The common errors in using some skinds of nouns in english made by the eleventh grade student at nguyen trai hight school, thai binh

Therefore, the research titled “The common errors in using some kinds of nouns in English made by the eleventh- grade students at Nguyen Trai high school, Thai Binh and suggested solutio

HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N 0 2 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FACULTY

NGUYEN THI QUYEN

THE COMMON ERRORS IN USING SOME KINDS OF NOUNS IN ENGLISH MADE BY THE ELEVENTH – GRADE STUDENTS AT NGUYEN TRAI HIGH SCHOOL, THAI BINH

(GRADUATION PAPER SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE DEGREE OF BACHLOR OF ARTS IN ENGLISH)

SUPERVISOR: NGUYEN THI LE NGUYEN, M A

Hanoi, May 2014

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

This research is the fruit of the labor of mine and supervisor, Mrs Nguyen

Le Nguyen, M.A She guided me while I was doing research I would like to express my deepest thanks to her I am truly grateful to her ideas and her comments Bedsides, I would like to give many thanks to my friends who helped

me to do exercises in my survey From this, I can find the mistakes in using some nouns My thanks are also expressed to my friends for their comments

I wish to give my thanks to all the lecturers in the Foreign Language Faculty in Ha Noi pedagogical University Number 2 where I am studying

Last but not least, I owe my debt of gratitude to my parents who always encourage my spirit to complete this research

ABSTRACT

In English, noun plays an important role in a sentence Nouns are an interesting category of English Grammar Moreover, it is also familiar with students who studying English However, the exercises about nouns sometimes are not easy for students to understand and study There are some students who don‟t know how to do the exercises about some common kinds of nouns well There were many questions relating to some kinds of nouns

Because of lacking the knowledge about the common kinds of nouns, many students in high school make mistakes when doing exercises and English tests about some common kinds of nouns Therefore, the research titled “The common errors in using some kinds of nouns in English made by the eleventh- grade students at Nguyen Trai high school, Thai Binh and suggested solutions” The research focuses on showing the possible uses of some basic kinds of nouns and compound nouns in a sentence Moreover, basing on a survey, I will find some common errors that students at Nguyen Trai high school make Last but not least, some suggested solutions are given to minimize mistakes in doing some kinds of nouns as common, proper and compound nouns

STATEMENT OF THE AUTHORSHIP TITLE: COMMON ERRORS IN USING THE NOUNS AND SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS

(Graduation paper submitted in partial fulfillment of the Degree

Of Bachelor of Arts in English)

I certify that I do the research without copying from another books or research‟s

Some basic knowledge from English grammar books, some blogs, and some websites but I quoted the resource The report is originally written by the guidance of my supervisor and I myself develop the details and do thesis

Date of submission: April, 2014

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART ONE INTRODUCTION

I Rationale 1

II Research objectives 2

III Research scope 2

IV Research tasks 3

V Research methods 3

VI Significance of the proposed research 3

VII Design of the research work 4

PART TWO INVESTIGATION CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUD I.1 Literature review in brief 6

I.2 Nouns 8

I.2.1 Definition 8

I.2.2 Functions 8

I.2.2.1 Subject of a verb 8

I.2.2.2 Object of a verb 8

I.2.2.3 Object of the preposition 9

I.2.2.4 Complement of “be” or a related verb like “seem” or “become” 9

I.2.2.5 In possessive cases 10

I.2.2.6 In a direct sentence to speak to somebody 10

I.2.3 Common nouns 10

I.2.3.1 Singular nouns 11

I.2.3.2 Plural nouns 11

I.2.3.2.1 Regular plurals 12

I.2.3.2.2 Irregular plurals 12

I.2.4 Proper nouns 12

I.3 Compound nouns 13

I.3.1 Definition 13

I.3.2 Word- class combination compound nouns 14

I.3.3 Plural form of compound nouns 14

I.3.3.1 Pluralize the principle word 15

I.3.3.2 No principle word 15

I.3.4 Functions 16

I.3.4.1 As a subject 16

I.3.4.2 As a direct object 16

I.3.4.3 As an indirect object 16

I.3.4.4 As an appositive 16

I.3.4.5 As an object complement 16

CHAPTER TWO METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS II.1 METHODOLOGY 17

