An error Analysis on the Use of Gerunds and Infinitives

Abstract

English is very significant language to learn because it is one of international languages which are usually used for communication. One of the essential parts of learning English is grammar. Gerund and infinitive are the things which have to be learned in grammar to make good sentences. Even though Gerunds and infinitives have been offered to the students at semester four, it is still difficult for them to really understand the language. Consequently, in fact they still make many errors. This study aims to find out the percentages of errors made by the second year students in understanding gerund and infinitive and discuss how those errors occur. The population of the study is the second year students of Faculty of Letters, Gunadarma University. Then sample in this research are forty students and it was taken randomly. To get data from sample, the writer administered a test on the understanding gerund and infinitive. The percentages were obtained based on a grading guide suggested by Tropper. The result of the analysis shows that the students have understood fairly on the study of gerunds and infinitives. Most of the students still find difficulties in understanding which verbs preceding gerund. Since the ability of the students in understanding gerund and infinitive is still below the requirement of a good grammar, the learning process of this material should be improved.