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SYNTACTIC PROBLEMS IN COMPOSITION CLASSES
 Bertin KOMBENONGO W’ONEMA*,
Abstract
This paper focuses on syntactic problems in learning written language. It is especially based on problems that
learners face in the use of verb phrase in English composition classes; because, as observed in this study, most
of the problems that beginners and intermediate learners face in composition classes are verb phrase related.
The essential of this paper is then described under three main headings: The description of the system of verb
phrase, problems in the use of verb phrase and some pedagogical considerations in the use of verb phrase in
composition classes.
Résumé
Cet article met l’accent sur les difficultés syntaxique dans l’apprentissage du langage écrit. Il s’intéresse plus
particulièrement aux difficultés rencontrées par les apprenants dans l’usage des formes verbales pendant les
leçons de rédaction anglaise ; parce que, tel que constaté dans cette étude, la plupart de difficultés rencontrées
par les débutants et les apprenants du niveau intermédiaire se rapportent au groupe verbal. Ainsi donc,
l’essentiel de cet article est décrit en trois parties principales, à savoir, la description du système verbal, les
problèmes rencontrés par les apprenants dans l’usage du système verbal et quelques considérations
pédagogiques sur l’usage des formes et structures verbales dans la rédaction anglaise.
KEY CONCEPTS : Verb phrase( VP), Verb form, Verb structure, Form, Meaning, Use
INTRODUCTION
No relevant and elaborated composition can be written or managed by teachers and
learners in language classrooms without using verb forms and verb structures. The
mastery of the system of verb phrase appears very compulsory as the success in
composition activities greatly depends on the adequate use of verb forms and verb
structures.
In 1993, during our teaching training activities in Lycee Buena Muntu at Kananga,
however, beginners as well as intermediate learners of English were observed to be
facing many problems in composition classes. The need to understand more clearly
learners’ problems in composition classes has leaded us to a systematic analytical study
that has allowed the identification of the difficulties in the use of verb phrase as the basis
of most of the problems that beginners and intermediate learners faced in composition
classes.
Undertaken in Kananga first, and then at Wembo Nyama, and later in Kinshasa, the study
of problems faced by beginners and intermediate learners in the use of verb phrase in
composition classes constitutes the essential of this paper which actually focuses on
three main aspects, namely on the description of the system of verb phrase, on problems
faced by beginners and intermediate learners in the use of verb phrase in composition
classes, and on pedagogical considerations in using verb phrases in compositions
classes.
*
Assistant à l’ISS/KIN – R.D.Congo.
Syntactic problems in composition classes
231 – 242
232
The emphasis put on problems that learners face in the use of verb phrase in
composition classes has two major reasons: First of all, verb phrase standing for the word
group that plays the most important part in a sentence (i.e. the action words group),
related problems in language teaching and language learning should be handled with
much care. Second, as suggested by Chapman, written mistakes tend to be more fixed,
so the teacher should do all in his power to prevent their birth ( Chapman, 1958, P.1O4).
To do so, dutiful teacher will have to master the system of verb phrase and grasp how
this system operates within individual learner’s linguistic system.
I. DESCRIPTION OF THE SYSTEM OF VERB PHRASE
The description of the concept verb phrase is very often a matter of controversy as it
greatly depends on which theory is being considered. It has to be noticed, however, that
a contrast is regularly made between the traditional and the generative views of verb
phrase.
a) Generative grammar view
In generative grammar where it is most often heard, the concept verb phrase is widely
described as any lexical verb and all the words governed by that verb except the subject.
It is also seen as a syntactic unit composed of at least, one verb and the dependents of
that verb which can be objects, complements or other modifiers, but not including the
subject.Viewed in this way, a verb phrase is considered to be similar to what is referred
to, in traditional grammar, as predicate. Such assumption is well illustrated in a sentence
such as: “The government has sent a message through internet,” where the bold word
group “has sent a message through internet” constitutes what is described here above
as verb phrase. A verb phrase is also seen as a phrase headed by verb and which may
be constructed from a single verb; or will often consist of various combinations of the
main verb and any auxiliary verbs, plus optional specifiers, complement and adjuncts.
