iv
Table of contents

Declaration
Acknowledgements
Abstract
Table contents

Part A: Introduction
1. Rationale
2. Aims of the study
3. Scope of the study
4. Methodology of the study
5. Significance of the study

Part B: Development
Chapter 1 - Literature review
1.1. Time - tense - aspect relationship
1.2. Present Progressive tense
1.2.1. Forms
1.2.2. Uses
1.2.3. Signal words
1.2.4. Stative and Dynamic verbs
1.3. Present Progressive tense vs. Present Simple tense
Chapter 2 - The Study
2.1. Context of the study
2.1.1. Teachers
2.1.2. Pupils
i
ii

2.6.1. Question 1
2.6.2. Question 2
2.6.3. Question 3
2.7. Summary and Recommendations
2.7.1. Summary
2.7.2. Recommendations

Part c: conclusion

References

Appendices
Appendix 1. Test
Appendix 2. Key
Appendix 3. Procedures to present the PP tense
Appendix 4. Video tasks to practise the PP tense
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20
20
22
22
22
24
27
29
29
30

37


carefully, pupils still make quite a lot of errors in terms of form and use. For example,
instead of speaking or writing He is studying English, these pupils produced sentences like
He studying English or He is studing English, etc. In addition, not few of them have
difficulty in distinguishing between this tense and the Present Simple tense, so they often
make errors such as I live with my friends right now. This is mostly evident through their
practice and test results, as observed by the researcher before this study was carried out.
In this circumstance, although documents on the Present Progressive tense are
available, most of them are not full and detailed. Besides, errors on this tense are rarely
mentioned except for in the Master thesis of Pham Viet Huong (2003) named The English
present tenses in comparison and contrast with Vietnamese equivalent expressions. In her
study, common errors and solutions are given but in such a general way. In addition,
studies conducted at vocational schools are rather spare.

2
For the above mentioned reasons, the study entitled The Present Progressive tense
and errors made by pupils at Hanoi technical and professional skills training school has
been carried out.

2. Aims of the study

This writing provides knowledge of the Present Progressive tense fully and
systematically as the theoretical framework to investigate common errors made by pupils
at Hanoi technical and professional skills training school, through which offers
recommendations for teaching the tense.

3. Scope of the study

This study is limited to the investigating of written errors which are common on the
forms and uses of the Present Progressive tense plus some distinctions with the Present
Simple tense. The study is carried out on 50 pupils of the first year who are studying


“Time is a universal, non-linguistic concept with three divisions: past time, present
time and future time. The concept is universal in that the units of time are extra-linguistic:
they exist independently of the grammar of any particular language.” (Quirk and
Greenbaum, 1972: 84)
Tense is relative to the time closely. It expresses the point of the time. English tense
has two, the past tense and the present tense. The past tense expresses the past events and
the present tense expresses the present events. For example, "work" is the present tense,
when "ed" is added, "worked" is the past tense. If we express the future, we can use "will"
or "shall" etc, but these are not admitted as the future tense yet. "Will" and "shall" have not
only the future meaning but also the mood as the modal auxiliary. Therefore, we use the
future expression instead of the future tense/ form.
Aspect means an act in a state, which is expressed with a grammatical form. And
aspect can be classified into three: simple, progressive and perfective. The simple aspect is
the simple forms, the present simple form, the past simple form and the future simple form.
The progressive aspect is the progressive forms, etc. Aspect is relative to the time closely
like tense. For example, the perfective aspect means the relationship between a completive
event and the time, and the progressive means the durative or temporary act, etc.
(Source: 4
1.2. present progressive tense
1.2.1. Forms
a) To be
The verb “To be” seems to be the most irregular verb in the language.
Present Tense
I am
He/ She/ It is
We/ You/ They are

V-ing = V + ing.
E.g.
infinitive
work
play
sleep
eat
go
do
present participle
working
playing
sleeping
eating
going
doing

