Abstract
Reports show that Filipino students have deteriorating communication skills in the English language. To verify these, it is significant to investigate their communicative competence. Thus, this study was conducted.Specifically, it sought answers to the following questions: 1) What are the common students’ errors in the application of subject–verb agreement rules in English? 2) What are the grammar rules that are mastered and those that are not? 3) What interventions can be done to enhance the performance of Grade 8 students in the least mastered grammar rules?The study used a descriptive-evaluative research design. The students were given a diagnostic test composed of 90-item multiple-choice questions about 18 subject–verb agreement rules in sentences, where each rule was represented by five questions. The grammatical errors made by the students were determined based on the number of correct responses in each rule. The top most common grammatical errors, the mastered and unmastered rules were identified.The respondents were 291 randomly selected Grade 8 students from secondary schools in Milagros, Masbate. The selection of sample respondents was done using stratified random sampling. Based on the result of the diagnostic examination, the following were the findings: 1) The Grade 8 students’score in each of the 18 rules was below the mastery level of 75% and it shows low level of mastery of all the rules in subject-verb agreement. 2) Students got a near mastery level score in only one out of 18 rules and it deals with mathematical abstractions.Based on the findings, the conclusion was drawn: 1) Grade 8 students in Milagros, Masbate involved in this study have very poor performance in subject-verb agreement rules.Based on conclusion, the researcher recommended the following: 1) Grammar rules must be given enough time. 2) Devise a learning module targeting the identified errors to master the rules.
