Common errors in the use of past tense and aspects in active voice by the 11th grade students thanh ba high school

From my observation, I myself find that even though the students at Thanh Ba High School read many grammar books and receive careful explanations from their teachers, they still make err

HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY No.2

FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

NGUYEN THI TU

COMMON ERRORS IN THE USE OF PAST TENSE AND ASPECTS IN ACTIVE VOICE BY THE 11TH – GRADE STUDENTS AT THANH BA HIGH SCHOOL

(SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF

THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ENGLISH)

SUPERVISOR: NGUYEN THI MEN, M.A

Hanoi, 2013

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

I would like to take this chance to express my deepest gratitude to Mrs Nguyen Thi Men, M.A., my supervisor, for her patience in providing continuous and careful guidance as well as encouragement, indispensable suggestions and advice

I am greatly indebted to the teachers of English at Thanh Ba High School,

in Thanh Ba district, Phu Tho province; especially Mrs Đào Thị Quyết for her help and guidance while I was carrying out the survey

I wish to thank all the teachers at Hanoi Pedagogical University No.2, especially the teachers at the Foreign Language Faculty who helped me completing my research

Constantly, rather than finally, I want to send my thankful words to my family, for their whole – hearted encouragement and endless support

ABSTRACT

The past tense and aspects are forms of a verb that show the time, continuance or completion of an action or a state that is expressed in connection with the past at which a statement is made about it However, the uses of the past tense aspects that are referred to in some books have not been dealt with adequately and sometimes cause confusion to learners of English

As a result, learners of English often make errors when they use the past tense and aspects Therefore, this research work entails studying the uses of the past tense aspects and conducting a survey for error analysis

Based on the results of the survey, the types of errors and causes have found Solutions to the problems have been suggested

STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP

Title: COMMON ERROS IN THE USE OF PAST TENSE AND ASPECTS IN ACTIVE VOICE BY THE 11TH-GRADE STUDENTS

AT THANH BA HIGH SCHOOL

I certify that no part of this report has been copied or reproduced by me from any other person’s work without acknowledgement and that the report is originally written by me under strict guidance from my supervisor

Date submitted: May, 2013

Student Supervisor

Nguyen Thi Tu Nguyen Thị Men, M.A

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I ABSTRACT II STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP III TABLE OF CONTENTS IV

PART ONE INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale 1

2 Research objectives 2

3 Research questions 2

4 Research scope 2

5 Research tasks 3

6 Research method 3

7 Significance of the propose research 3

8 Design of the research work 4

PART TWO DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 LITERATURE REVIEW IN BRIEF 6