II.1.1 Purpose of the survey 17

II.1.2 Population of the survey 17

II.1.3 Type of the survey 18

II.1.4 Construction of the survey 18

I.1.4.1 Question items 18

I.1.4.2 Arrangement of the survey 19

II.1.5 Preparation of the survey 19

II.1.6 Administration of the try-out 19

II.1.7 Methods of data analysis 20

II.1.8 Results of the survey 20

II.2 DISCUSSION OF RESULTS 24

II.2.1 Errors in using irregular plural nouns 24

II.2.2 Errors in using plural and singular compound nouns 24

II.2.3 Errors in using singular nouns 25

II.2.4 Errors in pronouncing plural nouns 26

II.2.5 Errors in identifying the different meanings of common nouns with singular and plural forms 26

II.2.6 Errors in using proper nouns 27

II.2.7 Errors in using regular plural nouns 27

II.2.8 Errors in combining words to make a compound noun 28

II.3 SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS 28

II.3.1 On the part of students 29

II.3.2 On the part of teachers 29

II.4 SUGGESTED SOURCES AND EXERCISES FOR LEARNING THE NOUNS 30

II.4.1: Suggested sources 30

II.4.2: Suggested exercises 31

PART THREE CONCLUSION I Summary the researching process and implication 37

II Limitations and suggestions for further research 38

REFERENCES

APPENDICES

SURVEY QUESTIONAIRE

PART ONE INTRODUCTION

I RATIONALE

Nowadays, English becomes the most widely used language in the world Thanks to English, different nations with different languages and culture could close Grammar is an essential part of every language L.G Alexander (2009:p1) denoted that we should learn grammar because "there is no point in learning grammar for the sake of learning grammar Grammar is the support system of communication and we learn it to communicate better Grammar explains the

"why" and "how" of language We learn it because we just can't do without it”

As adjective and adverb, etc Noun plays an important role in a sentence It makes the sentence to be emphasized Noun is known as a part of English grammar It is also a linguistic element Especially, nouns occurred in not only English Grammar but also in Advanced English Grammar books In fact, there are many grammarians have done research on many kinds of nouns There are many English grammar books tell about the classification of nouns and its functions Additionally, some blogs of learning English online have talked about the use of nouns There are many exercises of nouns in the final tests or in the exams However, something sometimes is not easy to understand Therefore, students who study the second language sometimes make some mistakes in using some kinds of nouns

With the aim of helping learners of English to overcome some difficulties

in using some kinds of nouns, and with the aim of making the nouns to be more familiar with students, this research will help students to have a correct view of common nouns with singular and plural forms, proper nouns as well as compound nouns to minimize the mistakes in uses From this, they can understand nouns as a part of English grammar They will not to be confused when doing tests that relating to some kinds of them

II RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The study is aimed at achieving the following goals:

٧ To distinguish common kinds of nouns

٧ To show the definition, the uses of nouns and some examples

٧ To show the use of common nouns, singular and plural, proper nouns as well as compound nouns

٧ To find out the common errors which students usually make when using

some kinds of nouns

III RESEARCH SCOPE

In this research, the main object is the nouns The research focuses on the uses of common nouns, plural and singular nouns, proper nouns as well as compound nouns, some examples of them Especially, the important thing is to find out some common errors when using some kinds of nouns made by the eleventh- grade students at Nguyen Trai high school, Thai Binh, Vietnam

The population involved in the study is 50 students of grade 11 at Nguyen Trai high school where I studied Students are in grade 11 who had many final exams in English subject The reason I choose them to do the research is that they have a various level of English and almost students in the grade 11 have a deep knowledge in English grammar, nouns are more familiar with them Although the uses of nouns are occurred in some exercises and exams, they still were not easy to study and understand There are many students who didn‟t do exercises relating to common kinds of nouns well This research intends to serve the teaching practices and to help the students understand some kinds of nouns

in English grammar with an easy way and effective way

IV RESEARCH TASKS

The research work involves fulfilling a number of tasks:

