his lollipop, did not look where he was going. e.g. Tense, expectant and alert, we waited to see what would happen. 2- Complementation: Adjectives can be differentiated in terms of the complement they subcategorize into (Quirk et al,1985: 1220). (f) 81 ……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية a- No complement at all. These adjectives do not need a complement to clarify the meaning of the adjective. E.g red, ugly, etc. b- Prepositional complement. This kind of adjectives may need a preposition (in, at, of, to, about, on, with, by, from) followed by either 1-a phrase (a noun/pronoun) or by 2verbal complement to complete its meaning.(Ibid) 1- e.g. He is fond of detective films. e.g. We were amazed at the circus animal. 2- e.g. We’re not interested in selling our house. c- Clausal complement. This kind of adjectives may need a clause (A group of words that has a verb and a subject) i.e (wh- or that clause) to complete its meaning.(Ibid) e.g. He was uncertain what to do next. e.g. It was not obvious how far the amendment process would go. d- Sentential complement. This kind of adjectives needs a sentence (S+V+com) to complete its meaning.(Eagles,1996 e.g. It is possible that they leave. e.g. I am confident that she will succeed. e- Infinitival complement: This kind of adjectives needs an infinitive to complete the meaning.(Quirk et al,1985:1221) e.g. I am sad to leave. e.g. The book was easy to read. e.g. The boys easiest to teach were in my class. g- ing –form: This kind of adjectives needs a participle clause to complete its meaning. e.g. It is pointless buying so much food. e.g. They’re busy painting the kitchen. 3- Alternation Alternation means the ability or inability to convert clausal complement of the adjective to the subject position of the sentence. Some adjectives can do this; others cannot (Eagles, 1996). e.g. I am sad to leave.~~~ To leave is sad for me. e.g. Sam was brave to leave. ~~~To leave was brave of Sam. But not I am eager to come. ** ~~~To come is eager. 2.5.2 Semantic Classification of Adjectives Adjectives can be recognized and identified by four criteria which include the ability to be in predicative and attributive 82 ……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية position, the ability to be pre-modified by intensifiers and the ability to take the comparative and superlative form. These four criteria are used to classify adjectives semantically though these semantic criteria have syntactic implication (Greenbaum and Quirk, 1990:129). 1- Gradability Adjectives can be described in a scale. The lowest point on the scale is known as absolute form, the middle point is known as the comparative form and the highest point is known as the superlative. Some adjectives take the (er, more) and (est, most) to express gradability like dangerous, aggressive, beautiful, ugly, while others can not take this; e.g. dead, pregnant, married, unique (Quirk et al, 1985:434). 2- Inherent versus non-inherent adjectives The ability of adjectives which occur in an attributive position to reoccur in a predicative position is called inherent quality of the adjective in the noun itself; i.e. most adjective noun sequence such as (a red car) which is in attributive position can be reformulated into: a car which is red which is in a predicative position (Quirk et al, 1985:434). My old friend ~ can be reformulated into My friend is old. On the other hand, non-inherent adjectives do not have the ability to reformulation of the sentence; i.e. a small businessman cannot be formulated into ** A businessman who is small, but refers to a businessman whose business is small. e.g A firm friend is not ~ a friend who is firm 3- Stative versus dynamic adjectives Stative adjectives denote a state or condition, which may generally be considered a permanent quality in the noun they modify such as big, red, and small (Ibid:435). Stative adjectives cannot be used in 1- imperative construction as ** Be big / red / small. And 2- cannot be used in progressive construction like *** He is being big / small / red. In contrast, dynamic adjectives denote attributes which are not permanent in the noun they modify or can be called upon when needed. So they can be used in 1- imperative construction like __ Be brave. And can be used in 2- progressive construction like __My parents are being foolish again. __Your son is being disruptive in class. 83 ……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية 4- Central versus peripheral adjectives Adjectives that fulfill the criteria of gradability and the ability to occur attributively and predicatively are called central adjectives. Those which do not fulfill all the criteria are known as peripheral adjectives (Sundaram,1998). 