1.2 PAST TENSE AND ASPECTS 7

1.2.1 The simple past tense aspect 8

1.2.1.1 Form of the simple past tense aspect with regular verbs 8

1.2.1.1.1 Positive form 8

1.2.1.1.2 Negative and interrogative forms 8

1.2.1.2 Form of the simple past tense aspect with irregular verbs 8

1.2.1.2.1 Form of the simple past tense aspect: positive 8

1.2.1.2.2 Form of the simple past tense aspect: negative and interrogative forms 9

1.2.1.3 The regular past simple verbs: pronunciation and spelling 10

1.2.1.3.1 Pronunciation of the regular past simple verbs 10

1.2.1.3.2 Spelling of the regular past simple verbs 11

1.2.1.4 Note on the past simple form of irregular verbs 12

1.2.1.5 Uses of the simple past tense aspect 13

1.2.1.5.1 Completed actions 13

1.2.1.5.2 Past habit 14

1.2.1.5.3 Immediate past 14

1.2.1.5.4 Polite inquiries 14

1.2.1.6 Adverbials with the simple past tense aspect 14

1.2.1.7 Past simple tense aspect in typical contexts 15

1.2.2 The past progressive tense aspect 15

1.2.2.1 Form of the past progressive tense aspect 15

1.2.2.2 Spelling: How to add “-ing” to a verb 16

1.2.2.3 Stative verbs 17

1.2.2.4 Uses of the past progressive tense aspect 17

1.2.2.4.1 Actions in progress in the past 17

1.2.2.4.2 Actions which began before something else happened and were still in progress 18

1.2.2.4.3 Parallel actions 18

1.2.2.4.4 Repeated actions - criticism 19

1.2.2.4.5 Polite inquiries 19

1.2.2.4.6 Using for plans 19

1.2.3 The simple past perfect tense aspect 20

1.2.3.1 Form of the simple past perfect tense aspect 20

1.2.3.2 Uses of the simple past perfect tense aspect 20

1.2.3.2.1 The simple past perfect referring to an earlier past 20

1.2.3.2.2 The past perfect as the past equivalent of the present perfect 20

1.2.3.2.3 The past perfect for unfulfilled hopes and wishes 21

1.2.3.3 Obligatory and non – obligatory uses of the past perfect 21

1.2.3.4 Simple past and simple past perfect in typical contexts 22

1.2.4 The past perfect progressive tense aspect 22

1.2.4.1 Form of the past perfect progressive tense aspect 22

1.2.4.2 Uses of the past perfect progressive tense aspect 23

1.2.4.2.1 Actions in the progress throughout a period 23

1.2.4.2.2 The past perfect progressive for repeated actions 23

1.2.4.2.3 The past perfect progressive for drawing conclusions 23

1.2.4.3 The past perfect simple and past perfect progressive tense aspect in comparison 24

CHAPTER TWO COMMON ERRORS IN THE USE OF PAST TENSE AND ASPECTS 2.1 SURVEY 25

2.1.1 Purpose of the survey 25

2.1.2 Population of the survey 26

2.1.3 Type of the survey 26

2.1.4 Construction of the survey 26

2.1.5 Preparation of the survey 27

2.1.5.1 Test items 27

2.1.5.2 Arrangement of the survey 28

2.1.6 Administration of the try – out 28

2.1.6.1 Preparation of the try – out 28

2.1.6.2 Try – out 29

2.1.7 Method of data analysis 29

2.1.8 Results of the survey 30

2.2 COMMON ERRORS AND CAUSES IN THE USE OF PAST TENSES 33 2.2.1 Error and causes in the use of the simple present perfect tense aspect for the simple past tense aspect 33 2.2.2 Error and causes in the use of the past simple tense aspect of irregular verbs 34 2.2.3 Error and causes in pronunciation of the regular past 35 2.2.4 Error and causes in the use of the simple past tense aspect for the past perfect tense aspect 36 2.2.5 Error and causes in the use of “love, like, want” in the past progressive tense aspect 37 2.2.6 Error and causes in the use of “was/ were” in the past simple tense aspect and the past progressive tense aspect 38 2.2.7 Error and causes in adding “-ing” to a verb in the past progressive tense aspect and the past perfect progressive tense aspect 39 2.2.8 Error and causes in adding “-ed” to a regular verb in the past simple tense aspect and the past perfect tense aspect 40 2.3 SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS AND SUGGESTED EXERCISES 40 2.3.1 Suggested solutions 40 2.3.1.1 Suggested solutions for the error in the use of the simple present perfect tense aspect for the simple past tense aspect 41 2.3.1.2 Suggested solutions for the error in the use of the past simple tense aspect of irregular verbs 42 2.3.1.3 Suggested solutions for the error in pronunciation of the regular past 43 2.3.1.4 Suggested solutions for the error in the use of the simple past tense aspect for the past perfect tense aspect 43 2.3.1.5 Suggested solutions for the error in the use of “love, like, want” in the past progressive tense aspect 44 2.3.1.6 Suggested solutions for the error in the use of “was/ were” in the past simple tense aspect and the past progressive tense aspect 45

2.3.1.7 Suggested solutions for the error in adding “-ing” to a verb in the past

progressive aspect and the past perfect progressive tense aspect 45

2.3.1.8 Suggested solutions for the error in adding “-ed” to a verb in the past simple tense aspect and the past perfect tense aspect 46

2.3.2 Suggested exercises 47

PART THREE CONCLUSION 3.1 CONCLUSION 49

3.2 IMPLICATIONS OF THE STUDY 50

3.3 LIMTTATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH 51

REFERENCES i

APPENDICES iii

SURVEY QUESTIONAIRE iii

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE TO INTERVIEW THE STUDENTS xi

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE TO INTERVIEW THE TEACHERS xv

SUGGESTED EXERCISES xix

PART ONE INTRODUCTION

1 Rationale

English is considered the international language, which is used in almost all aspects of life It is the fact that there are many foreign companies in Vietnam nowadays, therefore it can not be denied that English is an important foreign language in Vietnam and learning English seems to play an important role in developing the country

In Vietnam, English is taught at every educational level, from primary to tertiary education as a compulsory subject However, learning English is very difficult, especially to Vietnamese because each language has its own system and Vietnamese is far different from English These differences in the systems

of languages may lead to many problems for language learners Especially, even the tenses and aspects of verb, the language categories that students are taught first and foremost and most frequently when they study English, cause great difficulties to Vietnamese learners in general

From my observation, I myself find that even though the students at Thanh Ba High School read many grammar books and receive careful explanations from their teachers, they still make errors or are confused when they use verb tenses and aspects such as the past tense and aspects

Aiming at helping solve this problem, the study is carried out in order to find out the errors the students of Thanh Ba High School often make when they use past tenses and aspects Furthermore, some suggestions are mentioned in the hope that studying and using English verb tenses and aspects are easier and more effective to students in general and those at Thanh Ba High School in particular

The problems posed for Vietnamese learners of English in general and the students at Thanh Ba High School in particular in regard to verb tense and aspects, especially those of the past, have not yet been adequately investigated Therefore, this study aims to fill the gap in research in this area

2 Research objectives

The main objective of the study is to uncover the difficulties encountered

by the students at Thanh Ba High School when they study about and use English past tenses and aspects and then provide some suggested solutions to improve the problem; therefore, it has to achieve three sub-objectives as following:

1 To find the major errors in the use of past tense and aspects often made by the eleventh- grade students at Thanh Ba High School in the academic year of 2012 – 2013

2 To find the causes of the errors in the use of past tense and aspects made by the eleventh- grade students at Thanh Ba High School in the academic year of

1 What kind of error in the use of past tense and aspects is the most often made

by the eleventh- grade students at Thanh Ba High School in the academic year

of 2012 – 2013?

2 What are the causes of the errors in the use of past tenses made by the eleventh- grade students at Thanh Ba High School in the academic year of 2012 – 2013?

