Tenses

Hevi Riyanto
hevi@bahasa.web.id
http://faezan.blogspot.com

Untuk mempelajari Bahasa Inggris, maka belajar tentang tenses adalah suatu keharusan.
Setiap kalimat baik verbal maupun nominal dalam bahasa Inggris pasti menggunakan tenses.
Oleh sebab itu, tenses merupakan pelajaran yang harus dikuasai.

Apakah Tenses itu ?

Tense : Berasal dari bahasa latin, tempus, yang berarti waktu. Tense adalah bentuk
penggunaan kata kerja berdasarkan waktu terjadinya pekerjaan.

Tenses adalah metode yang kita gunakan dalam berbahasa Inggris, berupa waktu lampau
(past), waktu sekarang (present), atau waktu yang akan datang (future). Beberapa bahasa tidak
mengenal tenses, termasuk bahasa Indonesia.

Ada beberapa hal yang dibicarakan dalam tenses, yaitu :

Mood

Indicative Mood (kalimat berita) merupakan ungkapan sederhana tentang suatu kenyataan
atau berita. Kalimat ini bisa berupa kalimat positif atau negative. Contoh :

• I like coffee.
• I do not like coffee.

Interrogative Mood (kalimat Tanya) merupakan kalimat pertanyaan. Contoh :

• Why do you like coffee?

Imperative Mood (kalimat Perintah) merupakan kalimat perintah atau larangan. Contoh :

• Sit down!

Subjunctive Mood (kalimat keinginan), merupakan kalimat yang berisi lamunan, keinginan,
dan kemungkinan. Contoh :

• The President ordered that he attend the meeting.

Voice

Voice menunjukan hubungan antara subjek dengan pekerjaannya.

Active Voice (kalimat aktif), mengungkapkan bahwa subjek adalah pelaku pekerjaan.
Contoh: Cats eat mice.

Passive Voice (kalimat pasif), mengungkapkan bahwa subjek adalah penerima pekerjaan.
Misalnya : Mice are eaten by cats.

Aspect

Aspect mengungkapkan hubungan antara pekerjaan dan waktu, baik berupa durasi maupun
selesainya pekerjaan. Simple present dan simple past tidak mempunyai aspect.

Kita dapat melihat aspect dalam perfect dan past tenses :

• Pekerjaan yang sudah selesai atau masih berlanfgsung. Contoh :

I have emailed the report to Jane. (so now she has the report)
(Kalimat ini dinamakan perfective aspect, menggunakan perfect tenses.)

• Pekerjaan yang sedang berlangsung atau terus menerus. Contoh

We are eating.
(Kalimat ini dinamakan progressive aspect, menggunakan progressive
[continuous] tenses.)
Tenses dan Waktu

Contoh di bawah menunjukan bagaimana perbedaan tenses digunakan dalam waktu yang
berbeda.

WAKTU
TENSE
Future (akan
Past (lampau) Present (sekarang)
datang)

I want a coffee. I leave tomorrow.

Present Simple
She likes coffee.

I am taking my
Present I am having dinner.
exam next month.
Continuous
They are living in London.

Present Perfect
I have seen ET. I have finished.
Simple

I have been playing

Present Perfect
tennis.
Continuous
We have been working for four hours.

If she loved you If you came

I finished one hour
Past Simple now, she would tomorrow, you
ago.
marry you. would see her.

I was working at
Past Continuous
2am this morning.

Past Perfect I had not eaten for

Simple 24 hours.

Past Perfect We had been If I had been If I had been

 Continuous working for 3 hours. working now, I working
would have missed tomorrow, I could
you. not have agreed.

Hold on. I'll do it I'll see you

Future Simple
now. tomorrow.

I will be working
Future Continuous
at 9pm tonight.

I will have
Future Perfect finished by 9pm
Simple tonight.

We will have been married for ten years next month.

They may be tired

when you arrive
Future Perfect because they will
Continuous have been
working.

In 30 minutes, we will have been working for four hours.

Selain itu, ada juga kata kerja yang tidak menunjukan waktu seperti umumnya. Misalnya, kata
kerja present tense yang tidak selalu menunjukan waktu sekarang.

