tips n trik meraih toefl 550

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MATERI B INGGRIS-TOEFL-READING COMPREHENSION

READING COMPREHENSION
Section 3 dalam ujian TOEFL adalah Reading comprehension. Ini digunakan untuk mengukur
kemempuan peserta ujian dalam memahami teks tertulis dalam bahasa inggris. Bagian ini
mengujikan setidaknya 5 bacaan, dimana masing-masing bacaan biasanya terdiri dari sepuluh
pertanyaan. Sehingga pertanyaan pada bagian ini berjumlah limapuluh pertanyaan. Anda harus
menyelesaikan semua pertanyaan dalam waktu limapuluh menit. Bagian ini hanya mengujikan
teks bacaan saja, tanpa gambar, diagram, atau alat Bantu visual lainnya.
Tema bacaan yang diujikan dalam bagian ini cukup bervariasi, namun secara umum berkaitan
dengan materi perkuliahan yang diajarkan oleh universitas-universitas di Amerika Serikat.
Misalnya, sejarah, sastra, seni, arsitektur, geologi, biologi, kesehatan, astronomi, geografi, dan
seterusnya. Adapun pertanyaan pada section 3 bisa dikategorikan ke dalam dua bentuk
pertanyaan sebagai berikut:
1. Reading comprehension
Pada section 3 ini anda akan diminta untuk menjawab pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang berkaitan
dengan informasi yang terdapat pada teks bacaan. Mulai dari main idea, bagian bacaan yang
lebih rinci, sampai inferasi atau penyimpulan atas informasi yang terdapat pada bacaan.
2. Vocabulary
Section 3 juga meminta anda untuk menjawab arti dari kata-kata tertentu yang terdapat pada teks
bacaan. Namun apabila anda sama sekali tidak tahu arti kata-kata tertentu, anda masih tetap bias
mengetahui arti kata-kata tersebut dengan memahami konteks bacaan. Dengan demikian anda
bias memperkirakan arti dari kata-kata yang ditanyakan dalam soal.

Permasalahan yang biasa dihadapi oleh peserta tes TOEFL dalam ujian Reading Comprehension
adalah batasan waktu yang singkat. Banyak peserta tes yang tidak bias menyelesaikan semua
pertanyaan ketika waktu yang disediakan telah habis. Untuk itu

Berbagai kemampuan yang dibutuhkan dalam reading harus anda kuasai sebelum benar-benar
menjalankan ujian TOEFL. Sekalipun demikian, Anda masih berpeluang untuk mendapatkan
skor TOEFL yang lebih tinggi apabila menguasai trik-trik taktis. Berikut disajikan beberapa
kunci yang bisa membantu anda berkompetisi dengan waktu yang ketat sekaligus untuk
mendapatkan hasil yang lebih baik.

1. Kunci umum
Kunci 1: Jangan terlalu lama membaca teks bacaan.
Harus diingat bahwa anda tidak memiliki cukup waktu untuk membaca teks bacaan secara
mendalam. Pertanyaan yang muncul dalam tes reading ini umumnya dpat dijawab secara tepat
dengan tanpa langsung membaca bacaan secara rinci. Anda dapat mengalokasikan satu atau dua
menit untuk membaca main idea pada masing-masing paragraph dari sebuah bacaan sebelum
mulai membaca pertanyaan. Dengan demikian anda sudah mendapatkan gambaran sekilas
tentang informasi yang disampaikan oleh bacaan.
Kunci 2 : Perhatikan semua pertanyaan yang terdapat pada sebuah bacaaan dan ingat-ingat kata
kuncinya.
Setelah membaca sekilas main idea masing-masing paragraph, selanjutnya anda harus segera
membaca pertanyaan pada soal-soal yang terdapat pada bacaan tersebut. Rekamlah kata-kata
kunci pada masing-masing pertanyaan pada pikiran anda sehingga anda dapat mencari
jawabannya pada bacaan dengan sekali tempo untuk beberapa pertanyaan. Anda juga dapat
memeberi tanda pada kata kunci di lembar soal, karena anda tidak dilarang memberikan coretan.
Cara ini sangat efektif untuk menghemat waktu, sehingga pandangan anda tidak bolak-balik
antara teks bacaan dengan pertanyaaan.
Kunci 3 : Jangan panic apabila tema bacaan bukan merupakan disiplin yang anda kuasai..
Ujian TOEFL sudah didisai sedemikian rupa sehingga peserta ujian tidak dipersyaratkan untuk
menguasai tema-tema dari disiplin ilmu tertentu. Semua informasi yang ditanyakan dalam soal
section 3 sudah tersedia dalam teks bacaan. Sehingga apapun latar belakang keilmuan yang anda
kuasai anda akan tetap dapat menjawab soal-soal pada bacaan yang sama sekali berbeda dari
disiplin anda.

KUNCI KHUSUS
Materi yang diujikan dalam tes reading biasanya memiliki pola-pola dan standar tertentu.
Biasanya anda diminta untuk mengetahui tema bacaaan, menentukan main idea, mengetahui arti
dari kosakata tertentu, mengetahui informasi tertentu, melakukan penyimpulan, melakukan
identifikasi ats pengecualian-pengecualian dan mengetahui rujukan dari pronoun tertentu.
Untuk membekali diri anda dalam mengahadapi are apersoalan yang diujikan dalam reading tes,
perhatikan kunci-kunci berikut ini :
Kunci 4 : Lakukan previewing untuk mengetahui topic bacaan..
Topik merupakan salah satu item yang hampir dapat dipastikan keluar pada setiap tes TOEFL.
Untuk mengetahui topic sebuah bacaan, anda tidak perlu membaca secara detail dan mendalam.
Anda cukup membaca kalimat pertama dan terakhir pada tiap-tiap paragraph bacaan. Anda tidak
dituntut untuk memahami bacaan secara rinci melainkan hanya untuk menentukan topic, oleh
karena nya anda harus membaca secepat mungkin.
Kunci 5 : Perhatikan kalimat pertama dari sebuah paragraph untuk mengetahui main idea.
Tes reading sering kali mengujikan pertanyaan-pertanyaan yang berkaitan dengan main idea.
Main idea biasanya terdapat pada kalimat pertama dari sebuah paragraph. Dengan
mengetahuinya, anda dapat memahami pesan apa yang ingin disampaikan oleh penulis. Main
Idea dari sebuah bacaan biasanya terdapat pada dua kalimat pertama.
Kunci 6 : Pahamilah konteks yang terdapat pada bacaan untuk mengetahui arti kata tertentu.
Konteks dalam bacaan bahasa Inggris adalah kombinasi dari kosakata dan grammar yang
digunakan pada sebuah kata. Ia dapat berupa sebuah kalimat, paragraph, atau bacaan. Dengan
memahami sebuah konteks anda akan dapat memperkirakan arti sebuah kata. Karena dengan
mengetahui arti secara umum dari sebuah kalimat berarti anda juga memahami arti kata-kata
yang terdapt pada kalimat tersebut.

Kunci 7 : Lakukan scanning untuk menemukan informasi tertentu yang berkaitan dengan
permintaan soal.
Sebuah teks bacaan dalam ujian TOEFL biasanya diikuti dengan sepuluh pertanyaan, karena
batasan waktu yang sangat mendesak sebaiknya anada membaca kesepuluh pertanyaan tersebut.
Ketika membaca semua pertanyaan anda harus menemukan kata kunci dari sebuah pertanyaan
dan merekamnya dalam pikiran. Bacalah secara cepat dengan cara scanning untuk menemukan
kata-kata tertentu yang menjadi kata kunci dari sebuah pertanyaan. Hal ini sngat berguna dalam
melakukan klarifikasi pada teks bacaan untuk menemukan informasi yang ditanyakan. Dengan
mengingat semua kata kunci pertanyaan, pandangan, dan focus anda tidak perlu terpecah untuk
mencocokkan pertanyaan dengan teks. Karena biasanya urutan nomor soal tidak menanyakan
kalimat atau bagian dari teks secara berurutan. Sehingga bila anda hnaya membaca satu
pertanyaan kemudian mencarinya di teks bacaan akan menghabiskan banyak waktu karena anda
perlu melakukan hal yang sama berkali-kali.
Kunci 8 : Kumpulkan fakta dan data dalam bacaan untuk melakukan inferasi atau penyimpulan
Tidak semua jawaban dari sebuah pertanyaan dalam tes TOEFL dapat ditemukan secara
langsung dalam teks bacaan. Hal ini karena informasi yang dimaksud tidak secara eksklusif
disebutkan dalam sebuah pernyataan langsung. Sering kali dlam ujian reading anda diminta
untuk membuat kesimpulan mengenai informasi tertentu. Untuk itu ketika membaca teks
sebaiknya anda memberikan perhatian khusus terhada data atau fakta tertentu yang mengarah
pada sebuah kesimpulan yang informative. Lagi-lagi dalam hal ini mengetahui kata kunci dari
sebuah pertanyaan terlebih dahulu merupakan sebuah keuntungan tersendiri. Dengan berbekal
kata kunci anda akan menentukan data dan fakta apa yang patut and apilih dan kump[ulkan
untuk membuat sebuah kesimpulan.
Kunci 9: Berkonsentrasi selama membaca teks bacaan.
Konsentrasi sangat diperlukan dan merupakan salah satu kunci keberhasilan yang paling
menentukan dalam readng test. Sering kali peserta ujian lupa dengan apa yang telah disampaikan
oleh kalimat atau paragraph sebelumnya ketika ia mula membaca kalimat atau paragraph baru.
Akhirnya ia membaca ulang lagi kalimat tersebut. Apabila ini juga terjadi pada anda, langlah
berikut dapat dimanfaatkan untuk meminimalisasi kek\salahan tersebut.
• Ketika anada membaca sebuah kalimat, latihlah didri anda untuk menerka atau memperkirakan
apa isi atau informasi yang akan disampaikan oleh kalimat selanjutnya.
• Perhatikan kesesuaian sebuah teks dengan judul atau main idea yang sudah anda ketahui
sebelumnya, dengan cara ini anda tetap dapat menangkap pesan untama yang diasampaikan oleh
masing-masing kalimat sekalipun anda sudah beranjak pada kalimat-kalimat berikutnya.
Kunci 10 : Tingkatkan kecepatan membaca anda.
Dengan keterbatasan waktu ujian yang singkat, maka kemampuan anda untuk membaca secara
cepat dan singkat sangat penting dalam ujian TOEFL. Memang kecepatan membaca ini tidaklah
sesuatu yang instant. Melainkan ia harus dilatih secara terus menerus apalagi membaca teks yang
bukan bahasa asli kita. Salah satu caranya adalah dengan memilih kata-kata yang paling penting
dalam sebuah kalimat, yang mana hal ini akan memberikan anda ringkasan atas arti sebuah
bacaan.

