Common errors in the use of adjectives made by the students in grade eleven at Hoang Quoc Viet high school

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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

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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

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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

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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 Supervisor

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TABLE OF CONTENTS ÂU 9401042010011 1 LÔ u " ốố ốốố ốố e ii Statement of authorship iii 'Table of contenfs PART ONE INTRODUCTION I Rationale II Research presupposition THỊ Research obj€CfÏVES Án TH HH kh In V Research tasks : VI Research methods .0ccccccceccessessceecescesscneceseesecsecssceseesecesesaeesesseseseeseenes VII Significance of the proposed researchh - 5-5 Sen 3 'VIH Design of the research WOrKK << knHnH ng HnHkh 3 PART TWO DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACGROUND 1.1 Literature review in ĐrÏ€Ÿ s cSxnnnHnHnnHnHnHn n nngnren 4 1.2 Adjectives 1.2.1 Definition 0Ÿ adJ€C{IV€S, Ác TT TH HT TH ng nh ng ni, 5 1.2.2 Classification Of i0 6 1.2.2.1 Descriptive adjectives IV Pu gi can IV PP o0 và (iu nh e 7 1.2.2.2.2 Possessive adjectives 8 1.2.2.2.3 Interrogative adjectives 8 1.2.2.2.4 Quantitative adjectives 8 1.2.2.2.5 Disfributive adJ€CfIV©S HH TT TT TH HH ng 9 1.2.2.2.6 Proper adJectives .10

1.2.3 Positions of adj€cfÏV€S HH ng HH HH Hư 10 1.2.3.1 Adjectives are placed before the nouns . 5 5+5 s++sx+<xssss+ssxss 10 1.2.3.2 Adjectives are placed affer the nOUS . ¿5+5 ++++++x++sx+sexsereeexse 10 1.2.3.2.1 Adjectives are placed after the nouns of measurement 10

1.2.3.2.2 Adjectives are placed after the nouns ¡in certain set phrases 11

1.2.3.2.3 More than one adjective 1s used to modiïfy a noun «-s««<s+ 11 1.2.3.3 Adjectives which can come before or affer nouns -««s« 11 1.2.3.3.1 Adjectives before or after nouns with no change in meaning 11

1.2.3.3.2 Adjectives before or after nouns with a change in meaning

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1.2.3.5 Adjectives are placed after the objects (used as an object complement 12 1.2.3.6 Adjectives are placed after Indefinite pronOUns - - «<< «<<s£+s+ 12 1.2.3.7 Adjectives are placed after adverbs - - «ch SH HH ng rưy 13

1.2.4 The 0U 6 13

1.2.4.1 Adjectives used attributively and predicatively - ++-++<s<+s<+<+ 13 1.2.4.2 Adjectives used only attrIDutÏV€Ïy << xxx r rxy 13 1.2.4.3 Adjectives used only predICafIV€Ïy - scStk* vn HH r rxy 13 1.2.4.3.1 Predicative adjectives beginning wIth “*a”” - «sec seecse 14 1.2.4.3.2 Predicative adJectives describing health - 6+5 << eseese 14 1.2.4.3.3 Predicative adjectives describing fellings 5 +55 <<+<s+e sex 14 1.2.4.4 Adjectival partieiples ending in “-ed” and “-ing ««+x<<<<s<sx+ 14 1.2.4.5 Present participle verbs and past participle verbs used as adjectIves 15 1.2.4.6 Nouns that behave like adjectives 1.2.4.7 Adjectives used as nouns 1.2.4.7.1 “The” + adjective 15

1.2.4.7.2 Adjectives referring to colors 16

1.2.5 The order of adjectives T6

IV N00 16 1.2.5.2 The use of commas and “and” to separate adjecfiV€S 5< <<+ 17 1.2.5.2.1 Separating adJectives used aftrIbutiV€Ìy - - «xxx eskerserse 17 1.2.5.2.2 Separating adjectives used predicativeÌy - c+ccsccssxsssrseres 17

CHAPTER TWO

COMMON ERRORS IN THE USES OF ADJECTIVES

IS) 18 II.I.I Purposes Of the SUTV€V - Án TH HH HT TH rưy 18 ID Population of the SUrVey 19

