Syntactic Competence in the Use of English Conditional Clauses Among ND II Students of Federal Polytechnic Bali

Bamanga Aliyu Bello Mohammed Sajo Bashir Umar Bakari

doi:10.56201/ijelcs.vol.11.no5.2026.pg79.89

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Syntactic Competence in the Use of English Conditional Clauses Among ND II Students of Federal Polytechnic Bali

Bamanga Aliyu Bello Mohammed Sajo Bashir Umar Bakari

Abstract

This study investigates the syntactic competence of ND II Science Laboratory Technology students of Federal Polytechnic Bali in the use of English conditional clauses during the 2024/2025 academic session. The study aims to examine students' competence in the use of English conditional clauses and identify the major syntactic errors associated with their usage in spoken English. The study is anchored on Chomsky's Generative Grammar Theory (1957), which explains that language competence is based on the internalization of grammatical rules governing sentence formation. A descriptive research design employing both qualitative and quantitative approaches was adopted. The population comprised 148 ND II SLT students, from which 60 participants were purposively selected. Data were collected through structured classroom observation of students' spoken interactions and analysed using descriptive syntactic analysis, frequencies, percentages, and mean scores. The findings revealed that the First Conditional was the most frequently used conditional structure, followed by the Second, Zero, and Third Conditionals, indicating that students demonstrate greater competence in expressing real and probable situations than hypothetical ones. The study further found that tense inconsistency, subject–verb disagreement, and wrong modal verb selection were the most frequent and significant syntactic errors affecting students' spoken English. The study concludes that the participants possess moderate syntactic competence but still experience considerable difficulty in applying complex grammatical rules governing English conditional constructions. It recommends intensified grammar instruction, regular communicative speaking activities, and targeted remedial exercises focusing on conditional clauses, tense sequence, and subject–verb agreement to enhance students' spoken English proficiency and overall grammatical competence.

Keywords

Syntactic competenceConditional clausesSpoken EnglishGenerative GrammarScience Laboratory Technology students.

References

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Syntactic Competence in the Use of English Conditional Clauses Among ND II Students of Federal Polytechnic Bali

Abstract

Keywords

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