√ To show an overview of common kinds of nouns in English Grammar

√ To study the definition and the uses of common nouns, singular, plural, proper, as well as compound nouns in English grammar, some examples

√ To find possible errors that students usually make in using common kinds of nouns Of course, there will be some causes for these errors Some suggested solutions to minimize errors will also be given

V RESEARCH METHODS

Because the major aim of researching is to find out some common errors

of students in using some kinds of nouns, the main research method is “survey questionnaire” This method is popular in doing research, there are many relevant documents which critically reviewed and referred to The results are commented on and carefully classified The errors are analyzed with the assistance of examination, description and interpretation Moreover, questionnaire survey gives the students an opportunity to express their opinions and needs without fear either to be embarrassed or to be punished Students are not required to put the names when answering questions

VI SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RESEARCH

The research studies the uses of some common kinds of nouns in term of formal grammar It also shows common errors the students always make as well

as the causes for these mistakes The suggested solutions are also given based on the reasons discovered As a consequence, the research naturally has some significance to students and teachers as well as everyone who is interested in

On the part of the students, they can refer to the study in order to improve

their knowledge of the nouns as definition, the uses, examples of common, proper, singular, plural nouns as well as compound nouns and so on In addition, they can themselves avoid some errors in using some basic kinds of nouns Consequently, they will be interested in studying a part of speech called

“nouns” This research helps students to do exercises of some kinds of nouns or using them correctly and effectively Moreover, in speaking, when communicating with foreigners, they can make the sentences with a right way

On the part of the teachers, by viewing the errors, causes and suggested

solutions for using nouns that research shows, teachers can have new methods to teach students and help them to study and understand in easy ways and effective ways Moreover, teachers can themselves improve their basic knowledge of using some kinds of nouns based on some examples and exercises Exercises in this survey will help teachers to have more kinds of exercises for their students Additionally, anyone who interested in nouns or anyone who usually make the mistakes in using some kinds of nouns can read and view this research to improve their grammar knowledge and to find the ways to avoid making mistakes when using them

For all reasons above, this research is useful and helpful for everyone

VII DESIGN OF THE RESEARCH

The research consists of three main parts:

Part one, Introduction, introduces the reasons for choosing the topic (or

rationale), research scope, research tasks, research method, research significance

as well as the research design (the organization of the research)

Part two, Investigation There are two major chapters The first one is

“Theoretical background” which shows the literature review in brief, the overview of nouns, especially; it shows the information about common,

singular, plural and proper nouns as well as compound nouns Another chapter is called “Methodology and results” In this chapter, something relating to the survey questionnaire, some common errors and causes as well as suggested solutions are given

The last part is known as Conclusion It is used to summarize the key

points of the research It also helps the reader to ensure that they understand the content divided or not

PART TWO: INVESTIGATION Chapter I: Theoretical Background I.1 Literature review in brief

In English, noun is known as a part of English Grammar It is also a linguistic element In fact, there are many grammarians have done research on common nouns with singular and plural forms, proper and compound nouns such as Betty, A.Z (2000), Murphy, R (2004), Riggs, K (2013), Spratt, M , Pulvemess, A & Williams, M (2005), R.A Close (1979), Peter, P ( 2004), Huddleston, R & Pullum, G K (2002), Hewings, M (1999), and so on They each have their own way to describe the overview of nouns Normally, they focus their attention to the definition, the uses, and give some common examples However, some authors concentrate on the difference between many types of nouns The following details will describe again something relating to nouns and its types that many grammarians have done

In Understanding and Using English Grammar written by Betty, A Z

(2000), the irregular and regular plural nouns are mentioned With the regular plurals, they often end with “s” or “es”

Riggs, K (2013), with the book Nouns It tells us about an interview of

nouns in sentences, some common types of nouns concluding proper noun and how to spot singular and plural form However, compound noun- an interesting part as well as an important part is not mentioned

