Common errors in the use of adjectives made by the students in grade eleven at hoang quoc viet high school

Hanoi pedagogical university n .2 Foreign language faculty Duong thi thu cuc Common errors in the use of adjectives made by the students in grade eleven at hoang quoc viet high school

Hanoi pedagogical university n 2 Foreign language faculty

Duong thi thu cuc

Common errors in the use of adjectives made

by the students in grade eleven at hoang

quoc viet high school (Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree

of bachelor of arts in English)

Supervisor: Phi thi tho, B.A

Hanoi, May 2013

PART ONE Acknowledgement

I would like to take this chance to express my greatest gratitude to Mrs Phi Thi Tho, B.A., my supervisor for her invaluable support and careful guidance as well as encouragement, suggestions and advice throughout the process of writing this thesis Besides, I would like to thank to the librarians of Hanoi Pedagogical University Number 2 who have helped me in the preparation and writing this thesis

I would like to express my thanks to my all beloved lectures who always

motivated and suggested me to finish my thesis soon Furthermore, I would like to thank all my friends who never stop encouraging me to finish my thesis

In addition, I want to express my special thank to students in class 11 at Hoang Quoc Viet High School because of their support in the survey

Last but not least, I own a debt of gratitude to my beloved family, for their whole – hearted encouragement and endless support

Abstract

It is a fact that adjective is one of the essential parts to form a sentence in

English grammar Adjective is frequently used in daily life such as describing things, objects, or expressing feeling, emotion As well known, English adjectives are

diversified in many forms, meanings as well as usages It takes learners quite a long time to understand adjectives deeply

As a result, students of English often make errors when they use adjectives Therefore, this research work is focused on investigating common errors in the uses

of adjectives Actually, the most important purpose is to show how to use the

adjectives and to suggest some solutions to the problem

Based on material analysis and error analysis, the types of errors and causes have been found Solutions to the problems have been suggested

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Title: Common errors in the use of adjectives made by the students in grade

eleven at Hoang Quoc Viet High School

(Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for degree of Bachelor

of Arts in English)

I certify that no part in this thesis has been copied from any other person’s work without acknowledgement and that the thesis is originally written by me under the instructions from my supervisor

Date submitted: May 2013

Student Duong Thi Thu Cuc

Supervisor Phi Thi Tho

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgement i

Abstract ii

Statement of authorship iii

Table of contents iv

PART ONE INTRODUCTION I Rationale 1

II Research presupposition 1

III Research objectives 2

IV Research scope 2

V Research tasks 2

VI Research methods 2

VII Significance of the proposed research 3

VIII Design of the research work 3

PART TWO DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACGROUND I.1 Literature review in brief 4

