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 ELT FORUM 5 (2) (2016) 

 

Journal of English Language Teaching 
 

http://journal.unnes.ac.id/sju/index.php/elt 

 

 

Error Analysis on the Use of Prepositions in Students’ Writing 

(A Case Study of the Eleventh Grade Students of SMA Negeri 9 Semarang in the 

Academic Year of 2014/2015) 

 

Pindho Anjayani  Drs. Suprapto, M. Hum. 

 

English Department. Faculty of Languages and Arts. State University of Semarang. 

 

Aticle Info 

________________ 
Article History: 

Received in April 2016 

Approved in April 2016 

Published in May 2016 

________________ 
Keywords: 

Error Analysis, Preposition, 

Writing. 

____________________ 

Abstract 
___________________________________________________________________ 
The focus of this study is error analysis on the use of prepositions in students’ writing made by the eleventh grade 

students of SMA Negeri 9 Semarang. This study was conducted to find out the students’ dominant errors on the 

use of prepositions in their writings and to explain how students use prepositions in their writings. This study 

was categorized into descriptive qualitative research.  

The population of this study was the eleventh grade students of SMA Negeri 9 Semarang in the academic year 

of 2014/2015. The population was 252 students and the writer chose 72 students from two classes consist of class 

XI IPA 3 and XI IPA 5 as the subjects. The writer used purposed random sampling because the population was 

homogenous. 

The data was analyzed using error analysis method. The result of data analysis showed that from 1002 

prepositions found in 72 students’ writing. There were 117 incorrect preposition usage or 11.68%. The dominant 

error was the use of preposition of place which was 66.67% or 78 errors. However, the students were able to use 

prepositions correctly because in general they could use the appropriate prepositions in their writing. 

The writer saw that some of students were still confused in choosing the appropriate prepositions. Some of them 

knew the function of prepositions but they overgeneralized the information from target language in every structure 

of language they found. They also tried to combine information from their native language (Indonesian) and 

second language they are learning (English). In general, those errors were mostly caused by interlingual transfer. 

The writer hopes that the teacher could be aware of the importance of media to transfer information about 

preposition effectively and efficiently. The writer also hopes the government and syllabus developer could 

understand the importance of preposition as the part of grammar in English. In addition, they could allocate 

more time and portion to include preposition as the important material for the students. 

© 2016 Universitas Negeri Semarang 

 
 Correspondent Address:  

   B3 Building  FBS Unnes  

   Sekaran, Gunungpati, Semarang, 50229 

   E-mail: poojavanica@gmail.com 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ISSN 2252-6706 



 

Pindho Anjayani / Journal of English Language Teaching 5 (2) (2016) 

2 

INTRODUCTION 

Background of the Study 

Humans need to learn language to convey 

their intension or opinion to others in a 

community. Their ability to communicate clearly 

and fluently to other refers to language 

performance. In order to use language well, we 

have to master the language competence. 

Language competence covers some skills and 

components. 

In language learning, there are four skills: 

listening, speaking, reading, and writing. As 

stated by Morrow in Demirbaş (2013:108), 

receptive and productive skills are the 

combination of four skills – listening, reading, 

speaking, and writing skills. Therefore, we can 

divide the language skills into two types. First is 

receptive skill. It is a term used for reading and 

listening skills where meaning is extracted from 

the discourse. According to Harmer (2007:265), 

productive skill is the term for speaking and 

writing skills where students actually have to 

produce language themselves. 

As stated by Tarigan in the article entitled 

The Definition of Writing According to Some 

Experts, writing as productive skills for writing an 

indirect communication and the nature of the 

character is very different from that expressed by 

speaking directly, therefore writing is included an 

ability. 

Meanwhile according to Wilga (1980) 

cited in Ningsih (2004:35), writing or 

composition is the expression of ideas in a 

consecutive way, according to graphic 

convention of the language, the ultimate aims of 

a written at this stage to be able to express himself 

in a polished literary from which requires the 

utilization of a special vocabulary and a certain 

refinement of a structure. 

It can be concluded that writing is the 

activity of making a recording language in a piece 

of paper or any other areas to express the idea and 

message from the writer including the usage of 

vocabulary and structure of language. Writing is 

also created by particular set of symbol, and letter 

for representing the wordings of particular 

language. 