3 What are the suggested ways for teachers and students to solve the problem?

4 Research scope

The general research area of this study is grammar

The issue is errors in the use of past tenses and aspects made by the students in grade 11 at Thanh Ba High School in the academic year of 2012 –

2013

The population involved in the study is one hundred eleventh – grade students at Thanh Ba High School

Because tense is one of the most complex grammar including passive voice and active voice Thus, in scope of my study, I just focus on the active voice so that I can find the common errors in the use of past tense and aspects, and the suggested solutions for this problem

5 Research tasks

The study involves fulfilling the following tasks

1 To study the forms of past tenses and aspects

2 To research the regular past verbs: pronunciation and spelling

3 To research the spelling: how to add “-ing” to a verb in the past progressive tense aspect

4 To study the uses of past tense and aspects

5 To conduct a survey to find out common errors and causes And basing on the finding, some suggested solutions to the problem can be introduced

7 Significance of the propose research

Errors in learning any language, especially in English, as a foreign language, are very normal and sometimes predictable but sometimes unpredictable Therefore, it is indispensable for teachers to have some suitable solutions to the problem After finished, the study is hoped to provide:

1 Input for students in general and the students at Thanh Ba High School in particular in order to minimize their errors in the use of past tense and aspects in active voice

2 Input for teacher of English in general and the teachers of English at Thanh

Ba High School in particular with essential information on various kinds of

errors made by their students and some suggested solutions to help them effectively improve the teaching process towards the theme

8 Design of the research work

The study has three main part including introduction, development, and conclusion

PART I: INTRODUCTION

This part includes rationale, research questions, research objectives, research questions, research scope, research tasks, research methods, and design

of the research work

PART II: DEVELOPMENT

This has two chapter named “theoretical background” and “common errors in the use of past tense and aspects made by the students in grade 11 at Thanh Ba High School in the academic year of 2012 – 2013”

In chapter one, the theoretical backgrounds on the past tense and aspects, which consist two sections named “Literature review in brief” and “past tense and aspects” In the second section of this chapter, almost of all theoretical background s on past tense and aspects are provided such as forms of verb, the uses of past tense and aspects, and so on

Chapter 2 is “Common errors in the use of past tense and aspects made by the students in grade 11 at Thanh Ba High School in the academic year of 2012 – 2013” In this chapter, four sections are introduced Section 1 includes the survey, section 2 mentions the kinds of error in the use of past tense and aspects made by the students in grade 11 at Thanh Ba High School in the academic year

of 2012 – 2013 Section 3 explains the causes of the errors And the last section, some suggested solutions are provided to help the students in grade 11 at Thanh

Ba High School in the academic year of 2012 – 2013reduce making errors in the use of past tense and aspects

PART III: CONCLUSION

This part provides a brief summary

PART TWO DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER ONE THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1.1 LITERATURE REVIEW IN BRIEF

Past tense and aspects have been written by many grammarians like L G Alexander (1988), Betty Schrampfer Azar (1992), Elaine Walker Steve Elsworth (1988), John Eastwood (1992), George Jule (2006), Alice Maclin (1981), Raymond Murphy (1985) ect., and each of them has their own way to describe the past tense and aspects In general, they focus on the information, usages, ect

In the book English Grammar, L G Alexander (1988) describes the

usages of the past tense He mentions the forms, usages, keywords of the past tense and aspects Moreover, he clearly describes the form of the simple past tense with regular verbs and irregular verbs; Pronunciation and spelling rules of regular verbs with simple past tense aspect and mentions the rule to add “-ing”

to verbs in past progressive tense aspect as well as cases of typical contexts in which the simple past and simple past perfect tense aspects are used In addition,

he compares between the simple past perfect tense aspect and the past perfect progressive tense aspect on forms, usages and adverbials as signals And he also describes both similarities and differences between present perfect progressive and past perfect progressive tense aspect

Together with L G Alexander (1988), in the book Oxford practice

Grammar intermediate, John Eastwood (2006) also shows the forms and usages

of all the past tense aspects Beside, he provides a clear comparison between past simple and past progressive tense aspects; past perfect and past simple tense aspects; present perfect and simple past tense aspects

In the book Understanding and using English Grammar, Betty

Schrampfer Azer (1993) shows us a time diagram Basing on it, we can more easily understand and use the past tense and aspects He also describes the forms, usages of the past tense and aspects using a table with 3 columns The first column includes the time diagrams showing when actions occur The second one provides examples to clearly demonstrate what are discussed on the time diagram And the last column supplies explanations what are demonstrated

on the time diagram and examples in the first two columns

In the other book named English Grammar in use, Raymond Murphy

(1994) also focuses on all past tense and aspects In each past tense aspect, the author regularly provides some examples and analyzes them so that the learners can understand easily Besides, the author introduces some exercises for learners

to practice more about what they have learned

In the book English grammar for ESL learners, Ed Swick (2005)

describes general information on past tense and aspects including definitions, forms, uses, key words and some notes on regular verbs and irregular verbs

In summary, many researchers have conducted research on the past tense and aspects However, few of them point out the common errors in the use of the past tense and aspects In fact, there are various errors that learners of English often make when they use the past tense and aspects, and the same is true to the students at Thanh Ba High School As a result, the study is carried out to uncover the common errors in the use of past tense and aspects made by the eleventh grade students at Thanh Ba High School, the causes of the errors and to provide the effectively suggested solutions to this problem

1.2 PAST TENSE AND ASPECTS

According to Alice Maclin (1981) in the book Reference guide to English-

A handbook of English as a second language, tense is described “to be the term

used to show relationship between time and other conditions and the form of the verb.” Not all changes in the verb form are directly related to time The way the action is understood to take place also affects verb forms In addition to showing

time, different forms show conditions such as certainty, definiteness, possibility and whether or not the action is completed “mood” and “ aspect” are grammatical terms that show how the verb expresses ideas that go beyond yesterday/ today/ tomorrow division

In the book named English grammar for ESL Learners, Ed Swick (2205)

also introduced on the past tense: “The past tense is used to show something that has happened in the past” There are three past tense formations: (1) a habitual

or frequent action, (2) an action in process or incomplete, and (3) an emphatic response in the past tense

1.2.1 The simple past tense aspect

1.2.1.1 Form of the simple past tense aspect with regular verbs

We invited them to our party but they decided not to come

The police stopped me on my way home last night

1.2.1.1.2 Negative and interrogative forms

Raymond Murphy (1994) in an other book named English Grammar in

use show : “ in the negative and interrogative forms we use did/ did not +

infinitive”

For example:

Negative forms interrogative forms

You did not enjoy? Did you enjoy?