However, some verbs change their spelling when the ending ing is added to form the
present participle.
 Verbs ending in a silent e
The silent e is dropped before the ending ing is added.
E.g.
close
closing
dine
dining
leave
leaving
move
moving

run
running
clap
clapping
set
setting
 Verbs of more than one syllable ending in a single consonant (Except w, x or y)
preceded by a single vowel
The final consonant is doubled to form the present participle only when the last
syllable of the verb is pronounced with the heaviest stress.
E.g.
expel
expelling
begin
beginning
occur
occurring
omit
omitting
Note that British and American spelling rules differ for verbs which end in a single l
preceded by a single vowel. In British spelling, the l is always doubled before the ending is
added. However, in American spelling, verbs ending with a single l follow the same rule as
other verbs; the l is doubled only when the last syllable has the heaviest stress.
E.g.
American Spelling
British Spelling
signal
signaling
signalling
travel

 Positive structure
S+
am/ is/ are
+V-ing.
‟m/ ‟s/ ‟re
E.g. I am staying at home = I’m staying at home.
He is sleeping. = He’s sleeping.
Their children are playing football. = Their children are playing football.
 Negative structure
We add the word not after Am/ Is/ Are to form the Negative.
S+
am/ is/ are + not
+V-ing.
‟m/ ‟s/ ‟re + not
isn‟t/ aren‟t
E.g. I am not staying at home = I’m not staying at home.
He is not sleeping. = He’s not sleeping. = He isn’t sleeping.
They are not playing football. = They’re not playing football. = They aren’t
playing football.
 Interrogative structure
We invert Am/ Is/ Are before “S” to form the Interrogative.
 Yes/ No questions:
Am/ Is/ Are + S + V-ing?
- Yes, S + am/ is/ are.

8
- No, S + am/ is/ are + not.
The contraction is not included in the structure above.
E.g. Is he sleeping? – Yes, he is.
Are their children playing football? – No, they aren’t.

Please call back. We are eating dinner.
Julie is sleeping.
You are studying the present continuous tense.
b) We can also use this tense for temporary situations, when we feel something will not
continue for a long time.
E.g. She’s staying with her friend for a week.
I’m living in London for a few months.
John’s working in a bar until he finds a job in his field.
I’m reading a really great book.
c) We can use the present continuous tense to describe habits which are temporary or new.
E.g. He’s eating a lot these days.
She’s swimming every morning (she didn’t used to do this).
You’re smoking too much.
They’re working late every night.
d) Another present continuous use is for describing annoying habits, when we want to
show that something happens too often and we do not like it. In this case we need to use an
adverb like „always‟, „forever‟, „constantly‟.
E.g. You’re always losing your keys!
She’s constantly missing the train.
He’s always sleeping in.
They’re forever being late.
e) The next use is for describing definite future arrangements (with a future time word). In
this case we have already made a plan and we are pretty sure that the event will happen in
the future.
E.g. We’re going to the beach at the weekend.
I’m leaving at three.

10
They’re coming to the party at the weekend.
I’m meeting my father tomorrow.

because they describe states rather than actions. They are called stative verbs, including:
 Verbs of Inert Perception and Cognition
abhor
adore
astonish
believe
desire
detest
dislike
doubt
feel
forgive
guess
hate
hear
imagine
impress
intend
know
like
love
mean
mind
perceive
please
prefer
presuppose
realize
recall
recognize

owe
own
possess
require
require
resemble
seem
sound
E.g. I am sick, but not I am being sick.
My brother owes me ten dollars, but not My brother is owing me ten dollars.
b) The verbs that can be used in Progressive tenses are called dynamic verbs, including:
 Activity Verbs
abandon
ask
beg
eat
help
learn
play
rain
read
throw
whisper
work

12
call
drink
listen
look at

hit
jump
kick
knock
nod
tap
Progressive forms indicate little duration and suggest repetition.
E.g. She is hitting her brother.
He is jumping around the house.
These categories and lists are derived from Quirk and Greenbaum (1993: 46-47).

