A Study of Errors on the use of Tense and Aspect in Free Writing

Abstract

Tense and aspect play a vital role in one's writing, however most of the Nepali learners of English feel difficulty in using the tenses and aspects appropriately in their writing. The present study entitled "Errors on the Use of Tense and Aspect in Free Writing" aims at finding out errors particularly on the tense and aspect in free writing. To carry out the study, the researcher selected two colleges of Kathmandu district through judgmental sampling and 60 students, 30 from each college were selected randomly keeping in view on the equal number of boys and girls. The researcher used both primary and secondary sources of data. A set of subjective test item, consisting of three free writing questions, was the tool for data collection. The first item was letter writing, the second was essay writing and the third was news report writing. The errors in terms of tense and aspect were computed and analyzed as well. The major findings of the study are as follows: Over generalization of the use of present continuous aspect of tense in most of the verbs, mother tongue interference, incomplete application of rules, ignorance of rule restriction, false concept hypothesized are the key factors to commit erroneous expressions. The most general and common cause to commit errors on wide range was found that the lack of knowledge in students to identify the time of action and use of the appropriate aspect of tense. The study has been confined into four chapters dealing with the different dimensions of error analysis. Chapter one deals with introduction which consists of general background, writing skill, error analysis, literature review, objectives of the study, significance of the study along with their other required study areas. Chapter two deals with the methodology. It consists of data, population of the study, sampling procedure, tools for data collection, process of data collection and limitations of the study. Chapter three deals with analysis and interpretation of data in terms of total errors, test item wise errors in each college; a comparative over view of errors and classification of errors. Then errors in tense and aspects present the status of errors committed by the students in different tenses and aspects. Finally, the analysis of errors in tense and aspect system comprises three different categories of errors viz errors in subject-verb agreement, errors in verb form and errors in tense sequence. Finally, chapter four deals with findings and recommendations for pedagogical implication along with some teaching suggestions.