I.2 Adjectives 5

I.2.1 Definition of adjectives 5

I.2.2 Classification of adjectives 6

I.2.2.1 Descriptive adjectives 6

I.2.2.2 Limiting adjectives 7

I.2.2.2.1 Demonstrative adjectives 7

I.2.2.2.2 Possessive adjectives 8

I.2.2.2.3 Interrogative adjectives 8

I.2.2.2.4 Quantitative adjectives 8

I.2.2.2.5 Distributive adjectives 9

I.2.2.2.6 Proper adjectives 10

I.2.3 Positions of adjectives 10

I.2.3.1 Adjectives are placed before the nouns 10

I.2.3.2 Adjectives are placed after the nouns 10

I.2.3.2.1 Adjectives are placed after the nouns of measurement 10

I.2.3.2.2 Adjectives are placed after the nouns in certain set phrases 11

I.2.3.2.3 More than one adjective is used to modify a noun 11

I.2.3.3 Adjectives which can come before or after nouns 11

I.2.3.3.1 Adjectives before or after nouns with no change in meaning 11

I.2.3.3.2 Adjectives before or after nouns with a change in meaning 11

I.2.3.4 Adjectives are placed after to be and linking verbs 12

I.2.3.5 Adjectives are placed after the objects (used as an object complement 12

I.2.3.6 Adjectives are placed after indefinite pronouns 12

I.2.3.7 Adjectives are placed after adverbs 13

I.2.4 The uses of adjectives 13

I.2.4.1 Adjectives used attributively and predicatively 13

I.2.4.2 Adjectives used only attributively 13

I.2.4.3 Adjectives used only predicatively 13

I.2.4.3.1 Predicative adjectives beginning with “a” 14

I.2.4.3.2 Predicative adjectives describing health 14

I.2.4.3.3 Predicative adjectives describing fellings 14

I.2.4.4 Adjectival participles ending in “-ed” and “-ing 14

I.2.4.5 Present participle verbs and past participle verbs used as adjectives 15

I.2.4.6 Nouns that behave like adjectives 15

I.2.4.7 Adjectives used as nouns 15

I.2.4.7.1 “The” + adjective 15

I.2.4.7.2 Adjectives referring to colors 16

I.2.5 The order of adjectives 16

I.2.5.1 The order of adjectives 16

I.2.5.2 The use of commas and “and” to separate adjectives 17

I.2.5.2.1 Separating adjectives used attributively 17

I.2.5.2.2 Separating adjectives used predicatively 17

CHAPTER TWO COMMON ERRORS IN THE USES OF ADJECTIVES II.1 Survey 18

II.1.1 Purposes of the survey 18

II.1.2 Population of the survey 19

II.1.3.Type of the survey 19

II.1.4 Construction of the test 19

II.1.5 Preparation of the survey 19

II.1.5.1 Test items 19

II.1.5.2 Arrangement of the test items 20

II.1.6 Administration of the try out 21

II.1.6.1 Preparation of the try out 21

II.1.6.2 Try out 21

II.1.7 Method of data analysis 21

II.1.8 Results of the survey 21

II.2 Common errors and causes 25

II.2.1 Errors in ordering adjectives 25

II.2.2 Errors in placing adjectives before indefinite pronouns 25

II.2.3 Errors in the use of predicative adjectives beginning with “a” as attributiveadjectives 25

II.2.4 Errors in the use of adverbs instead of adjectives after linking verbs 26

II.2.5 Errors in the use of “The” + adjective 26

II.2.6 Errors in the distinction of predicative adjectives and attributive adjectives 27

II.2.7 Errors in the use of adverbs instead of adjectives after the objects (as object complement) 27

II.2.8 Errors in the use of adjectival participles ending in “-ed” and “-ing” 28

II.2.9 Errors in placing adjectives before adverbs 28

II.3 Suggested solutions and suggested exercises 28

II.3.1 Suggested solutions 28

II.3.2 Suggested exercises 30

PART THREE CONCLUSION COCLUSION 31

REFERENCES 33

APPENDICIES 35

TEST SURVEY 35

SUGGESTED EXERCISES 40

INTRODUCTION

I Rationale

English is used as an international language in many countries all over the world In Vietnam as well as in other countries, there is a greater and greater need to learn English.English is used in politics, business dealings, and everyday life No one can deny the importance of learning English in Vietnam at present Therefore, English is being taught at every educational level

We know that, studying English nowadays has become an essential demand for everyone However, each language has its own origin, characteristics and values leading to Vietnamese learners have to face many difficulties when they learn this international language It is proved that English grammar is complex, so it often causes embarrassments to learners Adjective is one of the essential parts to form a sentence in English grammar that students have to learn too much at schools English adjectives are diversified in many forms, meanings as well as usages Therefore, using adjectives correctly and effectively is rather complex Though Vietnamese learners are trying to study English, the result does not come up to our expectation due to both subjective and objective causes Due to its various uses, it is assumed that there are many errors which may be made

As a student in the Foreign Language Faculty, this thesis is accomplished with the hope of making a contribution to the process of teaching English especially in teaching adjectives for students in high schools For these reasons above, this study is conducted with the aim of focusing on error in using English among the students of English in grade 11 at Hoang Quoc Viet High school

II Research presupposition

Some questions are raised:

1 What kinds of errors in the use of adjectives are made by the students in grade

11 at Hoang Quoc Viet?

