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MINISTRY OF EDUCATION AND TRAINING
HANOI PEDAGOGICAL UNIVERSITY N0.2
FACULTY OF FOREIGN LANGUAGES

TRAN THI HANG

ERRORS IN THE USE OF CONDITIONALS
MADE BY THE ELEVENTH-GRADE STUDENTS
AT CO LOA HIGH SCHOOL, DONG ANH, HANOI
(SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF
THE DEGREE OF BACHELOR OF ARTS IN ENGLISH)

SUPERVISOR: TRAN THAI, M.A.

Hanoi, May 2012

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ABSTRACT
********

The conditional sentence is one of the most significant categories in the English
language. However, due to complicated and numerous ways to form and use
conditionals, and the fact that its uses have not been fully described in textbooks,
Vietnamese high-school students of English sometimes get confused when using
this sentence type.
Students’ confusion in the use of conditionals causes them to make unexpected
errors. For this reason, an entailed paper on the subject of conditionals was
conducted to investigate high school students’ understanding of conditionals and
their ability to produce different conditional sentence types.
Based on the result of the survey, the errors in use of conditionals and the
detached causes have been found. The students had difficulties distinguishing
conditional types and choosing appropriate elements, namely verb tenses,
conjunctions, etc for each clause of conditional sentences, especially of the two
unfamiliar types: zero conditional and mixed conditionals.
Finally, following an identification of these factors, several suggested solutions
have been proposed with the hope that this type of sentences will be used more
suitably. It is advised that teachers should provide students with the knowledge of
all conditional types including their variations and their usage. For students,
practicing hard is an asset to help them deal with this sentence type and other
categories of the English language as well.


Tran Thi Hang

Tran Thai, M.A.

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ABBREVIATIONS
***********

EFL: English as a Foreign Language
ESL: English as a Second Language
L1: Students’ First Language
L2: Students’ Second Language

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1.1. Literature of review in brief ....................................................................... 6
1.2. Conditional sentences.................................................................................. 7
1.2.1. Definition ............................................................................................. 7
1.2.2. Forms of conditionals ........................................................................... 8
1.2.3. Types of conditionals ........................................................................... 9

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1.2.3.1. Conditional type 0 ...................................................................... 10
1.2.3.1.1. Definition ............................................................................ 10
1.2.3.1.2. Form .................................................................................... 10
1.2.3.1.3. Use ...................................................................................... 11
1.2.3.1.4. Variations ............................................................................ 12
1.2.3.2. Conditional type 1 ...................................................................... 12
1.2.3.2.1. Definition ............................................................................ 12
1.2.3.2.2. Form .................................................................................... 13
1.2.3.2.3. Use ...................................................................................... 13
1.2.3.2.4. Variations ............................................................................ 14

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CHAPTER TWO
THE METHODOLOGY AND RESULTS

2.1 Methodology ............................................................................................... 34
2.1.1. Purpose of the survey .......................................................................... 34
2.1.2. Population of the survey ..................................................................... 35
2.1.3. Type of the survey............................................................................... 35
2.1.4. Construction of the test ....................................................................... 35
2.1.5. Preparation of the survey .................................................................... 36
2.1.6. Administration of the try-out .............................................................. 37
2.1.7. Method of data analysis ...................................................................... 38
2.1.8. Results of the survey ........................................................................... 38
2.2. Discussion of the results ............................................................................ 40
2.2.1. Errors in the use of conditional types................................................. 40
2.2.2. Errors in the use of conjunctions in conditionals ............................... 44
2.2.3. Errors in the use of verb tenses in conditionals ................................. 45
2.2.4. Errors in the use of positives and negatives in conditionals .............. 47
2.2.5. Errors in the use of punctuation in conditionals ............................... 48
2.2.6. Errors in the use of inversion in conditionals .................................... 49
CHAPTER THREE
SUGGESTED SOLUTIONS AND EXERCISES
3.1. Suggested solutions.................................................................................... 51
3.1.1. For teachers ......................................................................................... 51
3.1.2. For students ......................................................................................... 53
3.2. Suggested exercises.................................................................................... 55
3.2.1. Sources of exercises .......................................................................... 55
3.2.2. Types of exercises ............................................................................. 56

