THE MOST COMMON ERRORS ON

THE USE OF PREPOSITION OF TIME

A Research Presented to The Faculty of College of Education PHINMA-Cagayan

de Oro College

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Course ENG 163 -Language
Education Research

By

Ellen Mae M. Tibalan

BSED-3

April Mae Hope B. Cabil

BSED-3

Mary Jane P. Geraldizo

BSED-3

MARCH 2023
 APPROVAL SHEET

This Action Research attached hereto, titled THE MOST COMMON ERROR ON THE
USE OF PREPOSITION OF TIME, prepared and submitted by April Mae Hope B.
Cabil, Mary Jane P. Geraldizo, and Ellen Mae M. Tibalan, in partial fulfillment of
the requirements for the Course ENG 163 – Language Education Research is
hereby accepted.

Angie Marie E. Ortega

Adviser

Mary Jean P. Castro, MAED

Chairman

Honey Abella

Panel Member

Angie Marie E. Ortega

Panel Member

Accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Course ENG 163 -
Language Research.

RIZHALY B. MAANDIG, PhD

Dean, College of Education

MARCH 18, 2023

Date
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT

First and foremost, praises and thanks to God, the Almighty, for the knowledge,
boldness, and strength and His showers of blessings throughout our research and
its successful completion.

The researchers would also like to express our deep and sincere gratitude to our
research Teacher ma'am Angie Marie Ortega for providing us with invaluable
supervision, and support, during our research study. We would also like to thank
her for the empathy, patience, and knowledge that she imparts to us. It was a
great privilege and honor to work and study under her guidance. And to our
statistician ma’am Honey Abella, for sharing her knowledge and expertise to the
research. Without their help, our research paper would not be possible.

The researchers’ gratitude also extends to the COE head, for allowing us the
opportunity to conduct our research among the grade first-year students. Also, to
the teachers who have given their consent for the full participation of the
freshmen respondents.

Our thanks and appreciations also go to our respondents who willingly helped
with their full cooperation which has made the research study achieve its smooth
completion. We would also like to give thank you for the time and knowledge that
you have given us to conduct this study.

Last but not the least we do our dearest parents for their deep consideration of
the finances and undying support throughout the making of the research study.
As well as for their words of encouragement.

The Researchers
 ABSTRACT
The purpose of this research is to identify the most common errors on the use of
preposition of time. The objectives of this research were to identify the errors done by
students in using preposition of time, to know the proportion (number of error and
percentage), made by students of 1st year BSED college of PHINMA C0C-MAIN
CAMPUS.

In this case, the researcher identified the errors made by students in using the
preposition of time in the given test. After that, the researcher calculated the proportion
by using percentage formula and identified the causes of students' errors. This study's
population consisted of first-year BSED college students. In collecting the data, the
researcher used survey questionnaire to conduct the research. The sample was drawn
from 1st year BSED class, which consisted of 194 students.

The result of the research showed there are 109 items errors made by the students.
"IN" is the most common error among students, with 109 errors and a percentage of
56%. Based on the table it can be described the number of errors mostly made by the
students preposition of time “IN”, reaching 109 errors (56%), the numbers of error in
preposition of time “ON’, reaching 43 errors (22%), and the numbers of error in
preposition of time “AT’, reaching 61 errors (31%). As a result, the researcher found that
“IN” is the most common error occurs in prepositions of time.

Keyword: Most Common Error, Preposition of Time, 1st year college BSED students
 TABLEOF CONTENTS

