An Analysis of Simple Past and Past Continuous Tense in Writing Recount Texts

Boy Edwin Sinambela, Gustaman Saragih, Mayang Pipit

Abstract


Writing recount texts requires proper use of past tenses, particularly simple past and past continuous, to describe events effectively. However, many students still face difficulties in applying these tenses accurately. This study aims to analyze students’ use of simple past and past continuous tense verbs in recount writing. A total of 62 students participated by completing a writing task. Their texts were analyzed using surface structure taxonomy, which includes omission, addition, misinformation, and misordering. Results showed 277 errors in using simple past tense, with misinformation as the most frequent (204 errors or 73.65%). Omission (16.96%), addition (6.50%), and misordering (2.89%) followed. For past continuous tense, 23 errors were found, with omission being the highest (56.52%), followed by misinformation (39.13%), misordering (4.35%), and no addition errors. These findings highlight common tense-related issues in students’ recount writing.


Keywords


simple past tense verb; past continuous tense verb; recount text

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References


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DOI: https://doi.org/10.30998/senndika.v2i2.8955

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