2. RECOGNIZE THE ORGANIZATION OF IDEAS

Dalam tes reading seringkali akn ada pertanyaan tentang pengorganisasioan ide-ide dalam teks
pada jenis pertanyaan ini anda akan diminta untuk menentukan bagaimana ide-ide dalam
paragraph berhubungan dengan ide-ide lain dalam paragraph lain.
Example
The passage :
f asked who invented the game of baseball, most Americans would probably reply that it was
Abher Doubleday. At the beginning of this century, there was some disagreement over how the
game of baseball had actually originated, so sporting-goods manufacturer Spaulding inaugurated
a commission to research the question. In 1908 a report was published by the commission in
which Abner Doubleday, a U.S Army officer from Cooperstown, New York, was given credit for
the invention of the game. The National Baseball Hall of Fame was established in Cooperstown
in honor of Doubleday., most sports historians are in agreement that Doubleday really did not
have much to do with the development of baseball. Instead, baseball seems to be a close relation
to the English game of rounders and probably has English rather than American roots.
The question
The second paragraph
(A) provides examples to support the ideas in the first paragraph
(B) precedes the ideas in the first paragraph
(C) outlines the effects of ideas in the first paragraph
D) refuses the ideas in the first paragraph
TOEFL EXERCISE
PASSAGE ONE (QUESTIONS 1-2)

Conflict within an organization is not always viewed as undesirable, various managers have
widely divergent ideas on the value that conflict can have.
According to the traditional view of conflict, conflict is harmful to an organization. Managers
with this traditional view of conflict see it as their role in an organization to rid the organization
of any possible sources of conflict.
The interactionist view of conflict on the other hand, holds that conflict can serve an important
function in an organization by reducing complacency among workers and causing positive
changes to occur. Managers who hold an interactionist view of conflict may actually take steps to
stimulate within the organization.
1. How is the information in the passage organized?
(A) The origin of ideas about conflict is presented.
(B) Contrasting views of conflicts are presented.
C) Two theorists discuss the strength and weaknesses of their views on conflict.
(D) Examples of conflict within organizations are presented
2. What type of information is included in the third paragraph?
(A) A comparison of the interactionist and traditional views of conflict
(B) A discussion of the weaknesses of the interactionist view of conflict
(C) An outline of the type of manager who prefers the interactionist view of conflict
(D) A description of one of the opposing views of conflict

PASSAGE TWO (Questions 3-4)

IQ, or intelligence Quotient as the radio of a patron’s mental age to chronological age, with the
radio multiplied by 100 remove the decimal. Chronological age is easily determined; mental age
is generally measured by some kind of standard test and is not so simple to define.
In theory, a standardized IQ test is set up to measure an individual’s ability to perform
intellectual operations such as reasoning and problem solving. These intellectual operations are
considered to represent intelligence.
In practice, it has been impossible to arrive at consensus at to which types of intellectual
operations demonstrate intelligence. Furthermore, it has been impossible to devise a test without
cultural bias, which is to say that any IQ tests so far proposed have been shown to reflect the
culture of the test makers. Test makers from that culture would, it follows, score higher on such a
test than test takers from a different culture with equal intelligence.
3. What type of information is included in the first paragraph
(A) An argument
(B) A definition
(C) An opinion
(D) A theory
4. How does the information in the third paragraph differ from that in the second paragraph?
(A) It presents a contrasting point of view.
(B) It follows chronologically from the ideas in the second paragraph.
(C) It presents real information rather than a premise.
(D) It presents an example of the ideas in the second paragraph

PASSAGE THREE (Questions 5-6)

The largest lake in the western United sates in the Great Salt Lake, an island saltwater lake in
northwestern Utah, is just outside the state capital of Salt Lake City. Rivers and streams feed into
the Great Salt Lake, but none drain out of it, this has a major influence on both the salt content
and the size of the lake.
Although the Great Lake was fed by freshwater streams, it is actually saltier than the oceans of
the world. The salt comes from the more than two million tons of minerals that flow into the lake
each year from the rivers and creeks that feed it. Sodium and chloride-the components of salt-
comprise the large majority of the lake’s mineral content.
The Great Salt Lake can vary tremendously from its normal size of 1,700 square miles,
depending on long term weather conditions. During periods of heavy rains, the size of the lake
can swell tremendously from the huge amount of water flowing into the lake from its Feeder
Rivers and streams; in 1980 the lake even reached a size of 2,400 square miles. During periods
of dry weather, the size of the lake decreases, sometimes drastically, due to evaporation.
5. How is the information in the passage organized?
(A) Two unusual characteristics of the Great Lake are discussed.
(B) Contrasting theories about the Great Salt Lake’s salt levels are presented.
(C) The process by which the Great Salt Lake gets its salt is outlined.
(D) The reasons for the variation in the Great Salt Lake’s size are given.
6. The third paragraph contains information on …
(A) how the size of the lake affects weather conditions
(B) the effects of contrasting weather conditions on the size of the lake
(C) the effects of changes in the size of the lake
(D) the causes of the varied weather conditions in the area of the lake
Common types of calendars can be based on the Sun or on the Moon. The solar calendar is based
on the solar year. Since the solar year is 362.2422 days long, solar calendars consist of regular
years of 365 days and have an extra day every fourth year, or leap year, to make up for the
additional fractional amount. In a solar calendar, the waxing and waning of the moon can take
place at various stages of each month.
lunar calendar is synchronized to the lunar month rather than the solar year. Since the lunar
month is twenty-nine and thirty days. A twelve-month lunar year thus has 354 days, 11 days
shorter than a solar year.
Solar eclipse
Lunar eclipse
1. What is the main idea of the passage?
(A) All calendars are the same.
(B) The solar calendar is based on the sun.
(C) Different calendars have dissimilar bases.
(D) The lunar month is twenty-nine and a half days long.
2. How is the information in the passage organized?
(A) Characteristics of the solar calendar are outlined.
(B) Two types of calendars are described.
(C) The strengths and weakness of the lunar calendar are described.
(D) The length of each existing calendar is contrasted.
Vaccines are prepared from harmful viruses or bacteria and administered to patients to provide
immunity to specific diseases. The various types of vaccines are classified according to the
method by which they are derived.
The most basic class of vaccines actually contains disease-causing microorganisms that have
been killed with a solution containing formaldehyde. In this type of vaccine, the microorganisms
are dead and therefore cannot cause disease; however, the antigens found in and on the
microorganisms can still stimulate the formation of antibodies. Examples of this type of vaccine
are the ones that fight influenza, typhoid fever, and cholera.
A second type of vaccine contains the toxins produced by the microorganisms rather than the
microorganisms themselves. This type of vaccine is prepared when the microorganism itself does
little damage but the toxin within microorganism is extremely harmful. For example, the bacteria
that cause diphtheria can thrive without much harm, but when toxins are released from the
bacteria, muscles can become paralyzed and death can ensue.
A final type of toxin contains living microorganisms that have been rendered harmless. With this
type of vaccine, a large number of antigen molecules are produced and the immunity that results
is generally longer lasting than the immunity from other types of vaccines. The Sabin oral
antipolio vaccine and BCG vaccine against tuberculosis are examples of this type of vaccine.