1.2.1.2 Form of the simple past tense aspect with irregular verbs

1.2.1.2.1 Form of the simple past tense aspect: positive

L G Alexander (1988), in the book named Longman English Grammar, and Raymond Murphy (1994), in the book English Grammar in use, defined on

form of the simple past tense aspect with irregular verbs: “Many verbs are irregular The past simple does not end in –ed” (The irregular is listed in Appendix I) For example:

John Eastwood (2006), in the book Oxford practice grammar

intermediate, added information on irregular verbs “to be”: “the past simple is

the same in all persons except in the past tense of be”

I/ He/ She/ It/  was I was ill last week

You/ We/ They  were Those cakes were nice

1.2.1.2.2 Form of the simple past tense aspect: negative and interrogative forms

According to the book named Oxford practice grammar intermediate,

John Eastwood (2006) shows that “we use did in negatives and questions”

Negative Interrogative

I/ You/She/He/ It/we/they did not

stop

Or didn’t stop

Did I/You/We/They/She/He/ It stop?

In the other book, Oxford practice grammar, John Eastwood (1992) also

notes that “we don’t use a past form such as stopped, rang in a negatives and questions”

For example : NOT “the car did not stopped and NOT did you rang?”

We also use was and were in negatives and questions:

Negative Interrogative

I/He/She/It was not OR wasn’t

You/They/We were not OR weren’t

Was I/She/He/It?

Were You/They/We?

For example:

I wasn’t very well last week

Where was your friend last night?

To sump up, we have negative and interrogative form for irregular verb with common verbs, verbs “to be”, modal verbs”

Negative forms Interrogative forms Common verbs S + did not + Infinitive Did (not) + S + Infinitive…? Modal verbs S + past of modal verb +

not + Infinitive

Past of modal verbs (not)+ S + Infinitive ?

Verb “to be” S + was/were + not… Was/ were (not) + S?

Have S + had not… Had (not) + S?

1.2.1.3 The regular past simple verbs: pronunciation and spelling

1.2.1.3.1 Pronunciation of the regular past simple verbs

According to the book named Longman English Grammar, L G

Alexander (1988) introduced clearly about pronunciation of the regular verbs in the past simple tense aspect: “Verbs in the regular past always end with a “– d”

in their spelling, but the pronunciation of the past ending is not always the same”

Play/ played /d/

The most common spelling characteristic of the regular past is that “– ed”

is added to the base form of the verb: opened, knocked, stayed ect Except in the

case noted below, this –ed is not pronounced as if it were an extra syllable, so

“opened” is pronounced as /əʊpənd/, knocked: /nɒkt/, etc

Arrive/arrived /d/

Verbs which end in the following sounds have their past endings pronounced as /d/ the “– ed” ending is not pronounced as an extra syllable: /b/: rubbed /g/: tugged /dʒ/:managed

/l/ : filled /m/ : dimmed /n/: listened

Vowel + /r/: stirred /v/: loved /z/: seized

Work/ worked /t/

Verbs which end in the following sounds have their past endings pronounced as /t/ The “– ed” ending is not pronounced as an extra syllable:

/k/: packed /s/: passed /tʃ/: watched

/ʃ/: washed /f/: laughed /p/: tipped

Post/posted /id/

Verbs which end the sounds /t/ or /d/ have their past endings pronounced

/id/: posted, added The “– ed” ending is pronounced as an extra syllable added

to the base form of verb

NOTE:

Dream/ dreamed /d / or dreamt /t/

A few verbs function as both regular and irregular verb and may have

their past forms spelt “– ed” or “– t” pronounced /d/ or /t/ For example : burn,

dream, lean, learn, smell, spell, spill, spoil

1.2.1.3.2 Spelling of the regular past simple verbs

L G Alexander (1988) also presented about spelling of the regular past

simple verbs in the book named Longman English Grammar In this book, the

author showed that “the regular past always ends in “- d”

Arrive/ arrived

Verbs ending in “- e” are added “- d” For example: phone/ phoned; smile/ smiled This rule applies equally to agree, die, lie, etc

Wait/ waited

Verbs not ending in “– e” are added “– ed” For example:

Ask/ asked Clean/ cleaned

Follow/ followed Video/ videoed

Occur/occurred

For two-or-more-syllable verbs consisting of a single vowel letter followed by a single consonant letter in the end and the primary stress falls on the last syllable, the final consonant is also doubled before adding “- ed”

For example: prefer/ preferred; refer/referred

Compare to ‘benefit/ benefited, ‘differ/ differed, and ‘profit/ profited These

verbs are stressed on their first syllable and therefore their final consonants are

not doubled In AmE labeled, quarreled, signaled, and traveled follow the rule

In BrE labelled, quarrelled, signalled, and travelled are exceptions to the rule

Cry/ cried

When there is a consonant before “–y”, the “–y” is changed into “– i”

before we add “– ed” For example:

Carry/ carried Deny/ denied

Fry/ fried Try/ tried

Compare with: Delay/ delayed, Obey/ obeyed, Play/ played, ect which

have a vowel before “– y” and therefore we simply add “– ed” to the infinitive

verb

1.2.1.4 Note on the past simple form of irregular verbs

Still in the book named Longman English Grammar, the author L G

Alexander (2006), defined that “ unlike regular verbs, irregular verbs do not have past forms which can be predicted”