2 What are the causes of the errors in the use of adjectives by the students in grade 11 at Hoang Quoc Viet High School?

3 What are the effective ways to minimize the errors made by the students in grade 11 at Hoang Quoc Viet High School?

III Research objectives

The study is aimed at the following goals:

1 To find out the main errors in the use of adjectives made by the students in grade 11 at Hoang Quoc Viet High School

2 To find out the causes of the errors in the use of adjectives by the students in grade 11 at Hoang Quoc Viet High School

3 To offer some suggestions to minimize the errors made by the students in grade 11 at Hoang Quoc Viet High School

IV Research scope

The general research area of this study is grammar The phenomenon is focused

on the errors in using adjectives made by the students in grade 11 at Hoang Quoc Viet High The population involved in the study is 92 students

V Research tasks

The study involves the following tasks:

1 Studying the definition, formation, classification and meaning of adjectives in English

2 Studying the grammatical features of adjectives in English

3 Conducting a survey to find out error types and causes of the uses of adjectives in English

4 Suggesting some solutions to minimize the students’ errors

VI Research methods

To achieve the objectives of the study, the following methods have been applied:

1 Synthesizing theoretical materials on English grammar and linguistics

2 Conducting test survey and analyzing the results

3 Offering suggestions and solutions to the problems

VII Research significance

This study is hoped provide the following:

1 Input for learners of English in order to have better understanding about adjectives in English, specially at high school level

2 Input for learners in order to minimize their errors in using adjectives

VIII Research design

The research work has three main parts: Introduction, Development and Conclusion The part Development has two chapters

Chapter one Theoretical Background consists of two sections Section one presents literature review in brief and section two deals with adjectives in English in definition, classification, position, usage, and order

Chapter two is Common errors in the use of adjectives It describes the research method It is composed of three sections Section one is devoted to the survey The second deals with error types and causes

The last one is solutions to the problems and suggested exercises on adjectives

PART TWO DEVELOPMENT

I.1 Literature review in brief

Adjectives have been described by many grammarians like Sinclair (1990), Thomson and Martinet (1989), Alexander (1988), Kam Chuan Aik and Kam Kai Hui (1999) They each have their own ways to describe adjectives It is visible that their contributions are so great Generally, they often focus their attention on the definition, classification and the uses of adjectives

In the book Collins Cobuild English Grammar, Sinclair (1990) studied the

classification as well as the uses and the order of adjectives

Thomson and Martinet (1989) in the book A Practical English Grammar paid

much attention to the position of adjectives They also focused on the kinds of adjectives and the orders of adjectives

In the book Longman English Grammar, Alexander (1988) gave a quite full

picture about adjective He introduced the definition of adjectives, the classification and the uses of adjectives Moreover, the order of adjectives was also given in this book

Kam Chuan Aik and Kam Kai Hui (1999) in the book Longman Dictionary of

Grammar and Usage discussed the definition as well as the classification of

adjectives He focused on the positions, the uses and the order of adjectives Besides, they pointed out some errors in the use of adjectives that are errors in placing adjectives before adverbs, and the use of adverbs instead of adjectives after linking verbs

Susan, Douglas and Geoffrey (2002) in the book Longman Student Grammar

of Spoken and Written English introduced the classification of adjectives They pay much attention to the syntactic roles of adjectives Besides, the uses of adjective were focused as well