TITLE PAGE

APPROVAL SHEET

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

ABSTRACT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

A. The Problem and Its Background

B. Statement of the Problem

C. Significance and Purpose of the Study

D. Theoretical/Conceptual Framework

METHODOLOGY

A. Scope and Delimitation

B. Research Design

C. Research Method

D. Research Instrument

E. Data Analysis

RESULTS/ FINDINGS

A. Problem 1

1. Table/Figure

2. Interpretation

3. Related Literature support

15-17

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

A. Conclusion
 INTRODUCTION

Language is important for daily conversation whether it is formal or informal

conversation, it is a means for communicating to other person or to any group of people.
It is also important to know how to use each words in order to avoid confusion and
misunderstanding because each words have different functions, it influence it’s meaning
and how the receiver of the message interpret the meaning. In addition, People have
different concepts of error, but to have a standard definition of it, Corder defines errors
as the performance failure (as cited in Castro, 2001).The English native speakers rarely
make mistakes in their grammar, but they also have common English errors which show
how tricky the English language could be (Swick, 2005).A preposition of time is used
when something happens in an extended or particular period of time. It is also used to
show direction, location, introduces an object and to connect the phase to other words.
Castro, M.C.S.A. (2013) Diverging fines preposition as words that show the relationship
between two words in a sentence.

The knowledge of using accurate words can make the communication smooth,
one of the most important to know its functions is the preposition of time which also
contains small words such as the word “in” “at” and “on”. Each of those words have
different meaning and functionality, it is suggested to know it’s definition and
characteristics firsthand. However, Lorincz (2012) says that English language learners
find prepositions challenging to master due to its large numbers and different nature.
Furthermore, an Özisik (2014) state that there are no specific rules regarding the usage
of prepositions, and this creates problems for both teachers and learners. Students are
having difficulties to identify the appropriate prepositions to be use in a context. The
error of using preposition arises because of its rules and conditions. Boers and
Demecheleer (1998:197) states that prepositions are difficult to master for ESL/EFL
learners because they have literal as well as figurative meanings. Also, as stated by
Celce-Murcia and Larsen-Freeman (1999), the misused is caused by a mismatch
problem between English and other languages.
 Common errors occur in sentence structures that lead to misinterpretation and
confusion about whether it is correct or not. As we know the preposition of time
significantly influenced the word's meaning. The inappropriate use of prepositions of
time is inevitable especially for students when they are not corrected. The use of 'in, on,
and at' is not based on how it sounds good but on its appropriateness. Preposition is
short and simple but it is really confusing and tricky to use for many people and difficult
to use because of its confusing rules. The errors often found in using preposition of time
which contained in a phrase that make the context different from the real meaning. The
errors of using preposition of time had become a serious problem specially to the
students. Learners are having difficulty on mastering the appropriate use of preposition
of time in different context. Students use incorrect grammar because of lack attention to
the grammar pattern. From the case above, the researcher aims to identify the most
common errors on the use of preposition of time.

Statement of the Problem

Accurate use of words is necessary to make the grammar correct, and to avoid
misinterpretation from listeners. The researchers will see in depth the use of preposition
of time in which the students commonly use mistakenly for stating the date, years or
months. The researchers with this study, identified the most common errors in the use
of preposition of time. This study seeks to answer the question, what are most common
errors of the preposition of time encountered by students?

Scope and Delimitation

The researchers chose the first year BSED-ENGLISH students at Phinma

Cagayan De Oro College Main Campus enrolled in Whole Second Semester of SY
2022-2023 as the participants for this study. In such group, enables us, the researchers
identify the most common error of using preposition of time they had committed.
Significance of the study

This research is very useful as it gives information that is new and could help us
identify the most common errors of preposition of time. The specific people that can
highly benefits form this research are the following:

Students - This study will be beneficial to the students because it will help them to
understand and identify the proper usage of prepositions of time thus, they can apply
their learnings on this particular study to their daily life in terms of academics and in any
form of communications. Moreover, after the students learn and gradually apply the
proper usage of prepositions of time, they can definitely influence the other people on
how to use preposition of time accurately in daily conversation and it can contribute to
the wider community.

Students from College of Education Department - This study can serve as their
basis to be more knowledgeable in terms of using appropriate prepositions of time in to
different context and will enhance their speaking and writing skills through applying
proper use of preposition of time. The knowledge they can gather from this study is
useful and important for their future career as a teacher.

Teachers - This study will serve as their basis for correcting the common errors of
students in using preposition of time in their classes, in everyday conversation with their
colleagues. They can't just track the errors of their students but they can teach them as
well regardless of the subject he/she is teaching.