Such a point of view is widely spread and firmly sustained in structure and constituency
grammars, but is incompatible with the functionalist as well as the traditionalist views of
verb phrase.
b) Traditional grammar view
In traditional grammar, a verb phrase is a word group that includes a main verb and its
auxiliaries. This appears to be closer to the functionalist point of view which sees verb
phrase as consisting of the sentence elements belonging to the word class verb or the
catena viewed in the dependency grammar as the fundamental unit of a syntactic
structure. This traditionalist point of view narrows the definition of verb phrase to allow
only those sentence elements that are strictly considered to be verbal elements to form
verb phrases. Viewed in this way, verb phrase consists only of main verb, auxiliary verbs,
and other infinitive or participle constructions, as it can be read in the following
sentences: - “Workers have been waiting for their salary.”; -“Sarah will have travelled
to London.”; -“They have to go to school on foot.”.
c) Verb phrase in the scope of this work
The traditionalist and the functionalist views of verb phrase have been adopted in the
scope of this study. This is due to more than one reason. Firstly, the functionalist and the
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traditionalist views are the most used in the curriculum for teaching English at the
beginning and intermediate levels in DRC. Secondly, these have been judged in the
scope of this study to be more adequate and more helpful for the accurate perception and
understanding of word class verb, for the efficient analysis of learners’ outcome, and for a
successful achievement of teaching aims in composition classes.
d) VP constituents
From the traditionalist point of view and accordingly to Huddleston, a verb phrase
consists of a head element, obligatory except in the case of ellipsis, and optionally one or
more dependents. The head element, he states, is the more basic element that
grammatically expresses the semantic predicate of the verb phrase. It may be
constructed with one or more dependents. These dependents are elements connected to
the main verb and entering the syntactic structure of the verb phrase. They cannot
sustain by themselves nor do not act suitably without the assistance of a main verb, but
are very useful in the system of verb phrase. He goes on asserting that the dependant
position may be filled by auxiliary verb, “by to” or by not. A verb phrase is moreover
described as a verb of more than one word. In this case, it includes one or more helping
(or auxiliary) verbs and one main verb. The main verb expresses the chief idea in the
verb phrase, while helping (or auxiliary) verb helps the main verb to express different
ideas and aspects. Some verb phrases contain more than one auxiliary. In this case,
these auxiliaries must follow a particular order based on the type of auxiliary: modal, a
form of have for perfect aspect, a form of be for progressive aspect, a form of be for
passive voice.
e) Forms and structures of verb phrases
The British council considers English verb phrase to be made of different forms. So, used
in sentence constructions, a verb phrase actually might appear as:
1. A main verb as in – I saw him at the market.
2. Aux be + the –ing form of the main verb as in–Students were waiting for the
bus.
3. Aux have + the past participle of the main verb as in –They had finished their
tasks.
4. Aux have + been + the –ing form of the main verb as in–They had been
working without any rest.
5. A modal verb + a main verb as in – James will travel next week.
6. A modal verb + be + the –ing form as in – soldiers will be shooting balls.
7. A modal verb + have + the past participle as in – Bertin must have taught
English for years.
8. A modal verb + have been + the – ing form as in – they must have been
reading books in the library.
9. Aux be + the past participle of the main verb as in – Otetela is spoken in
Sankuru.
10. Aux be + being + past participle of the main verb as in – the meal was being
managed for every body.
11. A modal verb + be + post participle as in – The task will be completed within an
hour.
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234
12. Aux have + been + the past participle of the main verb as in – computers
have been designed for calculation.
13. A modal verb + have been + past participle as in – He might have been
selected for the competition.