3. Which of the following expresses the main idea of the passage?

(A) Vaccines provide immunity to specific diseases.
(B) Vaccines contain disease-causing microorganisms.
(C) Vaccines are derived in different ways.
(D) New approaches in administering vaccines are being developed.
4. How many types of vaccines are presented in the passage?
(A) two
(B) three
(C) four
(D) five
3. FIND “UNSTATED” DETAILS
Dalam tes reading anda seringkali akan diminta untuk menentukan jawaban yang tidak
disebutkan atau tidak benar dalam teks. Jenis pertanyaan ini berarti bahwa ada tiga pilihan yang
disebutkan atau benar dalam teks, sementara satu pilihan tidak. Jadi tugas anda adlah
menemukan tiga pilihan yang benar kemudian memilih satu pilihan yang tersisa yang menjadi
jawaban pada soal.
Anda harus memperhatikan bahwa ada dua macam pilihan atas pertanyaan ini :
1. Tiga pilihan benar dan satu tidak dibahas dalam teks.
2. tiga jawaban benar dan satu salah menurut teks.
The passage:
In English there are many different kinds of expressions that people use to give a name to
anything whose name is unknown or momentarily forgotten. The word gadget is one such word.
It was first used by British sailors in the 1850’s and probably came from the French word
gachette, which was a small hook. In everyday use, the word has a more general meaning. Other
words are also used to give a name to something, unnamed or unknown and these words tend to
be somewhat imaginative. Some of the more commonly used expressions are a what-d’ye-call-it,
a whatsis, a thingamabob, a thingamajig, a doodad, or a doohickey.
1. Which of the following is NOT true about the word “gadget” ?
(A) It is used to name something when the name is not known
(B) It was used at the beginning of the nineteenth century
(C) It most likely came from a word in the French language.
(D) It’s first known use was by British sailors.
1. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the passage as an expression for something that
is not known?
2. (A) a thingamabob
3. (B) gadget
4. (C) A doohickey
5. (D) A what-is-it
6. Passage one (question 1-2)
7. Blood plasma is a clear, almost colorless liquid. It consists of blood from which the red and
white blood cells have been removed. It is often used in transfusions because a patient generally
needs the plasma portion of the blood more than the other components.
8. Plasma differs in several important ways from whole blood. First of all, plasma can be mixed
for all donors and does not have to be from the right blood group, as whole blood does. In
addition, plasma can be dried and stored, while whole blood cannot.

.
1. All of the following are true about blood plasma EXCEPT…
2. (A). it is a deeply colored liquid
3. (B). blood cells have taken out of it
4. (C). patients are often transfused with it
5. (D). it is generally more important to the patient than other part of whole blood’
6. 2. Which of the following is NOT stated about whole blood?
7. (A). it is different from plasma
8. (B). it cannot be dried
9. (C). it is impossible to keep in storage for a long time.
10. (D). it is a clear, colorless liquid.
11. Passage two (question 3-4)
12. Elizabeth Cochrane Seaman was an American journalist at the turn of the century who wrote
for the newspaper New York World under the pen name Nellie Bly, a name which was taken
from the Stephen, Foster song Nellie Bly. She achieved fame for her exposes and in particular
for the bold and adventuresome way that she obtained her stories.
13. She felt that the best way to get the real story was from the inside rather than as an outside
observer who could be treated to a prettified version of reality. On one occasion she pretended to
be a thief so that she would get a nested and see for herself how female prisoners were really
treated. On another occasion she faked mental illness in order to be admitted to a mental hospital
to get the real picture on the treatment of mental patients.
14. 3. Which of the following is NOT true about Nellie Bly?
15. (A). Nelly Bly’s real name was Elizabeth Cochrane seaman.
16. (B). Nellie Bly was mentally ill
17. (C). The name Nellie Bly came from a song.
18. (D). The name Nellie Bly was used on articles that Seaman wrote.
19. 4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned as something that Nellie Bly did to get a good
story?
20. (A). she acted like a thief
21. (B). she got arrested by the police.
22. (C). she pretended to be ill.
23. (D). she worked as a doctor in a mental hospital.
4. FIND PRONOUN REFERENTS
Dalam tes reading seringkali anda diminta untuk menentukan sebuah pronoun mengacu pada
noun yang mana?
Cara menjawab pertanyaan ini adalah dengan melihat kalimat /kata-kata sebelum pronoun. Anda
akan mendapatkan noun yang dimaksud disana.
Example
The passage
Carnivorous plants, such as the sundew and the Venus Flytrap are generally found in the humid
areas where there is an inadequate supply of nitrogen in the soil. In order to survive, these plants
have developed mechanisms to trap insects within their foliage. They have digestive fluids to
obtain the necessary nitrogen from the insects. These plants trap the insects in a variety of ways.
The sundew has sticky hairs on its leaves; when an insect lands on these leaves, it gets caught up
in the sticky hairs, and the leaf wraps itself around the insect. The leaves of the Venus-Flytrap
function more like a trap, snapping suddenly and forcefully shut around an insect.
The questions :
1. The pronoun ‘they’ in line 4 refers to
2. (A) humid areas
3. (B) these plants
4. (C) insects
5. (D) digestive fluids
6. 2. The pronoun ‘it’ in line 6 refers to …
7. (A) a variety
8. (B) the sundew
9. (C) An insect
10. (D) the leaf

5. INDIRECTLY ANSWERED QUESTIONS

Beberapa pertanyaan dalam tes TOEFL akan meminta jawaban yang tidak secara langsung
disebutkan dalam teks. Untuk menjawab pertanyaan ini anda harus menarik kesimpulan dari
informasi yang di berikan dalam teks.
Pertanyaan jenis ini meliputi dua : (1) implied detailed questions and (2) transitions questions.

ANSWER IMPLIED DETAILED QUESTIONS CORRECTLY

Example
The passage
The Hawaiian language is a melodious language in which all words are derived from an
Alphabet of only twelve letters, the five vowels, A,E,I,O,U and the seven consonants
H,K,L,M,N,P,W. Each syllable in the language ends in a vowel, and two consonants never
appear together, so vowels have a much higher frequency in the Hawaiian language than they do
in English.
This musical sounding language can be heard regularly by visitors to the islands. Most
Hawaiians speak English, but it is quite common to hear English that is liberally spiced with
words and expressions from the traditional language of the culture. A visitor may be greeted with
the expression aloha, and may be referred to as a malihini because he is a new comer to the
island. This visitor may attend an outside luau where everyone eats too much and be invited
afterwards to dance the hula.
The questions :
1. Which of the following is probably NOT a Hawaiian word?
(A) mahalo
(B) mahimahi
(C) meklea
(D) moana
2. It is implied a luau is …
(A) a dance
(B) a feast
(C) a concert
(D) a language
TOEFL EXERCISE
PASSAGE ONE (Questions 1-2)
Eskimos need efficient and adequate means to travel across water in that the areas where they
live are surrounded by oceans, bays, and inlets and dotted with lakes and seas. Two different
types of boats have been developed by the Eskimo, each constructed to meet specific needs.
The Kayak is something like a canoe that has been covered by deck. A kayak is generally
constructed with one opening in the deck for one rider, however, some kayaks are made for two,
Because the deck of a kayak is covered over except for the hole (or holes) for its rider (or riders),
a kayak can tip over in the water and roll back without filling with water and sinking. One of the
primary uses of the kayak is for hunting.
The umiak is not closed over, as is in the kayak, instead it is an open boat that is built to hold ten
to twelve passengers. Eskimos have numerous uses for the umiak which reflect the size of the
boat; e.g. the umiak is used to haul belongings from campsite to campsite, and it is used for
hunting larger animals that are too big to be hunted in a kayak.
2. It can be inferred from the passage that an example of the animal mentioned in lines 12-13
might be …
(A) a kangaroo
(B) a snake
(C) a whale
(D) a salmon
PASSAGE TWO (Questions 3-5)
Two types of trees from the same family of trees share honors in certain respects as the most
impressive of trees. Both evergreen conifers, the California redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) and
the giant sequoia (Sequoiandendrom gigantteum) are found growing natively only in the state of
California. The California redwood is found along the northern coast of the state, while the giant
sequoia is found inland and at a higher elevations, along the western slopes of the Sierra
Nevadas.
The California redwood is the tallest living tree and is in fact the tallest living thing on the face
of the earth; the height of the tallest redwood on the record is 385 feet (120 meters). Though not
quite as tall as the California redwood, with the height of 320 feet ( 100 meters), the giant
sequoia is nonetheless the largest and the most massive of living things ; giant sequoias have
been measured at more than 100 feet (30 meters) around the base, with weights of more than
6,000 tons.
3. It is implied in the passage that
(A) the leaves of only California redwood turn brown in the autum
(B) the leaves of only the giant sequoia turn brown in the winter
(C) the leaves of both types of trees in the passage turn brown in the winter
(D) the leaves of neither types of tree in the passage turn brown in the winter
4. It can be inferred from the passage that the Siera Nevadas are …
(A) a type of giant redwood
(B) a coastal community
(C) a group of lakes
(D) a mountain range
5. Which of the following is implied in the passage?
(A) The giant sequoia is taller than the California redwood.
(B) The California redwood is not as big around as the giant sequoia.
(C) The California redwood weighs more than the giant sequoia.
(D) Other living things are larger than the giant sequoia.

TRANSITION QUESTION CORRECTLY

You will sometimes be asked to determine what a probably came before the reading passage (in
the preceding paragraph) or what probably comes after the reading passage (in the following
paragraph). Of course, the topic of the preceding or following paragraph is not directly stated,
and you must draw a conclusion to determine what a probably in these paragraph.
This type of question. It asks you to demonstrate that you understand that good writing contains
transition from one paragraph to the next. A paragraph may start out with the idea of the previous
paragraph as a way of linking the ideas in the two paragraphs. A paragraph may also end with an
idea that will be further developed in the following paragraph.

