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CHAPTER 2
THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK
In introducing a new language structure, a teacher has to show the students
what the language means and how it is used, or in other words, to give clear
information to the students about the language they are learning. The teacher must
also show the students what the grammatical form of the new language is and how
it is said and/or written (Harmer, 1991:56).
To speak and write well, students should know how to use the important
element of the English language, which is called grammar. We all use grammar
whenever we speak or write. What is grammar?
Grammar is the system by which a language works. It is concerned
with system that is governed by principles. Grammar describes
how language works, categorizes words by function (naming,
asserting, modifying, and so forth) and part of speech (noun, verb,
or other descriptive terms that enable us to talk about words in
sentences), and explains how users of language put single words
together to make meaningful groups (Leggett et al., 1985: 2).
English language is composed of individual words and grammatical
devices that are put together to make a meaningful combination. It needs strong
efforts to do that, especially because English is not our mother tongue. Therefore,
students should have the basic skills of learning English as a foreign language to
be successful in language learning.
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2.1
Basic Skills in Language Learning
As a learner of a foreign language, ideally one should possess four basic
language skills: listening, speaking, reading, and writing. Using those skills, they
will be able to listen to the radio, speak to other people, read books, or write
letters. The four skills were classified into two major skills; receptive skills and
productive skills. Harmer (1991) said, “Speaking and writing involve language
production and are therefore often referred to as productive skills. Listening and
reading, on the other hand, involve receiving messages and are therefore often
referred to as receptive skills” (p. 16).
Of course, the two skills (receptive and productive) are the basics.
Language users need a combination of skills for processing the language they use
and face. It is true that one skill cannot be performed without the involvement of
the other skills. It is impossible to speak in a conversation if you do not listen, and
people very seldom write without having reading activities before and after. In
these cases and in many more, the same experience will lead to the use of many
different skills.
One’s ability in using English can be measured through his productive
skills. The reason is that productive skills involve speaking and writing, which can
be seen and heard by others. Perhaps the most important difference between
writing and speaking concerns the need for accuracy. There is often far greater
pressure for accuracy in writing than in speaking. People can speak even without
having a good grammar, vocabulary or pronunciation. The point is that the person
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whom they talk with can grab the point of speaking. A piece of writing, however,
with grammar mistakes and/or half-finished sentences would be judged as
unskilled since it is expected that writing should be ‘correct’. The writer also
suffers from the disadvantage of not getting immediate feedback from the reader
and sometimes getting no feedback at all. Perhaps the most important is that there
is a greater need for logical organization in a piece of writing than there is in a
conversation, for the reader has to understand what has been written without
asking for clarification or relying on the writer’s tone of voice or expression.
2.2
Mistakes in Language Learning
Students are often confused of selecting the correct use of verb in a
sentence. They make mistakes and mistakes should not be repeatedly made. The
writer will help the students to reduce the possibility of mistakes by analyzing the
common mistakes of using the correct verb form in relation to subject-verb
agreement.
In order to avoid mistakes, we need explanations about the causes of
mistakes. There are at least two reasons why the students make mistakes. First,
they may not have the appropriate knowledge or false knowledge. They may
either not know how a verb works in a sentence or have the wrong idea. The result
is what Corder (cited in Ardiningsih, 2004) called an error. The second reason for
the mistakes is the lack of student’s processing ability. The result is what Corder
(cited in Ardiningsih, 2004) called a mistake.
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The Webster’s New World College Dictionary (1995:462) defines a
mistake as an error resulting from carelessness, inattention, misunderstanding, etc.
and does not in itself carry a strong implication of criticism, for example: a
mistake in reading a blueprint. It implies deviation from truth, accuracy,
correctness, right, etc.
Long et al. (cited in Makino, 1993: 337-338) argued that mistakes made
by learners are part of a natural process of language learning, and they indicate a
certain stage of the learner’s development into more accurate and appropriate
forms.
Most teachers believe that to ignore these mistakes might put the learner’s
linguistic development at risk. As Abbs & Freebaim (cited in Thornbury, 2003)
said, “Making mistakes is an important and positive part of learning a language.
Only by experimenting with the language and receiving feedback can students
begin to work out how the language works” (p. 116).