5- Restrictive versus non restrictive Restrictive adjectives identify the nouns’ referent; i.e. restrict the reference of the noun; e.g. a certain person, a particular child, while non-restrictive adjectives are those that do not restrict the reference of the noun because they are already identified (Quirk et al ,1985:430). 2.6 Suffix Classification of Adjectives Adjectives can be classified according to their suffixes into: (wikipedia, 2011:Int) 1- Adjectives which are formed from nouns(whether common or proper): Those include (ed, ful, i, ish, less, like, ly, y, al, ic, ous, esque). 2- Adjectives which are formed from verbs: Those include (able, ive). 3- There are a number of suffixes that can be used as both nouns and adjectives. These include (ese, ian, ist, ite). 2.7 Kinds of Adjectives Knowing kinds of adjectives in their order in a sentence is very important as there are sort of adjectives written in front of others. Looking at the types of adjectives commonly used is a good way to build up an adjective set in speaking or writing without any mistakes and a great way to get to know them. This knowledge helps students to know where and when to use adjectives and where it is possible to add suffixes to them. There are many kinds of adjectives (Wikipedia, 2011: Int). They include:1- Descriptive adjectives: They describe nouns or pronouns. They answer the question (What kind?). Descriptive adjectives are considered the major kind of adjectives as there are unending adjectives to describe every detail in the noun. They include: a- Color like red, white, pink, red, orange, yellowish, dark-green, blue, purple, black, white, gray, brown, tanned, pastel, etc. b- Shape like broad, skinny, crooked, round, circular, square, triangular, oval, sleek, blobby, flat, rotund, globular, spherical, wavy, straight, cylindrical, oblong, elliptical, zigzag, squiggly, crooked, winding, serpentine, warped, distorted, . 84 ……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية c- Size and weight like big, tall, large, huge, heavy, light, big, small, tiny, tall, short, fat, thin, slender, willowy, lean, svelte, scrawny, skeletal, underweight, wide, enormous, huge, vast,. d- Qualities like wet, dry, fluffy, painted, scuffed. e- Personality traits like aggressive, ambitious, cruel, thrifty,. f- Time like modern, old, ancient, annual, early, late, morning, night, evening, everlasting, initial, first, last, overdue, belated, long-term, delayed, punctual,. g- Appearance like adorable, elegant, beautiful, timid. h- Feelings like afraid, comfortable, faithful, hungry. i- Sound like loud, noisy, blaring, soft, silent, vociferous, screaming, shouting, thunderous, blaring, quiet, noisy, talkative, rowdy, deafening, faint, muffled, mute, speechless, j- Touch like hard, rough, sticky, slippery, bumpy, smooth, grainy, coarse, pitted, irregular, scaly, polished, glossy, lumpy. k- Material like wooden metal, iron, paper, silver, stone, brick, glass, nylon, tin, lead, copper, .silk, satin, plastic, brass. 2- Proper adjectives- are adjectives that derived from proper nouns via the process of derivation. They answer the question (what is he or it?) They include the following: ian (Italian, Norwegian) -ean (Chilean, Korean) -an (American, Mexican) -ese (Chinese, Japanese) -er (Icelander, New Zealander) -ic (Icelandic, Greenlandic) -ish (English, Irish) -i (Iraqi, Pakistani ) 3- Limiting adjectives- they are used to specify only certain or specific nouns. They are limited to the noun that they describe and, hence, are known as limiting adjectives: They answer the question (How many?).They include: a- Cardinal numbers- one, two, three, etc. b- Ordinal numbers- first, second, third, fourth, etc. c- Articles- A, an, the…..pertains to one item only. 4- Adjectival pronouns. They include the following:(Stål,2009) a- Indefinite Pronouns: They are used as adjectives. They give indefinite or general information about the noun. 85 ……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية They include many, several, some, most, all, any, few, each, every. b- Demonstrative pronouns: They answer the question (which one?).They include this, that, these, those. They refer to something either present or may be mentioned in another sentence. c- Interrogative adjectives. They answer the question (What, Which and Whose?). They include: who, where, what, which. d- Possessive adjectives. They answer the question (whose?).They include my, your, his, her, its, our, their, one's. e- Relative Pronouns. They include: which, whichever, what, whatever, whose, whosever. e.g. He may take whichever one he wants. e.g. I took what little time I had left. 5- Compound adjectives: They are the adjectives that are made up of more than one word; one of them is an adjective. They include the following combinations (Wikipedia,2011:Int). 