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

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 I 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 II 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 III TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENT I ABSTRACT II STATEMENT OF AUTHORSHIP III TABLE OF CONTENTS IV PART ONE INTRODUCTION Rationale Research objectives Research questions Research scope Research tasks Research method Significance of the propose research Design of the research work PART TWO DEVELOPMENT CHAPTER ONE THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 1.1 LITERATURE REVIEW IN BRIEF 1.2 PAST TENSE AND ASPECTS 1.2.1 The simple past tense aspect 1.2.1.1 Form of the simple past tense aspect with regular verbs 1.2.1.1.1 Positive form 1.2.1.1.2 Negative and interrogative forms IV 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 1.2.1.2.2 Form of the simple past tense aspect: negative and interrogative forms 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 V 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 VI 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 VII 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 VIII PART ONE INTRODUCTION 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 SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE TO INTERVIEW THE STUDENTS (You can circle more than one answer) Do you agree that learning the tense aspects is so difficult? A Yes B No C Normal Due to the design of the textbook, each of the past tense and aspect is mentioned in separate units Thus, before beginning the new lesson, does the teacher review about other past tense and aspects learnt? A Yes B No When you learn about the simple past tense and aspect, the teacher usually? A Gives the form and the usages only B Gives the form and the usages and then gives some examples, analyzes the real situations C Gives the form, usages, examples and some notes, analyzes the real situations D Gives the form, usages, examples, notes and some exercises to practice, lets the students play game relating to all tense and aspects learned E Others…………………………………………………………………… What does your teacher to help you remember the past simple and past participle form of irregular verbs? A Forces the students to learn by heart and checks B Gives more exercises for the students to practice and lets them play games C Just lets the students the exercises in the textbook D All of the above actions When the teacher gives you the exercises relating to the past simple and past participle forms of irregular verbs, are you always allowed to use some materials such as: the list of irregular verb and their past simple and past participle forms when doing these exercises or not? A Yes B No xi What does your teacher often when he/she teaches the past perfect tense aspect? A Just gives theory B Gives theory and useful exercises to practice C Gives theory and some exercises, and necessary notes D Provides real situations and examples when teaching the theory so that the lesson is not boring E Others: What does the teacher often when he/she distinguishes between the past simple tense aspect and the present perfect tense aspect? A Gives examples B Gives examples and exercises C Gives a clear signal for each of them if possible D Gives a possibly clear signal for each of them and gives examples E Provides exercises to practice, analyzes the real situations, lets the students play games relating to all past tense and aspects learned F Others…………………………………………………………… What does the teacher often when she/he distinguishes between the past simple tense aspect and the past perfect tense aspect? A Gives examples B Gives example and exercises C Gives a clear signal for each of them if possible D Gives clear signal(s) for each of them is possible, gives examples, and provides exercises to practice E Analyzes the real situations, lets the students play games relating to all past tense and aspects learned F Others…………………………………………………………… What does the teacher often when he/she teaches the rules to add “– ed” to regular verbs? A Gives the common theory only xii B Gives the common theory and useful exercises to practice C Gives the theory clearly and useful exercises to practice D Lets the students play some games such as slap the board, picture matching, matching, etc E Others…………………………………………………………………… 10 What does the teacher often when he/she teaches the rules to add “– ing” in the verbs? A Gives the common theory only B Gives the common theory and useful exercises to practice C Gives games for students to remember these rules such as slap the board or matching D Others…………………………………………………………………… 11 What does the teacher often when he/she teaches the rules of pronouncing the regular verbs in the past simple and past participle forms? A Gives the rules and lets the students the exercises in the textbook B Gives the rules and lets the students some exercises in the textbook and extra exercises in reference books C Gives the rules and lets the students some exercises in the textbook and extra exercises in reference books D Lets the students read aloud some passages including “V-ed” and checks the pronunciation E Others……………………………………………………………… 12 What is (are) the most common error(s) you often make when using the past tense aspects? A Error in the use of the simple present perfect tense aspect for the simple past tense aspect B Error in the use of the past simple tense aspect with irregular verbs C Error in pronunciation of the regular verbs in the past simple tense aspect D Error in the use of the simple past tense aspect for the past perfect tense aspect xiii E Error in the use of “love, like, want” in the past progressive tense aspect for the past simple tense aspect F Error in the use of “was/ were” in the simple past tense and progressive past tense aspects G Error in adding “-ing” to a verb in past progressive and past perfect progressive tense aspects H Error in adding “-ed” to a regular verb in the past simple and past perfect tense aspects I Others………………………………………………………………………… xiv SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE TO INTERVIEW THE TEACHERS (You can circle more than one answer) What is the difficulty of teaching English to the 