Example
The passage:
Another myth of the oceans concerns Davy Jones, who in folklore is the mean-spirited sovereign
of the ocean’s depths. The name “Jones” is thought by some etymologists to have been derived
from the name “Jonah” the Hebrew prophet who spent three days in a whales belly.
According to tradition, any object that goes overboard and sinks to the bottom of the ocean is
said to have gone to Davy Jones’s locker, the ocean sized, mythical receptacle for anything that
falls into the water, needless to say, any sailor on the seas is not so eager to take a tour of Davy
Jones’s locker, although it might be a rather interesting trip considering all the treasures located
there.
The questions:
1. The paragraph preceding this passage most probably discusses
1. The youth of Davy Jones
2. Davy Jones career as a sailor
3. A different traditional story from the sea
4. Preparing to travel on the ocean
1. The topic of the paragraph following the passage most likely is
1. valuable items located of the bottom of the ocean.
2. Where Davy Jones is found today
3. Jonah and the whale
4. Preventing objects from failing overboard

6. VOCABULARY QUESTIONS

Dalam tes reading akan ada sejumlah soal tentang vocabulary. Jawaban atas soal ini seringkali
sudah ada dalam teks itu sendiri. Berikut ini beberapa macam jenis soal vocab.
FIND DEFINITIONS FROM STRUCTURAL CLUES
(Menemukan definisi dari kata kunci yang ada dalam teks :)
Ketika anda diminta untuk menemukan kata dalam tes reading kemungkinannya:
1. Teks memberikan informasi tentang kata itu
2. Ada tanda-tanda trtentu yang mengarahkan kita pada kata tersebut
Example
The passage ;
One of the leading schools of psychological thought in the
twentieth century is behaviorism – the belief that the role of the
psychologist is to study behavior, which is observable, rather than conscious and unconscious
thought, which is not. Probably the best known proponent of behaviorism is B.E Skinner, who is
famous for his research on how rewards and punishment influence behavior. He came to believe
that positive reinforcements such as praise, food, or money were more effective in promoting
good behavior than negative reinforcement or punishment.
The questions
1. In “behaviorism” In line 2, a psychologist is concerned with
(A) unconscious thought patterns
(B) observable actions
(C) unobservable actions
(D) unobservable actions
2. What is “positive reinforcement” in line 7
A) a gift
B) A reward
C) A bribe
D) A penalty
3. What is “negative reinforcement” in line 9?
(A) A promotion
(B) A reward
(C) A surprise
D) A punishment
To answer the first question, you should look at the part of the passage following word
behaviorism. The dash punctuation (-) gives extra or further information about behaviorism. In
the information following the dash you should see that the behaviorist in behavior which is
observable, so the best answer to this question is answer (C).
To answer the second question, you should look at the part of the passage following the
expression positive reinforcements. The expression such as indicate that examples of positive
reinforcement are going to follow. Your job is to look at the examples of positive reinforcement
and draw a conclusion about what positive reinforcement might be. Since price, food, or money
might be given in return for a job well done, then positive reinforcement must be a reward. The
best answer to this question is therefore answer
(B).To answer the third question, you should look at the part of the passage following the
expression negative reinforcement. The word or following negative reinforcement tells you that
the idea is going to be restated in different words. You can see in the passage that another word
for negative reinforcement is punishment, so answer (D) is the best answer to this questions
DETERMINE MEANINGS FROM WORD PARTS
When you are asked to determine the meaning of long words but you do not know THE
MEANING in the reading comprehension section of the TOEFL test, it is sometimes possible to
determine the meaning of the word by studying the word part.
Example
The Passage
Ring lardner himself was born into a wealthy, educated, and cultured family. For the book of his
carrier, he worked as a reporter for newspapers in South Bend, Boston, Santa Louis, and
Chicago. However, it is for his short stories of lower middle – clash Americans that ring lardner
is perhaps best known. In these stories, Lardner vividly creates the language and the ambiance of
this lower class, often using the misspelled words, grammatical errors and incorrect diction that
typified the language of the lower middle class.
The questions
1. The word “vividly” in line 6 is closest in meaning to …
A) in a cultured way
(B) in a correct way
(C) in a lifelike way
(D) in a brief way
2. The word “misspelled” in line 7 is closest in meaning to …
(A) highly improper
(B) vulgar
(C) incorrectly written
(D) slang
1. The word “diction” in line 8 is closest in meaning to …
(A) Writing
(B) Sentence structure
(C) Form
(D) Speech
In the first question, the word vividly contains the word part viv, which means life, so the best
answer is answer (C).
In the second question, the word misspelled contains the word part mis, which means error or
incorrect, so the best answer is answer (C).
In the third question, the word diction contains the word part dic, which means speak, so that
answer is answer (D).
USE CONTEXT TO DETERMINE MEANINGS OF DIFFICULT WORDS
On the TOEFL test you will sometimes be asked to determine the meanings of a difficult word, a
word that you are expected to know. In this case, the passage will give you a clear indication of
what the word means.
Example
Line in the passage :
The barges headed across the lake …
The question :
A “barge” is probably, which of the following?
A) A trai
(B) A plane
C) A bicycle
(D) A boat
USE CONTEXT TO DETERMINE MEANINGS OF SIMPLE WORDS
You will sometimes be asked to determine the meaning of a simple word, a word that you see
often in everyday English. In this type of question, you should not give the normal everyday
meaning of the word, instead, the TOEFL test wants you to know the meaning of the word in this
situation.
Example
A line from the passage :
He put his answer this way
…The question :
The word “put” is closest meaning to which of the following?
A) Placed
(B) Set
(C) Expressed
D) handed
She always helps many people. She, however, is bad with her mother.
Cardamon is not as widely used as a spice in the United States as it is in other parts of the world.
This fruit of the ginger plant provides an oil that basically has been used solely as a stimulant in
American and English medicines. Other cultures have recognized the multipurpose benefits of
this aromatic fruit. In Asia it is used to season sauces such as curry; in Middle Eastern countries
it is seeped to prepare a flavorful golden colored tea; in parts of northern Europe it is used as
spice in various types of pastry.
1. The word “solely” in line 2 could best be replaced by …
A) initially
B) only
C) reportedly
D) healthfully
2. The word “multipurpose” in line 3 is closest in meaning to the word “season” in line 4?
(A) Health
(B) Singular
(C) Recognized
(D) varied
3. Which of the following is closest in meaning to the word “season” in line 4?
(A) Divide
(B) Forecast
(C) Spice
(D) Put a time limit
4. “Curry” in line 4 is …
(A) the fruit of ginger plant
(B) A spicy type of sauce
(C) A culture in the area of the Middle East
(D) A type of golden-colored tea
5. The word “seeped” in line 5 is closest in meaning to …
(A) Steamed
(B) Dried
(C) Stored
(D) grown
The life-span of an elephant that dies from natural causes is about sixty-five years. Of course, an
elephant can perish from a number of” unnatural causes”; e.g it can be killed by hunters, most
probably for the valuable ivory in its tusks; it can die from deases that spread throughout an
elephant herd; or it can die from drought or from the lack of food that almost certainly
accompanies the inadequate supply of water.
If, however, an elephant survives disasters, it falls prey to old age in its mid-sixties. Around this
age, the cause of death is attributed to the loss of the final set of molars. When this last set of
teeth is gone, the elephant dies from malnutrition because it is unable to obtain unadequate
nourishment. In old age, elephant tend to search out a final home where there is shade for
comfort from the sun and soft vegetation for cushioning; the bones of many old elephants have
been found in such places.
1. The word “perish in line 2 means
2. (A) fall ill
3. (B) shoot
4. (C) die
5. (D) get rich
1. The word “unnatural” in line 2 is closest meaning to
2. (A) wild
3. (B) violent
4. (C) domesticated
5. (D) abnormal
1. The word “drought” in line 4 means …
2.
3. (A) a drowning
4. (B) a lack of food
5. (C) an inadequate supply of water
6. (D) an overabundance of animals
1. Which of the following could be used to replace the word “survives” in line 6?
2.
3 (A) Rises to
4 (B) Succumbs to
5 (C) Denies
6 (D) Lives through
1. “Molars” in line 7 are…
2. (A) germs
3. (B) old-age characteristics
4. (C) types of food
5. (D) teeth
1. In line 8, “malnutrition” is used to describe someone who …
2. (A) is in good health
3. (B) has an illness
4. (C) suffers from poor eating
5. (D) experiences dental problems
1. The expression “a final home” in line 9 is closest in meaning to …
2. (A) a place to die
3. (B) a comfortable house
4. (C) a place for sale
5. (D) the only remaining place to live
1. The word “shade” in line 9 is closest in meaning to …
2. (A) color
3. (B) heat
4. (C) diminished light
5. (D) a front porch
6. GRAMMAR/STRUCTURE

NORMAL SENTENCE PATERN

IN ENGLISH

Subject Verb Complement Modifier

(predicate) (object) (adverb)
John and I ate a pizza last night
We studied “present perfect” last week.

Learn the following sentences and their sentence patterns!

• They smile.

They smile.
Subject Verb / predicate
• We sleep.
We sleep.
Subject Verb / predicate
• My father drinks coffee.