The components in language include several 

things, such as: lexical, phonological, semantic, 

syntactic, pragmatic and grammar. All of those 

components should be mastered so that we can 

use language well and can be understood by 

others. 

Grammar covers several important 

aspects in language such as, prepositions, articles, 

singular or plural form, irregular verbs, tenses, 

etc. Some of them seem like a small aspect which 

do not have important role in language, for 

examples, prepositions and articles. They are as 

important as other aspects in language. These 

aspects also become a problem for the foreign 

language learners. They often make mistake in 

using preposition and article so that it influences 

their production of language. 

Seaton and Y.H. Mew (2007:132) define 

preposition as a word that connects one thing 

with another, showing how they are related. It is 

usually followed by a noun or pronoun. 

Meanwhile, Brown (2004:958) defines 

preposition as a word used to express some 

relation of different things or thoughts to each 

other, and is generally placed before a noun or a 

pronoun. 

We could find several kinds of English 

prepositions with different functions which are 

usually used. There are preposition of place, 

preposition of time, preposition of movement, 

preposition to show a method, reason, 

accompaniment, etc. The foreign language 

learners will get confused if they do not 

understand the rules and the meaning of 

prepositions. If it happens, there will be 

misleading in conveying a message. One simple 

example is when a student uses preposition of 

place. The student says “The book is above the 

table” instead of “The book is on the table” to 

show that the book is located on surface of the 

table. The listener will think that the book is flying 

if the student says “The book is above the table”.  

Another example is when the student says “The 

black box is below the white box” instead of “The 

white box is under the white box” to show that 

the white box is resting on the surface of black 

box. If the student says “The white box is below 

the black box”, it means that there is a space 



 

Pindho Anjayani / Journal of English Language Teaching 5 (2) (2016) 

3 

between the white box and the black box. If those 

kinds of mistake are neglected and happen 

constantly, it might be an error and fossilized. 

Lam (2009) as cited by Lorincz and 

Gordon (2012:1), states that the learners cannot 

depend on prepositional knowledge from their 

first language. If learners do make assumptions of 

semantic equivalence between the first and 

second languages, it often results in prepositional 

error. 

The second language learners often find 

difficulties in using English prepositions because 

there are differences in their first language and 

English prepositions. They have to learn the new 

form and master all the prepositions. It makes 

learners get confused between their first language 

rule and English. 

 

Research Problems 

The research questions of this study are 

as follows:  

1. What is the dominant error on the use of 

prepositions found in the students’ 

writing?  

2. How do students use prepositions in 

their writing? 

 

Purposes of the Study 

The purposes of the study are as follows:  

1. to find out the students’ dominant errors 

on the use of prepositions in students’ 

writing; and 

2. to explain how students use prepositions 

in their writing. 

 

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 

The writer gathered the supporting data 

from the observation at the eleventh grade 

students of SMA Negeri 9 Semarang as the 

population. As stated by Sugiyono (2009:80) that 

the population is a generalization region 

consisting of: objects / subjects which have 

certain qualities and characteristics. They will be 

defined by the researchers to be studied and then 

drawn conclusions. 

In addition, Sugiyono (2009:81) also 

defines sample as a part of the number and 

characteristics possessed by the population. 

Samples that were taken from the population 

should be truly representative so that conclusions 

which drawn may be applied to all populations. 

In conducting this research, the writer used 

purposed random sampling because the 

population was homogenous. Sugiyono 

(2009:82) explains that it is defined as simple 

random sampling because the members which 

are samples of the population is randomly 

without regarding to level that exists in the 

population. In this sampling, each subject has the 

same right and chance to be chosen as the sample.  

From the consideration above, the writer 

took two classes of the eleventh grade students of 

SMA Negeri 9 Semarang as sample. Those are 

class XI IPA 3 and XI IPA 5. She took those two 

classes because they were taught by the same 

teachers, have the same level of class, and they 

were not differentiated between upper class and 

lower class. 

As stated by Sugiyono (2009:137) based on 

how or techniques of data collection, the data 

collection can be done with interviews, 

questionnaires, observation, and combination of 

them. 