In short, much research has been done on the adjectives but some of them pointed out errors in the uses of adjectives In fact, there are far more errors that learners of English often make when they use the adjectives Therefore, it is essential

to have a comprehensive study of common errors in the use of adjectives

I.2 Adjectives

I.2.1 Definition of adjectives

According to Alexander (1988) in the book Longman English Grammar, an

adjective describes the person, thing, idea which a noun refers to We use adjectives

to say what the person, thing, idea is like or seems like For example, adjectives can give us information about:

Quality: a beautiful dress; a nice day

(Alexander, 1988) Size: a big car; a tall man

(Alexander, 1988)

Age: a young man; a new handbag

(Alexander, 1988) Temperature: a cool evening; a hot day

Many adjectives can answer the question “what…like?” and, depending on context, can give general or precise information:

What is Tom like (to look at)? -He is dark/ short/ tall

I.2.2 Classification of adjectives

I.2.2.1 Descriptive adjectives

Descriptive adjective describes a quality of the person, thing or idea it describes It tells us what kind of person, thing or idea is referred to

For examples:

An angry person (what kind of person? Angry person)

A silly argument (what kind of argument? Silly argument)

A rusty handle (what kind of handle? Rusty handle)

Many descriptive adjectives have no special ending, for examples, old, young,

large, short, long, safe, white, hard, soft, dad, rich, hot, cold

However, other descriptive adjectives have endings that show that the words are adjectives Here are the main endings:

: plentiful, eventful : endless, helpless : friendly, yearly

I.2.2.2 Limiting adjectives

I.2.2.2.1 Demonstrative adjectives

Demonstrative adjectives point out the things, persons or ideas they are referred

to It answer the question “Which?”

Definite Demonstrative Adjectives

I want this car, not that car

These books are mine, and those books are yousr

You should not say such things

On yonder hill was an old fort

Indefinite Demonstrative Adjectives

Some man told me that story

Any student can answer this question

I.2.2.2.2 Possessive adjectives

My, his, her, your, its, and these are called possessive adjectives because they

are used to show ownership or possession

Your book… (Which book? Your book)

His pen… (which pen? His pen)

I.2.2.2.3 Interrogative adjectives

Whose, which and what are call interrogative adjectives when they are used with

nouns to ask questions:

Whose project is this?

Which metal has the highest density?

What size do you want?

I.2.2.2.4 Quantitative adjectives

Quantitative Adjectives

Cardinal numbers: two books, five hats, fourteen people

Ordinal numbers: the first reason, the second thing, the fourth

Fraction: one third (

All - whole

Have you done all your exercises? (Murphy, 2000)

Tell me the whole story

Half

I invited 2o, but only half showed up

I.2.3.2.5 Distributive adjectives

You have every chance of success

I.2.3.2.6 Proper adjectives

Proper adjective is formed from a proper noun; it identifies a noun as a part of

an official place or group and begins with a capital letter

We attended the Shakespearean Drama Festival

The Victorian Era in England lasted from 1837 to 1991

I.2.3 Position of adjectives

I.2.3.1 Adjectives before the nouns

Adjectives are placed before the nouns they modify:

I.2.3.2 Adjectives after the nouns

I.2.3.2.1 Adjectives after the nouns of measurement

When adjectives are used to show measurements, they may be put after the noun

of measurements:

Twenty kilometers deep

Fifty kilometers long

Five years old

I.2.3.2.2 Adjectivs are placed after the nouns in certain set phrases

In certain set phrases, the adjectives is always placed after the noun: Heir

Apparent, Time Immemorial, God Almighty, Body Politic, Governor General, President Elect, Asia Minor, Poet Laureate (Aik and Hui, 1999)

I.2.3.2.3 More than one adjective is used to modify a noun

More than one adjective is used to modify a noun; the adjectives are sometimes placed after the nouns to emphasize the qualities described:

The boys, hungry, tired and dirty, were glad to be back at the camp (hungry, tired and dirty modify boys)

(Aik and Hui, 1999) The prince, ambitious and cunning, seized the throne when the king was away (ambitious and cunning modify prince)