Future researchers - This study will serve as their basis for the future researchers if
they will conduct a study the same to our study. Future researchers can also use their
study as their reference to their study. This study can also serve as their valid
information.
Theoretical framework

This theory supports our research study as it gives us idea on what are the
possible ways that will help us to identify the common error in the use of preposition of
time. Lindstromberg (1996) asserts regarding preposition, the prototypical meaning is to
have contact with an upper surface. According to this theory, prepositions have multiple
meanings, which are prototypical or most dominant among the particular category of
meaning. The spatial, physical meanings of prepositions are considered to be the
prototype. For instance the preposition on has multiple meanings but when it reflects the
meaning as "contact of an object with a line of surface" then it is the prototypical one
Lindstromberg (1996).

Geeraerts (1989) claims ―the fuzzy boundaries of lexical categories, the

existence of typicality scales for the members of a category, the flexible and dynamic
nature of word meanings, the importance of metaphor and metonymy as the basis of
that flexibility...‖ (p. 590). It seems that the polysemous properties of grammatical
elements like prepositions can be explained through the application of such knowledge.
In the Prototype Approach, words are taught with extended explanations and they are
based on semantic manner.

This approach is used and considered for the teaching and learning of
prepositions and it helps the learners to learn deeply and increase the confidence
(Lakoff 1987, Lindstromberg 1996, Lam 2009). To adopt this approach, first the
language teacher must teach the features regarding prototypical meaning. Then they
can proceed towards more abstract meanings and uses of the prepositions and only
then the learners will be able to learn (Lindstromberg, 1996; Lam, 2009). According to
Lam (2009) prototype approach ―allows teachers to point out the relationships
between different uses of a preposition and describe patterns of meaning extension, as
opposed to telling learners to simply memorize each use as an individual item. In this
way learners will hopefully be more aware of the expressive range of a preposition.
Error Analysis (EA) refers to the subsequent attempts to rectify what was seen as an
overly theoretical approach to language learning. Error analysis works to predict errors
by comparing the linguistic systems of the mother tongue and target language
(Richards, 1973: 5). Thus, when talking about error analysis, it must be related to
second language learning (Corder in Richards, 1973: 158), involving the

Interference of the L1 or source language (SL) to the L2 as the target language (TL).
This theory can help in our research study because Error analysis is important subfield
that bridge linguistic theory and language teaching. Also, it can provide the proof of how
language is acquired or learned.
 METHODOLOGY

Research design

The research designs of this study us descriptive. The researchers’ aims to

identify the most common errors on the use of preposition of time which affect the
students to misuse the proper preposition of time in a context. This study is descriptive
because it enables the researcher to identify the most common errors on the use of
preposition of time committed by the students. The researchers’ aims to identify the
most common errors on the use of preposition of time which affect the students to
misuse the proper preposition of time in a context. The researcher also aims to gather
the information to be use in this study.

Research method

The study made use of a quantitative research design. This research was done
to identify the prepositional errors made by students when speaking English. In this
case, the researchers focus on the students' errors in using the preposition time. To get
the data, the researchers want to conduct a test of first year college students at
PHINMA COC-Main Campus to focus on the most common errors on the use of
prepositions of time.

Research Instrument

The researcher will use the survey questionnaire in conducting the study,
wherein the students were asked to fill in the blank with the correct preposition. After
doing so, the most common errors answered by the students were marked as the data
presented in the findings. Those incorrect uses of prepositions were counted in
percentage. A completion questionnaire will be used in data gathering for the
researchers to identify, classify, and analyze this data based on the category ratings of
the students' perspectives.

The instrument made use of a survey questionnaire that sought to answer the
research questions of the study and identify the most common errors in using the
preposition of time. The researcher's instrument is usable for the respondents to answer
because the questions and instructions are clear. And the researchers will administer
the survey during the respondents' SSP time. The respondents can easily analyze the
answers because the content of the survey questionnaire accurately assesses what the
researchers want to know regarding the most common errors in using the preposition of
time. And the researchers ensure the reliability of the instrument by using the study of
Azar (1992) about prepositions of time, where the use of IN, ON, AT it is defined as the
reference in formulating the questions.