f)
Language dimensions within the VP structure
As it can be noticed from the above language samples, English verb forms and verb
structures are naturally organized into a complex system referred to as the system of
verb phrase which consists of verb forms and verb structures actually organized into
systems of tenses, aspects, moods, voices, system of polarity, personal number
agreement and kinds of verb phrases. As each of these describes higher dimensions
within the verb phrase structure, they need to be clarified. Relatively the concepts time,
tense, aspect, mood and voice have been widely described by Quirk, R. & S. Green
Baum as follows: -Time is a universal non linguistic concept with three dimensions: past,
present, and future. -Tense is the correspondence between the form of the verb and our
concept of time. English is said to have two simple tenses and a variety of compound
tenses with possibilities of variation of verb forms and verb structures in sentence
structures. -Aspect has to be seen as the manner in which verbal action is experienced or
regarded as simple, progressive, completed or perfect. - Mood is a language dimension
which relates the verbal action to such condition as certainty/uncertainty, obligation,
necessity, possibility, permission, capacity. -The system of voice relates verbal form
proper to a certain relation of the subject to the action, i.e. the relation in which the
subject can play the actor role (active voice) or the patient role (the passive voice). When
the passive voice is marked by the passive auxiliary and by the preposition “by”, the
active voice remains unmarked with regards to the passive thematic properties and
inflections. -The polarity system suggests that English verb phrases can have positive
forms or negative forms. That is to say that when negative verb phrases are marked by
not, positive verb phrases remain unmarked. Personal number agreement dimension
describes the relation between the verb and the subject (i.e. the relation in which the
inflectional form of the tensed verb phrase is sometimes determined by the number of the
subject. -Kinds of verb phrases system acknowledges that verb phrases may be either
finite (i.e. based on a finite verb) or non finite (i.e. based on a non finite verb such as
infinitive, participle or gerund). Finite verb phrases are tensed, while non finite verb
phrases are non tensed.
This variation of verb forms and verb structures involving with regard to the dimensions of
contrast described here above, logically increase the complexity of the system of verb
phrase in language learning and language use, and therefore suggests on the part of the
teacher a careful attention on the system of verb phrase in language teaching, mainly in
composition classes.
II. PROBLEMS IN THE USE OF VERB PHRASE IN COMPOSITION
CLASSES
A) Collected language data
To accurately identify and clearly understand the real problems faced by individual
learners in the use of verb phrases, a set of English composition tasks were purposefully
designed, carefully administered, and systematically analysed in 1993(Kombenongo W’
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O.B., 1993, pp.21-51) and 1995 in Kananga (in Lycee Buena Muntu, Lycee Disuminyina,
Institut Kananga I , Institut Kelekele and Institut Diku), from 1996 to 1998 at Wembo
Nyama (in Institut de Wembo Nyama and at EDAP/ISP) and then from 1999 to 2003 in
Kinshasa (in Lycee Technique et Scientifique de Limete and at Institut de Kingabwa).
Designed on topics such as: “Telling a free story”, “Talking about his family”, “Describing
his school” and so on, these tasks have allowed collecting a large number of copies for
the study. Here bellows are some samples of these:
Sample I:
My grand mother
“My name Sombamanya Mary, I going speak about my grandmother. Last year where we
were to Shaba my grand mere very sick. That day mother is not to house. He is make
travel to Kananga about Tshikapa to selling the fish. Rive there my father is work to the
Gecamin in Shaba.
There I going to cook for there and may young children and sister. When my grandmother
sick I not the person to cook for me and to bay the thing for the family. He is very sick his
hospital. My father he is going makes a car for the transport there the hospital to make a
medicament. After I was the hospital to visit my grandmother. Because he was very sick
he was died, after he was going I’m very crying who my mother, if you died, if you died I
can give me another where”.(Assignment submitted in 1995)
Sample II:
Life in the town
“In the town the people is usually very happy to standing in town, because in the town the
people it very well the Bing people who was a big mony, the children of the town goes to
scKool every day. We has a big care and the bus in town we are a businesman who are
good house, the care the batfille wife undiching her children we has a matter the dielle
many in the town we has good scKool and a good church to prie we has a good
marketing in the town”( Assignment submitted in 1995).
More than one thousand of such copies were collected at the beginning and intermediate
levels in secondary schools. Among these, a number of 168 copies were kept and
subjected to a systematic analysis.
b) Data analysis
The study of beginners’ and intermediate learners’ language that is described in this
paper is a contrastive analysis of learners’ and teachers’ languages that has been
undertaken with a great emphasis on the system of verb phrase within individual learners’
language. This systematic analysis was conducted with a more careful attention on the
form, the meaning and the use of the language. These three language aspects having
been kept as the basic variables of the study, it has assessed from the analytical study
performed that: 12/168 students (or 7.14 % of students) got 1/10 scores in composition
activities ; 18/168 students (or 10.71 % of students) got 2/10 scores; 41/168 students (or
24. 40 % of students) got 3/10 scores; 40/168 students (or 23.80 % of students) got 4/10
scores; 19/168 students (or 11.30 % of students) got 5/10 scores; 24/168 students (or
14.28 % of students) got 6/10 scores; 12/168 students (or 7.14 % of students) got 7/10
scores; 02/168 students (or 1.19 % of students) got 8/10 scores; 00/168 students (or 0 %
of students) got 9/10 scores; and 00/168 students (or 0 % of students) got 10/10 scores
in the composition assignments.