II uái 17 19

IL1.4 Construction of the test nGINẠẠIIiiadadađia 19 IL.1.5 Preparation of the 2 19

ILL.5.1 5 19

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II.I.6 Administration Of the fTÿ OUI - -c <6 x1 1911 11 1 1 nh nh tr rưy 21 IL.1.6.1 Preparation of the try OU - 5 - <6 x1 12 11 1 1 nh nh ng ng rưy 21 I2) 21

IDMWAAV 0000 5 21

INR.S C0 Toà 2a 8 21 IHI.2 Common err0rs and €auS€S . G 1 22 211211251251 511 re 25

II Errors in ordering adjectives 25

IL.2.2 Errors in placing adjectives before indefinite pronouns . 25

“33 IL2.3 Errors in the use of predicative adjectives beginning with “a” as

attributiveadjectives 25 IL2.4 Errors in the use of adverbs instead of adjectives after linking verbs 26 IL2.5 Errors in the use of ““The” + adj€CfIVe - SĂ Ăn Ss sexy 26 IL2.6 Errors in the distinction of predicative adJectives and attributive

E01 27 IL2.7 Errors in the use of adverbs instead of adjectives after the objects (as

J0j[sufeUij011xi) 011077 27

IL.2.8 Errors in the use of adjectival participles ending in “-ed” and “-ing” I1.2.9 Errors in placing adjectives before adverbs .ececceeceeccececeeceeeeeeeeeeeeeees 28

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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?

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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

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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

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PART TWO DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER ONE: THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1.1 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

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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

1.2 Adjectives

1.2.1 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: as in: 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 (Alexander, 1988) Shape: around table; a square box (Alexander, 1988) Colour: blue eyes; a white horse (Alexander, 1988) Origin: a Japanese camera, a Swiss watch (Alexander, 1988)

An adjective can also describe the idea(s) contained in a whole group of words,

Professor Roberts’ lecture on magnetism is fascinating

(Alexander, 1988)

To maintain that we can survive a nuclear war is absurd

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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 (Alexander, 1988) What is Pam like (as a person)? -She is clever/ kind/ witty (Alexander, 1988) What is the car like? -It is new/ old/ red (Alexander, 1988) What is the car like to drive? - It1s difficulU fasU slow (Alexander, 1988) 1.2.2 Classification of adjectives 1.2.2.1 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)

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

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

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

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

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

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:

-able : changeable, comparable

-ible : visible, possible

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-al : mental, national -ary : legendary, elementary -ic : automatic, magnetic

-ous : dangerous, poisonous

-some : gruesome, bothersome -ish : yellowish, bluish -Ive : interactive, passive -y : sunny, smoky -en : golden, wooden

1.2.2.2 Limiting adjectives

1.2.2.2.1 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

(Aik and Hui, 1999) These books are mine, and those books are yousr

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

You should not say such things

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

On yonder hill was an old fort

(Aik and Hui, 1999) Indefinite Demonstrative Adjectives

Some man told me that story

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

Any student can answer this question

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1.2.2.2.2 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)

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

His pen (which pen? His pen)

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

1.2.2.2.3 Interrogative adjectives

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

nouns to ask questions:

Whose project is this?

(Aik and Hui, 1999) Which metal has the highest density?

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

What size do you want?

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

1.2.2.2.4 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 (G) one fifth GQ)

Indefinite Quantitative Adjectives All - whole

Have you done all your exercises? (Murphy, 2000) Tell me the whole story

(Murphy, 2000) Half

I invited 2o, but only half showed up

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1.2.3.2.6 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

(Alexander, 1988) The Victorian Era in England lasted from 1837 to 1991

(Alexander, 1988) 1.2.3 Position of adjectives

1.2.3.1 Adjectives before the nouns

Adjectives are placed before the nouns they modify: An old ticket (Alexander, 1988) A young shop-assistant (Alexander, 1988) He is an old man (Alexander, 1988)

As the above examples show the adjectives are normally placed immediately

before the relevant noun

1.2.3.2 Adjectives after the nouns

1.2.3.2.1 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

(Aik and Hui, 1999) Fifty kilometers long

(Aik and Hui, 1999) Five years old

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1.2.3.2.2 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)