It is not always easy to identify mistakes. Once a mistake has been
identified, the next step is to classify it. Learners may make mistakes at the level
of individual word, in the way they put sentences together. At the word level,
learners make mistakes either because they have chosen the wrong word for the
meaning they want to express, for example: My brother was stopping at the door
instead of standing, or they have chosen the wrong form of the word, for example:
lower instead of lawyer, thinks instead of things. These are called lexical mistakes.
Grammar mistakes, on the other hand, cover such things as mistakes in verb form
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and tense and in sentence structure. One of the mistakes is subject-verb agreement
that will be discussed in this paper.
The following section will deal with the subject-verb identification, the
basic rules of subject-verb agreement, and some common mistakes related with
subject-verb agreement made by the students.
2.3
Definition of a Sentence
What is a sentence? According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary
English (1995:1298), a sentence is a group of words that usually contains a
subject and a verb, expresses a complete idea or asks a question, and that, when
written in English, begins with a capital letter and ends with a full stop.
Whereas Brown et al. (1984) stated, “A sentence is a group of words
expressing a complete thought to describe an action or state a condition of a
person, a place, a thing, or an idea. A group of words must make complete sense
by itself to be called a sentence” (p. 34). He also categorized the sentences into
four kinds: declarative, interrogative, imperative, or exclamatory.
A declarative sentence makes a statement and ends with a period.
An interrogative sentence asks a question and ends with a question
mark. An exclamatory sentence shows strong feeling and ends with
an exclamation point. An imperative sentence gives an order or
makes a request (Brown et al., 1984: 35).
Hurford (1994) said, “A sentence is neither a physical event nor a physical
object which is, conceived abstractly, a string of words put together by the
grammatical rules of a language. It can be thought of as the ideal string of words
behind various realizations in utterances and inscriptions. Or in other words, a
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sentence is a grammatically complete string of words expressing a complete
thought” (p. 16).
So there are two necessary qualities of a sentence:
1.
The boundaries of the sentence are clearly marked off by a capital letter at
the beginning and a period, a question mark, or an exclamation point at the
end.
2.
Within these boundaries, every sentence contains at least one subject and
one predicate that fit together to make a statement, ask a question, or give
a command.
(Marius & Wiener, 1988: 132)
In this research, the writer is going to focus only on analyzing declarative
sentence. Declarative sentence is a sentence that has a form of a statement and
usually ends with a period (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, 1995:
352).
Example:
My name is Miriam.
That’s a beautiful picture.
To make it clearer, the writer now will give other examples of what is and
is not a sentence. The writer will use the line to separate the two basic
grammatical parts of the sentence, that is the subject and the verb.
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Example:
The boy. (not a sentence)
The boy | is here. (a sentence)
Human | are intelligent creatures. (a sentence)
The first example is not a sentence since there is no verb following the
subject. The second example is a sentence -the boy as the subject and is as the
verb- as well as the third example.
2.3.1 Subject-Verb Identification
Almost every sentence has a subject and a verb. In order to use verb forms
correctly, it is important to be able to identify the subject and the verb, the two
main parts of any sentence. Understanding them is an important first step toward
mastering a number of sentence skills.
“Most sentences name something and then make some statement about the
thing named. The part of the sentence that names what the sentence is about is
called the subject. The part of the sentence that makes a statement about the
subject is called the predicate” (Marius & Wiener, 1988: 131)
It was also stated by Langan (1999), “Who or what the sentence speaks
about is called the subject; what the sentence says about the subject is called the
verb” (p. 86).
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2.3.1.1 Subject
Subject is a noun, noun phrase, or pronoun that usually comes before a
main verb and represents the person or thing that performs the action of the verb,
or about which something is stated (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary
English, 1995:1438). Also stated by Marius & Wiener (1988), “Subject serves as
the focus of the sentence and to get the subject, you must remove all the
describing words that may provide additional information about it. The subject
may be a thing, person, place, action, idea, name, or anything else serves as the
element the verb makes a statement about” (p. 132).
Though noun phrase can be a complete subject, we often speak of a simple
subject as the subject of the sentence which is the approach that we will use in the
analysis of this paper. In the present tense, the presence of the ‘-s’ suffix at the
end of a subject or verb usually indicates a plural subject or a singular verb.
Example:
The girl on the volley ball team has played her best.
The girls on the volley ball team have played their best.