Syntactic problems in composition classes
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236
The above scores state very clearly that 111/168 students (or 66% of students) failed the
composition tasks, 19/168 students (or 11.3% of students) got the balance, and only
38/168 students (or 22.6 % of students) got more than the balance. Such results describe
the learners’ low level in composition classes, more especially in the use of verb phrase
as highlighted in the learners’ copies recorded here above. In the sample N°1 for
example, among the 27 expected occasions of use of the VP in the learner’ composition,
it is only 5 times (or 18.5% of occasions) that it was successfully used by the learner,
when for 22/27 times (or 81, 5% of occasion) the learner failed to use it successfully in
the essay. The kind of language read in samples N°1 and N°2 constitutes a linguistic
behavior common to the majority of learners that is marked by a certain number of VP
problems actually stated in the chart bellow.
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PROBLEMS FACED BY BIGENNERS AND INTERMEDIATE LEARNERS IN USING VPS
MAJOR PROBLEMS
SPECIFIC SITUATIONS
1. Disorder
 Disordered constituents within the VP
structures
2. Dislocation
 Dislocated VP constituents within
sentence structures
3.1.
Misconstruction of verb tenses and
verb aspects
3.2. Misconstruction
forms
3. Misconstruction
of
interrogative
3.3. Misconstruction of negative forms
3.4. Misconstruction of passive voice
3.5. Very poor constructed VP
COLLECTED LANGUAGE DATA
REQUIRED LANGUAGE
-
-
-
4.1. Misuse of verb tenses and aspects
4. Misuse
-
Teachers do work not Sunday.
Pupils not are making noise.
He has must done his homework
Ann she food cooks.
You are the teacher?
Tshimanga has work in this school since
last year.
We are learn English now.
Speak you English?
Play not you football?
They play not in the classroom.
We not eat rice every day.
The pig was kill by the lion.
He has called by the teacher.
I am to go to church every Sunday.
I was to writing a letter to my father
yesterday.
Mukoko is coming late to school
everyday.
Bitota got the classroom after we
finished the quiz.
Jack and James goes the cinema.
Kalombo goes last month to Ilebo.
4.2.
Misuse of verb tense inflection
-
4.3.
Misuse of auxiliary within the VP
- Henrica is gone church.
- A lot of womans have teaching at Lycee
Buena Muntu this year.
-
Teachers do not work on Sunday.
Pupils are not making noise
He must have done his homework.
Ann cooks food.
Are you the teacher?
Tshimanga has worked in this school since
last year
We are learning English now
Do you speak English?
Don’t you play football?
They don’t play in the classroom
We don’t eat rice everyday
The pig was killed by the lion
He is called by the teacher
- I go to church every Sunday
- I wrote a letter to my father yesterday
- Mukoko comes late to school everyday
- Bitota got in the classroom after we had
finished the quiz
- Jack and James go to the cinema
- Kalombo went last month to Ilebo
- Henrica has gone to church
- A lot of woman are teaching at Lycee Buena
Muntu this year
Syntactic problems in composition classes
5. Misspelling
231 – 242
4.4.
Misuse of the negative particle “not”
4.5.
Misuse of the infinitive particle “to”
4.6.
Misuse of – ing form
5.1. Misspelling of verb forms within the
VP
5.2.
Misspelling of verb tense inflection
6.1.
Overuse of auxiliaries in the VP
structure
6.2. Overuse of the infinitive particle “to”
6. Overuse
6.3. Overuse of the negative particle
“not”
6.4. Overuse of verb tense inflections
6.5.
7. Omission
Over use of subject words with
tensed VP
7.1. Omission of auxiliary within the
- I not like dogs.
- He does love not his femme.
- I travelled Tshikapa without to pay
money.
