The Acquisition of Conditional Sentences by Arab Learners of English

Abstract

This study attempted to assess the acquisition of conditional sentences by Arab learners of EFL at the levels of recognition and production. The analysis showed that the overall percentage of correct responses in both recognition and production was 44%. The subjects' overall performance in recognition was higher than theirs in production. The major problems the subjects' encountered relate to the subjects' inability to relate form to function in conditional sentences. The findings also revealed that implicit conditionals were the most difficult to recognize and produce. Furthermore, the tense-time relationship and the mismatch between verb forms in the two parts of the sentence constituted a major source of difficulty for the learners. Finally, the study revealed that most subjects are not familiar with the alternate forms of conditionals..