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HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N 0 2 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FACULTY TRAN THI NGOC ANH COMMON ERRORS IN THE USE OF ZERO ARTICLE MADE BY THE STUDENTS IN GRADE ELEVEN AT VU TIEN HIGH SCHOOL GRAD

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HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N 0 2 FOREIGN LANGUAGE FACULTY

TRAN THI NGOC ANH

COMMON ERRORS IN THE USE OF ZERO ARTICLE MADE BY THE STUDENTS IN GRADE ELEVEN

AT VU TIEN HIGH SCHOOL

(GRADUATION PAPER SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF

THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ENGLISH)

Supervisor : PHI THI THO, B.A

HANOI - 2014

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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

Vu Tien High School because of their support in the survey

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

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ABSTRACT

The zero article is an interesting category of English grammar As well known, zero article is a complex area and it has a lot of rules with different objects To correct the use of zero article is one of the most things to get right in English However, in some books have not been dealt with in full and sometimes it is difficult for students to understand and use correctly

As a result, students often make errors when they use zero article Therefore, this research work is focused on investigating common errors in the use of zero article and to suggest some solutions to the problem

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

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STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP Title: Common errors in the Use of Zero Article made by the students in

grade eleven at Vu Tien 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

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgement i

Abstract ii

Statement of authorship iii

Table of contents iv

PART ONE INTRODUCTION I Rationale 1

II Research presupposition 1

III Research objectives 2

IV Research scope 2

V Research tasks 2

VI Research methods 2

VII Research significance 3

VIII Research design 3

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

I.2.The article 5

I.2.1 Definition of article 5

I.2.2 Classification of article 5

I.3 Zero article 6

I.3.1 Zero article 6

I.3.2 Uses 6

I.3.2.1 Before plural nouns used in general sense 6

I.3.2.2 Before abstract nouns used in general sense 7

I.3.2.3 Before the names of material used in general sense 7

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I.3.2.4 Before nouns: school, church, prison, hospital, bed 7

I.3.2.5 Before names of meals in general sense 8

I.3.2.6 Before names of holidays, special times of the year, name of month, day of weeks 8

I.3.2.7 Before names of mounts, lakes, capes 9

I.3.2.8 Before name of languages or religions, subjects, arts, sports and games 9

I.3.2.9 Before proper nouns, titles followed by a proper noun 9

I.3.2.10 Before seasons, parts of the day 10

I.3.2.11 Before name of countries, towns, streets, airports, stations 10

I.3.2.12 Before illnesses 10

CHAPTER TWO METHODOLOGY II.1 Survey 11

II.1.1 Purposes of the survey 11

II.1.2 Population of the survey 11

II.1.3.Type of the survey 12

II.1.4 Construction of the test 12

II.1.5 Preparation of the survey 12

II.1.5.1 Test items 12

II.1.5.2 Arrangement of the test items 13

II.1.6 Administration of the try out 13

II.1.6.1 Preparation of the try out 13

II.1.6.2 Try out 14

II.1.7 Method of data analysis 14

CHAPTER THREE THE RESULT III.1 Results of the survey 15

III.2 Analysis 17

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III.2.1 Errors in the use of zero article with nouns: school, church, prison,

hospital, bed 17

III.2.2 Errors in the use of zero article with plural nouns used in general sense 17

III.2.3 Errors in the use of zero article with abstract nouns used in general sense 18

III.2.4 Errors in the use of zero article with languages or religions, subjects, arts, sports and games 19

III.2.5 Errors in the use of zero article with name of countries, towns, streets, airports, stations 19

III.2.6 Errors in the use of zero article with material used in general sense 20

III.3 Suggested solutions and suggested exercises 21

III.3.1 Suggested solutions 21

III.3.2 Suggested exercises 23

III.3.2.1 Suggested sources for the use of zero article exercise 23

III.3.2.2 Suggested types exercise 23

III.3.2.3 Sample of exercises 24

PART THREE CONCLUSION I Conclusion 26

II Implication of the study 26

III Limitations and suggestions for further research 27

REFERENCES 29

APPENDICIES 31

SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE 31

SUGGESTED EXERCISES 35

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PART ONE INTRODUCTION

I RATIONALE

The English article system is one of the most difficult aspects of English grammar for students of English as a second language to understand English articles occur very frequently and incorrect use may affect communication negatively In addition, a writer may prefer to be accurate, when he/she has to write