Kam Chuan Aik & Kam Kai Hui (1992), in the book Longman Dictionary

of Grammar and Usage gives a definition of the nouns and compound nouns

The most interesting thing is “compound nouns are written as separate words

(grapefruit juice), as words linked by a hyphen (sister-in-law), or as one word

The Cambridge Grammar of the English Language of Huddleston, R &

Pullum, G K (2002) tells us the part of speech as verb, adjective and nouns However, they also give a short view of them The book helps students to

understand more about nouns, verb + noun phrase with some examples In some cases, this book is useful and necessary

In the book A Reference Grammar for Students of English, R.A Close

(1979) describes the functions of the compound noun as well as the difference between the compound nouns and other parts of speech “Words can be

combined to form compound nouns They normally have two parts The first

part tells us what kind of object or person it is The second part identifies the

object or person in question

Spratt, M , Pulvemess, A & Williams, M (2005) The Teaching

Knowledge Test According to this book, plural forms can be regular or irregular

form They implement that compound name is a combination of two or more words which are used as a single word ( a flower shop, a headache)

In English Grammar Understanding the Basics of Altenberg, E P &

Vago, R M (2010) The difference between this book and another book is that they denote the way to identify a noun and more details of plural nouns including regular plurals and irregular plurals However, they lack an important part of linguistic element called “compound nouns”.,

In The Cambridge Guide to English Usage (2004), Peter denotes “ nouns

are the word that express the tangible, intangible and visible things of our experience” The most interesting of his book is that he mentions to a special

case of the word “no” It serves as a noun and the plural form of “no” – noes

Murphy, R (2004) English Grammar in Use (2004) The uses of many

nouns are given Especially, there are many exercises to help students to practices their English grammar This book is really useful and necessary In addition, in stead of giving the definition of compound nouns, he shows the one small kind of word combination of compound noun- “noun + noun” case

Hewings, M (1999) with the book Advanced Grammar in Use An

interview about nouns and compound nouns can make the reader understand the basic knowledge The author points out an important part of element linguistics

called “compound nouns” In spite of a helpful book, Hewings doesn‟t point out some common errors that students usually make when using nouns and compound nouns, some suggested solutions are not given

In fact, much research has been done on some kinds of nouns and its uses Their contributions make the picture of nouns more comprehensively However, there is no research on some common errors that Vietnamese students often make when using nouns There is no suggestion to help students avoid making mistakes in uses Unluckily, there are many Vietnamese students make the mistakes in using common nouns with singular and plural forms and compound nouns They do the exams not well, and make the mistakes in both speaking and writing skill In many Grammar exercises, students do incorrectly In this research, I concentrate on finding out some common errors that students often make in using some basic kinds of nouns as well as giving some suggested solutions

I.2 Nouns

I.2.1 Definition

According to the website http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noun, nouns are a part of speech typically denoting a person, place, thing, animal or idea In linguistics, a noun is a member of a large, open lexical category whose members can occur as the main word in the subject of a clause, the object of a verb, or the object of a preposition

I.2.2 Functions

I.2.2.1 Subject of a verb

Elephants eat grass

Noun plays as a subject of a verb The animal which eats grass is the elephant

I.2.2.2 Object of a verb

To understand more the function of nouns as the object of a verb, we look

at the following example:

Mr Minh washed the dishes

The authorities commended Roberta

I sent Stephanie the camera

With the first sentence, after the verb “washed” is “the dishes” A question

is what Mr Minh washed The answer is “car” Car is the direct object of the

verb “washed”

With the second sentence, answer: Roberta Roberta is the direct object of

the verb “commended”

With the last example, the question is I sent the camera to whom?