I hope it rains tomorrow.

"rains" disini merupakan present simple, tetapi menunjuk pada future time (tomorrow
= besok)

Atau past tense tidak selalu menunjuk pada waktu lampau :

If I had some money now, I could buy it.

"had" merupakan kata kerja past simple tetapi menunjuk pada present time (now)
Tenses Dasar

Untuk past dan present, ada 2 tenses sederhana dan 6 tenses kompleks (menggunakan
auxiliary verbs/kata bantu). Ditambah 4 tenses yang menggunakan “Modal Tenses” untuk
bentuk future. Maka kita akan mendapatkan 12 tenses.

12 Tenses Past present future*

simple tenses past Present future

past perfect Present perfect future perfect

Tenses
kompleks yang future
past continuous present continuous
menggunakan continuous
kata Bantu
(auxiliary verbs) present perfect future perfect
past perfect continuous
continuous continuous

Penggunaan tenses dalam bahasa Inggris memang terlihat sulit, tetapi secara struktur,
sangatlah sederhana. Struktur dasar untuk kalimat aktif adalah :

Subjek + Auxiliary Verb + Main Verb

Auxiliary verb (kata bantu) digunakan dalam semua tenses. Dalam simple present dan
simple past tenses, auxiliary verb digunakan sebagai penekanan makna kalimat, dan biasanya
dihilangkan.

Tabel di bawah menunjukan 12 bentuk tenses untuk kata kerja “to work” dalam bentuk
kalimat aktif.
 Struktur past present future*

auxiliary main verb

normal I worked I work I will work

simple
intensif do base I did work I do work

past I had I have

perfect have I will have worked
participle worked worked

present
I was I am
continuous be participle I will be working
working working
-ing

present
continuous have I had been I have been I will have been
participle
perfect been working working working
-ing

Kata will disebut juga modal auxiliary verb dan future tenses disebut juga "modal tenses".
Regular Verb (Kata Kerja Beraturan)

Tabel di bawah menunjukan tenses dasar untuk regular verb kata kerja work. Kalimat di
bawah terdiri dari kalimat positif (+), negatif (-) dan interogatif atau kalimat pertanyaan (?).

Struktur dasarnya adalah :

positive: + subject + auxiliary verb + main verb

negative: - subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb

question: ? auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

Di bawah ini adalah perubahan bentuk kata kerja yang akan digunakan :

Kata Dasar past past participle present participle -ing

work worked worked Working

past present future

SIMPLE I did work I do work

+ I will work
do + base verb I worked I work
(Kecuali future:
- I did not work I do not work I will not work
will + base verb)

? Did I work? Do I work? Will I work?

SIMPLE PERFECT I will have

+ I had worked I have worked
have + past participle worked

I will not have

- I had not worked I have not worked
worked

Will I have
? Had I worked? Have I worked?
worked?

CONTINUOUS + I was working I am working I will be working

be + ing - I was not working I am not working I will not be
working

Will I be
? Was I working? Am I working?
working?

CONTINUOUS I had been I have been I will have been

+
PERFECT working working working
have been + ing
I had not been I have not been I will not have
-
working working been working

Had I been Have I been Will I have been

?
working? working? working?
Irregular Verb (Kata Kerja Tak Beraturan)

Di bawah ini adalah tenses dasar yang menggunakan kata kerja sing. Kalimat di bawah terdiri
dari kalimat positif (+), negatif (-) dan interogatif atau kalimat pertanyaan (?).

Struktur dasarnya adalah :

positive: + subject + auxiliary verb + main verb

negative: - subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb
question: ? auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

Di bawah ini adalah perubahan bentuk kata kerja yang akan digunakan :

base verb past past participle present participle -ing

sing sang sung Singing

past present future

SIMPLE + I did sing I do sing I will sing

do + base verb I sang I sing
(Kecuali future:
- I did not sing I do not sing I will not sing
will + base verb)

? Did I sing? Do I sing? Will I sing?

SIMPLE PERFECT + I had sung I have sung I will have sung

have + past participle
I will not have
- I had not sung I have not sung
sung

? Had I sung? Have I sung? Will I have sung?