Sampling Procedure

The researchers collected and reviewed related studies and literature to enrich
their knowledge about the topic. They used many sites to search for articles relevant to
the topic.

The respondents to this study were the 194 first year college BSED students of
PHINMA COC-Main Campus. To formally start the study, the researchers will secure
permission from the advisers of the chosen respondents. When permission was
granted, the researchers gave and explained the written consent form to the chosen
participants of the study. Before the test begins, the researchers will orient the
respondents regarding the test items and the instructions on how to answer the
questionnaire. And the respondents will be given a survey questionnaire that the
researchers will hand them during the conduct of the study, which will last for one day
only. The respondents will answer the survey questionnaires individually under the
supervision of the researchers. All the research instruments will be collected
immediately after completion.
Data Analysis

To analyze the scores of the respondents, the researcher used descriptive

statistics, the percentages. The percentage was used to analyze the rate of error for
each preposition in the test. In conducting this study, it needs some procedures, Firstly,
to collect the data, the researchers will make a table showing the three types of
prepositions. Second, the researcher will get the three most common errors in
prepositions produced by the respondents' answers. In order to get the numbers of error
and percentages, the researcher will tally the answers of the respondents to determine
which of the prepositions has the most common error. The percentages are calculated
by the following formula:

P= F/N *100% P= Percentage

F= Frequency of answer

N= The total number of respondents

And lastly, after identifying the respondents' errors in prepositions, the researchers
interpreted all of the data. In order to get the percentage, divide the value by the total
value, and then multiply the resultant by 100. To calculate a given percentage of a
number, divide the total number by 100 and then multiply the result by the requested
percentage.

Table 1: Percentage used to determine students’ Error in Using Preposition of Time

Types of Preposition of Numbers of Error Percentage

Time
IN 109 56%
ON 43 22%
AT 61 31%
 Results Discussion

After analyzing the collected data, the researcher intends to interpret the findings. The
following table below shows the number of students’ most common errors in using
prepositions of time. The table described as follows:

Table 2: The Most Common Errors in Using Preposition of Time.

STATEMENT PREPOSITION OF Numbers of Error PERCENTAGE

TIME
____the afternoon, IN 109 56%
I have an English
class.
History is the study ON 43 22%
of events that
occurred ____ the
past.
I moved here AT 61 31%
_____ the fall.

The table above shows the number of students “most common error in using
preposition of time”. Based on the table of data, it can be described the number of
errors mostly made by the students preposition of time IN, reaching 109 errors (56%)
from 14 item numbers, the numbers of error in preposition of time ON, reaching 43
errors (22%) from 15 item numbers, and the numbers of error in preposition of time AT,
reaching 61 errors (31%) from 12 item numbers.

The result revealed that highest numbers of most common error occurs in the
prepositions of time is “IN” with 109 errors in item number 14. The sentence “______the
afternoon, I have an English class” caused confusion among the students in choosing
between “On” “In” “At”. There were 56%of the students choose “IN” instead of the
correct answer “ON”. It shows that the students have problems in using preposition of
time “IN” by analyzing the situation and they are unfamiliar with the rules of each
preposition that will be used in a different context. As a result, prepositional misuse
occurs in the test. Based on the given item, it is evident that the students got confused
of using appropriate preposition of time in terms of stating a date in a week. The
preposition of time "ON" only used with specific days, dates or named days. We can
use "AT" for a precise time and "IN" for months, years, centuries and “ON" for DAYS
and DATE. On the context, its state "afternoon” however, 56% of the students got
confused and used "IN” as they thought that "IN" can be used when stating a specific
day in a week. In addition, one of the reasons why 56% of the students chose "IN” is
because they thought it would better fit to the context and sounds good, which is in fact,
it was not correct at all. To classify the students “Most Common Errors in Using
Preposition of Time, According to Collins,1991: 40); In is applied: if something happens
in a particular year, month, or other period of time and it happens during that time
(Collins, 1991: 40); to say how someone is expressing something after particular words
such as expert (Collins, 1991: 132) and interest (Collins, 1991: 154). (24) for people
who are expert to climbing a mountain I think it is safe. (UN4I). (25) Ummm....last.....at
2017 (L3E). (26) I’m interested learning about culture. (UN4J). Sentence (24) and (25)
fit in with the second situation. So, preposition in should be used in sentence (24) to
change preposition to. In is also needed in sentence (26) after the word interested.
Then, preposition at in sentence (25) should be changed into in to indicate something
which is done in a particular year.
 SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION

This chapter discusses summary of findings, conclusion and recommendations of the

research.

Summary of findings

This section summarizes the main research findings of the study. Based on the result of
analysis, the table of number of errors is made to know how often students make errors
in the use of prepositions of time. The number of errors and percentage can be seen
that “IN” is the most common error of preposition of time that reaching 109 errors 56%.
The finding of research shows that the 1 st year college BSED students have problems in
using preposition of time “IN” by analyzing the situation. There are some possible
factors why the students use wrong preposition in item number 14 in the given test.
First, they got confused of using appropriate preposition of time in terms of stating a
date in a week. Thus, they cannot decide which prepositions will be properly used in a
sentence. Second, they are unfamiliar with the rules of each preposition that will be
used in a different context. As a result, prepositional misuse occurs in the test. And
lastly, they have a poor understanding of what preposition can be used to time. As a
result, they employ a preposition that is inappropriate for the information in the sentence
in the text. From the analysis of the result of the test, the most common error found are
about the use of “IN”. It appears that the majority of the 1 st year BSED college students
are unfamiliar with the rules of the common preposition of time. In other word, they
failed to distinguish the use of each preposition. As a result, 56% of the students use
incorrect prepositions.

Conclusion
 The researcher came to some conclusions after completing the research. The
following conclusions were reached as a result of a test about students' errors in using
the preposition of time:

The researcher has analyzed the students‟ most common errors in using
preposition of time. The findings indicate that first-year college students from Bachelor
of Secondary Education students still occasionally misuse the preposition of time. The
researcher finds, that most students struggle with correctly determining and
distinguishing them in sentences.

Based on the data, the number of students “most common error in using
preposition of time mostly occurred in preposition of time ‘IN” with 109 errors 56%
percentage. The researcher classifies the types of errors committed by students. The
findings have shown several insights in this study.

Firstly, due to the "IN," "ON," and "AT" of prepositions of time employed in the
questionnaire, which are the root of errors and difficulties caused by students' confusion
who are unfamiliar with the multiple functions of preposition. Second, this study has
shown that students’ struggle to comprehend how to employ the preposition of time
correctly. The students make mistakes when they still add a preposition to a sentence
where it is not needed and when they employ the incorrect preposition. And this is
because of their low comprehension skill.

Recommendations

Based on the conclusion above, the researcher anticipates the following

recommendations that might be useful in addressing students issues with using the
preposition of time in English:

1. The curriculum of the first year should be improved in a way that it should include
grammar for the students to modify their grammar skills especially in using
prepositions.
 2. Based on the findings of this study, it was expected that the teacher would provide
clear explanations to students' errors during the learning process in learning
grammar, particularly those involving the usage of prepositions.
3. The students were then expected to practice using prepositions, particularly in
selecting the appropriate preposition. Students may need to do more practice to
ensure that they understand how to use prepositions.
4. Meanwhile, it would be beneficial for students to understand the different types of
prepositions and how they are used. It has the potential to improve students'
knowledge as well as their ability to select the appropriate preposition.

REFERENCE

ED.gov(2018).The Common Errors of prepositions of time.Retrieved March 4,2023 from

https://eric.ed.govCES

Arc journals.2017The Difficulties Encounter (ESP) Students in Using English

Prepositions of Time.Retrieved March 4,2023 from https://www.arcjournals.org/

EDUCULTURAL.(2019)Difficulties of Using Prepositions of Time towards EFL Learners’

Communication Skill.Retrieved March 4,2023from https://ejournal.narotama.ac.id/