1.2.3.2.3 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)

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

1.2.3.3 Adjectives can come before or after nouns

1.2.3.3.1 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)

1.2.3.3.2 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

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

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1.2.3.4 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)

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

Mai looks healthy (healthy modifies Mai)

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

1.2.3.5 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)

1.2.3.6 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

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(Aik and Hui, 1999)

1.2.3.7 Adjectives are placed after adverbs

All adverbs are placed before the adjectives they modify For examples: The show was very exciting

(Aik and Hui, 1999) The test was rather difficult

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

1.2.4 The uses of adjectives

1.2.4.1 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 For example: She is a good student/ A young shop-assistant/ he is an old man (Alexander, 1988) We say that an adjective is used predicatively when comes after to be or linking verbs For example:

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)

1.2.4.2 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)

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

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

1.2.4.3 Adjectives used only predicatively

1.2.4.3.1 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 For example: The children were asleep at 7, but now they are awake (Alexander, 1988) Is your grandfather still alive? (Alexander, 1988) 1.2.4.3.2 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

(Alexander, 1988) 1.2.4.3.3 Predicative adjectives describing feelings

Some adjectives describe feelings, for examples, content, glad, pleased, sorry, upset, and a few others are normally used only predicatively For example: Tam very glad to meet you (Alexander, 1988) He was not content with what he had (Alexander, 1988)

1.2.4.4 Adjectival participles ending in “-ed’ and “-ing”

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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:

Iam interested in learning English/ Learning English is interesting

(Alexander, 1988) 1.2.4.5 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 1.2.4.6 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, ,

1.2.4.7 Adjectives used as nouns

1.2.4.7.1 “The” + adjective

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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

(Alexander, 1988) 1.2.4.7.2 Adjectives referring to colors

All adjectives that refer to colors can be used as nouns

For example:

The woman in red is very beautiful

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

There are patches of blue and yellow all over the tabletop

(Aik and Hui, 1999)

1.2.5 The order of adjectives 1.2.5.1 The order of adjectives

When both limiting and descriptive adjectives are used together, the limiting adjective should be placed before the descriptive adjective For example: The two broken chairs are here (Murphy, 2000) That big house is mine (Murphy, 2000)

The order of a series of descriptive adjectives is not always fixed The following table shows some acceptable ways of ordering them:

Limiting Descriptive adjectives Noun adjective | Opinion Size | Shape | Age | Color | origin | Material

My Nice New | green house The attractive pink silk dress

The beautiful old | brown | French cupboard

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1.2.5.2 The use of commas and “and” to separate adjectives 1.2.5.2.1 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)

For example:

Joy is engaged to a daring, attractive young Air Force pilot

(Alexander, 1988)

That is we put a comma after the quality adjectives We never use the comma after the adjective that comes immediately before the noun

For example:

The hotel porter led me to a beautiful, bright new room

(Alexander, 1988)

1.2.5.2.3 Separating adjective used predicatively

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

My shoes are dirt and old

(Alexander, 1988)

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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

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II.1.2 Population of the survey

The questionnaire was designed for the students at grade 11 in Hoang Quoc Viet High School The use of adjectives was taught in secondary school, and being taught in high school Naturally, the students have been taught the meaning and the use of adjectives However, there are still certain ones that they have not grasped The questionnaire tests the students’ ability to master vocabulary items The number of students participating in the survey questionnaire was 92

HI.1.3 Type of the survey

The questionnaire is the form of a test, which has the following types of exercises: identifying adjectives, putting the adjectives in the correct position, choosing correct form of word, arranging adjectives in correct order In short, there are 40 sentences in the questionnaire The time limit is 45 minutes

H.1.4 Construction of the survey

The materials in use in the test were taken from the exercise library in grammar books such as English Grammar, A University Grammar of English as well as English websites such as www.globaleducom, www.grammarist.com The questionnaire consists of five exercises:

1 Exercise 1: Identify the adjective used predicatively or attributively This exercise consists of 10 sentences

2 Exercise 2: Put the adjectives in the correct position This exercise consists of 10 sentences

1 Exercise 3: Choose the correct form of words This exercise consists of 15 sentences

4 Exercise 4: Put adjectives in the correct order This exercise consists of 5 sentences

11.1.5 Preparation of the survey 11.1.5.1 Test items

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possible errors and include them in the survey In this survey, possible errors were

classified into the following categories

1 Errors in the use of adverbs instead of adjectives after linking verbs

2 Errors in the use of adverbs instead of adjectives after the objects (as object complement)

3 Errors in the use of adjectival participles ending in “-ed” and “-ing” 4 Errors in the distinction of predicative adjectives and attributive adjectives 5 Errors in the use of “The” + adjective

6 Errors in the use of predicative adjectives beginning with “a” as attributive adjectives

7 Errors in placing adjectives before indefinite pronouns 8 Errors in placing adjectives before adverbs

9 Errors in ordering adjectives

1.1.5.2 Arrangement of the survey

The questions were arranged into the following numbers:

1 The test on ordering adjectives is in numbers 36, 37, 38, 39, and 40

2 The test on the use of adverb instead of adjectives after linking verbs is in numbers 21, 22, 23, 24, and 25 3 The test on the use of adverb instead of adjectives after the objects is in numbers 18 and 34 4 The test on the use of adjectival participles ending in “-ed” and “-ing” is in numbers 26, 27,28, 29, 30, and 31 5 The test on the distinction of predicative adjectives and attributive adjectives is in numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and 10

6 The test on the use of predicative adjectives beginning with “a” as attributive adjectives is in numbers 33 and 35

7 The test on the use of “The” + adjective is in number 32

8 The test on placing adjectives before indefinite pronouns is in numbers 11 and 14

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II.1.6 Administration of the try-out II.6.1.1 Preparation of the try-out

The try-out was prepared with utmost caution The teachers in charge of the two classes, which were intended to do the survey questionnaire, were asked for permission before the try-out was carried out

II.1.6.2 Try-out

The try-out was conducted on November 26", 2012 Ninety-two students were

politely asked to gather in a classroom and complete as much of the questionnaire as

possible in compliance with their own abilities They were carefully instructed before answering the questionnaire Importantly, they were reminded that the result of the questionnaire was to serve the research and it had no influence on their study results Therefore, they did not need to worry about personal information leaked As a result,

the students made their real effort to complete the questionnaire The students could

review the theory before doing the test, but they had to do the test independently The limited time for 40 questions was 45 minutes Most students tried to deal with all the questions However, there were still a few questions left unanswered

11.1.7 Method of data analysis

The data was analyzed in five steps In the first step, the students’ self- assessment about their English level and their knowledge of adjectives was analyzed Errors in the use of adjectives were found in step two In the next step, the average percentage of each error at each level was calculated Then, the errors levels were

ranked from the highest to the lowest Based on this arrangement, the most common

errors were considered as major ones The students who made the most errors were identified in the last step

II.1.8 Result of the survey

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confessed that they are bad at this subject It can be seen from the results of the survey that the students can recognize the forms of adjectives However, most of them could not remember the correct order of adjectives

Based on the survey analysis, the errors made by the students at grade 11 in Hoang Quoc Viet High School were pointed out in the table 1

Table 1:

Common errors in the use of adjectives made by the students in grade eleven at Hoang Quoc Viet High School Error Errors in the use of adjectives % 1 Errors in placing adjectives before indefinite pronouns 62.15 2 Errors in the use of predicative adjectives beginning with “a” as | 49.28 attributive adjectives 3 Errors in the use of adverbs instead of adjectives after linking | 46.50 verbs 4 Errors in the use of “The” + adjective 42.00 5 Errors in the use of adjectival participles ending in “-ed” and “- | 36.35 ”» ing 6 Errors in ordering adjectives 63.50

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From the data in the table 1, it can be idefinite which error level of the use of adjectives is highest and which is the lowest The order is in the table 2

Table 2

Common errors in the use of adjectives made by the students in grade eleven at Hoang Quoc Viet High School