Shut/ shut

A small number of verbs have the same form in the present simple as in the past simple For example: cut/ cut; hit/ hit; put/ put It is important to remember particularly with such verbs, that the third person singular does not change in the past

For example:

He shut (past tense) he shuts (present tense)

Sit/ sat

The past simple form of most irregular verbs is different from the present simple one

For example

Bring/ brought Catch/ caught Keep/ kept

Leave/ left Lose/ lost

1.2.1.5 Uses of the simple past tense aspect

1.2.1.5.1 Completed actions

In the book named Longman English Grammar Practice, L G Alexander

(1990) defined that “We use the simple past to talk about events, actions, or situations which happened in the past and are now finished”

Some examples about the past simple tense aspect are provided in the book

“Oxford practice Grammar”, by the author John Eastwood (1992):

Emma passed her exam last year

I knew what the problem was

We went to the theatre on Friday

When did you buy this car? – about three years ago

L G Alexander (1988), in the book named Longman English Grammar,

added: “They may have happened recently or in distant past, a time reference must be given or must be understood from the text.” For example:

Recently Sam phoned a moment ago

In distant past The Goths invaded Rome in A.D 410

A time reference must be given I had a word with Julian this morning

A time must be understood from the

text I saw Fred When we use the simple past, we are usually concerned with when an action occurred, not with its duration (how long it lasted)

1.2.1.5.2 Past habit

In the book named Advanced language Practice, Michael Vince & Peter

Sunderland (1994) wrote : “Past simple generally refers to habits”

For example: Every day I went to the park

1.2.1.5.3 Immediate past

L G Alexander (1988) at the book Longman English Grammar showed that

“We sometimes use the simple past tense without a time reference to describe something that happened a very short time ago”

For example:

Jimmy punched me in the stomach

Did the telephone ring?

Who left the door open?

1.2.1.5.4 Polite inquiries

L G Alexander (1988), in the book Longman English Grammar wrote

that “The simple past does not always refer to past time It can also be used for

polite inquires (particularly asking for favors), often verbs like hope, think, or

wonder.”

For example, compare the pair of sentences:

I wonder if you could give me a lift

I wondered if you could give me a lift.( More polite)

1.2.1.6 Adverbials with the simple past tense aspect

According to L G Alexander (1988), in the book Longman English

Grammar, the association of the past simple tense aspect with adverbials that

tell us when something happened is very important Adverbials used with the past simple tense aspect must refer to past (not present) time This means that adverbials which link with the present (before now, so far, still now, yet) are not used with past tense

Some adverbials like yesterday, last summer, and combinations with ago are used only with past simple tense aspect

For example:

I saw Fane yesterday/ last summer

Ago, meaning “back from now”, can combine with a variety of expressions to

refer the past For example: two years ago, six months ago, a long time ago, so

on

I met Robert Parr in Czechoslovakia many years ago

1.2.1.7 Past simple tense aspect in typical contexts

According to L G Alexander (1988), in the book Longman English

Grammar, the simple past tense aspect combines with the other past tense

aspects, such as the past progressive tense aspect and the past perfect tense aspect, when we are talking or writing about the past Note that the past progressive tense aspect is used for scene – setting Past tense aspects of various kinds are common in story – telling, biography, autobiography, reports, eye – witness accounts, ect

For example:

It was just before the Second World War Tom was only 20 at the time and was living with her mother He was working in a bank and traveled to London every day One morning, he received a mysterious letter It was addressed to Mr Thomas Parker

1.2.2 The past progressive tense aspect

1.2.2.1 Form of the past progressive tense aspect

In the book named Oxford Practice Grammar Intermediate, John

Eastwood (2006) showed that the past progressive meant that at the time in the past we had been in the middle of an action

The author showed the form of the past continuous (progressive): “the

past continuous is the past tense of be + an –ing form”

Forms Positive form S + was/were + V- ing

Negative form S + was/ were (not) + V- ing

Interrogative form Was/ were (not) + S + V- ing?

Example for positive form:

I/He/She/ It/was playing

You/They/We were playing

Example for negative form:

I/He/She/ It was not (wasn’t) playing

You/They/We were not (weren’t) playing

Example for interrogative form:

Was I/He/She/ It playing?

Were You/They/We playing?

1.2.2.2 Spelling: How to add “-ing” to a verb

In the book Longman English Grammar, L G Alexander showed the

spelling: how to add “- ing” to a verb

Wait/ waiting

We can add “- ing” to most of the verbs without changing the spelling of their base forms For example:

Begin/ beginning

For two – or – more – syllable verbs, the final consonant is normally doubled when the last syllable is stressed For example:

Note that label/labelling; quarrel/ quarrelling; signal/signalling and

travel/travelling (BrE) which are exceptions to this rule

1.2.2.3 Stative verbs

In the book Longman English Grammar Practice, L G Alexander(1990)

wrote about stative verbs that “we call a few verbs like “love” stative because they refer to “states” A state has no beginning and no end We do not control it,

so we do not normally use stative verbs in progressive aspect.”

For example:

She loves her baby more than anything now (NOT is loving)

The author showed that “there are five groups of stative verbs referring to:

1 Feelings: like, love, have, miss, ect

2 Thinking or believing: think, understand, ect

3 Wants: want, refer, ect

4 Perception: hear, see, ect

5 Being or having or owning: appear, seem, belong, ect

In the book Oxford Practice Grammar intermediate, John Eastwood

(2006) also wrote that “We use the continuous with actions We do not normally use it with state verbs” In this case, we use past simple instead

For example:

I didn’t know where you were (NOT I wasn’t knowing…)

1.2.2.4 Uses of the past progressive tense aspect

1.2.2.4.1 Actions in progress in the past

Raymond Murphy (1994), in the book named English Grammar in Use,

showed that “we use the past continuous tense aspect to say that somebody was

in middle of doing something at a certain time The action or situation had already started before this time but didn’t finish” For example:

This time last year I was living in Brazil

What were you doing at 10 o’clock last night?