CONTINUOUS + I was singing I am singing I will be singing

be + -ing I will not be
- I was not singing I am not singing
singing

? Was I singing? Am I singing? Will I be singing?

CONTINUOUS + I had been I have been I will have been

PERFECT singing singing singing
have been + -ing
I had not been I have not been I will not have
-
singing singing been singing

? Had I been Have I been Will I have been

singing? singing? singing?
Kata Kerja ‘Be’

Di bawah ini adalah tenses dasar yang menggunakan kata kerja be. Kalimat di bawah terdiri
dari kalimat positif (+), negatif (-) dan interogatif atau kalimat pertanyaan (?).

Struktur dasarnya adalah :

positive: + subject + auxiliary verb + main verb

negative: - subject + auxiliary verb + not + main verb
question: ? auxiliary verb + subject + main verb

Tetapi untuk simple past dan simple present tenses, strukturnya berbeda.

positive: + subject + main verb

negative: - subject + main verb + not
question: ? main verb + subject

Di bawah ini adalah perubahan bentuk kata kerja yang akan digunakan :

base past simple past participle present participle present simple

be was, were been being am, are, is

past present future

SIMPLE + I was I am I will be

present simple or
- I was not I am not I will not be
past simple
(except future: will +
? Was I ? Am I ? Will I be?
be)

SIMPLE PERFECT + I had been I have been I will have been

have + been
- I had not been I have not been I will not have been
 ? Had I been? Have I been? Will I have been?

+ I was being I am being I will be being

CONTINUOUS
- I was not being I am not being I will not be being
be + being

? Was I being? Am I being? Will I be being?

CONTINUOUS + I had been being I have been being I will have been
PERFECT being
have been + being
I had not been I have not been I will not have been
-
being being being

? Had I been Have I been Will I have been

being? being? being?

Dari table di atas, kita dapat melihat 12 macam perubahan kata kerja be.

SIMPLE past present future

I was am will be

singular you were are will be

he/she/it was is will be

we were are will be

plural you were are will be

they were are will be

PERFECT past present future

I had been have been will have been

singular you had been have been will have been

he/she/it had been has been will have been

 we had been have been will have been

plural you had been have been will have been

they had been have been will have been

CONTINUOUS past present future

I was being am being will be being

singular you were being are being will be being

he/she/it was being is being will be being

we were being are being will be being

plural you were being are being will be being

they were being are being will be being

CONTINUOUS PERFECT past present future

will have been

I had been being have been being
being

will have been

singular you had been being have been being
being

will have been

he/she/it had been being has been being
being

will have been

we had been being have been being
being

will have been

plural you had been being have been being
being

will have been

they had been being have been being
being
Penutup
Belajar tenses memang merupakan hal yang cukup sulit. Hal ini terjadi karena penggunaan
kalimat pada waktu tertentu mempunyai nama istilah berbeda. Akan tetapi secara mendasar,
Bahasa Inggris mempunyai struktur kalimat yang sama, sehingga jika struktur ini dikuasai
dengan benar, maka kita akan sangat mudah memahami dan mempraktikan tenses dalam
setiap kalimat.

Tulisan ini hanya bersifat pengenalan dan mendasar bagi yang akan mempelajari bahasa
Inggris, sehingga dalam penyampaiannya terkesan dangkal dan sederhana. Semoga
bermanfaat.

Referensi :
Hallan, Jack, A Scond-Step Course and Composition, 1995, Penerbit Jesstar, Bandung.
http://www.englishclub.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_grammar

Biografi Singkat Penulis :

Hevi Riyanto, Lahir di Bandung - Jawa Barat, Lulusan S1 Bahasa dan

Sastra Arab Institut Agama Islam Negeri (IAIN) Sunan Gunung Djati
Bandung Tahun 2003.
Penulis aktif sebagai penulis sekaligus owner di www.bahasa.web.id,
www.persib.net dan www.go-persib.com. Saat ini Penulis bekerja di
Warnet sebagai Manajer Operasional..

Dapat dihubungi melalui :

Email : hevi@bahasa.web.id
YM : hevi_fauzan@yahoo.com.
Blog : faezan.blogspot.com