Error Errors in the use of adjectives %

1 Errors in ordering adjectives 63.50

2 Errors in placing adjectives before indefinite pronouns 62.15 3 Errors in the use of predicative adjectives begining with “a” as | 49.28 attributive adjectives 4 Errors in the use of adverbs instead of adjectives after linking | 46.50 verbs 5 Errors in the use of “The” + adjective 42.00 6 Errors in the distinction of predicative adjectives and attributive | 39.25 adjectives

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The specific percentage of these errors is given in the following chart:

y, Common errorsin the use of adjectives 70 63.50 62.15 60 49.28 ot j 46.50 4200 3995 3799 36.35 31.00 3 2 1 0 Errarl Error2 Errar3 Error4 Error5 Error6 Error? Error8 Error9 ° ° ° °

The bar chart shows common errors in the uses of adjectives made by the students in grade eleven at Hoang Quoc Viet High School

As can be seen from the bar chart, the highest errors are in ordering adjectives, which account for 63.50% It is followed by the errors in the placing adjectives before indefinite pronouns which stand at 62.15% while the third highest errors, the errors in the use of predicative adjectives beginning with “a” as attributive adjectives make up 49.28% The errors in use adverbs instead of adjectives after linking verbs and the errors in the use “the +adjective” stand at 46.50% and 42% in turn The errors in the distinction of predicative and attributive adjectives, the errors in the use adverbs in stead of adjectives after object as object complement and the errors in the use of adjectival participles ending “-ed” and “-ing” have similar levels of percentage, i.e between 30 and 40 % The errors related to placing adjectives before adverbs are fewest, only 31 %

Overall, the results obviously showed that there are many errors in the use of

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II.2 Common Errors and Causes II.2.1 Errors in ordering adjectives

The errors in ordering adjectives among the eleventh-grade students at Hoang Quoc Viet High School are the most common The errors of this type account for 63.50 % In fact, it is not easy to remember the order of adjectives Many of the students feel confused in ordering adjectives

Looking at the following example: Put the adjectives in the correct order

yellow/ long/ beautiful/ her

Students’ answer: Her long yellow beautiful skirt Correct answer: Her beautiful long yellow skirt

II.2.2 Errors in placing adjectives before indenfinite pronouns

Many of the students think that all adjectives used attributively must be placed before nouns However, adjectives used with “someone, something, everyone, everything, anyone, anything, no one, and nothing” are placed after these words The errors in placing adjectives before indefinite make up 62.15 % The main cause of this type is that the students ignored grammatical structures

Looking at the following example:

Put the adjectives in the correct position Bring me something to drink (cool) Wrong answer: Bring me something to drink Correct answer: Bring me something cool to drink

HI.2.3 Errors in the use of predicative adjectives begin with “a” as attributive adjectives

Adjectives like the following are used only predicatively like afloat, afraid, alight, alike, alone, ashamed, asleep, awake and a few others

Many students still use above adjectives attributively This error accounts for

49.28%

Look at the following examples:

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Choose the correct form of words in the following sentences The hostages must be very afraid/ frightened people

The correct answer is frightened, but many students chose afraid The cause is that the students ignored grammatical structures

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

Kam Chuan Aik and Kam Kai Hui (1999) in the book Longman Dictionary of Grammar and Usage state that linking verbs are a type of intransitive verb Their function is to link a subject to a complement

A problem with these verbs is that when they are not used as linking verbs they can be modified by adverbs in the usual way This confuses the students, who try to use adverbs instead of adjectives after linking verbs This type of error accounts for 46.50 % Some examples with adjectives and adverbs may help to show the different

use:

He looked calm (adjective)

He looked calmly (adverb) at the angry crowd Look at the following examples:

Choose the correct form of words in the following sentences Your cold sounds terrible/ terribly

The correct answer is terrible, but many students still chose terribly II.2.5 Errors in the use of “The” + adjective

According to Alexander (1988) in the book Longman English Grammar, 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 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 examples, He is a young man with a lot of success) However, some of the students use “the + adjective + noun” to refer to a group of people This error makes

up 42.34 %

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Choose the correct form of words in the following sentences