The English article system is so difficult to acquire for students because there is no such independent grammatical category, as the article exist in Vietnamese on which the learners could learn when learning the use of the English article system

There is a fact that zero article is one of the complex language categories

It has always been considered one of the most problems to overcome in teaching English grammar to foreigners and misuse is one of the most evident grammatical sign that a person is not a native speaker of English, students in specific It often causes embarrassments to students Due to its various uses, it is admitted that there are many errors, which may be made They do not know how

to use no article correctly and they often confuse zero article with the indefinite and definite article For example:

Elephant has a good memory The frogs can live on land and in water

As the reasons above, this study was conducted to give basic theory about zero article and shows the errors students often make when using zero article Then base on the errors they make, the causes of the problems were found out and some solutions were proposed to limit the errors

II RESEARCH PRESUPPOSITION

Some questions are raised:

1 What kinds of errors in the use of zero article are made by the students

in grade 11 at Vu Tien High School in the academic year of 2013 - 2014?

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2 What are the causes of the errors in the use of zero article by the students

in grade 11 at Vu Tien High School in the academic year of 2013 - 2014?

3 What are the effective ways to minimize the errors made by the students

in grade 11 at Vu Tien High School in the academic year of 2013 - 2014?

III RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

The objectives of the study:

1 To find out the main errors in the use of zero article made by the students in grade 11 at Vu Tien High School in the academic year of 2013 -

2014

2 To find out the causes of the errors in the use of zero article made by the students in grade 11 at Vu Tien High School in the academic year of 2013 -

2014

3 To offer some suggestions to minimize the errors made by the students

in grade 11 at Vu Tien High School in the academic year of 2013 - 2014

IV RESEARCH SCOPE

The general research area of this study is grammar The phenomenon is the errors in using zero article made by one hundred students in grade 11 at Vu Tien High School in the academic year of 2013 - 2014 One hundred students from class 11A8 and 11A7 are the subjects of the survey

V RESEARCH TASKS

The research work involves the following tasks:

1 Studying the theory of zero in English

2 Conducting a survey to find out error types and causes of the uses of zero article in English

3 Suggesting some solutions to minimize the students‟ errors

VI RESEARCH METHODS

With the aim of finding the common errors as well as their possible solutions in the use of zero article in English, the following methods have been applied:

1 Collecting, reading and analyzing documents listed in the references

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2 Consulting the supervisor, experienced teachers and students

3 Synthesizing theoretical materials on English grammar

4 Conducting test survey and analyzing the results

VII RESEARCH SIGNIFICANCE

The study will be useful not only to the author and to her colleagues in improving the teaching quality, but students will also benefit from it The result

of the study will serve as a foundation for the possible solutions to students‟ errors in using English zero article Furthermore, the study will contribute to the

field of teaching methodology This study is hoped provide the following:

1 Helping Vu Tien High School students understand about zero article in English

2 Helping Vu Tien High School students minimize their errors in using zero article

3 Becoming a useful reference about zero article for both teachers and students to make sure that they can deeply understand things relating to zero article

VIII RESEARCH DESIGN

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

The part Development consists of three chapters

Chapter one named Theoretical Background presents literature review in

brief, definition and classification of the articles, the introduction and usage of zero article

Chapter two is Methodology It describes the research methods

Chapter three is The Result It is composed of three sections Section one

is devoted to the survey The second mentions to error types and causes The last one provides solutions to the problems and suggested exercises on zero articles

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PART TWO DEVELOPMENT

CHAPTER ONE THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

I.1 LITERATURE REVIEW IN BREFT

The zero article has been described by many grammarians like Alexander, L.G (1998); Aik, K.C & Hui, K.K (1999); Thomson, A.J & Martinet, A.V (1989), Foley.M & Hall.D (2008), and so on They each have their own way to describe zero article Generally, they focus their attention on the definition and the uses of zero article Most of the knowledge they present are useful for English learners

Alexander, L.G (1998) in Longman English Grammar Practice for intermediate students pays much attention to the use of zero article He divides

the use of zero article into 4 segmens: zero article with plural nouns and uncountable nouns; zero article with things in genral; zero article with people and places; zero article with holiday, time of the day, meal

In Longman Dictionary of Grammar and Usage, Aik, K.C & Hui, K K

(1999) focus on the specific uses of zero article According to him, zero article used before: plural nouns, uncountable nouns, proper nouns, nouns in the possessive cases, abstract nouns, nouns of some set phrases , names of games or transports, names of meals, names of holidays, special times of the year, names

of month, days of week, names of places, names and titles, seasons, parts of the day, illnesses