11th-grade students at Thanh Ba High School? A The students are too lazy B The students not want to learn English C The knowledge is too hard for the students to learn D The students not pay attention to the lesson E Others………………………………………………………………………… What you think about teaching the tense and aspects to the students at Thanh Ba High School? A Easy B Normal C Difficult D Others………… In your opinion, what are some of the reasons for your inability to study the past tense aspects really well? A Such a grammatical category does not exist in Vietnamese and the theory is separated into uncontinuous units without enough revision and practice, meanwhile, the teaching method is still so traditional but not really attractive and helpful B The teachers not encourage students to practice the theory of past tense aspects on doing exercises and apply that in the real situations C The duration of the lesson and the average number of students in each class is not suitable for learning and teaching English D Others……………………………………………………………………… Due to the design of the textbook, each of the past tense and aspect is mentioned in separate units Thus, before beginning the new lesson, you review about other past tense and aspects learnt? A Yes B No xv What are the ways you usually use when you teach the past tense and aspects to the 11th-grade students here? A Give theory and exercises in the textbook B Give the theory and some exercises in the textbook as well as extra exercise C Give theory and much homework to the students for their practice at home D Others………………………………………………………………………… What you often when you teach some notes in the past tense and aspects? A Give examples and then give the rules and the exercises in textbook B Give the rules and then give examples and the exercises in textbook C Give the rules and let the students the exercises in textbook only D Give the rules and let the students the exercises in the textbook and some extra exercises at home E Others………………………………………………………………………… What does the teacher often when he/she teaches the rules of pronouncing the regular verbs in the past simple and past participle forms? A Gives the rules and lets the students the exercises in the textbook B Gives the rules and lets the students some exercises in the textbook and extra exercises in reference books C Gives the rules and lets the students some exercises in the textbook and extra exercises in reference books D Lets the students read aloud some passages including “V-ed” and checks the pronunciation E Others……………………………………………………………… Which kind of sources you often take the exercises from to give your students? A The textbook B The reference books C The internet D Others…………………… xvi The time allocation for each lesson is enough for you to teach all of the theory to your students? A Yes B No 10 Do you often use some games in teaching past tense and aspects? What are they? A Yes B No …………………………………………………………………………………… 11 Do the 11th-grade students often make errors in the use of past tense aspects? A Yes B No 12 What are the common errors in the use of past tense and aspects by the students in grade 11 at Thanh Ba High School? A Error in the use of the simple present perfect tense aspect for the simple past tense aspect B Error in the use of the past simple tense aspect with irregular verbs C Error in pronunciation of the regular verbs in the past simple tense aspect D Error in the use of the simple past tense aspect for the past perfect tense aspect E Error in the use of “love, like, want” in the past progressive tense aspect for the past simple tense aspect F Error in the use of “was/ were” in the simple past tense and progressive past tense aspects G Error in adding “-ing” to a verb in past progressive and past perfect progressive tense aspects H Error in adding “-ed” to a regular verb in the past simple and past perfect tense aspects I Others………………………………………………………………………… 13 What are the way you use to help the 11th-grade students understand and use correctly the past tense and aspects? A Clearly give theory and answers to those exercises in the textbook xvii B Clearly give theory and extra exercises in grammar books C Clearly give theory and exercises as much as you can D Clearly give theory and explain the past tense aspects that can make the students confused E Play game related to the tense and aspects learnt E Others……………………………………………………………………… 14 What kind(s) of exercise you often use for the students’ practice? A Multiple – choice B Writing C Others………………………………………………………………………… xviii SUGGESTED EXERCISES Exercise 1: Determine the tense and aspect of the verbs in the clause underlined in the sentences I invited them to our party but they decided not to come I saw Jim in the park He was sitting on the grass and reading a book Ken had been smoking for 30 years when he finally gave it up Yesterday, I went to London to see a friend of mine When I arrived at the party, Tom had already gone alone Was Math already waiting for you when you got there? I went to the box office at lunch – time, but they had already sold all the ticket Tim felt tired because he had been working all day While I was working in the garden, my brother was cooking a lunch 10 There was nobody around John stood where she had left him Key The past simple tense The simple past tense, the past progressive tense The past perfect progressive tense, the past simple tense The past simple tense The past simple tense, the past perfect tense The past progressive tense The past simple tense, the past perfect tense The past simple tense, the past perfect progressive tense The past progressive tense 10 The past simple tense, the past perfect tense xix Exercise 2: Fill in the blanket A With the past progressive and past perfect progressive tense of the verbs in parentheses The last time he was seen in public he ……………(wear) a grey suit She was sure that she had slipped out of the house unnoticed while the other…… (dance) Anna …………(listen to) loud rock music when her friends arrived but turned it off so all of them could study together 4.When we looked in on the baby last night, he……………(sleep) When I phoned, Sarah ………… (have) a piano lesson I found the calculator I ……….(look) for it for ages You phoned me while I………….