My father drinks coffee.

Subject Verb / predicate Complement

/ object
• The lady writes a letter.

The lady Writes A letter.

Subject Verb/ predicate Complement / object
• The man lives in a village.
The man lives in a village.
subject Verb/ predicate Modifier/ adeverb
• The man makes handicrafts in a village.
The man makes Handicrafts in a village.
Subject Verb / predicate Complement / object Modifier

/ adverb
• She can dance.
She can dance.
Subject verb phrase
• Mr. Joko has gone.
Mr.Joko Has gone.
Subject Verb phrase
• He is shopping.
He is shopping.
Subject verb phrase
Linking verb : am, is, are
Incorrect : She drove on the street the car.
Verb modifier complement
Correct : She drove the car on the street.
Verb complement modifier
“Urutannya subject + Verb + complement + modifier”, tidak bisa dibalik antara complement
dengan modifier”
. Identify the subject, verb, and modifier
1. George is cooking dinner.
2. Henry and Marcia have visited the president.
3. We can eat lunch in this restaurant today.
4. Pat should have visited the president.
5. We can eat lunch in this restaurant today.
6. Trees grow
7. It was raining at seven o’clock this morning.
8. Jill is buying a new hat in the store.
9. Harry is washing dishes right now.
10. She opened her book.

B. Subject pronouns Vs Possessive adjectives

• My car is new.
• He has a house.
• His house is old
• And so on….
• I have a car.
Aku dalam bahasa Inggris ketika sebagai subjek = “I”, ketika sebagai objek = “me”.. Selanjutnya
ketika aku berfungsi menyatakan kepunyaan berubah menjadi “my”, kemudian you menjadi
your, dst.
Rumusnya
Subject pronouns Possessive adjectives
I my
You your
They their
We our
He his
She her
It Its
C. Possessive adjectives Vs Possessive pronouns
• My hat is red and your hat is blue.
• My hat is red and yours is blue.
• Your hat is blue and mine is red.
Ketika kita mau mengatakan topiku bahasa Inggrisnya = my hat. Lantas apa bahasa inggrisnya
milikku? Yaitu mine.. milik mereka = theirs, mikik kami ours, dst.Rumusnya
Possessive adjectives Possessive pronouns

My mine
Your yours
Their Theirs
Our Ours
His His
Her Hers
Its Its
D. Object/complement pronouns Vs Reflexive pronouns
• He cooked for me yesterday.
• He cooked for himself last night.
• Anisa bought her little brother a new hat.
• Joan bought herself a new hat.
Rumus ini digunakan ketika sebuah subjek melakukan perbuatan yang terarah pada dirinya
sendiri. Misalnya, “Aku membeli makanan untuk diriku”, maka bahsa inggrisnya I buy food for
myself. “Dia menyakiti dirinya = He hurts himself. Jadi ada penambahan self/selves pada
pronounya.
Rumusnya
Object/complement pronouns Reflexive pronouns
Me myself
You yourself
yourselves
Them themselves
Us ourselves
Him Himself
Her Herself
It Itself

Do the following exercises!

1. I go to school with (he/him) yesterday.
2. I see (she/her/herself) at the union everyday.
3. She speaks to (we/us/ourselves) every morning.
4. (He/Him) is going to New York on vacation.
5. (She/her) and John gave the money to the boy.
6. I hurt (my/mine/the) leg.
7. John bought (he/him/ hisself /himself) a new hat.
8. (Your/yours) record is scratched and (my/mine) is too.
9. (We/us) girls are going camping over the weekend.
10. We like (our/ours) new car very much.
11. Marry and (I/me) would rather go to the movies.
12. Monday is a holiday for (we/us) teahers.
VERBS AS COMPLEMENTS
Verbs as Complements, artinya kata-kata kerja sebagai pelengkap. Maksudnya sering kali kata
kerja itu berfungsi sebagai pelengkap, yaitu pelengkap dari kata-kata kerja lain. Contoh :
1. He agrees to meet.
2. He enjoys sitting there.
3. Kata meet adalah sebagai pelengkap kata agrees, tapi coba perhatikan meet ditulis dengan to
meet. Bukan meet saja atau ditambah ing meeting.
4. Sedangkan kata enjoys diikuti verb ing sitting, bukan sit saja, atau to sit.
5. Jadi materi ini mengajarkan bahwa ada daftar kata kerja yang diikuti “to verb”, dan ada daftar
kata kerja yang diikuti verb-ing.
6. Dalam tes TOEFL materi ini sangat sering diujikan.

A. Verbs yang diikuti infinitives (to verb)

Agree : setuju
• Desire : ingin
• Intend : ingin
• Prepare : menyiapkan
• Tend : cenderung
• Attempt : berusaha
• Fail : gagal
• Learn : belajar
• Pretend : berpura-pura
• Try : mencoba
• Claim : mengklaim
• Forget : melupakan
• Need : membutuhkan
• Refuse : menolak
• Want : menginginkan
• Decide : memutuskan
• Hesitate : ragu-ragu
• Offer : menawarkan
• Seem : kelihatan
• Wish : berharap
• Demand : menuntut
• Hope : berharap
• Plan : berencana
• Agree : setuju

Contoh

• Marry learned to swim when she was very young.

• The soldiers are preparing to attack the village.
• The budget committee decided to postpone this meeting.
B. Verbs diikuti oleh gerund (verb ing)
• Admit : mengakui
• Appreciate : menghargai
• Delay : menunda
• Miss : ketinggalan / rindu
• Regret : menyesal
• Risk : mengambil resiko/beresiko
• Deny : menyangkal
• Postpone : menunda
• Report : melaporkan
• Suggest : menyarankan
• Avoid : menolak
• Enjoy : menikmati
• Practice : berlatih
• Resent : marah, benci, merasa tersinggung
• Can’t help : tidak betah
• Finish : menyelesaikan
• Quit : berhenti
• Resist : menahan, menolak
• Consider : mempertimbangkan
• Mind : keberatan
• Recall : mengingat
• Resume : melanjutkan, mulai lagi
• Object to : keberatan
• Look forward to : mengharap-harap
• Confess to : mengakui
• Approve of : setuju dengan
• Give up : menyerah
• Worry about : merasa cemas dengan
• Be better off : lebih baik
• Insist on : bersikeras
• Succeed in : berhasil
• Count on : mengharapkan
• Keep on : terus , tetap
• Think about : depend on
• Put off : menunda
• Think of : berpikir terhadap
Contoh :

• John admitted stealing the money.

• We enjoyed seeing them again.
• Michael was considering buying a new car.
• John gave up smoking
• Marry insisted on taking the bus instead of the plane.
• Fred confessed to stealing the jewels.
• We are not looking forward to going back to school.
• C. Verbs yang dapat diikuiti oleh “gerund = verb-ing” atau “infinitives = to verb” tanpa
perubahan makna.
• Begin : mulai
• Like : suka
• Can’t stand : tidak betah
• Love : cinta
• Continue : melanjutkan
• Prefer : lebih suka
• Dread : takut kepada
• Start : mulai
• Hate : benci
Contoh :
• He started to study TOEFL. OR He started studying TOEFL.
• Joan hates to ride her bicycle. OR Joan hates riding her bicycle to school.
• He dreads meeting the headmaster. OR He dreads to meet the headmaster.
D. Be berapa verbs yang dapat diikuti baik oleh “infinitive = to verb” atau ”gerund = verb-ing”,
tapi maknanya berubah.
• stop
• remember
• forget
For examples
• John stopped studying. (John sedang belajar kemudian berhenti, dan tidak melanjutkan lagi)
• John stopped to study. (John sedang melakukan suatu pekerjaan, kemudian berhenti unuk
belajar)
• I remember meeting him in a seminar last year. (Aku ingat peristiwa ketika bertemu dia di
sebuah seminar tahun lalu.)
• I remember to meet him today. (Aku ingat bahwa aku harus / berencana untuk menemui dia
hari ini.)
• Tambahan* Daftar kata sifat yang diikuti oleh gerund (verb ing)
• Accustomed to : terbiasa dengan
• Intent on : bermaksud sungguh-sungguh untuk
• Afraid of : takut pada
• Interested in : tertarik pada
• Capable of : mampu untuk
• Successful in : sukses dalam
• Fond of : senang pada
• Tired of : lelah dengan
• For examples
• Mitch is afraid of getting married now.
• I am accustomed to smoking
• We are accustomed to sleeping late on weekends.
• Alvaro is intent on finishing school next year.
• Crag is fond of dancing.
• Tambahan* Daftar kata benda yang diikuti oleh the gerund (verb ing)
• Choice of : pilihan terhadap/atas
• Possibility of : kemungkinan terhadap
• Excuse for : alasan untuk
• Intention of : keinginan untuk
• Reason for : alasan untuk
• Method for / method of : metode….
Contoh :
George has excuse for dropping out of school.
There is a possibility of acquiring this property at a good price.
There is no reason for leaving this early.
Connie has developed a method for evaluating this problem.
Tambahan* Daftar kata sifat diikuti oleh infinitive (to verb)
• Anxious : khawatir
• Eager : ingin tahu
• Pleased : senang
• Usual : biasa
• Boring : membosankan
• Easy : mudah
• Prepared : siap
• Common : umum
• Dangerous : berbahaya
• Good : bagus
• Ready : siap
• Difficult : sulit
• Hard : keras
• Strange : aneh
• Able : dapat
For Examples
• Muhammad is anxious to see his family.
• It is dangerous to drive in this weather.
• We are ready to leave now.
• It is difficult to pass this test.
Do the following exercise

1. The teacher decided (accepting/to accept) the paper.

2. They appreciate (to have/ having) this information.
3. We found it very difficult (reaching / to reach) a decision)
4. Dona is interested in (opening/to open a bar).
5. Marry regrets (to be/ being) the one to have to tell him.
6. George pretended (to be/being) sick yesterday.
7. He demands (to know/knowing) what is going on.
8. Henry shouldn’t risk (to drive/driving) so fast.
9. There is no excuse for (to leave/leaving) the room in this condition.
10. She is looking forward to (return/returning) to their country.