Answer: Stephanie Stephanie is the indirect object

From some examples above, we can give the conclusion that:

√ we can identify a direct object by asking what or whom

√ we also can identify an indirect object by asking to what, for what, or to whom, for whom

I.2.2.3 Object of the preposition

He hangs the picture on the wall

He pulled the little red wagon to the store

For the first sentence, “on” is a preposition, and the object of this preposition is the noun “the wall”

For the second sentence, “to” is a preposition, and the object of this preposition is the noun “the store”

I.2.2.4 Complement of “be” or a related verb like “seem” or “become”

An intransitive verb cannot accept an object A noun that follows an intransitive verb and completes the meaning of a sentence is called a

complement The complement stands after “be” or a related verb like “seem” or

“become”:

I am a student

The noun “student” stands after be “are”

I.2.2.5 In possessive cases

A noun can be used to modify another noun A noun can also convey a sense of possession Consider the following example:

The town's water supply is in jeopardy

The word “town” is a noun In the sentence above the word “town's” identifies which water supply is in jeopardy “Town's” is possessive case The town possesses the water supply

I.2.2.6 In a direct sentence to speak to somebody

Have you visited London, Lan?

Noticed that we have to use a comma before the proper noun which refers

to somebody we speak to Comma should be also used between the two last items

I.2.3 Common nouns

According to “Cambridge Grammar Understanding the Basics”, nouns

that are not names are called “common nouns” A common noun is a word that names people, places, things, or ideas

E.g boys, girl, people, sofa, brother, tissues, etc

A common noun begins with a lowercase letter unless it is at the beginning of a sentence

E.g People: man, girl, boy, mother, father, child, person, teacher, student Animals: cat, dog, fish, ant, snake

Normally, we do not capitalize the common nouns in the sentences

I.2.3.1 Singular nouns

Singular noun is a kind of nouns, it represents only one object Singular form also tells us about the number

Singular nouns can be counted and used with the article “a/an”

E.g boy, girl, cat, book, etc

The words “news”, “mumps”, “measles” have the singular form

I.2.3.2 Plural nouns

The plural noun denotes more than one object Plural form likes singular form, it also tells us about number

E.g boys, girls, cats, days, countries, etc

If a noun has a plural form, it can be used in the question with “how many”

Some nouns in the English language take the plural forms: trousers, glasses

The plural form can take the different meaning:

E.g People (con người) – peoples (các dân tộc)

Bond (liên kết) – bonds (trái phiếu)

We can use “a pair of” + these words:

Those are nice jeans = that‟s a nice pair of jeans (not a nice jean)

I need some new glasses = I need a new pair of glasses

Some nouns end in “ics” but are not usually plural

E.g athletics, economics, electronics, gymnastics, physics

Usually, we pluralize a noun by adding “s” to it, as in books; these nouns are called regular There are a handful of nouns that are written in other ways, these nouns are called irregular”

I.2.3.2.1 Regular plural

Normally, we will add “s” to the singular If “s” stands after a voiceless consonant, it is pronounced /s/ Another way of making plurals based on the

book Cambridge Grammar Understanding the Basics is to add “s” sound if the

last sound of the word is a voiceless sound”

E.g book- books

Garden- gardens Chair- chairs When the noun ends in “s, x, ch, or sh” the plural is formed by adding “es”

to the singular It is pronounced /iz/

E.g glass - glasses box- boxes dish - dishes

But if the “o” is preceded by a vowel, the plural is formed by simply adding “s” to the singular

E.g bamboo- bamboos studio- studios

I.2.3.2.2 Irregular plural

Irregular nouns form their plurals in different ways Here are some common patterns:

√ changing a vowel: man – men, woman- women

√ adding “ren” or “en”: child- children, ox- oxen

√ adding nothing: fish- fish, sheep- sheep

√ changing “f” to “v” and then adding “s”: knife- knives

√ changing “y” in the singular into “ies” if “y” stands after a consonant : country- countries, lady- ladies,

I.2.4 Proper nouns

There are many definitions of proper nouns in English written by the

different grammarians According to the book “Master the Basic English”, Jean

Yates denotes that proper nouns are specific names of individual people, groups

of people, places, and things They are written with capital letters”

E.g Mary Smith, Canadian, New York, etc

Another definition of proper noun: A proper noun is used for a particular person, thing, place, or idea which is imaged to be unique

E.g Marry, London, Ha Noi, etc

It is generally spelt with an initial capital letter Normally, there is no article in front of the proper nouns

The proper nouns can be the plural form to denote the whole family

E.g the Taylors, the Browns, etc

Many shops, restaurants, hotels or banks are named after the people who started them These names end in –s or –„s

E.g Lloyds Bank, Brown‟s Restaurant, etc

Most proper nouns do not use “the”- just think the name of people you know

I.3 Compound nouns

In the book A Reference Grammar for Students of English, R.A Close

(1979) tells us compound nouns normally have two parts The first part tells us what kind of object or person it is, or what its purpose is (water, black, bed,

etc.) The second part identifies the object or person in question (man, room, friend, etc.)