Foley.M & Hall.D (2008) in the book Advanced Learner’s Grammar

only concentrates on the uses of zero article

In the book A practical English Grammar, Thomson, A J & Martinet,

A.V (1989) give a quite understandable picture of the use of zero article Morever, he point out some noticeable cases when using zero article

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An important subset of adjectives in English is the determiner, a category

of words that indicate which noun is being discussed The determiner in English consists of articles (a/an, the), possessives (my, your, their, etc), demonstratives (this, that…), numerals (three, first….) and a few quantifiers (some, many… )

Alexander (1998) defines that “articles are determiners which affect the meaning of the noun, and make it clearer by showing which particular thing we are referring to” (p55)

Andrusiak.I.V in The Use of Articles in English, defines: “The articles

belong to a syntactic class of words called determiners Determiners are words

we use before a noun to show whether the noun is specific or general, singular

or plural, etc determiners also include possessives like my, demonstratives like this and quantifiers like all”

I.2.2 Classification

English articles, according to Thomson and Martinet (1986:15-22) in the

book A practical English Grammar, are classified into two types: definite article the and indefinite article a/an However, Quirk adds more type, that is zero

article Ø Yotsukura (1970) seems to be the first person who suggests adding

another category beside the zero article So English articles include a/an, the and

Ø (the null or zero marker) The two categories of the article traditionally called

indefinite and definite articles Singular count nouns take a or an as indefinite articles All categories of nouns take the as the definite marker

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I.3 ZERO ARTICLE

I.3.1 Zero article

Although the term “zero article” traditionally refers to any instance in which a noun requires no article, the researchers (Yotsukura,1970; Celce-Murcia

& Larsen-Freeman,1999) divide the zero article into two types: zero and null To Yotsukura, there is distributional evidence suggesting a form other than zero article By using a post-modifying restrictive relative clause test, she discovered that the second zero form is found before singular proper nouns and some common nouns Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman also found that the zero article

occurs with nonspecific or generic noncount and plural nouns, such as water and cats The null article occurs with certain singular count and proper nouns, such

as Chicago and lunch Quirk et al (1985: 246) describes a proper noun like Marjon as having “no article” and a common noun like music as having a “zero

article”

Different authors have different opinions about zero article From my point of view, the Celce-Murcia & Larsen-Freeman‟s opinion is more complete than the other is They said that the zero article occurs with nonspecific or generic noncount and plural nouns These are criterias which I follow to present the use of zero article in the below

I.3.2 Uses

I.3.2.1 Before plural nouns used in general sense

Zero article is used before plural nouns that refers to all members of a class of things or people:

Children like candies

Plants and animals need air and water

Zero article is also used before plural nouns which focus on an indefinite number of things or people of a particular category For example:

There are visitors in the hall

When we use the with plural noun, we are talking about specific things or

people:

The books you ordered have arrived

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I.3.2.2 Before abstract nouns used in general sense

Zero article is used in front of abstract nouns that refer to certain ideas or things in general:

Life is short

We‟ll have freedom or death

I.3.2.3 Before the names of material used in general sense

Zero article is always used with materials (wine, coal, sugar, etc.) when they are considered in general sense

Glass is a difficult material to cut

Gold is very expensive at the moment

Note: There is a different between:

They are looking for gold (= any gold)

They found the gold (= the gold they were looking for)

I.3.2.4 Before nouns: school, church, prison, hospital, bed

Zero article is used when we talk about institutions such as hospital, prison, school, town or church being used for their intended purpose: medical

treatment in hospital, studying in university, and so on We use articles when we talk about them as particular places or buildings

Notice that we talk about bed in the same way

Jane‟s at school (to learn)

John‟s in hospital (he‟s ill)

She usually stays in bed till late at weekend

Some set phrases:

- at college; at ease; at home; at lunch; at night; at rest; at school; at sea; at work

- by accident; by air; by bus; by bicycle; by car; by chance; by design; by mistake; by plane; by train; by surprise

- in bed; in class; in danger; in difficulty; in hospital; in love; in need; in prison; in reply; in tears

- on duty; on foot; on fire; on guard; on land; on purpose; on sale; on time; on vocation

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- John is in prison (= John is a prisoner)

- John is in the prison (= John is physically in a certain prison, perhaps as

a visitor)

- I visited Jack in hospital (= Jack is sick)

- Jack is working in a hospital in New York (a certain hospital is referred to)

- He is going to college (= He will soon be a college student.)

