MINI RISET CONDITIONAL

SENTENCES
SUPPORTING LECTURE
YANI LUBIS, S.AG, M.HUM

COMPILER:

ARIF MUHAMMAD TANJUNG

0105192003

COMMUNICATION SCIENCE STUDY PROGRAM-1

FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCE

STATE ISLAMIC UNIVERSITY OF NORTH SUMATERA

2019

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 FOREWORD

Our praise and gratitude to the presence of God Almighty because of His blessings
and grace, this English course assignment can be completed well. I would like to thank
the English lecturer who gave an explanation of the preparation of this mini research
report.

If there are deficiencies in this report, I as the task of apologizing, remember the
author is still in the learning phase. I hope the Lecturer always gives direction and
guidance for the writer in the future. Finally, I say a thousand thanks, hopefully it will
benefit us all.

Medan, 24 Desember 2019

Peneliti

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

FOREWORD .....................................................................................................................i

TABLE OF CONTENTS ..................................................................................................ii

CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................1

1.1 Background of The Problem ...........................................................................1

1.2 Problem of The Study .....................................................................................1
1.3 Objective of The Study ....................................................................................2
1.4 Significances of The Study ...............................................................................2
CHAPTER II THEORITICAL REVIEW .....................................................................3

2.1 The Understanding of the Conditional Sentences ............................................3

2.2 Purpose of Conditional Sentences....................................................................7
2.3 The Definition of Descriptive Research........................................................... 8
CHAPTER III RESEARCH METHOD .........................................................................9

3.1 The Method of Research ..................................................................................9

3.2 The Objective of the Research .........................................................................9
3.3 Technique For Collecting The Data .................................................................9

CHAPTER IV RESULT OF RESEARCH AND DISCUSSION ..................................10

4.1 Result of Research ........................................................................................... 10

CHAPTER V CONCLUSION AND SUGESSTION .....................................................11

5.1 Conclusion .......................................................................................................11

5.2 Sugesstion ........................................................................................................11

REFERENCE ....................................................................................................................12

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 CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of The Problem
Language is a means of communication. In Contextualising Difficulties in
Literacy Development, Joseph A. Diorio stated “Language is an instrument through
which we express ourselves, act on to the world, and pursue our objectives”.1 It
means that language is used to express what people want to convey and make the
people understand what the speakers mean.
There are few basic concepts of language as a means of communication. In
social skill, language is used to make friends and participate in the games, music,
and movies. In academic skill, language is used to participate in a small group oral
discussion about issues and ideas, give oral responses to the teacher’s questions,
and complete homework assignments.2 It means language can be used not only to
socialize with other people but also to participate in the classroom activity.
English has become the first foreign language that is taught in every level of
education. In Indonesia, English is taught as a local content in primary school, as a
compulsory subject in secondary school, and also as a complementary subject in
university. This is organized to make the students master English as well through
learning and acquiring process in the classroom.
1.2 Problem of The Study
The problem identified in this research are the students have difficulties in
using if conditional sentence in actual situations, the grammar teaching model of
the teacher is not communicative in the class, that are needed to lead the
researcher to explain and solve the problems.
The question they are relavant to the problem are :
1. how students' expertise in applying conditional sentences in daily life?
2. under what conditions are conditional sentes used?

1
Janet Soler, Janice Wearmouth, and Gavin Reid, Editor, Contextualising Difficulties in Literacy
Development: Exploring Politics, Culture, Ethnicity, and Ethics, (New York: RoutledgeFalmer, 2002), p.
287.
2
Jodi Reiss, Teaching Content to English Language Learners: Strategies for Secondary School Success,
(New York: Longman, 2005), pp. 10-11.

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 3. What is the difficulty of students in understanding conditional
sentences?