I.2.3.3 Adjectives can come before or after nouns

I.2.3.3.1 Adjectives before or after nouns with no change in meaning

A limit number of adjectives, mostly ending in –able and –ible can come before

or after nouns, usually with no change in meaning Some of these are available, taxable, eligible, and imaginable

For example:

I doubt whether we can complete our contract in the time available/ in the available time (Alexander, 1988)

I.2.3.3.2 Adjectives before or after nouns with a change in meaning

A few adjectives change in meaning depending on whether they are used before

or after a noun Some of these are concerned, elect, involved, present, proper, and responsible

For example:

It is a proper (= correct) question

The question proper (itself) has not been answered

I.2.3.4 Adjectives are placed after to be and linking verbs

Linking verbs are a type of intransitive verb Their function is to link a subject to

a complement In grammar, the word “complement” is often used to mean subject complement A subject complement is a word or group of words which is used after linking verbs (such as is, was, were, become, seem, sound, taste, look, smell, fell, keep).Adjectives may be used as subject complements In other word, they are placed after linking verbs to describe the subject of the sentence

For example:

John is handsome (handsome modifies John)

Mai looks healthy ( healthy modifies Mai)

I.2.3.5 Adjectives are placed after the objects (used as object complement)

An object adjective complement completes the meaning of a sentence by telling

us something about the object of its transitive verb

Adjectives may be used as object complements In other words, they are used to complete the meaning of a sentence by revealing something about the object Such adjectives are placed after the

For example:

They made me happy

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

We painted the wall red

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

I.2.3.6 Adjectives are placed after indefinite pronouns

Adjectives used with someone, something, everyone, everything, anyone, anything, no one, and nothing are placed after these words

For example:

I want something good

There is nothing new under the sun

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

I.2.3.7 Adjectives are placed after adverbs

All adverbs are placed before the adjectives they modify For examples:

The show was very exciting

The test was rather difficult

I.2.4 The uses of adjectives

I.2.4.1 Adjectives used attributively and predicatively

The term attributive and predicative refer to the position of an adjective in a phrase or sentence We say that an adjective is used attributively when it comes before a noun

This ticket is old/ your mother seems angry.(Aik and Hui, 1999)

Most adjective can be used either attributively or predicatively; some of them change their meaning when move from one position to an other

For example:

A small farmer (is a man who has a small farm) and the farmer is small (he is a

small man physical) (Aik and Hui, 1999)

I.2.4.2 Adjectives used only attributively

Some adjectives that are always used attributively These adjectives are main,

former, latter, utter, lone, outdoor, eventual, outer, and inner

For example:

The main road…(correct) / The road is main…(wrong)

My former classmate…(correct)/ My classmate is former…(wrong)

I.2.4.3 Adjectives used only predicatively

I.2.4.3.1 Predicative adjectives beginning with “a”

Adjectives like the following are used only predicatively like afloat, afraid,

alight, alike, alone, ashamed, asleep, awake and a few others

I.2.4.3.2 Predicative adjectives describing health

The following are used predicatively in connection with health like faint ill,

poorly, unwell, and well

(“well”, meaning “in good health”, is an adjective and should not be confused with “well”, the adverbial counterpart of “good”.)

For example:

What is the matter with him? He is ill/ unwell

He feels faint

I.2.4.3.3 Predicative adjectives describing feelings

Some adjectives describe feelings, for examples, content, glad, pleased, sorry,

upset, and a few others are normally used only predicatively

I.2.4.4 Adjectival participles ending in “-ed’ and “-ing”

Common pairs of –ed/-ing adjectives are amazed/ amazing; annoyed/ annoying;

bored/ boring; excited/ exciting; interested/ interesting; pleased/ pleasing; tired/ tiring

Similar pairs are delighted/delightful; impressed/ impressive; upset/ upsetting

Adjectives ending in –ed often combine with personal subjects and those ending

in –ing often combine with impersonal ones

For example:

I am interested in learning English/ Learning English is interesting

I.2.4.5 Present participle and past participle verbs used as adjectives

In the book Longman English Grammar, Alexander (1988) said that most

present participles can be used as adjectives, for examples, breaking glass,

frightening stories Many past participles of verbs can be used as adjectives, for

examples, a broken window (a window which are broken); a frozen lake (a lake which is frozen), a looked door (a door which is locked) However note that some adjectives ending in –ed are not past participles, for examples, an aged parent, a

crooked path, a learned professor, a naked man, a ragged urchin, a wicked witch

I.2.4.6 Nouns that behave like adjectives

Nouns sometimes used as adjectives, they do not have comparative or superlative forms; they can not be modified by “very”, they remain essentially noun

and often modifying other nouns, for examples, a book salesperson, a table lamp, a

university library, a glass bottle, a shoe factory, ,

I.2.4.7 Adjectives used as nouns

I.2.4.7.1 “The” + adjective

Adjectives like the following are used after “the” to represent a group as a whole,

for examples the blind; the deaf; the living/ the dead; the rich/ the poor; the young/

the old; the unemployed So “the deaf” means a group of people who are all deaf

We can never use these adjectives on their own to refer to single individuals If

we wish to refer to single individual, we must use adjective + noun

For example:

He is a young man with a lot of success

I.2.4.7.2 Adjectives referring to colors

All adjectives that refer to colors can be used as nouns

For example:

The woman in red is very beautiful

There are patches of blue and yellow all over the tabletop

I.2.5 The order of adjectives

I.2.5.1 The order of adjectives

When both limiting and descriptive adjectives are used together, the limiting

adjective should be placed before the descriptive adjective

The order of a series of descriptive adjectives is not always fixed The following

table shows some acceptable ways of ordering them:

Limiting

adjective

My

The

The

Nice attractive beautiful

New

old

green pink brown French

silk

house dress cupboard

I.2.5.2 The use of commas and “and” to separate adjectives

I.2.5.2.1 Separating adjectives used attributively

When we have two or more adjectives in front of a noun we only need commas

to separate those, which are equally important (where the order of the first two could easily be reversed)

I.2.5.2.3 Separating adjective used predicatively

If there are two adjectives used predicatively, we separate them with “and” For example:

My shoes are dirt and old

Chapter two: Common errors in the use of adjectives

It is a fact that adjective is one of the essential parts to form a sentence in English grammar Adjective is frequently used in daily life such as describing things, objects or expressing feelings, emotions As well known, English adjectives are diversified in many forms, meanings as well as usages It takes learners quite a long time to understand adjectives deeply It therefore seems that the uses of adjectives are still too difficult for students This is the reason why much research needs to be done

to find out prospective and feasible solutions Due to the framework of the thesis, this study is focus on the errors related to the use of adjective without comparison of adjective This chapter has three sections Section II.1 deals with the survey questionnaire, which was designed to map out some common errors made by the students at grade 11 in Hoang Quoc Viet High School Section II.2 points out common errors and causes Section II.3 provides students and teachers with some suggested solutions to minimize such errors

II.1 Survey

As mentioned above, the study does help students of English to have a deep insight into the use of adjectives in English In the process of providing students with knowledge of adjectives, the thesis has identified common errors made by Vietnamese students Making errors in the use of English adjectives is unavoidable However, due to the framework of the study, it is impossible to map out errors made

by learnersof English at all educational levels Therefore, the thesis only focuses on common errors in the use of adjectives made by the students at grade 11 in Hoang Quoc Viet High School A survey was conducted to serve the purpose

II.1.1 Purpose of the survey

The survey questionnaire was designed to test the student’s understanding of the use of adjectives and to find out common errors made by the students at grade 11 in Hoang Quoc Viet High School Then, it will be background for introducing possible solutions to these mistakes