According to Marius & Wiener (1985: 169), the suffix ‘-s’ or ‘-es’ on a
noun subject generally means that the subject is plural, and the subject is singular
if the noun subject does not have the suffix ‘-s’ or ‘-es’.
To find the subject, you can use the following hints:
1.
Who or what is doing the action in the sentence?
2.
Who or what is the sentence about?
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3.
The subject usually comes before the verb.
4.
The subject of a sentence is always a noun (any person, place, or
thing), a noun phrase, or a pronoun (he, she, it, you, we, they).
(Tyner, 1987: 29)
Example:
Sarah went to the movie last night. (Who went to the movie last night?
Sarah)
The mouse got into the hole. (What got into the hole? The mouse)
Mary is very tired today. (Who is the sentence about? Mary)
So, respectively the subjects of the above sentences are: Sarah, the mouse, and
Mary).
2.3.1.2 Verb
Verb is perhaps the most important part of the sentence. It is a word or
group of words that is used to describe an action, experience, or state (Longman
Dictionary of Contemporary English, 1995:1590). Whereas Marius & Wiener
(1985: 111) stated that verb is a word that report an action, a condition, or a
happening that express a state of being.
Small changes in their form can reflect many differences in meaning.
Writers have more problems with verb than with any other grammatical area.
Verb may take many different forms depending on their tenses, which indicates a
particular time period: past, present, or future. It also changes form depending on
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whether the subject is singular or plural. And some verbs can change in irregular
ways rather than conforming to the rules.
Example:
I am happy to be here. (singular)
We are not so sure about the appointment. (plural)
Mary loves chocolate chip cookies. (singular)
Mother and father love to go sailing. (plural)
Verb is divided into three kinds: action verb, linking verb, and auxiliary verb.
Action verb describes the behavior or action of someone or
something that may express physical actions or mental activities,
for example: Paul goes to the church every sunday morning.
Linking Verb connects a noun or a pronoun with a word or words
that identify or describe the noun or pronoun. Many linking verbs
are verbs of being, formed from the word be. But there are also
some linking verbs other that be, such as appear, become, feel,
grow, look, remain, seem, smell, sound, stay, and taste, for
example: The students look upset when they hear the news.
Auxiliary Verbs or usually called helping verbs are verbs that help
other verbs, such as is, am, are, have, do, may, will, and so forth,
for example: Bill is waiting outside (Brown et al., 1984: 12).
To find a verb, we can use the following hints:
1.
What is the action or thought in the sentence?
2.
What word tells what the subject is doing?
3.
What word changes form with time?
4.
The verb usually comes after the subject.
(Tyner, 1987: 29)
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Example:
My mother buys some vegetables. (What is the action? The verb buys)
The trout swim lazily in the pond. (What do the trout do? The action swim)
The truck usually stops at the gas station. (What word changes form with
time? The verb stop)
2.3.2 The Basic Rules of Subject-Verb Agreement:
The fundamental rule of subject-verb agreement is that the verb must agree
with, or match their subjects. This means that a singular subject must go with a
singular verb, and a plural subject must go with a plural verb. When those parts of
a sentence agree, there will be a logical relationship between them. As Langan
(1999) said, “A verb must agree with its subject in number. A singular subject
(one person or thing) takes a singular verb. A plural subject (more than one person
or thing) takes a plural verb” (p. 150).
Lack of agreement between a subject and a verb often occurs not because
the students misunderstood the general role, but because they are uncertain of the
number of subjects (Legget et al., 1985: 64). Beside that, another opinion comes
from Richards (cited in Ardiningsih, 2004) who explains that the result of
disagreement between a subject and a verb is because the students often
implement incomplete application of
‘-s’ in their writing by disobeying the
general ‘s’ which they have already learnt.
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The main difficulties are identifying the subject of the sentence and
determining whether it is singular or plural. We should pay more attention to
some subjects, such as compounds and indefinite pronouns, in order to use correct
verb forms with them. Singular means one of anything: a person, a state, a team,
an idea while plural means more than one of anything: people, six houses, rooms,
books, ideas. Most plural words end in ‘-s’ or ‘-es’: dogs, cats, apples, students,
boxes.
Here are some important considerations:
a.
If the subject is singular, the verb ends in ‘-s’.