1.3 Objective Of The Study

The objective of this research are :

1. To find out expertise in applying conditional sentences In daily life.

2. To find out What conditions are conditional sentences used.

3. To find out difficulty of students in understanding conditional sentences.

1.4 Significances of The Study

The writer hopes that the result of the research can inspire the English teachers
to improve their teaching of grammar to be more successful. It is also to provide a
communicative activity to learn grammar in the classroom, another significant of
the apply it is expected that this be useful for the English who wants to evaluate
expertise and difficulity to used conditional sentences.

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 CHAPTER II
THEORITICAL REVIEW
2.1 The Understanding of the Conditional Sentences
Conditional sentence is a part of the English grammars which the students need
to learn. It has many different types that can be used in many different situations.
However, before we discuss the types and the uses of conditional sentences, it is
better to talk about the understanding of the conditional sentences which are
derived from many grammarians first.

According to Devitiis, et al, ”Conditional sentences deal with an event or a

situation which is, or which was, dependent on the fulfilment of a condition.” 3

Hurford defines, “A conditional clause is a subordinate clause introduced in

English by if or unless, stating some condition under which an adjacent clause
applies.”4

According to Hall, “Conditional sentences with if indicate that the truth of the
main clause depends on the presence of the condition in the if clause.”5

Cowan also states in his book, The Teacher’s Grammar of English, that
conditional sentence is a sentence that express a condition and the result of the
condition.6

The writer summarizes that a conditional sentence is a sentence which begins

with if or unless and the sentence expresses a condition and its result, where the
main clause indicates the truth depending on the condition in the sub clause.

1. The Types of The Conditional Sentence

Based on its use, the conditional sentence is divided into three types.

3
G. De Devitiis, L. Mariani, and K. O‟Malley, English Grammar for Communication,
(Harlow: Longman, 1989), p. 161.

4
James R. Hurford, Grammar: A Students’ Guide, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), p.
45.
5
Eugene J. Hall, Grammar for Use: A Realistic Approach to Grammar Study for Intermediate and
Practical Application, (Jakarta: Binarupa Aksara, 1993), p. 277.
6
Ron Cowan, The Teacher’s Grammar of English, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), p. 449.

3
 Each of them has basic pattern. Basically, the conditional sentence consists of
the main clause and the if clause. However, when the main clause and the if
clause are put into the sentence, they have many variations in each type of
conditional sentences.
2. The Conditional Sentence Type 1

Conditional sentence type 1 describes future events that will

happen, or are likely to happen. It is a real possibility in the speaker‟s
mind, not imaginary. It means when someone uses this kind of sentence,
she expresses a possibility that may happen in the future. However, she
does not know whether it can happen or not7. This sentence is to talk about
possible situation. The first type of conditional sentence is presented as
follow:

If Clause (Simple Present) , Main Clause

(will/shall)

For Example:
1. If you are not careful, you will break the plate.
2. If I run, I shall get there in time.

If Clause (Present Continuous) , Main Clause

(will/shall)

For Example:
1) If he has written the letter, I will post it.
2) If you have finished dinner, I shall ask for the bill.

If Clause (Present Perfect Continuous) , Main

Clause (will/shall)

7
Carroll Washington Pollock, Communicate What You Mean: A Concise Advanced Grammar, (Upper
Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall Regents, 1997), 2nd Ed., p. 227.

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 For Example:
1) If he has been studying, I will not disturb him.
2) If we have been standing here, we shall see the accident.

If Clause (Modal) , Main Clause (will/shall)

For example:
1) If I may see him today, I will tell him to call you.
2) If I can study, I shall pass the test.
“Will” and “shall” are not the only modal verbs used in the main
clause. The verbs in the main clause are varied. In A Practical English

3. The Conditional Sentence Type 2

Conditional sentence type 2 is used to talk about unreal or improbable situations

now or in the future; this type use past tense in the if clause and would + infinitive in
the other part of the sentence. It means that conditional sentence type 2 is used when
someone imagines the situation which is contrary to the real situation.8

It uses past tense in the if clause and “would” in the main clause. These are the
patterns of if conditional sentence type 2:

If Clause (Simple Past), Main Clause

(would/should)

For Example:
1) If I worked harder, I should make much money (But I don‟t
work harder).
2) If I had a map, I would lend it to you (But I haven‟t a map. The
meaning here is present).