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PART ONE
INTRODUCTION

1. Rationale
Even if one does not want to, one might recognize that English grammar is really
challenging. On the way to the competence in English, students have to overcome
many obstacles. They are a system of complex categories such as reported
speech, comparatives and superlatives, relative clauses, and many types of
clauses, verbs, etc. Among these issues, conditionals are one of the most
complicated and significant to master. They are used very commonly in both
professional and personal life. To cope with this grammatical category, learners
must concern many types of conditionals structured with two clauses: if-clause
and main clause. Each of them has variations which create certain meanings for
certain contexts. Additionally, there are combinations of different tenses and a
variety of modals required to form any conditional sentences. Therefore, we need
to be knowledgeable and sensitive when using this type of sentences without
getting confused.
However intricate the conditional is, it is still an interesting category to deal with.
Surprisingly, it has not been paid much attention by any forth-year students of
Faculty of Foreign Languages at our university when they selected the subject for
their graduation papers.
Conditionals are naturally taught in secondary schools, they are re-designed in
the curriculum for high-school students to consolidate their insight on this issue.
Regrettably, there are only three main types of conditionals introduced to

Hopefully, it can make certain contribution to the process of teaching and
learning English in Vietnam.
2. Research questions
Many ESL/EFL students find it difficult to solve the errors related to conditional
sentences, so do the eleventh - grade students at Co Loa High School, Dong Anh,
Hanoi. For this issue, there are several questions raised.
1. Which kind of errors do the students in grade 11 at Co Loa High School in
the academic year of 2011 – 2012 make?
2. What are the most common errors made by these students?
3. By what way can we reduce the number of such errors?
These questions have paved the way for my studying the issue.

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3. Research aims and objectives
The research was conducted mainly to seek the accurate answers, or at least, the
most acceptable ones to the questions put above. Firstly, the research aims at
finding out the kinds of errors that are often made by the eleventh-grade students

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the errors made by students in term of this conditional sentence type.
As mentioned, the study will be about the errors made by the eleventh-grade
students at Co Loa High School in the academic year of 2011 – 2012 with sixtytwo students attending as the population.
5. Research methods
To achieve the aims mentioned above, the research uses material collection,
quantitative and qualitative methods. Quantitative method is applied to obtain the
percentage of errors made by the students, while the qualitative one is for
analyzing their errors based on the result of the test.
6. Significance of the proposed research
To many ESL/ EFL teachers and students, it might be unfeasible to avoid making
any mistakes due to the complexity of English grammar. However, in some
specific aspects, if we find out proper solutions, we can be able to help minimize
the errors. For this reason, a graduation paper is worth being conducted with the
following expectation:
1. By synthesizing documents, the paper is hoped to help learners of English
equip quite entailed and appropriate knowledge of conditionals.
2. By pointing out the errors in students’ use of conditional sentences and
elucidating the problems, it is expected that students will avoid making
those errors again.
3. By presenting suggested solutions to the problems, the author wishes that
teachers and students will improve their methods of teaching and learning
English remarkably.

Appendixes.

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PART TWO
DEVELOPMENT
CHAPTER ONE
THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

1.1. Literature review in brief
Conditional sentences have been paid regard by many grammarians namely L. G.
Alexander (1988), John Eastwood (1994), George Yule (1998), Michael Swan
(2005), and so on. Each of them conducts their studies on conditionals,
employing different methods. However, they all consider carefully the basic
features of conditionals like a grammatical category such as definition, forms,
classification, and use.
George Yule (1998) in Explaining English Grammar gives a quite
comprehensible overview of conditional sentences: the definition, the forms, the
variations, and the uses. In his opinion, there are two main types of conditionals:

The book How English Works composed by Ann Raims (1998) is also on topic
related to conditional sentences. According to the author, there are four types of
conditionals used in the English language: real conditions of fact, real conditions
of prediction, hypothetical conditions of speculation and hypothetical conditions
of hindsight. He emphasizes that in conditions, a change in tenses might be a
signal of a change in types of the conditions rather than a change in time.
Collins Cobuild (1994) in the book “Colbuid Students‟ Dictionary and
Grammar” does not name the types of conditionals, but presents the use of each
sentence type in accordance with the situation. He cautiously issues warnings in
order that students can avoid some predicable grammatical mistakes. In addition,
the author considers modals and conjunction “unless” in conditional sentences.
In brief, conditionals have been studied for ages. Several errors in the use of
conditional sentences have been mentioned in some researches, such as
Cobuild’s. However, students of English still get confused when they use this
type of sentences. Actually, there are far more errors that can be pointed out.
Hence, a more detailed study on errors in the use of conditionals should be
required to assist English learning lovers.
1.2. Conditional sentences
1.2.1. Definitions
Conditionals are defined in various ways by grammarians.
According to George Yule, a structure regarded as a conditional sentence
presents one event which is a condition for the occurrence of another event. The

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sentence structure:

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Structure 1:
IF-CLAUSE

a comma

MAIN CLAUSE.