1.2.2.4.2 Actions which began before something else happened and were still in progress

In the book Longman English Grammar, L G Alexander (1988)

presented that “The past progressive and simple past are often used together in a sentence The past progressive describes a situation or action in progressive in the past, and the simple past describes a shorter action or event The action or situation in progress is often introduced by conjunctions like when and as, just

as, while”

For example:

I was reading the newspaper when the phone rang

Jane met Frank Sinatra when she was living in Hollywood

We can often use the simple past to describe the action in progress, but the progressive puts more emphasis on the duration of the action, as in the second of these two example:

While I fumbled for some money, my friend paid the fares

While I was fumbling for some money, my friend paid the fares

1.2.2.4.3 Parallel actions

In the book named Longman English Grammar Practice, L G Alexander

(1990) wrote that “We also use progressive aspect for the action in progress at the same time.”

For example:

While I was reading, Joan was playing the piano

In the book Longman English Grammar, L G Alexander (1988) added

that “We can emphasize the fact that two or more actions were in progress at the same time by using while or at the time (that) For example:

While I was working in the garden, my wife was cooking dinner

1.2.2.4.4 Repeated actions - criticism

Michael Vince & Peter Sunderland (1994), in the book Advanced

Language Practice, presented that “With a frequency adverb, this use is similar

to the use of present continuous to express annoyance.”

For example:

When Jane was at school, she was always losing things

Past continuous is not used to describe general habitual actions Without the sense of criticism mentioned above, past simple is used for this meaning

For example:

When I lived in London, I always walked through the park every weekend

1.2.2.4.5 Polite inquiries

Richard Side & Guy Wellman (1999), in the book named Grammar and

Vocabulary, introduced that “We often use past continuous to introduce polite

requests, suggestions, or inquiries so that they become more an invitation to discuss the subject than a demand for a yes or no answer”

For example:

I was thinking would you mind swapping seats?

I was wondering if you want to go out this evening

1.2.2.4.6 Using for plans

In the book named Grammar and Vocabulary, Richard Side & Guy

Wellman (1999) presented that “We can use past continuous to talk about the plans in the past” For example,

We were meeting at 8 o’clock and I was already late

We use “was going to” to talk about plans in the past that we still have not carried out or that we no longer intend to carry out For example,

I was going to phone you but I forgot

We can use “I was thinking…” to introduce vague future plans

For example:

I was thinking of going to London this weekend

1.2.3 The simple past perfect tense aspect

1.2.3.1 Form of the simple past perfect tense aspect

In the book English Grammar In Use, Raymond Murphy (1994) presented that “The past perfect simple is had + past participle (gone/seen/finished, ect).”

I/We/They/You/She/It/He Had (= I’d, ect.)

(= he’d, ect.)

Gone See Finished ect 1.2.3.2 Uses of the simple past perfect tense aspect

1.2.3.2.1 The simple past perfect referring to an earlier past

In the book Longman English Grammar, L G Alexander (1998) wrote

that “The main use of the past perfect is to show which of the two events happened first.” For example:

The patient had died when the doctor arrived

Some typical conjunctions used before a past perfect to refer to “an earlier past” are when, after, as soon as, by (the time that) They often imply a cause – and – effect relationship

For example:

We cleared up as soon as our guests had left

Adverbs often associated with the present perfect like already, ever, for

(+ a period of time), just, never, before, since (+ a point of time or a clause with verb in the past simple) are often used with the past perfect to emphasize the

sequence of events

For example:

When I rang, Jim had already left

The boy loved the zoo They had never seen wild animals before

1.2.3.2.2 The past perfect as the past equivalent of the present perfect

According to L G Alexander (1988), in the book Longman English

Grammar, “the past perfect sometimes functions simply as the past form of the

present perfect”

For example:

Juliet is excited because she has never been to an dance before

She said that Juliet was excited because she had never been to an dance before

Basing on this book, by this way, the past perfect can be used to emphasize a completion

For example:

I began collecting stamps in February and by November I had collected more than 2000

1.2.3.2.3 The past perfect for unfulfilled hopes and wishes

In the book named Grammar and Vocabulary, Richard Side & Guy

Wellman (1999) showed that “We use past perfect with report verbs and with

hope, intend, expect, ect to talk about plans that have not yet been fulfilled Had

is usually stressed in speech with this use”

For example:

I had hoped to talk to him but he was too busy to listen

I had thought of phoning him but decided against it

1.2.3.3 Obligatory and non – obligatory uses of the past perfect

In the book Longman English Grammar, L G Alexander (1988)

presented the obligatory and non – obligatory uses of the past perfect: “We do not always need to use past perfect to describe which event came first Sometimes this is perfectly clear.”