If Clause (Past Continuous), Main Clause

(would/should)

8
Michael Swan, Practical English Usage, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995), 2nd Ed., p. 247.

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 For Example:
1) If my car was working, I would drive you to the station (But my
car is broken down).
2) If John was studying, he should pass the test (But he is playing
games now).

If Clause (Modal), Main Clause

(would/should)

For example:
1) If I could see him today, I would tell him to call you (But he
does not come to the office, so I cannot see him today).

2). If John could study, he should pass the test (But he cannot study
because he is sick now).
Beside “would” and “should”, main clause can contain the other past
form of the modal auxiliary verbs.
4. The Conditional Sentence Type 3
Conditional sentence type 3 is used to talk about an imaginary past
situation and its results. It means that conditional sentence type 3 is used when
the speaker imagines the situation which is contrary to the situation in the past
truth.9
These are the patterns of conditional sentence type 3

If Clause (past perfect), Main Clause

(would/should + have + past participle)

For example:

1) If he had tried to leave the country, he would have been stopped at the
frontier (but he didn‟t try).
2) If Leslie had studied, she should have passed the test (She did not study,

9
Scott Thornbury, Natural Grammar, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), p. 60.

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 so she did not pass the test)

If Clause (past perfect continuous), Main

Clause (would/should + have + past participle)

For example:
1) If I hadn‟t been wearing a seat belt, I would have been seriously
injured (Luckily I was wearing a seat belt).
2) If you had been driving the car carefully, you shouldn‟t have got
anaccident (you were driving the car carelessly).

If Clause (past perfect passive), Main Clause

(would/should + have + past participle)
For example:
1) If my application had been mailed on time, I would have taken
the TOEFL test last week (My application was not mailed on
time).
2) If a shopping list had been made before going to the store, you
shouldn‟t have forgotten to buy soda. (But you did not make a
shopping list, so you did not buy soda).

In conditional sentence type 3, would or should have is used in the main clause.
However, there are other variations of the verbs in main clause.
2.2 Purpose of Conditional Sentences
The purpose of conditional sentences is In Advanced Learners’ Grammar: A
Self-Study Reference & Practice Book with Answers, Foley and Hall explains the
use of each types of conditional sentences as follows10:

a. The first conditional sentence is used to describe possible future events

or situations and their results.

10
Mark Foley and Diane Hall, Advanced Learner’s Grammar: A Self-Study Reference & Practice Book with
Answers, (Harlow: Longman, 2003), pp. 121-123.

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 For example: If you are not careful, you will break the plate
b. The second conditional sentence is used to describe an improbable
future event or situation. The condition is unlikely to be fulfilled
because the future event is unlikely to happen.
For example: If I worked harder, I should make much money (But I
don‟t work harder).

c. The third conditional sentence describes a hypothetical situation or event

in the past. The past situation or event is contrary to known facts. It is an
unreal or impossible situation.
For example: I would have used your builder if I had managed to
contact him (But I did not manage to contact him).
Based on the explanations above, the writer infers that that conditional
sentence type 1 can be used to make predictions and to talk about a situation that
may happen in the future. Furthermore, conditional sentence type 2 can be used
to express dreams, give advice, to talk about a situation which sometimes exists,
express an imaginary situation, and express an impossible event in the future. In
addition, conditional sentence type 3 can be used to express regret, to make
apologies, to describe an impossible situation.
2.3 The Definition of Descriptive research
The definition of this research to interview of the Student at senior high
school SMAN 17 MEDAN to explain the conditional sentences material and
invite other to speak english on school when learning english, knowing the
learning methods to be easy to useful in daily life.

