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Students’ Competence in Using Transitive and Intransitive Verbs in Simple Sentences

ELS Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities · Vol. 8 No. 4 (2025) · pp. 1175–1182

DOI
10.34050/els-jish.v8i4.48715
ISSN
2621-0835, 2621-0843
Published
2025-12-10
Publisher
Hasanuddin University
Language
en
License
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0

Abstract

This study aims to investigate students’ competence in using transitive and intransitive verbs in simple English sentences and to identify the types of errors commonly made by students. A quantitative descriptive research design was employed, using multiple-choice and essay tests as research instruments. The participants were 30 third-semester students of Class A from the English Language Education Study Program, Khairun University. The findings revealed that the average student score was 69.17, which falls within the “Enough” or medium competence category. The results also indicated that students demonstrated better mastery of transitive verbs compared to intransitive verbs. The most frequent errors involved the use of inappropriate objects after intransitive verbs and confusion in distinguishing verbs that can function as both transitive and intransitive. A comparative analysis between the two test formats showed that students performed better in essay tests than in multiple-choice tests, with 63.3% of students achieving a “Very Good” category in applying verbs in contextual sentences. These findings highlight the need for focused instructional strategies to enhance grammatical competence, particularly in understanding and applying verb types accurately in sentence construction. The study contributes to the broader understanding of English grammar acquisition among EFL learners and provides insights for curriculum improvement in language education programs.

Keywords

Collaboration network of the authors

39 authors · 94 co-authorship links · 7 across different organisations

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  • Universitas Pancasakti Makassar
  • Lambung Mangkurat University
  • Sekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Raudhatul Akmal
  • Universitas Sulawesi Tenggara
  • Universitas Halu Oleo
  • Affiliation unknown
  • Different organisations
  • Same organisation
  • Affiliation unknown
  • Thicker line = more joint articles · bigger circle = more articles
Show as table
Co-authorOrganisationJoint articles
Susi AstiantihAffiliation unknown2
Salmia SyarifuddinAffiliation unknown2
Ija Try Saputri KadirAffiliation unknown2
Sri Ayu Budi LestariAffiliation unknown2
Firman AzizUniversitas Pancasakti Makassar1
Nurul Fathanah MustaminLambung Mangkurat University1
Pertiwi IshakUniversitas Pancasakti Makassar1
Fauzi FahmiSekolah Tinggi Agama Islam Raudhatul Akmal1
Masdar LimbongAffiliation unknown1
Mukhtar MukhtarAffiliation unknown1
Ach Fikri FausiAffiliation unknown1
Siti Hadrayanti AnandaAffiliation unknown1
Muhammad Ikhsan AkbarAffiliation unknown1
Rahmawati RahmawatiAffiliation unknown1
Ramli RamliUniversitas Sulawesi Tenggara1
Surdin SurdinUniversitas Halu Oleo1
Andi Detti YuniantiAffiliation unknown1
Yuyun WidaningsihAffiliation unknown1
Asmita AhmadAffiliation unknown1
Kidung Putra PangestuAffiliation unknown1
Ashar Ramadan SyahAffiliation unknown1
Muhammad FarhanAffiliation unknown1
Abdul MujibAffiliation unknown1
Rama Nida SiregarAffiliation unknown1
Devi MathelineaAffiliation unknown1
Dedy Juliandri PanjaitanAffiliation unknown1
Annisa Fadhillah Putri SiregarAffiliation unknown1
Andy SaptaAffiliation unknown1
Rima ApriliaAffiliation unknown1
Dwi Novita SariAffiliation unknown1
Rahimah EmbongAffiliation unknown1
Nurmairina NurmairinaAffiliation unknown1
Nurhafni SiregarAffiliation unknown1
Hasanah HasanahAffiliation unknown1
Cindy Fadillah NasutionAffiliation unknown1

Affiliations come from OpenAlex; journal OAI-PMH metadata carries none. Authors without an OpenAlex ID are matched by name, which can merge or split people.

Metadata source: OAI-PMH (metadata jurnal) https://journal.unhas.ac.id/index.php/jish/oai, first harvested 3 Nov 2026, last seen 3 Nov 2026.
Original metadata (oai_dc) 
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	<dc:title xml:lang="en">Students’ Competence in Using Transitive and Intransitive Verbs in  Simple Sentences</dc:title>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Raitah Mansur, Zuhesty</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Sutaryo, Sutaryo</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Firmansyah, Firmansyah</dc:creator>
	<dc:creator xml:lang="en">Yetty, Yetty</dc:creator>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">transitive verb</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">intransitive verb</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">grammatical competence</dc:subject>
	<dc:subject xml:lang="en">language education</dc:subject>
	<dc:description xml:lang="en">This study aims to investigate students’ competence in using transitive and intransitive verbs in simple English sentences and to identify the types of errors commonly made by students. A quantitative descriptive research design was employed, using multiple-choice and essay tests as research instruments. The participants were 30 third-semester students of Class A from the English Language Education Study Program, Khairun University. The findings revealed that the average student score was 69.17, which falls within the “Enough” or medium competence category. The results also indicated that students demonstrated better mastery of transitive verbs compared to intransitive verbs. The most frequent errors involved the use of inappropriate objects after intransitive verbs and confusion in distinguishing verbs that can function as both transitive and intransitive. A comparative analysis between the two test formats showed that students performed better in essay tests than in multiple-choice tests, with 63.3% of students achieving a “Very Good” category in applying verbs in contextual sentences. These findings highlight the need for focused instructional strategies to enhance grammatical competence, particularly in understanding and applying verb types accurately in sentence construction. The study contributes to the broader understanding of English grammar acquisition among EFL learners and provides insights for curriculum improvement in language education programs.</dc:description>
	<dc:publisher xml:lang="en">Hasanuddin University</dc:publisher>
	<dc:date>2025-12-10</dc:date>
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	<dc:format>application/pdf</dc:format>
	<dc:identifier>https://journal.unhas.ac.id/index.php/jish/article/view/48715</dc:identifier>
	<dc:identifier>10.34050/els-jish.v8i4.48715</dc:identifier>
	<dc:source xml:lang="en">ELS Journal on Interdisciplinary Studies in Humanities; Vol. 8 No. 4 (2025): DECEMBER; 1175-1182</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2621-0835</dc:source>
	<dc:source>2621-0843</dc:source>
	<dc:source>10.34050/els-jish.v8i4</dc:source>
	<dc:language>en</dc:language>
	<dc:relation>https://journal.unhas.ac.id/index.php/jish/article/view/48715/13857</dc:relation>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">Copyright (c) 2025 Zuhesty Raitah Mansur, Sutaryo, Firmansyah, Yetty</dc:rights>
	<dc:rights xml:lang="en">https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0</dc:rights>
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