For example:

After I finished, I went home

The consequence is often clear in relative clauses As in :

I wore the necklace (which) my grandmother (had given) gave to me

We normally use the simple past for events that occur in sequence

For instance:

I got out of taxi, paid the fare, tipped the driver and dashed into the

station

But there are instances when we need to be very precise in our use of past or

past perfect, especially with when

For example:

When I arrived, Anne left (at that moment)

When I arrived, Anne had left (before I got there)

We normally use the past perfect with conjunctions like no sooner…than or

hardly/scarcely/barely…when in inversion form

1.2.3.4 Simple past and simple past perfect in typical contexts

In the book named Longman English Grammar, L G Alexander (1998)

presented on the simple past and simple past perfect in typical contexts According to that, the past perfect combines with other past tense aspects (simple past, past progressive, past perfect progressive) when we are talking or writing about the past It is used in story –telling, biography, autobiography, reports, eye – witness accounts, so on and is especially useful for establishing the sequence of events

For example:

When we returned from our holidays, we found our house in a mess What had happened while we had been away? A burglar had broken into the house and had stolen a lot of our things (Now that the time of the burglary has been

established relative to our return, the story can continue in the simple past) The

burglar got in through the kitchen window He had no difficulty in forcing it open, then he went into the living – room…

1.2.4 The past perfect progressive tense aspect

1.2.4.1 Form of the past perfect progressive tense aspect

In the book named Oxford Practice Grammar intermediate, John

Eastwood (2006) introduced the form of the past perfect progressive tense aspect

(the past perfect continuous tense aspect) that “The past perfect continuous is had been + an – ing form.”

For example:

I had been waiting for ages Or I’d been waiting for ages

I had not been paying attention Or I hadn’t been paying attention

The ground was wet Had it been raining

1.2.4.2 Uses of the past perfect progressive tense aspect

1.2.4.2.1 Actions in the progress throughout a period

In the book English Grammar In Use, Raymond Murphy (1994) showed

that “We can use the perfect continuous to say how long something had been happening before something else happened”

For example:

The football match had to be stopped They had been playing for half an hour when there was a terrible storm

Ken had been smoking for 30 years when he finally gave it up

1.2.4.2.2 The past perfect progressive for repeated actions

In the book named Longman English Grammar, L G Alexander (1990)

pointed out that the past perfect progressive can be used for repeated actions For example:

He’d been phoning every night for a month

Jim was annoyed Jim had been phoning her everyday

1.2.4.2.3 The past perfect progressive for drawing conclusions

In the book named Longman English Grammar Practice, L G

Alexander (1990) introduced, as well as the present perfect progressive, the past perfect progressive can be used for drawing conclusions

For example:

Her eyes were red It was clear she had been crying

1.2.4.3 The past perfect simple and past perfect progressive tense aspect in comparison

In the book Oxford Practice Grammar advanced, George Jule (2006)

presented the comparison between the past perfect simple and past perfect progressive tense

According the author, “We use the past perfect when we are describing an action with the past simple and we want to refer to an action further in the past” For example:

We went to his office, but he had left

Susan didn’t have the money because she had spent it

We can use the past perfect tense for earlier events after clauses with reporting

or thinking verbs in the past

For example:

Joe told me our team had scored twice

We use the past perfect progressive for events in the progress before another event in the past

For example:

I had been thinking about that before you mentioned it

In the book Longman English Grammar, L G Alexander (1988) wrote

that “The difference between an activity still in progress and one that has definitely been completed is marked by context and by the verbs we use”

For example:

When I got home, I found that Jill had been painting her room

When I got home, I found that Jill had painted her room

In the first example, the action was uncompleted then In the second one the action was definitely finished then

CHAPTER TWO COMMON ERRORS IN THE USE OF PAST TENSE AND

2.1 SURVEY

Because of the limitation of a graduate paper, this study only mentions some common errors in the use of past tense and aspects made by the students of English in grade 11 at Thanh Ba High School

2.1.1 Purpose of the survey

Tense and aspects are very important terms that are used to show relationship between the time and other conditions and the forms of verb In fact, they are considered very difficult and confusing to most learners of English, especially when they do not have many chances to practice speaking in daily real contexts with native speakers but just study the grammar through written exercises as most of Vietnamese students in general and the students in a remote and mountainous High School of Thanh Ba in particular do That’s why errors relating to tenses and aspects are often made In order to check the students’ understanding of the past tense and aspects in active voice, and find out the errors in the use of past tense and aspects in active voice made by the students of English at Thanh Ba High School, the survey questionnaire is designed

2.1.2 Population of the survey

Five teachers were interviewed about the phenomenon in this study They share their experiences in teaching English in general and past tense and aspects

in particular They show the common errors made by students in using past tense and aspects that they can observe during the teaching process The number of students taking part in the survey questionnaire is one hundred students in grade

11 at Thanh Ba High School Most of them have been learning English for six years Some of them have been learning English for seven years or eight years Their expected English level is intermediate

2.1.3 Type of the survey

To collect data, a completion test is used It involves such activities as choosing the correct answer, giving the correct tense form of the verbs in the brackets, giving the form of the irregular verbs, or writing the correct “- ing” form and “– ed” form for some verbs

2.1.4 Construction of the survey

The survey is classified into two parts Part A includes three questions relating to personal information as how long students have been learning English or their English level Part B is set up in order to find out how much the students have known about the past tense and aspects and the common errors in the use of past tense and aspects they often make This part has six exercises 1.Determine the tense and aspect of the verbs

This exercise has fours items

2 Circle the word in each group that has the underlined part pronounced differently from the rest

There are ten items in this exercise

3 Choose the correct answer

This exercise consists of ten items

4 Give the correct tense form of the verbs

This exercise has fifteen items

5 Give the past form of some irregular verbs

This exercise includes eight items

6 Write the correct – ing and –ed form of the verbs

This exercise consists of ten items

2.1.5 Preparation of the survey

2.1.5.1 Test items

According to the Thanh Ba High School English teachers’ experiences, tenses and aspects in general and past tense and aspects in particular are among the most complex as well as difficult terms for the students The students are confused when they use the tenses and aspects of verbs The students are likely

to make mistakes without recognition There are many possible errors made in the use of past tense and aspects that a survey can not cover all within the possible limitation of a graduate paper Therefore, some of the most common errors in the use of past tense and aspects are introduced Thus, it is necessary to predict potential errors In this survey, some potential errors are divided into the following terms