- He is going to a good college (a certain college is referred to)

I.3.2.5 Before name of meals in general sense

Zero article is used when we talk about meals:

What have we got for dinner?

We would not say, for example, “I had a/the breakfast before I went out” However, if we want to describe a particular meal or a formal meal for a special occasion, we can use an article:

We‟re having a dinner to welcome the new manager

The dinner we had at Webster‟s restaurant was marvelous

I.3.2.6 Before name of holidays, special times of the year, name of month, day of weeks

Zero article is often used with the names of holidays, special times of the year, or with the names of months and days of the week:

Easter New Year‟s Day September Monday

- In Scotland, they really know how to celebrate (the) New Year

We say “in the New Year” when we mean at or near the beginning of next

year:

I‟ll see you again in the New Year

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When we want to describe the features of a particular holiday, season, etc., we use a/an:

That was a winter I‟ll never forget

I.3.2.7 Before name of mounts, lakes, capes

We use mount (= mountain)/ lake/ cape with a name (without the)

Mount Everest (not the….) - Lake Geneva - Cape Cod

- However we use the with the names of oceans, seas, rivers and canals:

the Indian Ocean - the Red Sea - the Nile - the Sahara - the Suez Canal

I.3.2.8 Before name of languages, subjects, arts, sports and games

- Zero article is used at all in English when we talk about names of games

or transport For example:

I like chess but she like tennis and swimming

- Zero article is used before names of subjects and fields of study

English and Mathematics are my favourite subjects

- There is usually no article before name of languages or a form of art: Not many children enjoy opera (rather than ….enjoy the opera)

My father can speak 3 languages: Vietnamese, English, French

I.3.2.9 Before proper nouns, title followed by a proper noun

We do not normally use article in front of proper nouns (like John, London, etc.)

We usually use titles: Mr/Mrs/Captain/Doctor etc + a name, we do not

use the

Mr Johnson/ Doctor Johnson/ Captain Johnson/President Johnson etc

(not the… )

Uncle Robert/ Saint Catherine/ Princess Maria etc (not the….)

However, we use the:

- When there are two people with the same name and we want to specify which once we are talking about:

That‟s not the Stephen Fraser I went to school with

- When we want to emphasise a person who everyone probably knows:

Do they mean the Ronald Reagan, or someone else?

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- When we talk about a family as a whole:

The Robinsons are away this weekend (= the Robinsons family)

I.3.2.10 Before seasons, parts of the day

- With winter, summer, spring, autumn and New Year (meaning the

holiday period), we can often use either the or zero article:

In (the) summer, I try to spend as much time in the garden as I can

- Zero article is used with at night, by night, midnight, midday and noon:

I don‟t like driving at night

If possible, I‟d like it finished by midnight

- We use the and a/an in the usual way when we talk about the morning/afternoon/evening of a particular day or when we want to describe the

features of a particular holiday, season, etc

That was a winter I‟ll never forget

I woke up with a sore throat, and by the evening, my voice had

disappeared

I.3.2.11 Before names of countries, towns, streets, airports, stations

Zero article is used with proper nouns, so this includes place name We use no article for the name of countries (Turkey), states (Ohio), cities (Paris), streets (Oxford Street), parks (Hyde Park), addresses (24 Norht Street), buildings (Westminster Abbey), geographical areas (Africa), historical references (Ancient Rome), and island (Malta)

I.3.2.12 Before illnesses

Zero article is used before illnesses: appendicitis, cancer, toothache, etc

He is got lung cancer

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CHAPTER TWO METHODOLOGY

In order to answer the research questions of the study, the survey questionnaire is carried out with the students in grade 11 at Vu Tien High School

II.1 Survey

As it was mentioned in chapter one, the study does help the students of English to have a deep insight into the zero article In the process of providing students with knowledge of zero article, the thesis has identified common errors made by Vietnamese students Due to framework of a thesis, to map out all mistakes made by students at high educational level is impossible Therefore, this thesis only focuses on common errors in the use of the zero article made by one hundred students of English in grade 11 at Vu Tien High School To find out the errors made by those students, a survey questionnaire was conducted

Questionnaire survey is a list of a lot questions that are prepared to gather information A questionnaire can be a useful tool to gather survey information from a large number of people A questionnaire can be fact or opinion-based and maybe answered by choosing from a list of opinions or writing out responses by hand There are several advantages to using a questionnaire format It is not cost-effective, easy to analyze and is less intrusive than other survey method