The writer collected the data by conducting 

a writing test using a free writing test. By 

conducting the writing test, the writer got the 

product from each student. The writing products 

were analyzed according to focus of the research 

which is the English preposition. 

The writer used four steps of error analysis 

as stated by Corder in Ellis (1994:48) to explain 

how the prepositions were used in students’ 

writing. There are the following steps: 

1. Collecting the sample of language 

learners 

In this step, the writer collected the data 

from the students by conducting a writing test.  

2. Identifying the errors 

After collecting the data, the writer 

identified the errors. Since the focus of the 

research was about the using of preposition, the 

writer identified the occurrence of errors in using 

prepositions.  

3. Describing the errors 

After identifying and classifying the 

errors made by the students, the writer described 



 

Pindho Anjayani / Journal of English Language Teaching 5 (2) (2016) 

4 

the errors. The writer analyzed each error based 

on the four categories of errors such as omission, 

addition, misinformation, and misordering. 

4. Explaining the errors 

In this step, the writer explained how 

and why the errors made by the students could 

occur. It concerned with the source of errors. 

5. Evaluating the errors 

 After knowing the source of errors, the 

writer evaluated the errors. She gave some 

explanation how prepositions used by the 

students in their writing product. Their writing 

product and errors which occurred can show their 

comprehension 

in using 

prepositions. 

 Errors can 

be done by some 

sources and 

causes. In finding 

the sources of the 

errors made by 

the students, the 

writer used 

theory from 

Brown 

(2000:223), who 

has explained the sources which influence second 

language learner in making error. 

1. Interlingual transfer 

In this stage, the system of the second 

language is familiar and the native language is the 

only previous linguistic system upon which the 

learner can draw. In the other word, the error is 

the result of transfer from the native language. 

The second language learners try to combine their 

information from their native language and 

second language they are learning. 

2. Intralingual transfer 

In this stage, the second language 

learners have learned target language. They 

overgeneralized the information from target 

language in every structure of language the find. 

3. Context of learning 

It refers to the situation in the case of 

untutored second language learning. The learners 

find different information from what they learn in 

class and the situation outside the class. It also 

can happen because of the incorrect information 

from the teacher. 

 

FINDINGS AND DISCUSSIONS 

After collecting the data, the writer read 

and identified errors from the students’ 

worksheet. From 1002 prepositions found in 72 

students’ writing, there were 869 correct usages of 

prepositions. In addition, the writer found 117 

errors or 11.68% of preposition usage. From the 

117 errors, they were classified into the following: 

Table 4.1  

Classifications of Error 

 

From the table above, we can see the 

frequency of each error and the percentages. The 

writer can also conclude that the dominant error 

is the using of preposition of place. There were 78 

errors or 66.67%. 

From the findings, it can be said that the 

students find problems in using prepositions. The 

students are still confused in using every type of 

prepositions. They know some prepositions and 

the general function, but they are still confused to 

choose the appropriate preposition for the 

context. For examples, the students made 

sentences: (1) At Solo we visited historic sites on 

Solo. (2) On the second day, we spend the night 

at Solo city. (3) The next day we went to Salatiga 

city to my house at Salatiga city, 

The examples above show that the 

student knew preposition at and on are used to 

show a place. However he did not know that the 

appropriate preposition to show a city is in. It 

No

. 
Types of Error Quantity Percentages 

1. Preposition of place 78 66.67% 

2. Preposition of time 25 21.37% 

3. Preposition to show a partition 3 2.56% 

4. Preposition to show the origin of something 2 1.71% 

5. Preposition to show a possession 1 0.85% 

6. Preposition to show a method 3 2.56% 

7. Preposition to show an accompaniment 2 1.71% 

8. Preposition to show the source of something 2 1.71% 

9. Preposition to show the material of something 1 0.85% 

Total 117  



 

Pindho Anjayani / Journal of English Language Teaching 5 (2) (2016) 

5 

made him use the prepositions of place randomly 

without knowing the correct rule for each 

preposition. 

In other case, the students also knew the 

function of preposition but they overgeneralized 

the information from target language in every 

structure of language they find, for example: I 

choose into Ghost’s House by on foot. The 

example shows that the student knows that 

preposition by is used to show a method. He also 

knew that preposition on should be added before 

word foot, but he overgeneralized information 

that he should put preposition by in the 

prepositional phrase to show a method. He 

overgeneralized it and made a mistake in another 

structure.  