(swim) in the pool Tom ………(sit) in an armchair watching TV He was tired because he ……….(work) very hard He was out of breath because he …………(run) all day 10 John burnt his hand when he…………(cook) the dinner Key: was wearing had been having had been running were dancing had been looking 10 was cooking had been listening was swimming was sleeping was sitting, had been working B With the simple past tense and past perfect tense of the regular verbs in parentheses The police ……….(stop) me on my way home last night She ……….(pass) her examination because she…………(study) very hard This house was dirty They ………(not clean) it for weeks David …… (die) ten years ago I …… (drop) my calculator, but it seems to be ok xx It was twenty to six Most of the shops ……….(just close) By the time Jason ………….(arrive) to help, we (already finish) moving everything When I saw that Mike was having trouble, I ……… (help) him He was very appreciative Only 25 new students ……………(admit) into the department in 1994 10 She told me that her family …… (lived) in that town long Key stopped dropped were admitted passed, studied had just closed 10 had lived had not cleaned arrived, had already finished died helped Exercise 3: Circle the word in each group that has the underlined part pronounced differently from the rest A expelled B returned C filled D washed A listened B helped D laughed C packed A kissed B passed C watched D killed A decided B looked C played D tugged xxi A designed B confused C faced D played A managed B posted C added D guided A forced B spanked C defined D washed A punched B boosted C painted D coincided A encountered B cried C rubbed D tipped A packed B preserved C ranked D stopped 10 Key: D A D B C A C A D 10 B Exercise 4: Give the past form of the irregular verbs follow: Infinitive verbs Past form Blow Build Cast xxii Hold Lose Break Hurt Lay Find 10 Forecast Key: blew built cast held lose broke hurt laid found 10 forecast Exercise 5: Give the correct form of the words I ………… (meet) my brother this afternoon at the Green Street “You ………(be) here before?” “Yes, I… (spend) my holiday here last year He greeted her She really … (look) better than when he ….(see) her last Yes, she …(change) It ……….(be) a fine day and the roads were crowed because a lot of people …… (rush) to the seaside He …(work) as a cashier for twenty – five years Then he … (retire) and ……… (go) to live in the country We…… (wait) for Nancy for over three hours she finally arrived yesterday John really needs to get in touch with you Since the morning, he……….(call) here fours times trying to reach you He…….(call) at 9:30, 10:35, 12:14, and 2:13 Last Saturday while Sandy …….(clean) out the attic, she … (find) her grandmother’s wedding dress xxiii The farmer’s barn caught fire some time during the night By the time the firefighters arrived, the building …… (burn) to the ground It was a total loss 10 The marathon runner …….(run) for almost two hours when she …….(collapse) to the pavement She …… (receive) immediate medical attention 11 Evening …….(fall) when he … (wake) up 12 When I …….(look) at my suitcase, I could see that somebody ……(try) to open it 13 As soon as she arrived England, she …….(find) that the language …… (be) quite different from the English that she ……(learn) at school 14 I …… (do) my homework when my mother…… (send) to me the chemist’s with the prescription she had been given by the doctor 15 They……….(part) four days later at a hotel in Colombo where they ……….(meet) 16 They ….….(build) that bridge when I …… (be) there last year, they … … (not finish) it yet 17 John and I …… (study) at the same school and we ………(be) great friends ever since 18 I …… (sit) there four about ten minutes, pretending to read, when someone …… (sit) down at my table 19 Can you imagine what I …… (come) across when I…….(roll up) the carpet 20 When he… (start) talking, I…… (realize) that we…….(meet) before 21 I came to sit on a park bench for a rest We ………(shop) around all morning and ……….(buy) a lot of food 22 While she …….(learn) to drive she…… (have) twenty- five accidents 23 I ……(be) very careful not to hint or remind her in any way of what she…….(tell) me xxiv 24 The exam …….(just begin) and the candidates……… (write) their names at the top of their papers 25 Roy………(wait) until the door………(lose) behind him Key met 14 Was doing, sent have….been, spent 15 Parted, had met looked, had seen, had changed 16 Were building, was, have not finished was, were rushing 17 Studied, have been had been working, retired, 18 Had been sitting, sat went had been waiting 19 Came, was rolling has call, called 20 Started, realized, had met was cleaning, found 21 Had been shopping, had bought had burned 22 Was learning, had 10 had been running, collapse, 23 Was, had told received 11 had fallen, woke 24 Had just begun, were writing 12 looked, had tried 25 Waited, had closed 13 found, was, had learnt xxv [...]... 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... 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. .. 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 2012 – 2013 3 To provide some suggestions to help the students avoid the main errors in the use of past tense and aspects 3 Research questions In order to achieve the objectives... questionnaire including purpose of the survey, population of the survey, types of the survey, etc, which were set basing on presuppositions about 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 In the second section, some common errors in the use of past tense and aspects will be introduced The causes of these errors will also... objectives of the study, the research questions below will be addressed: 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?... 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... 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 3 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... 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. .. 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... 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 ... Thanh Ba High School in the academic year of 2012 – 2013 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. .. 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. .. 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