THE VERB NEED

“The boy needs cutting his hair” or The boy needs to cut his hair”……?
Kata kerja need diikuti infinitive / to verb hanya jika subjeknya benda hidup. Tapi jika subjeknya
benda mati maka kata kerja need diikuti oleh gerund (verb ing) atau diikuti oleh “to be + past
participle (Verb 3)”
A. Subjek benda hidup + infinitive
• John and his brother need to paint the house.
• My friend needs to learn Spanish
• He will need to drive
B. Subjek benda mati + verb ing (to be+ past participle)
• The grass needs cutting. OR The grass needs to be painted.
• The television needs repairing. OR The television needs to be repaired.
• The composition needs rewriting. OR The composition needs to be written.
“Perhatikan”, kita menggunakan “in need of” dengan aturan berikut.
subject + be + in need of + noun
For examples
• Jill is in need of money. (Jill needs money)
• The roof is in need of repairing. (The roof needs to be repaired.)
• The organization is in need of volunteers. (The organization needs volunteers.)
• Exercise
1. It’s too hot and my hair needs … (cut).
2. The computer needs … (repair).
3. James needs ….. (see) a doctor.
4. Marry will need … (make) a new dress for the party.
5. His car needs … (tune).
6. You will need … to be here at night.
7. The house needs … (paint) soon.
QUESTIONS
Dalam pertanyaan selalu digunakan kata kerja Bantu atau to be sebelum subjek.
Contoh :
• Are you sad?
• Is he tall?
• Why are they angry?
• What do you eat?
• What will we get?
• Etc……
Selalu beriringan to be / kata kerja Bantu + subject…
Penting*Embedded Questions : Adalah sebuah pertanyaan yang terdapat dalam sebuah kalimat
lain ; kalimat positive, negative, atau interrogative. Pelajari susunannya.
Rumusnya :
Subject + verb (phrase) + question word + verb
Pelajari contoh-contoh berikut !
Question : Where will the meeting take place?
Embedded question : We haven’t ascertained where the meeting will take place.
Q.word Subject verb phrase
Question : Why did the plane land at the wrong airport?
Embedded Questions : The authorities cannot figure out why the plane landed at the
Q.word subject verb
wrong airport.
Embedded Questions :
Do you know where he went?
Could you tell me what time it is?
The professor didn’t know how many students would be in her afternoon class.
I have no idea how long the interview will take.
Tambahan (perkecualian)* Apabila kalimat Tanya nya seperti berikut (question word berfungsi
sebagai subject) maka dalam embedded question kalimat Tanya tersebut tidak mengalami
perubahan.
Question : Who will paint that picture?
Embedded question : They can’t deide who will paint the picture.
Question : Whose car is parked in the lot?
Embedded Questions : The police can’t determine whose car is parked in the lot.
Question tag* Dalam bahasa Indonesia kita sering mengatakan kamu lapar kan?…..Dia tinggal di
Jogja kan?….. dst. Berikut caranya, pelajari baik-baik!
• You are sick, aren’t you?
• He likes tea, doesn’t he?
• You helped him, didn’t you?
• You were at home, weren’t you?
• He can swim, can’t he?
Berikut ini beberapa contoh tipe soal dalam tes TOEFL, pelajari baik-baik!

Tipe soal 1
Penggunaan to be
Find the incorrect word/words!
Buying clothes are often a very time-consuming practice because those clothes
ABC
that a person likes are rarely the ones that fit him or her.
D
Apa jawaban anda?
Jawaban yang benar adalah A. To be are yang ditulis disana salah, seharusnya to be nya adalah
is.
Nah dari sini seharusnya kita kita kritis bertanya, mengapa yang benar is bukan are?
Kapan digunakan is, kapan digunakan are?
Pertama, to be is digunakan manakala subjeknya adalah he, she, atau it atau orang ketiga tunggal
(manusia, hewan, atau benda, atau apa saja yang kita bicarakan dan itu tunggal). Contoh The boy
is handsome. The cat is funny.
Kedua, to be are digunakan manakala subjeknya adalah you, they, we atau orang ketiga jamak
(manusia, hewan, atau benda, atau apa saja yang kita bicarakan dan itu jamak)
Contoh : The boys are handsome. The cats are funny.
Adapun untuk soal di atas to be yang benar adalah is karena subjeknya adalah “buying clothes”
(membeli pakaian). “Buying clothes disini dianggap tunggal karena sama maknanya dengan kata
it (sesuatu yang kita bicarakan, dan itu tunggal).
Perhatikan kalimat berikut!
Membeli banyak pakaian tidak baik. (Buying clothes is not good.)
Coba kita perhatikan frase membeli banyak pakaian itu termasuk subjek tunggal. Jangan
terkecoh pada kata banyak pakaian (clothes)! Frase buying clothes tetap itu dianggap tunggal
karena frase itu merupakan sebuah topic/ issue tunggal.
Tipe soal 2
Penggunaan many atau much, a few atau a little
Find the incorrect word/words!
Because they had spent too many time considering the new contract, the students
ABC
lost their opportunity to lease the appartment.
D
Apa jawaban anda?
Jawaban yang benar adalah B.
Karena “…too many time..” adalah salah. Seharusnya too much time.
Mengapa yang benar pakai much bukan many? Bagaimana aturannya?
Rules
Diikuti kata benda terhitung
/countable nouns Diikuti kata benda tak terhitung /uncountable nouns
a, the, some, any
some chairs the, some, any
some water
this, that, these, those this, that
none, one, two, three None
Many
a lot of
a large number of
a great number of
(a) few
(b) fewer… than
(c) more… than much (usually in negatives or questions)
a lot of
a large amount of
(a) little
(b) less… than
(c) more … than
Tipe soal 3
Penggunaan pronoun kata ganti; my/me, they/them, himself/hisself?
Find the incorrect word/words!
These televisions are all too expensive for we to buy at this time, but perhaps we
ABCD
will return later.
Apa jawaban anda?
Jawaban yang benar adalah C.
“……………..all too expensive for we to buy……”. Kata for we disini salah, yang benar
seharusnya for us.
Mengapa?
Karena kata kita disini berposisi sebagai object of preposition/complement of preposition(objek
preposisi)
Contoh mudahnya sebagai berikut, mana yang benar?
I buy an apple for…. (he/him).—————tentu yang benar adalah him
He builds a house for … (they/them.)
Berikut teori lengkapnya:
A. Subject pronouns Vs Object/complement pronouns
• I like him.
• He likes me.
• They like us.
• We like them.
• I write a letter for her.
• And so on…..
Subject pronouns Object pronouns
(Complement pronouns)
I Me
You You
They Them
We Us
He Him
She Her
It It
B. Subject pronouns Vs Possessive adjectives
• I have a car.
• My car is new.
• He has a house.
• His house is old
• And so on….
Subject pronouns Possessive adjectives
I My
You Your
They Their
We Our
He His
She Her
It Its
C. Possessive adjectives Vs Possessive pronouns
My hat is red and your hat is blue.
• My hat is red and yours is blue.
• Your hat is blue and mine is red.
Possessive adjectives Possessive pronouns
my Mine
your Yours
their Theirs
our Ours
his His
her Hers
its Its
D. Object/complement pronouns Vs Reflexive pronouns
• He cooked for me yesterday.
• He cooked for himself last night.
• Anisa bought her little brother a new hat.
• Joan bought herself a new hat.
Object/complement pronouns Reflexive pronouns
me Myself
you yourself
yourselves
them themselves
us ourselves
him Himself
her Herself
it Itself

Tipe Soal 4
Embedded question
Find the incorrect word/words!
The next important question we have to decide is when do we have to submit the
ABCD
proposal.
Apa jawaban anda?
Jawaban yang benar adalah pilihan C.
Seharusnya kalimat itu adalah “ The next important question we have to decide is when we have
to submit the proposal.”
Jadi tidak pakai do.
Untuk lebih memahaminya perhatikan contoh-contoh kalimat berikut;
• When do you go?
• Then question is when you go.
Penggunaan do dihilangkan manakala kalimat tersebut berfungsi sebagai objek/complement dari
sebuah kalimat (noun clause)
Contoh lain :
• Where do you live?
• I know where you live.
• Where is your house?
• He told me where your house is.