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 CHAPTER III
RESEARCH METHOD
3.1 The Method of Research
In this research, the writer used Classroom Action Research. The research
consisted of two cycles and each cycle included four stages; planning, acting,
observing and reflecting. In order to get the accuracy in data collecting, the
writer combined both qualitative and quantitative data. For qualitative data, the
writer observed the students’ activity in the classroom when they were learning if
conditional sentence. The writer conducted the interview to the classroom
teacher and asked several questions around the process of teaching learning
grammar, the students’ difficulties in learning grammar, and the method that
she used in teaching grammar.

The students’ activity included their participation in the classroom and

their enthusiasm in problem solving activity. For quantitative data, the writer
used Pre-test and Post-test to measure the effectiveness of problem solving
activity in improving the students’ understanding of if conditional.
3.2 The Objective of the Research
The objective of the research was to find the empirical evidence whether
problem-solving activity could improve the students’ mastery in if conditional
sentence. The empirical evidence was the progress of students’ score in learning
if conditional sentence.
3.3 Technique For Collecting The Data

In this study research used several instrument to collect the data those are
interview. There are three kind interview which are used they are structure
interview. They are planning, acting, observing, and reflecting.

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 CHAPTER IV
RESULT OF RESEARCH AND DISCUSSION

4.1 Result of research

The writer asked some questions to the teacher around her responses while
she was teaching English subject in the eleventh grade students, the students‟
difficulties in learning English, the Minimum Mastery Criterion that had to be
achieved in SMAN 17 MEDAN, the grammar material that were taught in the
eleventh grade, the students‟ difficulties in learning if conditional sentence, and
her model of grammar teaching in the classroom.
According to the teacher, the students of SMAN 17 MEDAN still lacked
vocabulary, so they could not comprehend the text. They were also afraid of
doing mistake while they were speaking English in the class. The Minimum
Mastery Criterion in SMAN 17 MEDAN for English subject was 75.
The grammar material that had already been taught at the eleventh grade
students were simple past, simple present, conjunction, if conditional sentence
type 1 and 2, and direct and indirect speech. However, direct and indirect speech
and if conditional sentences. Were difficult for the students to understand. For if
conditional sentences, the students were confused why there was a changing verb
into the past form,

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 CHAPTER V
CONCLUSION AND SUGESSTION

5.1 Conclusion
The conclusion is initiated from the aim of the research which is to
increase the students’ understanding of if conditional sentences,there are still
many who cannot use it because they still don’t know the replacement of the word
verb into the word past form, this inhibitingthe use of if conditional sentences into
everyday life and under certain conditions.

5.2 Suggestion

I hope that by knowing the results of this research, hopefully the teacing of
conditional sentences will be improved even moreso that student’s know and can
used these conditional sentences into their daily life and can apply them to rights
conditions.

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 REFERENCE
Pollock, Carroll Washington.1997. Communicate What You Mean: A Concise
Advanced Grammar. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J: Prentice Hall
Regents,

Hall, Eugene J. 1993. Grammar for Use: A Realistic Approach to Grammar Study
for Intermediate and Practical Application. Jakarta: Binarupa Aksara.

Devitiis, L. Mariani, and K. O’Malley. 1989. English Grammar for

Communication. Harlow: Longman.

Johnson, Keith, and Keith Morrow, ed. 1981 Communication in the Classroom:
Applications and Methods for a Communicative Approach.
Harlow: Longman

Reiss, Jodi. 2005. Teaching Content to English Language Learners: Strategies

for Secondary School Success. New York: Longman.

Swan, Michael. 1995. Practical English Usage. 2nd ed. Oxford: Oxford
University Press.

Foley, Mark, and Diane Hall. 2003. Advanced Learner’s Grammar: A Self-Study
Reference & Practice Book with Answers. Harlow: Longman.

Thornburry, Scott. 2004. Natural Grammar. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Cowan, Ron. 2008. The Teacher’s Grammar of English. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

Hurford, James. R. 1994. Grammar: Student’s Guide. Cambridge: Cambridge

University Press.

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