Syntax is a part of structural linguistics. The English syntax is also an important subject that the students need to understand in language studies. In this syntax subject, students learn the structure more detailed and specific and are used to better identify the structure specifically, such as English phrases, clauses, etc. A mastery of syntax also makes the students capable ofwriting English accurately. Thus, the subjectis not an easy job, but it copes with linguistic knowledge and language skills. This study aims to find out the causing factors problems in identifying head and modifier on English phrasesofthe fourth-semester students of  English Language Education.

The research used the descriptive qualitative method. This research was conducted in the English Language Education Study Program batch 2019 FKIP ULM. The participants of this study were the English Language Education students of the fourth semester who are taking morphosyntax courses.This research used questionnaire as the main instrument used to answer the research problem of this research. After that, the researcher used data reduction, data display, and concluding to analyze the data.

Based on the data, every student knows what a head and a modifier are.However, they still have trouble identifying the head and modifier on English phrases when learning, especially when taking the test.The causing factors problems faced were length of the phrase, confusion, limited vocabulary, and unfamiliarity. Besides that, phrases considered problematic for students are noun phrases, preposition phrases, and adverb phrases. Therefore, it can also say that students had problems identifying the head and modifier on English phrases that are different for each individual. Based on the research findings, the researcher suggests that English students must be more aware of problems to reduce problemsand students should pay more attention to the rule in identifying the head and modifier of English phrases. Thus, if students do not understand the phrase given, they can ask the lecturer concerned, making the students capable of writing English accurately and with no ambiguity.