CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background the Study

Structure or grammar is one of language aspects which plays a very

important role in learning language. It is the main component particularly in

building sentences. The rules of English grammar have become an integral part of

students knowledge. It enables them to produce English sentences that are

grammatically acceptable and therefore comprehensible. As a matter of fact,

students get some difficulties in mastering structure. There are many errors they

make during their learning structure. The system of English grammar will be

different from the system of the learners native language. Thus, the main problem

on learning a foreign language is the learners grammatical errors.

The learners errors generally happen on the complex grammatical rules of

foreign language. Some rules are extremely complex, such as Subject-verb

agreement. It is one of the materials learned in school. It is frequently used in

daily activities especially in writing. It is one of the structural problems and has

some rules to be remembered by the students and must be applied in the form of

sentences.

Subject - verb agreement is an important tool in creating clear and

effective writing. If the students use plural subject with singular verb, or singular

1
 2

subject with plural verb, their sentence will destruct the structure. In such

situation, students are likely to be confused about what action is taking place and

the number of people who are performing it. In other word, Subject-verb

agreement is the matching of subject and verb according to person and number.

This means that if the subject of a sentence is singular, the verb must be singular

(singular subject + singular verb ), and if the subject is plural, the verb must also

be plural ( plural subject + plural verb ) Anuku (2013:3).

For example:

1. (a) Sam are going to the zoo tomorrow

(b) Sam is going to the zoo tomorrow

2. (a) Ani live in Jakarta

(b) Ani lives in Jakarta

In the first example, Sam is singular subject thus the suitable verb for the

subject is singular verb is not are. are is plural verb that can only be used by the

second person (you) and the third person plural. It means, sentence 1 (a) is

incorrect and the sentence 1 (b) is correct. In the second example, Ana is singular

subject thus the suitable verb for the subject is singular verb lives not live. Verb

that used in the singular subject should be given s become lives. It means,

sentence 2 (a) is incorrect and the sentence 2 (b) is correct.

Some students have difficulty in using subject verb agreement. They are

difficult in placing the right verb according the subject. They are difficult in

differentiate the singular and plural verb or subject.

 3

For that reason the writer intends to do a research entitled AN

ANALYSIS OF THE STUDENTS ERROR IN USING SUBJECT VERB

AGREEMENT AT THE EIGHTH GRADE STUDENTS OF SMP IT ULIL

ALBAB ACADEMIC YEARS 2015/2016.

B. Identification of the Study

There are some problem faced by students of eight Grade at SMP IT Ulil

albab, students lack of knowledge in using subject verb agreement and did

not student how to use subject verb agreement in the right position. In this

study, the writer focuses to students understanding in subject verb-

agreement.

C. Limitations of the Study

It is important to make the limitation of the problem, to avoid

misunderstanding and to clarify the problem. In this research, the writer limits

the research on :

1. Analysis the students error subject - verb agreement in using some,

each / every, there + be and some irregularities through their task.

2. The types of error are error of omission, addition, selection and

ordering.
 4

D. Formulation of the Study

Based on the limitation of the study above, the problem are formulated :

1. What types of subject verb agreement do the students often make

Errors?

2. What is the most types of error committed error makes by the students

in using subject verb agreement?

E. Objective of the Study

The study is aimed at finding the answer to questions stated in problem

formulation. More specifically, this study aim to :

1. To find out types subject verb agreement that students often make

errors.

2. To fine out the most types of error committed makes students in using

subject verb agreement.

F. Significance of the Study

The writer hopes that this research will have some benefits in English

teaching and learning.

1. Theoretical Benefit

a. The finding of the research will be useful for the students of junior

high school to know their problem and difficulties.

 5

b. It will give experience and clear understanding about errors in subject-

verb agreement to the readers.

2. Practical benefit

a. The study was intended to be one of consideration for English

teachers who want to apply the strategy or increase technique of

teaching English.

b. The study can help students, by giving input about error they

encounter and how to overcome them.