She invented a new kind of wheelchair for the disabled/the disabled people

The correct answer is the disabled, but some of the students still chose the

disable people

11.2.6 Errors in the distinction of predicative adjectives and attributive adjectives

In the book Longman English Grammar, Alexander (1988) states that 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 (for examples She is a good student) We say that an adjective is used predicatively when comes after to be or linking verbs (for examples, This ticket is old)

Students do not know to distinguish which adjective are used predicatively and

which adjectives are used attributively as well The cause is that the students ignored

grammatical structures This type of error accounts for 39.25 % Look at the following examples:

Say whether the adjectives in the following sentences used attributively or predicatively

He bought a new hat (The correct answer is that it is attributive adjective but

many students answer it is predicative one)

My father is still asleep (The correct answer is that it is predicative adjective but a great number of students answer it is attributive one)

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

According to Kam Chuan Aik and Kam Kai Hui (1999) in the book Longman Dictionary of Grammar and Usage, an object adjective complement completes the meaning of a sentence by telling us something about the object of its transitive verb

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Look at the following examples:

Choose the correct form of words in the following sentences They made me happy/ happily

The correct answer is happy, but many students still chose happily

II.2.8 Errors in the use of adjectival participles ending in “-ed” and “-ing” In the book Longman English Grammar, Alexander, (1988) states that common pairs of —ed/-ing adjectives are amazed/ amazing; annoyed/ annoying; bored/ boring; excited/ exciting; interested/ interesting; pleased/ pleasing; tired/ tiring

However, a great number of students often confuse in the use of adjectival

participles ending in “-ed” and “-ing This type of error makes up 36.35 %

Look at the following examples:

Choose the correct form of words in the following sentences

It was a terrifying/ terrified experience Afterwards everybody was very shocking/ shocked

The correct answer is terrifying/ shocked, but many of the students still chose terrified /shocking

11.2.9 Errors in placing adjectives before adverbs

The least common type of error in the use of adjectives is the errors in placing

adjectives before adverbs It is only 31.53%

Looking at the following example:

Put the adjectives in the correct position

The engineer gave us remarkably explanations (clear)

Wrong answer: The engineers gave us clear remarkably explanations

Correct answer: The engineer gave us remarkably clear explanations

The main cause of this error is that the students ignored grammatical structures

11.3 SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS

II.3.1 Suggested solutions

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In fact, the teaching process is complex, requiring a teacher of foreign language to have not only a good knowledge but also patience As can be seen from

the previous part of the thesis, the students’ errors are due to their limited

understanding of the use of adjectives The students expect their teachers to help them be aware of adjectives and everything related to them through explicit teaching Therefore, it is very important for the teacher to enable the students to see the importance of the adjectives in the English language The teachers should introduce all possible uses of the adjectives The uses must be introduced systematically such as

definition, formation, classification, function and meaning

The teachers should help the students minimize the errors in the use of adjectives by providing the students some useful techniques to help them memorize and use adjectives correctly Most of the students feel confused in using adjectives especially in ordering adjectives They all feel difficult to remember the order of adjectives even with the students who are good at English In order to remember the rules of ordering adjectives is not easy There are the useful s the teachers can use to help the students remember all those complicated rules For examples, instead of a series of rules in mind, the students only need to remember the short term

"OpSiSACOM'", it means “Op: opinion; Si: size; S: shape; A: age; C: color; O:

origin; M: material”

The best way to help the students master the uses of adjectives is to give them various types of exercises related to the uses of adjectives

To students, they should do exercises related to adjectives as much as possible They can do exercises in some comprehensive grammar books and websites as well as exercises given by the teachers They should read the instructions and analyze the sentences carefully Besides, the students should enhance their linguistic competence in order to understand fully the meaning of the sentences

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Hopefully, the students in general and the students at Hoang Quoc Viet High

School in particular can minimize errors in the uses of adjectives

II.3.2 Suggested exercises

Exercises on the use of adjectives in grammar and test books could be made to consolidate what students have learnt Moreover, teachers are also advised to design particular exercise types to minimize students’ errors in the use of adjectives Here are some suggested exercises types

1 Find and underline the adjectives in the given sentences 2 Choose the correct form of words: adverb or adjective 3 Choose the correct answer to complete each sentence