I.3.2 Word- class combination compound nouns

Compound nouns can be formed by using the following word combinations:

1 Noun + Noun: toothpaste, bedroom, water tank, motorcycle, etc

2 Adjective + Noun: software, redhead, blackboard, full moon, etc

3 Verb + Noun: swimming pool, washing machine, breakfast, etc

4 Preposition + Noun: underground, underworld, undersea, etc

5 Noun + Verb: haircut, sunrise, etc

6 Noun + Preposition: hanger-on, passer-by, mother-in-law, etc

7 Adverb + noun: onlooker, bystander, etc

8 Verb + preposition: drawback, check-in, lookout, etc

9 Preposition + Verb: output, input, overthrow, etc

10 Adjective + Verb: dry-cleaning, public-speaking, etc

I.3.3 Plural forms of compound nouns

Generally, we make the plural of a compound noun by adding –s to the

“base word”

one assistant headmaster five assistant headmasters

the sergeant major some sergeants major

an assistant secretary of state two assistant secretaries of state

a woman-doctor three women-doctors

a doctor of philosophy two doctors of philosophy

I.3.3.1 Pluralize the principle word

The vast majority of compound nouns form their plurals by adding “s” to the principle word

E.g

I have two mothers-in-law (plural of mother-in-law)

Daughters- in- law (plural of daughter- in- law)

I.3.3.2 No principle word

When there is no obvious principal word, we add “s” or “es” to the end of the compound nouns

Forget-me-nots make a wonderful present (Plural of forget-me-not)

Some compound nouns have no obvious base word and you may need to consult a dictionary to find the plural:

√ Higher-ups √ Also-rans

√ Go-betweens √ Good-for-nothings

We have to note that compound nouns made of noun + noun, the second noun take an “-s” for plural The first noun acts like an adjective:

Long plural form plural compound noun

100 trees with apples 100 apple trees

20 boxes for tools 20 tool boxes

The second notice is that with compound nouns which are made of noun + noun, the first noun is an adjective and therefore it does not usually take an “–s”

I.3.4 Function

I.3.4.1 As a subject

According to Quick, R & Greenbaum, S (1993), in the book A

University Grammar of English, a subject is normally a noun or a clause with a

nominal function

The bathtub in the kids‟ bathroom is full

I.3.4.2 As a direct object

E.g I gave a beautiful gift for her

In this example, “beautiful gift” is a noun phrase This phrase contains two words “beautiful” and “gift” “Beautiful gift” is a direct object; “her” is an indirect object

I.3.4.3 As an indirect object

My boy friend bought a new computer to his sister

In this example, “his sister” is an indirect object

I.3.4.4 As an appositive

An appositive is a word that renames a noun that it is adjacent to, such as: “Rueck, my lovely dog, ran down the street”

Another example: Huong, my best friend, has visited London for 2 weeks

I.3.4.5 As an object complement

A compound noun can be an object complement, which follows the noun

or pronoun it modifies

An example is “We elected her mother-in-law mayor.”

CHAPTER TWO: METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS

This chapter presents the findings of the practical research with the eleventh- grade students at Nguyen Trai high school, Thai Binh province It is arranged into four main sections The first section is “methodology” relating to the survey questionnaire From this, the information about the purpose, the population, type, construction, preparation, method and results of the survey are given The second section tells us some common errors and reasonable causes in using some kinds of nouns The third one presents the suggested solutions to minimize such errors The last section shows the suggested sources and exercises for learning nouns

II.1 METHODOLOGY

II.1.1 Purpose of the survey

In this research, questionnaire survey was chosen for some reasons Firstly, it is believed that questionnaire survey can help the researcher reach the large number of people in a very short time Secondly, the collected data of the questionnaire are relatively easy to summarize and report as all informants answer the same questions Moreover, questionnaire is an inexpensive way to gather the data from the respondents