Example:
Jack enjoys a good spy movie.
That cat sleeps in front of the door.
b.
If the subject is plural, the verb does not end in ‘-s’.
Example:
The boys enjoy a good spy movie.
Those cats sleep in front of the door.
When pronouns are subjects, here are the subject-verb agreement rules:
c.
With he, she, and it (third person singular): verb ends in ‘-s’.
Example:
He likes to fish below the dam.
She prefers tea than coffee.
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d.
All other pronouns (I, you, they, we): verb does not end in ‘-s’.
Even though the pronoun I is singular, it always takes a plural verb.
Example:
I like to fish below the dam.
You prefer tea than coffee.
e.
Use a plural verb when and joins more than one subject.
Example:
Pepper and garlic flavor the soup.
Queenie and Clarence work on cars.
f.
In present tense, the various forms of to be are irregular and require
selective use with subjects.
- am
- is
:
Use with the pronoun I.
:
Use with all singular noun subjects and with singular
pronoun subjects other than I and you.
- are
:
Use with plural noun subjects, plural pronoun subjects,
and with the pronoun you, whether it is singular or
plural.
Example:
When I am tired, I cannot think.
The door is rattling.
He is serving tables.
The waves are racing to the shore.
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They are gardening; we are resting.
When you are finished, you can go.
The rules of agreement also pertain to the present perfect tense. The
helping verb has is singular, and the helping verb have may be either
singular or plural.
Example:
I have biked across the country twice.
He has often complained about his back.
They have been out all night.
(Tyner, 1987: 31-33)
Since the focus of the study is only in the present tense, the writer
will not discuss the rules of agreement that pertain to verbs in past tense.
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In addition, there are some areas in which common agreement problems occur:
2.3.2.1 Intervening Words and Phrases
Sometimes word or phrase that contains plural words comes between a
subject and its verb. For instance, a prepositional phrase that modifies a subject
usually follows the subject and separates it from the verb. Words that come
between the subject and the verb do not change subject-verb agreement (Leggett
et al., 1985: 65).
Example:
The repetition of these sounds stirs the emotions
The cup next to the glasses looks clean.
In the first example, the subject repetition is singular, and so the verb stirs is
singular. You should not be misled by nouns or pronouns intervening between the
subject and the verb. The word ‘sounds’ do not affect subject-verb agreement.
To help find the subject of certain sentences, you can cross out
prepositional phrases:
Example:
The study of languages is very interesting.
Several theories on this subject have been proposed.
2.3.2.2 The Verb Comes before the Subject/Inverted Word Order
In most sentences, the subject comes before the verb. In that case, subjectverb agreement comes naturally. What if the order of the subject and the verb is
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different? A verb agrees with its subject even when the verb comes before the
subject. This strategy is often used for poetic effect. Be especially careful to
determine the subject and make it agree with the verb. Words that may precede
the subject include there and here.
In sentences begin with there and here, the subject (which determines the
number of the verb) comes after the verb. The words here and there are not the
subjects. To find the subject, reverse the order of the sentence (Leggett et al.,
1985: 66).
Example:
Over the ripples glides a small canoe. (Read: A small canoe glides over
the ripples)
There was a well-known writer at the meeting. (Read: A well-known
writer was at the meeting)
If you are unsure about the subject, ask who or what of the verb. With the first
sentence above, you might ask, “What glides over the ripples?” The answer, a
small canoe, is the subject.
To make sure that questions have subject-verb agreement, reverse the
order of the sentence by reading the question as a statement.
Example:
Does Jean practice today? (Read: Jean does practice today)
Where are the books?
(Read: The books are where)
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When the sentences begin with it, always use the singular form of the main
verb which usually ends in ‘-s’.
Example:
It was the guard who spotted the burglar.
It means we are the winners.
2.3.2.3 Indefinite Pronoun Subject
Indefinite pronouns are pronouns that refer to people or things in general.
The following words, known as indefinite pronouns are always singular and
therefore always take singular verbs (Leggett et al., 1985: 65).
(‘-one’ words)
(‘-body’ words)
(‘-thing’ words)
no one
nobody
nothing
each
anyone
anybody
anything
either
everyone
everybody
everything
neither
someone
somebody
something
other
Example:
No one is able to answer the question.
Everyone likes her.