1- Adjective + noun like blackboard, deep-sea, fulllength, last-minute. 2- Noun + adjective like snow-white, trouble free, worldfamous. 3- Adjective + adjective like blue-green, bitter-sweet, deaf-mute. 4- Preposition +adjectives like over-ripe, 5- Adjective + preposition like forthwith, 6- Adjective+ past participle like cold-blooded, kindhearted, open-minded, and well behaved, etc. 7- Adjective +present participle like good-looking, farreaching, never-ending, and mouth-watering, etc. 6- Derived adjectives: They are the adjectives that are formed via the process of derivation (adding different prefixes and suffixes). It is for this reason considered as an open class. They include many of the above kinds of adjectives like descriptive and proper adjectives (Wikipedia, 2011). 86 ……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية Section Three: Procedures 3.1 Population and Sample Selection EFL learners in this research are fifth-year students of the Department of English/Teacher Training Institute/Al-Mansoor of the academic year (2010-2011). The reason for choosing this sample is that they are acquainted with the different kinds of suffixes that form different parts of speech and because they are acquainted with adjectives (their position,kinds) in their academic years as they are supposed to have a complete course in English grammar including this kind of information. Hence, the researcher wants to see whether fifth-year students can recognize an adjective by its position and by its suffix. The number of students who attend the test is 24, (4) students are excluded because they are repeaters. 3.2 Test Construction The researcher constructed a test about the following types of adjective suffixes (ive, ous, ic, ent, able), distributed on both parts of the test of nearly the same number. The test consists of two parts, the first is concerned with the recognition level and the second is concerned with the production level. At the recognition level, the test is of two questions; the first consists of 12 items and the second consists of 10 items (the total number is 22) and at the production level, the test is of one question which consists of 18 items. i.e. all the items of the test are 40. Each item of the test is given one mark if it is correct, and zero if the item is incorrect. (See Appendix 1) 3.3 Test validity The test gives the concept of validity when it measures what it intended to measure (Madesn, 1983:178). In order to ensure the face validity of this test, it was exposed to a jury of experts (see appendix 2) to provide the researcher with their opinions in verifying the items of the test, checking its validity and suitability. The jurors agreed upon its validity and suitability. 3.4 Test Reliability Reliability refers to the degree of consistency of the test scores measurement (Oller, 1979:4). One of the methods that can be used to find out test reliability is the split-half method, which requires scoring the odd-numbered items and the even-numbered items 87 ……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية separately. Then, the correlation between scores on the odd and even numbered items is calculated. By using Pearson Correlation formula, the reliability coefficient of the test is computed to be (0.66). Using Spearman Brown's formula for re-correction, the reliability correlation coefficient is found to be (0.79). This indicates that the test is reliable and acceptable. Section Four: Results, Conclusions, Recommendation and Suggestions 4.1 Result Analysis In order to find out fifth-year institute students can recognize adjectives by their suffixes and by their position; the t-test formula for one sample is used. As shown in the table below (Table 1), the calculated t-value is (0.296), which is less than the tabulated value (2). N 24 Table 1 t-test statistics for the study scores in the test Level of t-Value x M S.D Significance Calculated Tabulated 20.41 20 6.83 0.296 2 0.05 Test Analysis shows that students do not know adjectives by their position. This can be clearly shown in their answers as only 51% of the items are correct as all the adjectives in the test have the same position which is predicate position, as shown in Table 2. Table 2 Percentage of the students' correct responses of the items Recognition items 29.069 % Production Items 20.104 % All the items 51.041 % 88 ……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية Table 3 The students' percentage of the items according to suffixes ive ous ic ent able Suffixes Recognition Items Production Items All items 34.3% 22.2% 7.7% 7.4% 27.9% 14.5% 37.3% 19.6% 13.9% 14.5% 26.53% 28.36% 12.44% 10 % 22.65% Table 3 shows that the suffix (-ent) is the most difficult suffix to students as only 10% of the items are correct and this is a very big problem concerning adjective