Last but not least, the questionnaire survey gives the students an opportunity to express their opinions and needs without fear either to be embarrassed or to be punished Students are not required to write names when answering questions

II.1.2 Population of the survey

The population involved in the study is 50 students of grade 11 at Nguyen Trai high school who have to learn English as a compulsory subject Most of them have been learning English for 6 years Some have learnt English for 8 years Therefore, the expected English level among them is intermediate Naturally, they have been taught the rules of using some common kinds of

nouns as well as compound nouns Some of them are really good at grammar, but some of them are bad at grammar in general and nouns concord in particular

II.1.3 Type of the survey

The survey includes 8 types: choosing the best answers, correct the form

of nouns in plural and singular, choose the right words to make compound nouns, identifying sentences are True or False, choose the meaning of underlined words, identifying the nouns in singular, plural or both singular and plural form, choose the underlined words have the different pronunciation and give the plural form of compound nouns

II.1.4 Construction of the survey

II.1.4.1 Question items

There are some errors in using some kinds of nouns in English; however it

is impossible for a survey to explore all errors in field Therefore, it is necessary

to predict the possible errors related to the uses of some kinds of nouns In this survey, the possible errors were classified into the following categories:

1 Errors in using regular plural nouns with ten items

2 Errors in using irregular plural nouns with eleven items

3 Errors in identifying singular nouns with six items

4 Errors in pronunciation of plural nouns with five items

5 Errors in identifying the different meanings of common nouns in singular and plural forms with four items

6 Errors in using proper nouns with four items

7 Errors in combining words to make the compound nouns with five items

8 Errors in using plural forms of compound nouns with seven items

II.1.4.2 Arrangement of the survey questionnaire

In an attempt to find out common errors in using some kinds of nouns, questions were taken from different areas to survey The questions in the survey were arranged into the following groups:

1 To test the uses of regular plural nouns, numbers 1, 2, 6, 8, 10, 15, 21,

22, and 40

2 To test the uses of irregular forms, numbers 9, 11, 12, 13, 14, 24, 25,

27, 36, 37, and 39

3 To test the uses of singular nouns, numbers 3, 4, 7, 35, 36, 37, and 38

4 To test the uses of proper nouns, numbers 5, 26, 28, and 30

5 To test the combining words to make the compound nouns, numbers

8 To test the pronunciation of plural nouns, numbers 41 to 45

II.1.5 Preparation of the survey

Before the survey was carried out, the teacher who teaches English for two classes and pupils of these classes were asked for permission and cooperation to

do the survey questionnaire

II.1.6 Administration of the try- out

The try- out was conducted on April, 12 th, 2014 Fifty students of class 11A5 and 11A6 were gathered in a classroom and were asked to answer the questions in the questionnaire as well as they could They were instructed carefully by oral before answering Importantly, they were noticed the result of the questionnaire was to use only for the researcher and it made no influence on

their studying results This is an opportunity for them to check their abilities and their knowledge about nouns and compound nouns Therefore, the students made their real effort to perform their abilities The limited time for 50 questions was 60 minutes

II.1.7 Method of data analysis

The data was analyzed in some steps:

In the first step, the researcher took the students‟ self- assessment about how many years of studying English and their levels of English into consideration

In the second step, test papers were marked and errors in using some kinds

of nouns were found

In the third step, the percentage of each type of errors was calculated and shown in a bar chart by the following smaller steps:

1 The total number of questions of each category in 50 papers was calculated

2 The total errors sentences of each type were counted

3 The total percentage of errors of each type was calculated and shown in a bar chart

In the last one, the percentage of errors was ranked from the highest to the lowest as well as the suggested solutions were given

II.1.8 Results of the survey

The purpose of this part is to state what was found after carrying out the survey Fifty survey papers were handed out and all of them were collected From the result of survey questionnaire (completed result), it showed some common errors which students make in using common, singular, plural, proper nouns as well as compounds in sentences