Or sometimes, the order of the two clauses can be reversed, as in the structure:
Structure 2:
MAIN CLAUSE

IF-CLAUSE.

It is not difficult to point out the difference between the two structures. In


1.2.3. Types of conditionals
Grammarians have classified conditionals sentences in different ways and have
had innumerable explanations for their viewpoints. The paper, finally, follows the
way of classification given by Eastwood (1994) since it seems to be the most
obvious to deal with. According to him, conditionals are divided into 4 types:
conditional type 0, type 1, type 2, type 3. Furthermore, mixed conditionals
formed by the combination of earlier types are also listed because of the
popularity of this type in the English language.
1.2.3.1. Conditional type 0
1.2.3.1.1. Definition
Conditional type 0 or zero conditional “means that one thing always follows
automatically from another”. (Eastwood, 1994: 335). In other words, the
conditional type is used to describe general cause- effect truth, situations and
“unchanging relationships” (Hewings, 1999: 198). The condition is thought to be
either testable or observable. For example:
If you heat water 100 degree C, it boils. (Physics)
If the weather is nice on Sundays, we often go fishing. (Habit)
1.2.3.1.2. Form
Notice in the above examples, the present simple tense is applied in both
condition clause (if-clause) and result clause to indicate the certainty of
situations. We have the zero conditional structure:
If – clause

Main clause

Present simple tense

Present simple tense


modals are acceptable in both clauses, particularly “can”, “may”.
e.g. If you feel tired, you can take a sleep here.
If you need somewhere to live, there‟s still an empty room in our house.
(or, you can live in our house).

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Note that conjunction “if” in conditionals type 0 can be replaced by other
conjunctions, namely “when”, “whenever” without changing the meaning of the
sentence.
e.g. If / When / Whenever it rains, everyone gets wet.
If / When / Whenever I see her, my heart beats uncontrollably fast.
According to (Yule, 2006: 185), conditional type 0 can express common
situations in the past. In this case, past simple tense is applied in both clauses.
e.g. They sat on the glass if it was fine.
If my grandmother went to market, she bought me some cakes.
1.2.3.1.4. Variations

e.g. If he accepts to marry her, her parents will let him run the company.
If you buy this for her, she will be very happy.
1.2.3.2.2. Form
In the first conditional, the future simple tense is used in the main clause, with the most
common modal “will” and contraction “‟ll”, whereas future time in the if-clause is
described in present simple tense.

If - clause

Main clause

Present simple tense

Future simple tense

e.g. I will buy a new cell phone if I receive my salary next month.
If you spend 30 minutes speaking English each day, your speaking
skill will be considerably improved.
1.2.3.2.3. Use
As mentioned, the first conditional sentence expresses the possibility of a
situation when a certain event occurs in present or in the future.
e.g. If I have time, I will go there.
Conditional type 1 is frequently used in spoken language. It can function as:
 An warning

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Don‟t try to stay up late if you feel unpleased.
1.2.3.2.4.2. Changes in modals
Modals such as “can, could, may, might, ought to, should, had better, must”,
additionally, can appear in one of the clauses or either two clauses. We use them
when we are not sure enough to use “will” or when we need to express necessity,
etc. (Alexander, 1988: 275).
e.g. If you finish your homework, you can go out.
If she cannot walk herself, you should help her.
“Should” (not “would”) used in the if-clause reduces the degree of the reality and
make the speech more polite.
e.g. If you should need to buy a car, contact us.
Although “happen to” is not a modal, the structures “if…should” and “if…happen
to”, have similar meaning. Sometimes, they can be combined.
e.g. If someone should happen to come this way, it will bring to a blind
alley.
Notice that these structures are typically used in the first conditional, not usually
in other types of conditionals.

modal “will”.
e.g. If you don‟t stop, I‟m going to inform the police.
Also, it is possible to combine modals with continuous or perfect tense:
e.g. If her daughter has got scholarship, they may be celebrating tonight.
1.2.3.3. Conditional type 2
1.2.3.3.1. Definition
Conditional type 2 or the second conditional is used to express imaginary
situations and their imaginary results in the present and in the future (Baugh,
1987: 347). By comparison, conditional type 1 talks about a real situation and its
possible consequence in the same time.
e.g. If I become the President, I will not raise taxes. (A candidate’s
statement)

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