An Analysis of Morphological and Syntactic Errors in the Compositions of the Freshman Students in Al-Imam Al-Kadhum University College

Abstract

     This study is an attempt at investigating morphological and syntactic errors in compositions committed by twenty first-year EFL learners at the Department of English in Al-Imam Al-Kadhum University College/ Thi-Qar. The procedure followed is observing these errors in composition writing. The findings reveal that the compositions are abound with morphological and syntactic errors and such errors are classified under eleven categories: omission of '-s'3^rd person singular, misuse of ‘-s’ plural, misuse of derivational suffixes, wrong word form, inappropriate plural ending, subject-verb disagreement, auxiliary Be omission, irregular verbs, faulty sentence structure, omission of articles and misuse of prepositions. Analyzing  the morphological and syntactic errors, the study explores a growing body of evidence that the learners‘ errors are due to English rule misapplication, Lack of basic understanding, overgeneralization, online chat or short message service language (SMS) influence and L1 language interference (literal translation). The findings, which show that the morphological errors are committed more than the syntactic ones, support the claim that the students lack enough exposure to written English. Thereupon, the study suggests remedial implications against the stumbling-stone of  improper rule application in contributing to provide a remedy for such a critical period of college study and to draw the teachers' attention to the most pervasive errors ( the morphological ones) which aggravate difficulties in their written production.