Students should have no problems with this agreement if they simply memorize
the endings of words that are always singular.
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* Note:
-
The word following the phrase one of the (as an object of the preposition
of) will always be plural.
Example:
One of the reasons we do this is that it rains a lot in spring
One of the students in this room is responsible
Some people sometimes slip into using verbs that agree with
nearby nouns instead of indefinite pronoun subjects. Notice that the verb is
agrees with one, which is singular, and not with the object of the
preposition which is always plural (www.webster.commnet.edu, 2005).
-
When either and neither appear as a subject alone (without their sidekicks
or and nor), they are singular even though the subject seems to be two
things (Leggett et al., 1985: 65).
Example:
Neither of these choices appears to be satisfactory.
Either is fine with me.
-
Some indefinite pronouns are always plural and always take plural verbs.
The most common plural indefinite pronouns are several, both, few, and
many (www.webster.commnet.edu, 2005).
Example:
Many are called, but few are chosen.
Both are at the top of the class.
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-
The following indefinite pronouns can be either singular or plural,
depending on their use in sentences: all, any, enough, more, most, none,
plenty, and some. These indefinite pronouns are singular when they refer
to a portion or to a single person, place, or thing. They are plural when
they refer to a number of individual persons, places, or things. Sometimes
an indefinite pronoun refers to a word that is not in the sentence but is
understood. The verb that accompanies pronouns such as some will be
determined by whether the pronoun is referring to something that is
countable or uncountable (www.webster.commnet.edu, 2005).
Example:
Some of the students in the class have voted already.
Some of the grain has been ruined by the flood.
Students in the first sentence is countable, so we use the plural verb
have. In the second sentence we cannot count the grain, so we use the
singular verb has.
The pronoun none has been debated among writers. Strict
grammarians point out that none means “no one” and should always take a
singular verb (Marius & Wiener, 1985: 178).
Example:
None of my students is here yet.
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But many writers make the same distinction with none that they
make with any. When none refers to a plural noun, some use a plural verb
and when none refers to a singular noun, then singular verb will be used.
Example:
None of my students are here yet.
One way to select the proper verb for a sentence with an indefinite
pronoun is to identify the noun to which the pronoun refers. Then
determine if the noun is singular or plural. Finally select the verb that
agrees in number with the noun (Marius & Wiener, 1985: 178).
2.3.2.4 Compound Subject
According to Brown et al. (1984:110), a compound subject consists of two
or more words or groups of words connected by one of the following conjunction:
and, or, nor, either…or, or neither…nor. Two factors determine the number of the
verb to use with a compound subject: (1) the conjunction and (2) whether the
words in the compound subject are singular or plural. There are some rules to be
noticed relating with the use of compound subjects:
a.
Use a plural verb with most compound subjects connected by and and
both…and (Brown et al., 1984: 110)
Example:
Reading and singing are my hobbies.
Both Jim and Jason go to the theatre.
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b.
Use a singular verb with a compound subject that refers to one person or
thing or that generally conveys the idea of a unit (Brown et al., 1984: 110).
A compound subject also takes a singular verb if the two nouns are
synonyms and are modified by each, every, many a, such a, or no (Christ,
1975: 319).
Example:
My neighbor and closest friend is Susan. (one person)
Macaroni and cheese is on the lunch menu. (one dish)
c.
When a compound subject is connected by or, nor, either…or,
neither…nor, not only…but also, use a verb that agrees in number with the
subject that is closer to it in the sentence (Marius & Wiener, 1985: 176).
Example:
Either Sarah or her friends go to the school today.
I am sure that neither the lawyer nor the accountant is to blame.
* The nearer subject in the first example, friends, is plural, and so the verb
is plural.
d.
Phrases such as in addition to, plus, including, together with, along with,
and as well as seem to join subjects, but they do not work the same as and:
they are not conjunctions. They do not affect the number of the subject and
usually serve as prepositions introducing the object of a preposition, which
can never be the subject of a verb (Marius & Wiener, 1988: 329).
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Example:
The major football team, together with its supporters, has gone to Spain.
Mary, as well as her friends, is coming along.
e.
The phrase the number of referring to an actual number of people or things
is followed by a singular verb. Whereas the phrase a number of refers to
several
people
or
things
is
followed
by
a
plural
verb
(www.webster.commnet.edu, 2005).