II.1.1 Purposes of the survey

The survey contains questionnaire related to zero article Therefore, the purpose of the survey is to check how deep Vu Tien High School students understand the use of zero article, then shows common errors they often make Besides, according to the result of the questionnaire survey, the reasons why the students make mistakes when facing with zero article can be identified

II.1.2 Population of the survey

The survey is designed for one hundred students in grade 11 at Vu Tien high school They have been learning English for five to seven years Naturally,

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they have been taught some of the zero article uses They answer the questionnaires so that the common errors and reasons of the errors are pointed out Some of them are really good at grammar but some of them are bad at grammar in general and the zero article in particular

II.1.3.Type of the survey

To collect data, the questionnaire is the form of a test It involves such activites as choose the correct answer, find the mistake of the sentence, and fill

in the blank In short, there are 50 sentences in the questionnaire The time limit

is 45 minutes

II.1.4 Construction of the test

The material is used in the test was taken from grammar books concerned with the zero article such as English Grammar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, Longman English Grammar Practices The survey consists of fifty sentences that require the students using knowledge about the zero article to answer the questions The questionnaire consists of three exercises:

1 Exercise 1: Fill in the spaces with a / an or the zero article (Ø) :

This exercise consists of ten blanks

2 Exercise 2: Choose the best answer

This exercise consists of 30 sentences

3 Exercise 3: Some of these sentences are correct, but some are incorrect Correct the sentences where necessary

This exercise consists of 10 sentences

II.1.5 Preparation of the survey

II.1.5.1 Test items

Common errors in the use of the zero article are unavoidable The purpose

of this survey is to spot these mistakes However, there are a great number of errors in using the zero article, which a survey cannot cover Therefore, it is necessary to predict possible errors and include them in the survey In this survey, possible errors were classified into the following categories

1 Error in the use of zero article with plural nouns used in general sense

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2 Error in the use of zero article with abstract nouns used in general sense

3 Error in the use of zero article with material used in general sense

4 Error in the use of zero article with languages, subjects, arts, sports and games

5 Error in the use of zero article with nouns: school, church,prison, hospital,bed

6 Error in the use of zero article with name of countries, towns, streets, airports, stations

II.1.5.2 Arrangement of the test items

After being classified, the questions were arranged into the following number:

1 Error in the use of zero article with plural nouns used in general sense

II.1.6 Administration of the try- out

II.1.6.1 Preparation of the try- out

The try-out was prepared carefully The questionnaire had to be clear and easy to understand Before the try - out was carried out, the teacher in charge of the two classes, which were intended to do the survey questionnaire, were asked for permission

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II.1.6.2 Try- out

The try - out was conducted on February 15th, 2014 One hundred students

in the grade 11A7 and 11A8 were asked to do the questionnaire with their own ability They were carefully instructed before finishing the entire survey 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 leak

As a result, the students made their real effort to complete the questionnaire

The students could review the theory by themselves before doing the test, but they had to do the test independently The allocated time for fifty questions was forty - five minutes Most students tried to deal with all the questions However, there were still a few questions left unanswered

II.1.7 Method of data analysis

The data were analyzed in five steps Firstly, the researcher collects the result of the survey questionnaire Secondly, common errors in the use of the zero article were identified Thirdly, the average percentage of error at each type

of error is calculated The error levels were ranked from the highest to the lowest in next step Lastly, based on this arrangement, the highest was considered as the major error in the use of the zero article

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CHAPTER THREE THE RESULT

In this chapter, the result will be presented It is devided into three sections Section III.1 deals with the survey questionnaire, which was designed

to map out some common errors made by the eleventh - grade students at Vu Tien High School Section III.2 shows common errors and causes Section III.3 provides students and teacher with some suggested solutions to minimize the errors in the use of zero article

III.1 Result of the survey

Based on the survey analysis, the errors made by the students in grade 11

at Vu Tien High School were pointed out It can be identified which errors level

of zero article is the highest and which is the lowest The order is as the table following:

1 Errors in the use of zero article with nouns: school, church,prison,

4 Errors in the use of zero article with languages or religions,

subjects, arts, sports and games

34%

5 Errors in the use of zero article with name of countries, towns,

streets, airports stations

29%

6 Errors in the use of zero article with material used in general sense 16%

Table: Arrangement of the percentage of errors

from the highest to the lowest

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