Subject-Verb Agreement Errors and Performance of the Bachelor of Arts in English Language Studies (BAELS) Students: An Input for the Development of A Remediation Program
DR. ROGER B. RUEDA
http://orcid.org/: 0000-0001-5709-8238
roger.rueda@gsu.edu.ph
Guimaras State University
Philippines
DOI: https://doi.org/10.54476/ioer-imrj/89928
ABSTRACT
The researcher examined the subject-verb agreement errors made by the forty (40) Guimaras State College BAELS students in the second semester of the school year 2021-2022 using a descriptive research design. The test-retest was performed on thirty (30) Bachelor of Science in Criminology students of the Guimaras State College—as pilot participants. Calculating the error rates gave an overall impression of subject-verb agreement rules. The subject-verb agreement errors did not differ by sex or year for BAELS students, whose academic performance varied by year, but had an effect on the BAELS students’ performance. The subject-verb agreement is difficult for students, especially with certain indefinite pronouns which take a singular verb, compound subjects joined by “and” which require a plural verb, in compound affirmative and negative subjects, where the verb agrees with the positive subjects, and compound subjects connected by coordinating conjunctions which require number and person agreement between the verb and the closest subject. The Guimaras State College may sponsor an English language remediation program to improve student competency. Future researches may highlight that students’ English proficiency may be affected by finances, parents’ occupations, and living on a small island, and teachers can alter how students regard English as a second language.
Keywords: Subject-verb agreement, error, BAELS, enhancement program