- He went to the marked after to cooking
fool.
- The text was reading by the teacher.
- Kalala is wanting to travel to Mikalayi.
- The train stoped at the station.
- Kalala trys to read English.
- The dog was running behind its mother.
- They bout pens in the shop.
- They lovid each other.
- She looket at me.
- Do they have got new books.
- My mother was do buy potatos at the
market.
- Why do you are late today?
- Do they don’t smoke cigarettes?
- I must to visit my sister after to cook
food.
- They will to come tomorrow morning.
- I don’t not speak a good English.
- They don’t not like English.
- Okolongo does not speeks Tshiluba.
- They didn’t studied in school.
-
Me I speak English very well.
John he is sick.
- The man broken the office door to take the
238
- I don’t like dogs
- He does not love his wife
- I travelled to Tshikapa without paying money.
- He went to the market after cooking food.
-
The text was read by the teacher.
Kalala wants to travel to Mikalayi.
The train shopped at the station.
Kalala tries to read English.
The dog was running behind its master.
They bought pens in the shop.
They loved each other.
She looked at me.
Have they got new books?
My mother bought some potatoes at the
market.
- Why are you late today?
- Don’t they smoke cigarette?
- I must visit my sister after cooking food.
- They will come tomorrow in morning.
-
I don’t speak a good English.
They don’t like English.
Okolongo does not speak Tshiluba.
They did not study in our school.
- I speak English very well.
- John is sick.
- The man has broken the office door to take
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compound VP
7.2. Omission of the infinitive particle
“to”
7.3.
Omission of verb tense and aspect
inflection
7.4. Omission of VP within the sentence
structure
239
money.
- We learning English now.
- When my uncle hunting his dog killed by
lion.
- My mother wants see the doctor this
afternoon.
- Do you like visit this supermarket?
- She come late to school every day.
- He has work at Gecamine for ten year.
- My grand mere very sick.
- In the town the people it very well.
the money.
- We are learning English now.
- When my uncle was hunting. his dog was
killed by a lion.
- My mother wants to see the doctor this
afternoon.
- Do you like visiting this supermarket?
- She comes late to school every day.
- He has worked at Gecamine for ten years.
- My grandmother was very sick
- In the town people lives very well.

Lack of agreement between verb
forms and subject words
-
Pupils does not drink beer.
I has not a dictionary.
- Pupils don’t drink beer.
- I don’t have a dictionary.
9. Ambiguity

Ambiguous verb items
-
Light light, please.
- Turn on the light, please.
10. Inappropriateness

Inappropriate verb items
- I make my homework before going to bed.
8. Lack
agreement
of
- I do my homework before going to bed.
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240
The above chart not only states, but also classifies the problems in the use of verb
phrase in composition classes. The first column of the chart states ten main categories of
these problems. The second column states specific situations that describe variation of
each of these problems. The third column provides the learners’ language collected in the
ground and related to the specific situation. The forth column proposes corrections to
learners’ ill forms, structures or meanings. The analysis undertaken on beginners’ and
intermediate learners’ language and the results from this study allow considering
disorder, dislocation, misconstruction, misuse, overuse, misspelling, omission, lack of
agreement, ambiguity, and inappropriateness of verb forms and verb structures, as major
and serious problems that beginners and intermediate learners face in composition
classes and that actually need to be solved by dutiful, conscious and skilled teachers in
composition classes.
III. PEDAGOGICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN USING VERB PHRASE IN
COMPOSITION CLASSES
a) Sources of learners’ problems in the use of VP
Together with Pit Corder, it has to be asserted that there is a number of ways which
teachers regarded and still regard errors made by learners. Some teachers consider
learners’ errors as being unfortunate, but inevitable sign of human fallibility. Others regard
learners’ errors as the result of the influence of the mother tongue on the progress of the
second language learning ( Pit Corder, S, 1987, p.66). Such points of views are not totally
shared by this paper which considers learners’ difficulties to be assessing from different
sources. Successful remedial teaching action in composition classes, indeed, should aim
at a deeper understanding of the real causes of problems that learners face in using verb
phrases in composition activities; because, as suggested by Carl James, an important
ingredient of the teacher’s role as monitor and assessor of learners’ performance is to
know why certain errors are committed. It is on the basis of such diagnostic knowledge
that the teacher has to organize feedback and remedial work (Carl James, 1981, p.148).