Example:
The number of students attending college increases every year
A number of these students intend to go on to graduate school.
2.3.2.5 Relative Pronoun Subject
When who, which, and that are used as subjects, they take singular verbs if
the word they stand for is singular and plural verbs if the word they stand for is
plural. Christ (1975) stated, “In an adjective clause with the relative pronoun who,
which, or that used as subject, the verb should agree with the antecedent of the
relative pronoun. A relative pronoun is placed near its antecedent” (p. 318).
Example:
Mary is a person who is very generous and kind. (The verb is is singular,
agrees with its antecedent, person.)
Mary is one of those people who are very generous and kind. (The verb
are is plural because who stands for people, which is plural.)
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2.3.2.6 Collective Noun Subject
A collective noun is a noun that names a group or collection of people or
objects, such as team, crowd, fleet, class, family, committee, audience, band,
group, army, club, school, herd, troop, flock, crew, gang and jury. Although these
nouns are singular in form, they may take a singular or a plural verb, depending
on their use in a sentence (Leggett et al., 1985: 67).
If a collective noun refers to a group as a single unit, use a singular verb. If
a collective noun refers to the individual members or parts of a group and the
individuals acting within the whole, use a plural verb.
Example:
The team plays well. (The team is a unit)
The team go their separate ways after the game. (The team members are
acting individually)
2.3.2.7 Noun Ending in ‘-s’ as Subject
Most nouns that end in ‘-s’ are plural, but others present agreement
problems. Some nouns are plural in form but singular in meaning because they
refer to a single thing or a unit, such as news, civics, the United States, measles,
physics, mathematics, and economics. Use singular verbs with these nouns
(Leggett et al., 1985: 68).
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Example:
The news seems good.
Mathematics is an interesting subject for me.
Other nouns ending in ‘-s’ take a plural verb even though they refer to one thing
or one pair, such as scissors, ashes, oats, riches, pliers, trousers, pants,
spectacles, clothes, and thanks.
Example:
His pants look too long.
My trousers are dirty.
A few nouns ending in s may be either singular or plural, depending on the
meaning of the sentence, such as politics, athletics, and headquarters.
Example:
Athletics is my favorite subject.
Athletics provide good recreation.
2.3.2.8 Titles and Names as Subject
The title of a book, story, play, movie, television program, musical
composition, or magazine refers to an individual work. It is singular, even though
it may include plural words. The name of the country or of an organization is also
singular when it refers to an entire country or group (Leggett et al., 1985: 68).
Use a singular verb with a subject that is a title or is the name of a country
or of an organization.
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Example:
The Times presents more features than other newspapers.
Twelve Angry Men is a powerful drama.
2.3.2.9 Words Indicating Amount and Time as Subject
With fractional expressions (fractions or decimal equivalents), the verb
will be determined by what is being measured: is it countable or not. Use a
singular verb with a subject that expresses a fraction, a measurement, an amount
of money, a distance, or a specific interval of time when it refers to a single unit
(Leggett et al., 1985: 68).
Example:
Ten centimeters is less than five inches.
Forty-eight hours is not enough for him to complete the task.
Two-fifths of the students do not agree with the decision. Half
of the grain is ruined.
Numerical expressions are usually singular, but they can be plural if the
individuals within a numerical group are acting individually. Use also a plural
verb when the subject expresses a length of time or an amount that is considered
as a number of separate units.
Example:
One-half of the faculty is retiring this summer.
One-half of the faculty have doctorates.
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Five years have passed since I’ve seen her in Jakarta.
Two dimes were left in the table.
2.3.2.10 Verbal Phrase Subject
Sometimes an ‘-ing’ or ‘to infinitive’ verb form is used as a noun. A
phrase containing one of these forms may appear as the subject of a sentence. In
these cases, the subject is always singular and the verb must also be singular.
Example:
Knowing her has made him happy.
To see is to believe.
2.3.2.11 The Subjects consist of a positive and a negative subject and one is
plural,
the other singular
According to Christ (1975: 317), when the sentence has two subjects, one
is positive and the other is negative; and one is plural, the other singular, the verb
should agree with the positive subject.
Example:
The department members but not the chair have decided not to teach on
Valentine’s Day
It is not the faculty members but the president who decides this issue