recognition, and that the suffix (-ous) is much easier to students as 28.3% of the items are correct. The students' responses show that although some adjectives have the same suffix but students have mistaken the correct answer, this can be attributed to the newness of the word; i.e. the words are not very familiar to them, though these words have adjectival suffixes and in an adjective position. According to Corder (1981:105), guessing is one of the techniques that EFL learners use to overcome inappropriateness of their knowledge and this is what happens in many items that students choose incorrectly in the recognition level like (3,7,2,8)and the production level like(2,6,9). It is known that recognition is much easier than production and this is shown in the students’ answers of the suffexs (-ive, -able) in Table 3 but some suffixes converse this fact like the suffixes (ous, -ic, -ent)), in which students have no difficulty in producing the suffix in production level, but in the recognition level there is a problem. This can be attributed to the learner's limited knowledge of the target language (James,1998:170). Some students have answered incorrectly in some items and they answered correctly in other items of the same suffix as it is clearly obvious in the suffix (ive) in the items (1,6,)and the suffix(able) in the items(7,10,21). This can be due according to Keshavarz (1999: 109) to ignorance of rule restriction. Students pay attention to the meaning of the new words and neglect the position and suffix of the word that give clues to the part of speech of the word. 89 ……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية 4.2 Conclusions In the light of the analysis of learners' responses, the researcher has come to the following conclusions: 1- It is proved that the fifth year institute students can not recognize adjectives by their suffix or by their position well, and this supports the hypothesis of the study. 2- EFL learners recognize adjectives as long as the most familiar adjective suffixes are added, but when unfamiliar suffixes are added, they face problem in identifying them. 3- EFL learners do not have a good grasp of suffixes and how they can direct the part of speech of the word. 4- Morphological awareness helps EFL learners to figure out unknown words encountered in the future. 4.3 Recommendations On the basis of the results of the research stated above, the following recommendations are suggested: 1- Intensive practice is needed in identifying adjectives by suffixes, position and other properties of adjectives. 2- EFL instructors are advised to attract EFL learners' attention that adjectives can be identified for the first time by the position rather than meanings. 3- Attracting students' attention to morpheme clues as well as context clues in recognizing adjectives which is an important way for EFL learners to know the part of speech of the word. 4- EFL instructors are to devise new ways to teach adjectives by asking their students to describe things, objects and persons as adjectives are easy to teach since the rules surrounding them are straightforward especially when suffixes are added. 5- Practice in an amusing way is the shortest way to make EFL learners master using adjectives in writing and speech. 6- EFL instructors should concentrate on the most difficult adjective suffix to language learners. 4.4 Suggestions for further Studies In the light of the results obtained, the following suggestions for further studies can be put forward: 90 ……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية 1- A similar study may be conducted in other institutes for both sexes (males and females). 2- A similar study can be conducted for other kinds of suffixes; i.e. verb suffixes, noun suffixes. 3- A similar study may be conducted to compare between the students' ability to recognize and identify verb suffixes from noun suffixes. • • • • • • • • • • • • • • References: Corder,S.P.(1981).Error Analysis and Inter-language. Oxford. Oxford University Press. DeForest, J (2000) Retrieved January,13,2011from www.ins.dfi. Ebbers, Susan M. (2009). Vocabulary through Morphemes: Suffixes, Prefixes, and Roots for Intermediate Grades. Retrieved January,11,2011. From http//www.grin.com/e-book/. Eagles(1996)Eagles central Secretariat . Retrieved June,10,2011 from www.icl.cnr.it./eagles96/rep2/ Foley, Mark and Diane Hall (2003) Advanced Learners' Grammar . Longman: England. Greenbaum, Sidney and Quirk, Randoulph (1990) A Student's Grammar of the English Language . Longman: Hongkong. James, (1998) Errors in Language Learning and Use: Exploring Error Analysis. London: Longman. Keshavarz, M(1999) Contrastive Analysis and Error Analysis. Rahnama Publisher. Tahran. Krantz, G. (1998). Vocabulary Acquisition: A Study of Reading Strategies. University of Gothenburg, Department of English, Gothenburg. Madsen, H.