Different factors, however, have been identified to be on the basis of learners’ difficulties
in the use of VP. As investigated and diagnosed in this study, susceptible causes of
problems in the use of verb phrase in composition classes are: ignorance, inability,
overgeneralization, lack of an internalized basic system, deficiency or poor mastery of the
target language, language transfer, false rules construction, lack of reference, lack of
attention, lack of interest and motivation, confusion, lapses, memory loss, tiredness, lack
of commitment, and the complexity of the system of English verb phrase.
b) Remedial actions
To allow teachers achieving successfully their teaching aims in composition classes,
teachers should be encouraged to care not only to the teaching materials, but also to the
teaching strategies, learning activities, learners’ language outcome as well as to the
teachers’ and learners’ behaviours in the classroom. The following pedagogical
considerations are then suggested as means to an end : a) raising learners’ learning
need and learning awareness in composition classes, b) introducing appropriate verb
phrase input in appropriate contexts, c) using relevant elicitation strategies, d) focussing
on verb forms, verb structures, their meaning and on situations of their use in pieces of
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241
composition, e) designing purposeful and task based composition activities, f) setting up
well defined task based group work, and g) adjusting feedback and error correction.
Doing so, will allow teachers achieving pedagogical requirements in teaching verb phrase
in composition classes because: -Raising learners’ learning need and learning awareness
will allow learners involve successfully in composition activities. -Introducing appropriate
verb phrase input in appropriate contexts will help learners have an authentic experience
of understanding the system of verb phrase and using verb phrase patterns successfully
in appropriate situations.-Using relevant elicitation strategies will help teacher clarifying
verb forms, verb structures and the context of their use. –Focussing learners’ attention
on verb forms and verb structures will allow learners internalizing verb phrase abstract
system –Focussing learners’ attention on the meaning and on the situations of the use of
verb forms and of verb structures will allow learners perceiving various linguistic
dimensions of English verb phrase. -Designing purposeful and task based activities in
composition classes will allow learners building and using verb phrase patterns
successfully in their own compositions. -Setting up task based group work will allow
learners collaborating and participating actively in composition tasks, learning one form
another, and using the language freely and in a variety of ways. -Adjusting feedback
using positive praises and correcting learners’ errors the right way, at the right time, by
the right person, will increase learners’ motivation in composition activities, because as
asserted by Harmer Jeremy, the motivation of the students is perhaps the single most
important thing that the teacher brings to the classroom, as motivated learners work
actively better than others (Harmer Jeremy, 1983, p.3).
CONCLUSION
This paper has described problems faced by beginners and intermediate learners in the
use of verb phrase in compositions classes. The results from this study have allowed
confirming the hypothesis according to which most problems faced by beginners and
intermediate learners in composition classes are verb phrase related. The most recurrent
of these problems are: disorder, dislocation , misconstruction, misuse, misspelling,
overuse, omission, lack of agreement, lack of coherence, ambiguity, and
inappropriateness of verb forms and verb structures within the VP or within the sentence
structure.
It has to be acknowledged that there is no unique source to each of these problems.
Different factors, however, have been identified as being on the basis of one or another of
the above problems. They namely are: ignorance, inability, overgeneralization, lack of an
internalized basic system, deficiency or poor mastery of the target language, language
transfer, false rules construction, lack of reference, lack of attention and motivation, lack
of interest, confusion, lapses, memory loss, tiredness, lack of commitment, and the
complexity of the system of English verb phrase.
To achieve teaching aims in composition classes, teachers will work hard at a) raising
learners’ learning need and learning awareness in composition classes, b) designing
purposeful and task based composition activities, c) introducing appropriate verb phrase
input in appropriate contexts, d) focussing on verb forms, verb structures, and on their
meaning and their use, e) using relevant elicitation strategies, f) setting up well defined
task based group work, g) adjusting feedback and error correction.
Syntactic problems in composition classes
231 – 242
242
The success of composition classes, however, will greatly depend on the teacher’s
abilities to apply successfully the above principles in the classroom. The wide description
of each of these principles remains the major requirement for their appropriate and
successful use by individual teacher in composition classes.
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