The writer also saw that the students are 

confused and try to combine their information 

from their native language (Indonesian) and 

target language they are learning (English), for 

examples: (1) Sragen is village from my mother. 

(2) We until Selekta park at 15.00 am. 

From the examples above, the writer sees 

that the structure and the use of prepositions are 

familiar with the native language of the students. 

It seemed like the errors happened because of 

interlingual transfer. In this case, the students’ 

writings were influenced by their native language. 

In general, the students found difficulties in 

making English sentences directly. They 

sometimes make it in their native language first 

and then translated into target language. It 

becomes problem when they translated their 

works, they ignored the rule in the target 

language. The writer found that they translated it 

literary. That was the reason why their sentences 

felt unfamiliar and strange. In addition, it felt 

strange because the sentences were written in 

English, but the structure of the sentence was in 

Indonesian.  

Most of students made errors because of 

intralingual transfer. Since English is their foreign 

language, it is hard for them to fully comprehend 

the types of preposition and each function. They 

also have to comprehend the rules in making 

prepositional phrase which is quite different from 

their native language’s rules. When they found 

the rule of one preposition, they often 

overgeneralized it. It was one of common errors 

made by the students. They ignored the rule and 

used the prepositions for inappropriate context of 

sentence. 

The dominant cause of those errors is 

interlingual transfer. As it stated before, 

interlingual transfer is influenced by native 

language. Unfortunately, this interlingual 

transfer becomes a negative transfer in language 

acquisition. 

 

CONCLUSIONS AND SUGGESTIONS 

The result of the study shows that from 

1002 prepositions found in 72 students’ writing, 

there were 117 incorrect preposition usage or 

11.68%. In other words, in general the students 

are able to use preposition correctly. 

The dominant errors made by the 

students are errors on the use of prepositions of 

place. There were 78 errors of preposition usage or 

66.67%. In addition, the possible factor of errors 

is interlingual transfer. The students were 

influenced by their native language. They also 

overgeneralized the information from the target 

language. 

Based on the conclusions above, the 

writer would like to present suggestions: 

The suggestions for the teachers are they should 

be aware of the importance of media used in the 

class. The teachers could use medium to transfer 

information about prepositions effectively and 

efficiently. They could give some practices in 

using prepositions so that the students will 

understand and comprehend the use of 

prepositions. The teachers should give 

assignment or homework to read more. By giving 

an assignment to the students so they will read a 

text or a book, the students will be familiar with 

the use of prepositions in a context. 

The writer hopes the government and 

syllabus developer could understand the 

importance of preposition as the part of grammar 

and the importance of grammar in learning 

English. Moreover, those reasons can be the 

consideration for government to allocate more 

time and portion to include preposition as the 

important material for the students. 



 

Pindho Anjayani / Journal of English Language Teaching 5 (2) (2016) 

6 

The suggestion for the students is they 

should give some time to read texts in English. It 

will make them familiar with English language, 

grammar, sentence structure also the use of small 

important material such as preposition. The 

students will find concrete examples of the use of 

preposition. They will see how to use prepositions 

in sentences and some types of preposition they 

can use. In addition, they will be able to use 

prepositions in their writings. 

 

REFERENCES 

 

Brown, H. Douglas. 2000. Principles of Language 

Learning and Teaching. New York: Longman. 

 

Dermibas, M. N. 2013. Performance Differences 

between ELT Freshmen’s Receptive and 

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Linguistic Studies, 9(1), 107-127. Available at: 

http://www.jlls.org/vol9no1/107-127.pdf 

[accessed on 11/03/15] 

 

Ellis, Rod. 1994. The Study of Second Language 

Acquisition. New York: Oxford University 

Press. 

 

Lorincz, Kristen and Rebekah Gordon. 2012. 

Difficulties in Learning Prepositions and 

Possible Solutions. Linguistic Portofolios: Vol. 

1, Article 14. Available at: 

http://repository.stcloudstate.edu/stcloud_lin

g/vol1/iss1/14 [accessed on 17/04/13] 

 

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to.html. [Accessed on 11/03/2015] 

 

Seaton, Anne and Y.H. Mew. 2007. Basic English 

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