4 Change the form of the words using suitable form of adjectives

As for the first exercise type, the students have to find the adjectives in each sentence This exercise is designed to consolidate what students have learnt about adjectives in terms of positions, uses and the meaning It required students to understand the uses of adjectives

The second exercise type is designed to help students to distinguish between the use of adjectives and adverb By doing this exercise, students can minimize error in the use of adverb instead of adjective

The third exercise type is aimed at helping student master the order of adjectives By practicing this exercise, students can minimize the errors in ordering adjective

As for the last exercise type, students have to distinguish between the use of adjectival participles ending in “-ed” and “-ing” It requires students to understand the use of adjectival participles ending in “-ed” and ‘‘-ing” Therefore, they can minimize

errors

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PART THREE CONCLUSION

Grammar plays a center role in the language system In other words, it is the foundation on which all learners have to base themselves to master a new language It is undeniable that adjective is one of the essential parts to form a sentence in

English However, English adjectives are diversified in many forms, meanings as

well as usages Therefore, students often face difficulties and make mistakes when

dealing with them For this reason, the study has focused on errors in the uses of adjectives among the students in grade 11 at Hoang Quoc Viet High School

The analysis has shown that most students cannot grasp all types of adjectives Many students admitted that they often feel confused in the uses of adjectival participles ending in “-ed” and “-ing” It is difficult for them to remember the order of adjectives The thesis gives an understandable picture of the adjectives such as definition, classification, positions and uses Hopefully, the students will have a full look at the adjectives

Then a survey was conducted with the aim of testing the students’ understanding of the adjectives, and finding the common errors in the use of adjectives The survey was well prepared with the effort from the author as well as the consultancy from reliable sources of material Diversified exercises were included in the survey with the hope that the students would feel more interested in doing them The outcome of the survey has proved the eleventh-grade students at Hoang Quoc Viet High School often make mistakes in the use of adjectives

The survey shows that the highest percentage of errors is in ordering adjectives, which account for 63.50% The second commonest are the errors in the placing adjectives before indefinite pronouns, which stand 62.15% The errors related to placing adjectives before adverbs are fewest, only 31.53 %

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Based on the analysis, the following notes are useful:

To teachers:

1 Lecture on the importance of adjectives

2 Present the uses of adjectives with clear examples 3 Provide students with sufficient knowledge of adjectives

4 Introduce the ways and techniques to memorize and use adjectives 5 Introduce adequate exercises related to adjectives

To students:

1 Be aware of the importance and usefulness of adjectives 2 Grasp the theory of adjectives and their uses

3 Do as many exercise related to adjectives as possible

4 Read the instructions and analyze the sentences carefully when dealing with exercises

5 Apply the rules when dealing with exercises

It is hoped that study has made certain contributions to the English teaching and

learning practice in Vietnam Although I have made efforts, mistakes and

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REFERENCES

Alexander, L.G (1988) Longman English Grammar New York: Longman Publishing

Aik, K.C & Hui, K K (1999) Longman Dictionary of Grammar and Usage Asia: Pearson Education Asia Pte Limited

Azar, B.S (1995) Basic English Grammar London: Longman

Baugh, L S (1993) Essentials of English Grammar Illinois: passport Books

Close, R A (1979) A Reference Grammar for Students of English London:

Longman

Dean, M (1994) English Grammar Lesson Oxford: Oxford University Press Eastwood, J (1994) Oxford Guide to English Grammar Oxford: Oxford

Eastwood, J (1992) Oxford Practice Grammar Oxford: Oxford University Press Murphy, R (2000) English Grammar in Use Cambridge: Cambridge University Quirk, R (1973) A University Grammar of English England: Longman

Quirk, R et al (1985) A Comprehensive Grammar of the English Language, 2" ed London: Longman Publishing Group

Radford, A (1997) Syntactic Theory and the Structure of English Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Sinclair, J et al (1990) Collins Cobuild English Grammar Glasgow: HarperCollins Publishers

Susan, C., Douglas, B & Geoffrey, L (2002) Longman Student Grammar of Spoken and Written English England: Longman

Swan, M (1984) Basic English Usage Oxford: Oxford University Press