13
c) Some verbs can be both stative and dynamic verbs depending on their meanings.
State
Action
I think she’s rich. (= I believe)
He has a pet dog. (= He owns)
I see you’re in troubles. (= I understand)
The milk tastes awful. (= It has a bad
flavour)
Your hair looks great. (= It appears)

I‟m thinking about your plan. (= I‟m considering)
He‟s having dinner now. (= He‟s eating)
I‟m seeing my lawyer tonight. (= I‟m visiting)
He's tasting the sauce. (= He's trying its flavour)

She's looking at some old photographs. (= she's
examining)


Present Simple
Present Progressive
 infinitive
(3rd person singular: infinitive + s)
I speak
he / she / it speaks
 Exception when adding s: After a consonant,
the final consonant y becomes ie.
worry - worries
 form of be and verb + ing

I am speaking
he / she / it is speaking
 Exception when adding ing: Final ie
becomes y.
lie – lying

b) Uses
Present Simple
Present Progressive
 something happening in general
Colin plays football every Tuesday.
 present actions happening one after another
First Colin sleeps, then he studies.
 timetable or schedule
The film starts at 8 pm.
 daily routine
Bob works in a restaurant
 something happening right now
Look! Colin is playing football now.

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Chapter 2 - THE STUDY

In the previous chapter, knowledge of Present Progressive tense is provided fully
and systematically. It is the theoretical framework for investigations of common errors on
forms and uses of the PP tense made by pupils at Hanoi technical and professional skills
training school (Hatechs). Subsequently, recommendations for teaching the tense are
offered in this chapter.

2.1. Context of the study
2.1.1. Teachers
Teachers at this school belong to different generations and thus have different
points of view in teaching. Older teachers seem quite conservative; and do not like any
changes in teaching. Perhaps, they think they are more experienced and their ways of
teaching are more suitable; therefore, they want younger teachers to follow them. The
younger appear to have a lot of ambitions and renovations in teaching but have no chance
to carry them out and also have little autonomy in what, how, when to teach. This probably
decreases their motivation in their jobs. Sometimes, the disagreement in teaching among

Whereas, English, the subject requires learners‟ hardness, is only a minor subject.
Therefore, the pupils are not very interested in learning it, which makes the prospect of
English learning at this school dim. However, the result of their study is not so low because
most of them cheat in examinations and the majority of teachers ignore this.

2.2. Research questions

Focusing on the understanding of the Present Progressive tense of pupils at
Hatechs, this paper seeks to obtain data that answer the following research questions:
1. To what extent do pupils at Hatechs make errors on forms and uses of the Present
Progressive tense?
2. To what extent can pupils at Hatechs distinguish Present Progressive tense with
Present Simple tense?
Answers for these questions can be obtained through detailed discussion on errors
made by pupils in the area of the Present Progressive tense.

2.3. Subjects

The population of the study was about 403 first - year pupils of Hatechs. Through
systematic sampling, 50 pupils were chosen.

18
More than three-fourths of the subjects scored the average marks (from 5 to 7) in
the Exam 1 of English, so the results can reflect the general performance of all. Since these
pupils were in moderate proficiency categories, it could be assumed that the degree of
diversity was reasonably low and that a sample of data elicited from 50 subjects would be
sufficient. Prior to collecting the sample, the researcher was aware that certain variables,
particularly previous training in the language and intelligence quotients, might have
affected their performance on the grammar test. However, this study did not aim at
investigating the correlation between their performance on a grammar test and other

question 1, this question only paid attention to those on uses. The question gave the
situations in which pupils often meet difficulties in deciding the correct tense to use. In
each item, the requirement to use one or the other tense was signaled to the pupils via
signal words like now, look, etc, or contexts like at the party, the doorbell rings, etc, or
time-related verbs like begin, arrive, etc. Finally, like the two previous questions, each
difference was mentioned two times in two items separated from each other to guarantee
the result of the study.
The multiple-choice items were used (instead of a composition) in this study
because: first they were convenient to code and analyze and could avoid off-the-wall
responses, second they ensured that the subjects could select among alternatives that were
likely to cause difficulties, and last they could measure the subjects‟ ability to make fine
discriminations. The major advantage of the multiple-choice items was that they required
the subjects to discriminate among alternatives which needed a level of mastery that a free
response item might not be able to detect. The incorrect alternatives provided clues to
misunderstandings or confusions that needed attention or correction. And finally, before
decisions were made on the options to be included as distracters, informal observations
were conducted during a period of three months.
The test was administered to the subjects after they had learnt the lessons about PP
and comparisons between PP and PS.