(1983). Techniques in Testing. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Maxwell, Kerry G and Clandfield, Lindsay (2011) Adjectives and noun modifiers in English. Retrieved June,2, 2011 From www.onestopenglish.com/grammar/grammar-reference. Oller, J.W.(1979). Language Testing at School : A Pragmatic Approach. London: Longman Group LTD. Quirk, R ; Greenbaum, S ; Leech, G. ; Svartvik , J (1985). A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language. New York: Longman Inc.. Quirk, R. and Greenbaum, S. (1973). A University Grammar of English. London :Longman. 91 ……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية • Schuster, Edgar (1965). Grammar, Usage and Style . McGraw-Hill, Inc. New York. • Sundaram, Raghu(1998).The Importance of the English Language. Retrieved March 21, 2011, from http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Importance-Of-The-English-Language&id=147211 • Stål,Olle .(2009) Adjectives in English Course Books. Göteborg University. Retrieved March,21,2011. • Wikipedia(2011) www.wiki.com Retrieved June,2,2011. • Woods, Geraldine. Adding Adjectives to Make Your Writing More Descriptive. Retrieved December,12,2011 .From www.dummies.com/.../adding-adjectives-to-make-y... The Test Appendix 1 Recognition Level Q. 1 /A/ Write the number of the item and the letter (a, b, c, d) that best shows the part of speech of the underlined words: 1- 1- A solution of the problem of toxic waste is elusive. a. Adv b. Adj c. N d. V 2- The assistant was courteous and helpful. a. Adj b. Adv c. N d. V 3- My first meeting with her was quite a romance. a. N b. Adv c. Adj d. V 4- Things are frantic in the office right now. a. Adv b. N c. V d. Adj 5- Any further payments are contingent upon satisfactory completion dates. a. V b. Adj c. Adv d. N 6- His enthusiasm was contagious. a. Adj b. V c. Adv d. N 7- The prince concluded his tour with a visit to a concert. a. Adj b. N c. V d.Adv 8- Acid is corrosive. a. V b. N c. Adj d. Adv 9- It is highly debatable whether conditions have improved for lowincome families. a. Adv b. V c. N d. Adj 10- The fun was furious. 92 ……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية a. N b. Adj c. Adv d. V 11- The girls exhibited great powers of endurance during the climb. a. Adv b. V c. Adj d. N 12- Old people are more conservative than young people. a.V b. N c. Adj d. Adv 13- His later years were charitable to poor people. a. Adj b. N c. V d. Adv 14- The frightened child gripped its mother's hand. a. V b. N c. Adj d. Adv 15- He was absent because he was ill. a. N b. Adj c. Adv d. V 16- Appearances are always deceptive. a. V b. Adv c. V d. Adj 17- Which is the departure platform that from which the train leaves? a. Adj b. V c. Adv d. N Q.1/B/ Circle the adjective that best completes the meaning of sentence 1- This report is highly…………. Speculator speculation speculative speculating 2- The results of the meeting were not……….. Significant significance significantly signification 3- Prices in the market today are…….……. State static station stator 4- He was always ……….. in his youth. Rebellion rebelliously rebelliousness rebellious 5- Her parent's morals are very...………… on her behavior. Noticeable notice noticing noticeably 6- Morals are not………... from religion. Separation separable separately separator 7- My teeth are very ……... to clod food. Sensitive sensation sensitivity sensitively 8- His response was ……………. Negate negation negating negative 9- Much of the plans presented were not…….……. Application applying applicable applicant 10- The political issue about Darfur is …………… Negotiator negotiable negotiation negotiating 93 ……………المجلد األول2012 العدداألول.…… مجلة كلية التربية Production level Q.3 Give the adjectives to the following words 1- Reason: ………………………………… 2- Create: ………………………………… 3- Confidence: …………………………….. 4- Danger: ………………………………… 5- Poet: ……………………………………… 6- Narrate: ………………………………….. 7- Difference: ……………………………….. 8- Romance: ………………………………… 9- Suffice: …………………………………… 10- Ambition: ………………………………. 11- Enthusiasm: ……………………………… 12- Vary: ……………………………………… 13- Desire: …………………………………… 14- Assert: ……………………………………. 15- Agree: …………………………………… 16- Consider: ………………………………… 17- Continue: ………………………………… 18- Sympathy: ………………………………. Appendix 2 The Jury The jury members arranged alphabetically and according to their academic titles is: 1- Ass.Prof. Shatha Al-Sa’adi (College of Education for Women, University of Baghdad) 2- Ass. Prof. Layla Al-Haj (College of Education for Women, University of Baghdad) 3- Inst. Nawal Fadhil (College of Education for Women, University of Baghdad) 4- Inst. Maysaa Rasheed (College of Education for Women, University of Baghdad) 5- Inst. Abeer Hadi ( English Department, Islamic University 94