Tense error analysis committed by 300 level English university students in north-western Nigerla

This study seeks to investigate the gravity of tense errors made by 300 level English students from two North-Western Nigerian universities in the written production of English with a view to finding solutions to them. The data was obtained from fifty semester examination answer booklets written by students as a part of their requirements for graduation. The data collected was analysed using EA approach developed by Corder (1974). The findings of the study reveal that the errors can be grouped into nine categories out of which tense errors is the second most committed by the students after capitalisation. Based on these findings, the teachers of English and the students are suggested to be more pro-active in handling such errors because English students are the hope of other students from other disciplines after graduation. These remedies would help prevent students from internalising such errors which by implication serve as threats to national development