2.5. Data analysis procedure

In this study, a simple descriptive statistical procedure was used when considering
the data in terms of percentages of subjects' errors which were grouped into types. Then
these percentages were compared with those in items testing the same problems in order to
identify the average percentage of each error type made by the subjects. Besides, possible
causes were also pointed out as explanation for their errors.

2.6. Results and Discussion


52
5.
8
14
58
20
6.
20
62
14
4

From the table above, detailed discussion is made to make out the percentages of
the subjects making the same types of errors and their possible causes. In order to make
comparisons, items testing the same problems are paired as follows:
- Items 1 and 4:
1. Look! Mary and John on the playground.
A. runing
B. running
C. are running
D. are runing
In this item, 24% of the subjects chose either A or B with the false belief that V-ing
without auxiliary Be is enough for the verb of the PP. This might be for they had forgotten
the structure of PP. Besides, by choosing A or D, 38% of all believed the formation of V-
ing to the verb “run” is not an exception. In fact, “run” is the verb of one syllable ending
with one consonant preceding by a unique vowel, so we have to double the final consonant
before adding –ing. It is likely that these pupils did not remember this exception.
4. Her son abroad this year.
A. studying
B. studing

word Not and its contraction.
These percentages are similar to those of the above item, which shows the
trustworthiness of the result, which is less than one-fourth of the pupils omitted -Ing in the
structure of PP and the equal percentage did not know how to use Not.
- Items 3 and 6:
3. Listen! What about?
A. she is talking
B. is she talking
C. do she talking
D. does she talking
For this item, choosing either C or D showed that the knowledge about the form of
PS was interfering the learning of PP among 28% of the subjects. About 18% choosing A
did not remember to invert Be before Subject in the interrogative structure of PP.
6. Hey! Who for?
A. you are waiting
B. are you waiting
C. do you waiting
D. does you waiting
18% chose C or D, which indicates the interference of the form of PS to the
formation of PP. One-fifth who chose A had forgotten the disordering between the Subject
and the Auxiliary in the question structure of the tense.

22
The percentages of the subjects recorded in these two items are not much different,
which asserts the trustworthiness of the result, that is around one-fourth were affected by
the previous learnt tense (PS) in forming the structure of the now learning tense (PP).
Besides, one-fifth of all had problem with the inversion of auxiliary.

2.6.2. Question 2
Table 2. The result for Question 2 in terms of percentages of the subjects‟ choices.

6
8
6.
86
6
2
6
7.
32
8
44
16
8.
10
8
6
74

From the table above, detailed discussion is made to make out the percentages of
the subjects choosing the wrong uses and their possible causes. In order to make
comparisons, items testing the same uses are paired as followed.
- Items 4 and 6:
4. Husband: Can you take the phone?
Wife: Sorry! I‟m having a bath.
Regarding this item, 82% of all had the correct answer. These pupils thought the
action “having a bath” is happening at the time of speaking because “having a bath” is the
reason for not taking the phone.
6. The doorbell rings.
Wait a minute! I‟m washing the dishes.
Findings for the aforementioned item were cooperated by those for this item with

still thought the action “is getting better” is happening at or around the time of speaking;
maybe because they did not pay attention to the verb “get”, which is used here to imply
changing. 16% believed this PP is used to express a definite future arrangement. These
pupils may have forgotten that to this fourth use, future time signals are required.
7 The population of the world is rising very fast.