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How Japanese Learners Use English Articles in Sentences With Be in Contrast to Sentences With Other Verbs



Author(s)

TENG Xiao-chun

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DOI:10.17265/1539-8080/2012.08.003

Hiroshima University, Higashi-Hiroshima, Japan

It is a general rule that English singular countable nouns co-occur with determiners. However, Japanese learners frequently make errors when using unmarked countable nouns in English sentences. These mistakes are exemplified by the omission of necessary articles from singular countable noun phrases. This problem has been recorded by various researchers, but still some issues relevant to errors involving the omission of necessary determiners remain. In this study, an experiment was conducted to investigate incidences of article omission in sentences or clauses involving the verb be in contrast to sentences or clauses involving other verbs. The results showed that errors are more prevalent in the sentences that contain be. In further investigation, the possibility that errors are due to the students’ images of nouns in the be sentences as those of abstract concepts rather than specific ones was explored. Results indicated that this may be the case.

articles, determiners, sentences with be verbs, sentences with other verbs, Japanese learners