Tipe soal 5
Penggunaan either dan neither
Find the incorrect word/words!
George has not completed the assignment yet, and Maria hasn’t neither.
ABCD
Apa jawaban anda?
Jawaban yang benar adalah pada pilihan D.
Seharusnya yang benar adalah Maria hasn’t either, atau Maria has neither.
Kata either artinya juga.
Sama, kata neither artinya juga.
Kedua-duanya digunakan untuk kalimat bermakna negatif.
Anda mau mengatakan :
Dia tidak makan, dan aku juga.
Anda dapat mengatakan :
He does not eat, and neither do I.
Atau
He does not eat, and I don’t either.
Jadi rumusnya :
Neither + auxiliary verb + subject
Subject + auxiliary verb + not + either
Tipe soal 6
Susunan modifier dan complement yang dibalik
John decided to buy in the morning a new car, but in the afternoon
ABC
he changed his mind.
D
Apa jawaban anda?
Jawaban yang benar adalah B.
Seharusnya kalimat diatas “John decided to buy a new car in the morning, but ………..”
Jadi masalah di atas terkait dengan posisi complement(objek) dengan modifier (keterangan) yang
di awali preposis yang terbalik. Seharusnya complement dulu, baru modifier yang diawali
preposisi.
Pelajari teori berikut.
Normal Sentence Pattern in English
Subject Verb Complement Modifier
John and I ate a pizza last night
We studied “present perfect” last week.

• They smile.

They smile.
Subject verb
• We sleep.

We sleep.
Subject verb
• My father drinks coffee.

My father drinks coffee.

Subject verb complement
• The lady writes a letter.

The lady writes a letter.

Subject verb complement
• The man lives in a village.
The man lives in a village.
Subject verb modifier
• The man makes handicrafts in a village.
The man makes handicrafts in a village.
Subject verb complement modifier
• She can dance.
She can dance.
Subject verb phrase
• Mr. Joko has gone.
Mr.Joko Has gone.
Subject Verb phrase
• He is shopping.
He is shopping.
Subject verb phrase
Linking verb : am, is, are
Incorrect : She drove on the street the car.
Verb complement
Correct : She drove the car on the street.
Verb complement
Tipe soal 7
Penggunaan kata other
Some of the plants in this store require very little care, but this one needs
AB
much more sunlight than the others ones.
CD
Tipe soal 8
Penggunaan tenses dalam adverbial clause yang menggunakan kata after dan before
After George had returned to his house, he was reading a book.
ABCD
After + s + had + v3………s + v2
After I had taken a bath, I prayed.
After I had taken a bath, I was sleepy.
Before I ate , I had taken a bath.
Tipe A Tipe B
Predikat Kata kerja Predikat selain kata kerja
We sleep.
He drinks tea.
I go home.
I do not stand.
We do not walk.
She does not sing.
We do not have money.
Do you smoke?
Do I sleep?
Does she sing?
Do you eat rice?
What do you eat?
Does she drink milk?
What does she drink?
Who do you go with?
What do you work for?
Last night I met a ghost.
Yesterday they walked.
Yesterday I did not eat.
Yesterday he did not smile.
Did you go to the beach yesterday?
What did you write last night?

Tomorrow I will meet the director.

Tomorrow I will go to Bali.
Will you fly?
Will you sleep?
Will she cry?
What will you eat?
Who will you go with?
I have eaten.
She has gone.
They have left jogja.
Has she gone?
Have they left jogja?
Have I eaten?
What have I eaten?
I am sitting.
He is reading.
They are talking.
Are they studying?
What are they studying?
They are not playing.
I have eaten now.
At that time I had eaten.
At that time she had gone.
At that time she had not gone.
Now we are studying English.
At that time we were studying.
At that time I would call you. She is beautiful.
They are rich.
My mother is pretty.
I am not hungry.
She is not famous.
She is not angry.
We are not at home.
Are you crazy?
Am I beautiful?
Why are you sad?
Why am I tired?
Why are they sad?
Last night I was afraid.
Yesterday they were angry.
Yesterday I was not healthy.
Yesterday they were not sick.
Were you happy last night?
Was crazy last night?
Why were you sad last night?
Next year I will be happy.
Will she be happy?
Will she be mine?
Why will you be here?
They have been here.
He has been satisfied.
Why has he been satisfied?
Why have you been disappointed?

Tipe soal 9
Subject-verb agreement
Many theories on conserving the purity of water has been proposed,
AB
but no one has been as widely accepted as this one.
CD
The girls .are/is…in bad condition.
The boy playing toys…..naughty.
They boys are
I eat.
You eat.
They eat.
He eats.
She eats.
The lady eats.
The ladies eat.
The lady ..has/have.. a car.
The ladies ..has/have.. a car.
Tipe soal 10
Beberapa kata yang tidak pernah digunakan dalam bentuk continuous
The food that Mark is cooking in the kitchen is smelling delicious.
ABCD
• Know
• Understand
• Have
• Believe
• Hate
• Need
• Hear
• Love
• Appear
• See
• Like
• Seem
• Smell
• Want
• Taste
• Wish
• Sound
• Own
Tipe soal 11
Pemahaman tenses dasar
After John eaten dinner, he wrote several letters and went to bed.
ABCD
Tipe soal 12
Keterangan waktu pada tenses dasar
The manager has finished working on the report last night, and now she will
ABC
begin to write the other proposal.
D
I have eaten now.
I have eaten two hours ago.
S + v2
S + have/has + v3
I have eaten now.
I ate two hours ago.
I have bought a dictionary today.
I have bought a dictionary this morning.
Tipe soal 13
Masalah pronoun
Because Sam and Michelie had done all of the work theirselves., they were
ABC
unwilling to give the results to Joan.
D
Tipe soal 14
Masalah conditional sentence
Daniel said that if he had to do another homework tonight, he would not be able
AB
to attend the concert.
D
TIPE 1
If I meet Mr. Yanto, I will address him.
If I get money , I will treat you.
If it rains, I will wear a raincoat.
TIPE 1
If I am hungry, I will buy some food.
If you are sick, I will take care of you.
If he comes, I will be happy.
Tipe 2
If I brought money, I would treat you.
If he met me, I would be happy.
If they helped me, I would thank them.
TIPE 2
If I were healthy, I would work.
If I were rich , I would build a villa
Tipe 3
If I had brought money , I would have given you some food.
If I had passed, I would have studied abroad.
If they had come, they would have helped us.
If I had been healthy, I would have helped you.
If I had been rich, I would have built a villa.
Tipe soal 15
Prepositions + gerunds (Verb-ing)
After to take the medication the patient became drowsy and more manageable.
ABCD
Tipe soal 16
Verbs + prepositions followed by gerund
We insist on you leaving the meeting before any further outburst take place.
ABCD
• Approve of
• Give up
• Rely on
• Worry about
• Be better off
• Insist on
• Succeed in
• Count on
• Keep on
• Think about
• Depend on
• Put off
• Think of
Tipe soal 17
Question tag
It has been a long time since we have talked to John , isn’t it?
ABCD
You are sick, aren’t/isn’t you?
You will go, won’t you?
He sleeps, doesn’t he?
Tipe soal 18
Verbs + prepositions followed the word to as preposition
(object to, look forward to, confess to)
Henry objects to our buying this house without the approval of our attorney, and
ABC
John does so.
D
I want to go.
He comes to sleep.
Tipe soal 19
Verbs that are followed by gerund / verb ing
Rita enjoyed to be able to meet several Congress members during her vocation.
ABCD
• Admit
• Delay
• Miss
• Regret
• Risk
• Appreciate
• Deny
• Postpone
• Report
• Suggest
• Avoid
• Enjoy
• Practice
• Resent
• Can’t help
• Finish
• Quit
• Resist
• Consider
• Mind
• Recall
• Resume
Tipe soal 20
Verbs that are always followed by infinitive (to + verb)
After being indicted for his part in a bank robbery , the reputed mobster decided find
ABCD
another attorney.
• Agree
• Desire
• Intend
• Prepare
• Tend
• Attempt
• Fail
• Learn
• Pretend
• Try
• Claim
• Forget
• Need
• Refuse
• Want
• Decide
• Hesitate
• Offer
• Seem
• Wish
• Demand
• Hope
• Plan
• Strive
LISTENING COMPREHENSION
KUNCI UMUM
Kunci 1 : Pahamilah bentuk-bentuk perintah (direction) pada masing-masing bagian (part)
dengan baik sebelum hari- H ujian.
Kunci 2 : Baca pilihan-pilihan jawaban pada masing-masing soal sebanyak mungkin ketika
narrator sedang membacakan directions dan contoh soal (example)
Kunci 3 : Dengarkan dengan penuh konsentrasi dan fokuskan perhatian Anda pada percakapan
yang sedang Anda dengarkan.
Kunci 4 : Maksimalkan kemampuan listening Anda pada soal-soal pertama pada masing-masing
part.
Kunci 5 : Fokuskan pendengaran Anda pada pembicara kedua.
Kunci 6 : Jangan panik bila tidak bisa memahami kata demi kata dalam percakapan secara
komplit. Anda hanya perlu menangkap ide atau isi percakapan.
Kunci 7 : Bila Anda sama sekali tidak bisa memahami apa yang diucapkan pembicara kedua,
pilihlah jawaban yang paling berbeda dari apa yang telah Anda dengar.
Kunci 8 : Pahamilah bentuk-bentuk functional expression (agreement, uncertainty, suggestion,
surprise), idiomatic expression, dan situasi ketika pembicaraan dilakukan.
LONGER CONVERSATION
Kunci 9 : Ketika narrator membacakan direction part B anda sebaiknya membaca pilihan
jawaban secara sekilas kemudian mrekamnya dan memperkirakan tema apa yang akan menjadi
perbincangan.
Kunci 10 : ketika menyimak conversation, anda harus mengetahui apa tema/topic yang
dibicarakan
Kunci 11 : waspadalah terhadap masing-masing pertanyaan.
Kunci 12 : Cermati kondisi dan situasi yang terjadi selama percakapan berlangsung, yakni
menyangkut tempat dan waktu pembicaraan, apa dan siapa yang dibicarakan.
Kunci 13 : Bila anda memiliki waktu, lihatlah pilihan-pilihan jawban yang tertera pada lembar
soal dan temukan kata kuncinya.
Kunci 14 : Waspadailah pembicaraan pada kalimat-kalimat pertama karena biasanya akan
menjadi topic bagi kalimat-kalimat selanjutnya.
Kunci 15 : Fokuskan pendengaran anda pada hal-hal yang berkaitan dengan pertanyaan 5-wh
(what, who, when, where, why) dan how.