1 Error in the use of the simple past tense aspect for the past perfect tense aspect

2 Error in the use of the simple present perfect tense aspect for the simple past tense aspect

3 Error in the use of the past simple tense aspect of irregular verbs

4 Error in the use of “love, like, want” in the past progressive tense aspect

5 Error in the use of “was/ were” in the past simple and past perfect progressive tense aspects

6 Error in pronunciation in past simple tense aspect of regular verbs

7 Error in adding “-ing” to a verb in past progressive and progressive

past perfect tense aspects

8 Error in adding “-ed” to a regular verb in past simple and past perfect

tense aspects

2.1.5.2 Arrangement of the survey

Basing on classification, the test items are arranged into following question numbers:

1 The test to uncover error in the use of the simple past tense aspect for the past perfect tense aspect is in numbers 17, 21, 24, 27, 32, 35, 37, 39

2 The test to uncover error in the use of the simple present perfect tense aspect for the simple past tense aspect is in numbers 16, 19, 22, 25, 28,

7 The test to uncover error in adding “-ing” to a verb in the past

progressive and progressive past perfect tense aspects is in numbers 48,

49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57

8 The test to uncover error in adding “-ed” to a regular verb in the past

simple and past perfect tense aspects is in numbers 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63,

64, 65, 66, 67

2.1.6 Administration of the try – out

2.1.6.1 Preparation of the try – out

Before carrying out the survey, the researcher had had a contact with the headmistress of Thanh Ba High School, Mrs Doãn Thị Hồng, to ask for her permission And the English teacher, Mrs Đào Thị Quyết, was assigned to support the researcher The researcher carried out the survey in three classes with one hundred students The teachers in charge of the three classes which

were intended to do the survey questionnaire had been asked for agreement before the survey was carried out

2.1.7 Method of data analysis

It is divided into two main stages The first is to interview students and teachers, the second one is to carry out the survey

In the first stage, the students taking part in the survey questionnaire was interviewed on April 12th, 2013 They were asked to answer some question relating to the way his/ her teacher taught about the past tense and aspects The teachers also were asked to answer the questions relating to methodology on teaching the past tense and aspects Based on that results, the researcher could

go on carrying out the second stage

In the second stage, first of all, the students’ self- assessment about their English level and their knowledge was analyzed In the next step, the survey questionnaire was marked Then, the number of correct and incorrect answers for all the test items relating to the past tense and aspects in each task was counted and the errors are matched with each of the error types classified above Next, the average percentage of errors of each type was calculated and compared

to find out the common errors in the use of past tenses Then, the errors levels

were arranged from the highest to the lowest Based on this arrangement, the errors with the highest percentage was considered as the major ones in the use of past tense and aspects

2.1.8 Results of the survey

In part A of the survey questionnaire, when the students were asked to give their self – assessment of their English levels, most of students thought that their English level was not very good (71%) Fourteen percent of student taking part in the survey said their English level was rather good An inconsiderable number of students (10%) was confident that their English level was considered

to be excellent And only five percent thought that their English level was good Fortunately, almost all students said they wanted to learn English, it counted for 89% However, it can be seen from the result of the survey that there are 28.75 percent of students can not determine the tense and aspect of the verbs in the clauses of the test questions

Based on the survey analysis, the errors in the use of past tense and aspects made by the students of English in grade 11 at Thanh Ba High School were shown as in the table below:

Errors in the use of past tense and aspects Incorrect

answers

Percentage

1 Error in the use of the simple past tense aspect

for the past perfect tense aspect

459 57.38%

2 Error in the use of the simple present perfect

tense aspect for the simple past tense aspect

506 63.25%

3 Error in the use of the past simple tense aspect

with irregular verbs

544 60.55%

4 Error in the use of “love, like, want” in the past

progressive tense aspect for the past simple tense

aspect

184 46.01%

5 Error in the use of “was/ were” in the simple past

tense and progressive past tense aspects

167 41.75%

6 Error in pronunciation of the regular verbs in the

past simple tense aspect

594 59.43%

7 Error in adding “-ing” to a verb in past

progressive and past perfect progressive tense

aspects

373 37.31%

8 Error in adding “-ed” to a regular verb in the past

simple and past perfect tense aspects

366 36.65%

Table 1: The result of survey questionnaire

From the data above, it can be identified which error level in the use of past tense and aspects is the highest and which is the lowest The order is table below:

Errors in the use of past tense and aspects Incorrect

answers

Percentage

1 Error in the use of the simple present perfect

tense aspect for the simple past tense aspect

506 63.25%

2 Error in the use of the past simple tense aspect

with irregular verbs

544 60.55%

3 Error in pronunciation of the regular verbs in the

past simple tense aspect

594 59.43%

4 Error in the use of the simple past tense aspect

for the past perfect tense aspect

459 57.38%

5 Error in the use of “love, like, want” in the past

progressive tense aspect for the past simple tense

aspect

184 46.01%

6 Error in the use of “was/ were” in the simple past

tense and progressive past tense aspects

167 41.75%

7 Error in adding “-ing” to a verb in past

progressive and past perfect progressive tense

373 37.31%

8 Error in adding “-ed” to a regular verb in the past

simple and past perfect tense aspects

366 36.65%

Table 2: Arrangement of the percentage of errors from highest to lowest