Kunci 16 : buatlah kesiompulan\inferasi atas situasi yang terjadi saat pembicaraan dilakukan.

PENTING!!!”

(PELAJARI EXPRESI-EXPRESI BERIKUT)

• Turned out well : sangat baik
• Watch your step : hati-hati
• Take it easy : santai aja
• That’s it : ya itu / beres
• You’ve got to be kidding : menyatakan keterkejutan
• Make one’s own mind : berpikir sendiri
• Stand on one’s own foot : mandiri
“Thanks for the attention and forgive me any of my lacks! Good Luck!

MATERI B INGGRIS-TOEFL-READING COMPREHENSION

Oleh : Gun gun Maulana,S.Pd

Berikut ini beberapa tips praktis buat bung/seus yang lagi mau ikutan tes TOEFL.

1. Strategi Menjawab Soal Listening Comprehension

a. Pada bagian listening dalam tes TOEFL, ada berbagai hal yang dapat mempengaruhi
pencapaian skor diantaranya:

· Kualitas Alat Pemutar

Kualias suara yang jernih dan jelas dari alat pemutar kaset atau CD akan berpengaruh positif
terhadap konsentrasi peserta tes.
· Speech of Delivery (tingkat kecepatan percakapan)
Tingkat kecepatan kalimat yang dilontarkan oleh pembicara harus mampu ditangkap secara baik
oleh pendengarnya agar dapat memahami maksud dari percakapan tersebut.
· Idiomatic Expression dan Multipart Verbs
Tanpa mengenal idiomatic Expression dan Multipart Verbs, sulit bagi peserta tes untuk
menjawab listening test yang berkaitan dengan kedua hal tersebut.

b. Menghadapi Ujian Mendengar (Listening Test) pada TOEFL

· Percakapan Pendek (Short Dialogues)

Dalam menghadapi tes percakapan pendek, trik yang paling mudah adalah dengan cara mencari
kesamaan atau sinonim dari inti percakapan itu sendiri. Jenis-jenisnya antara lain: menyatakan
kembali (restatement ), pernyataan negatif dan respon positif atau sebaliknya, saran-saran
(suggestion), kalimat pasif (passives), siapa dan dimana (who and where), dan persetujuan
(agreement).
· Dialog Panjang (Long Dialogues)
Dalam dialog panjang, kita tidak hanya dituntut untuk memahami ide utama dari percakapan,
tetapi juga harus mampu mengingat secara detail hal-hal yang ada dalam percakapan tersebut.
Syarat utama untuk memudahkan menjawab soal jenis ini adalah kemampuan mendengar
(listening skill) tingkat advance dan tingkat kemampuan mengingat yang benar-benar baik.
· Pembicaraan Pannjang (Long Talks)
Proses untuk menjawab soal ini tidak berbeda dengan proses menjawab dialog panjang. Selain
kemampuan tingkat advance, perhatikan pula bahwa pertanyaan yang dikeluarkan pasti sesuai
dengan urutan informasi yang kita dngarkan.

2. Strategi Menjawab Soal Structure and Written Expression

a. Berikut ini adalah cara yang benar dalam menganalisa kalimat yang diujikan dalam soal
TOEFL jenis pertama (sentence completion).
· Menganalisa unsur apa saja yang tersisa dalam kalimat. Jika yang tersisa hanya subject dan
object maka yang hilang adalah verb-nya.
· Kita harus mampu memilah jawaban yang sudah pasti untuk mempersempit pilihan kita
terhadap jawaban yang benar.
· Kita mampu menentukan secara cepat antara kalimat aktif dan kalimat pasif. Usahakan untuk
menerjemahkannya dalam bahasa Indonesia sehingga lebih pasti untuk menentukan jenis kalimat
aktif dan pasif dalam memilih jawaban yang benar.
· Pemahaman terhadap tenses sangat mutlak diperlukan karena dengan memahaminya, kita dapat
menetukan tidak hanya kata bantu dan kata kerja yang tepat berdasar fungsinya, tetapi juga
menentukan kata bantu dan kata kerja yang bersesuaian dengan subjek dari suatu kalimat.

b. Berikut ini adalah cara yang benar dalam menganalisa kalimat yang diujikan dalam soal
TOEFL jenis kedua (error identification).
· Perbedaan bentuk kata, tugas kita adalah menganalisa kata yang tidak sama dengan kata yang
mempunyai fungsi sama dalam suatu kalimat.
· Ketidaksesuaian pada kata ganti, kita harus mampu secara jeli melihat keselarasan kata gant
dari subject atau object kalimat tersebut.
· Permasalahan kata kerja, dalam ujian TOEFL, ketidak selarasan kata kerja sering terletak pada
kalimat pasif, modal auxiliaries, dan present/past perfect.
· Penumpukan kata yang tidak perlu pada kalimat. Kita harus mampu mengenali kata yang
fungsinya hampir sama secara bersamaan.
· penggunaan To Infinitive dan Gerund (verb-ing). Untuk memahami kata-kata tersebut cara
yang palig baik adalah dihafal.
· Kata hubung, cara yang paling efektif adalah mengenal kata hubung dalam english dan
mewaspadai kata yang dapat memerikan kesalahan pada salah satu kata hubung yang ada.

c. Berikut jenis kesalahan- kesalahan yang sering kali diujikan dalam TOEFL
· Kesalahan pada kata bantu dan kata kerja yang digunakan setelah adverbial di awal kalimat.
Beberapa adverbial contohnya hardly, rarely, seldom, never, only, dsb.
· Kesalahan pada kalimat subjunctive, kalimat yang bernuansa subjunctive adalah kalimat yang
kata kerja dalam bentuk simple form. Kata kerja yang tergolong subjunctive diantaranya : advise,
ask, command, decree, demand, insist, move, order, prefer, propose, recommend, request,
require, stipulate, suggest, urge, dsb.
· Kesalahan dalam penggunaan tiga pasang kata kerja yang hampir serupa.
· Kesalahan pada soal-soal conditional, biasanya terjadi pada kasus ketidaksesuaian tenses,
kesalahan pada kata kerja, penggunaan dua tenses yang sama dalam satu pasang kalimat
conditional.
· Kesalahan pada soal-soal comparisson, ketidakselarasan itu muncul pada kata kerja bantu pada
objek pembanding, pembentukan kata sifat yang menjadi pembanding, penggunaan adjective
untuk menjelaskan perilaku kata kerja.

3. Strategi Menjawab Soal Reading Comprehension

a. Saat menghadapi tes Reading Comprehention ada aspek yang sangat menentukan, antara lain:
· Perbendaharaan kosakata yang kita miliki
· Background bacaan yang kita hadapi
· Kemampuan kita untuk memahami bacaan secara cepat, setidaknya dengan waktu yang
diberikan.

b. Untuk memahami suatu kalimat kita harus mampu melakukan hal berikut ini :
· Memahami setiap kata ganti (pronouns) yang ada pada teks/wacana bacaan.
· Memisahkan kalimat berdasarkan subject, object, verb, dan adverb-nya.
· Kemampuan untuk memahami terminlnologi yang ada pada bacaan.
Dari strategi-strategi diatas memudahkan kita mengenali soal TOEFL. Jangan lupa untuk selalu
mempelajari toeri hingga tigkat advance. Dan yang terpenting berlatihlah terus menerus terhadap
soal – soal TOEFL, sampai mendapatkan hasil sesuai dengan yang kita inginkan.

Selamat belajar, semoga sukses!

Strategi Umum untuk Mengerjakan Part A
Pada bagian ini, ada sebuah kalimat yang bagian dari kalimat tersebut hilang. Dari 'paradigma
struktural' yang saya uraikan di atas, maka cara yang paling tepat untuk mengerjakan bagian ini
adalah dengan mengetahui komponen mana yang dihilangkan pada kalimat, apakah
komponen Subject, Verb, Complement, Object, Conjunction, Appositive, atau gabungan dari
sebagian komponen-komponen tersebut. Jika ini pun tidak bisa dilakukan, maka kenalilah
terlebih dahulu mana komponen yang ada, baru nanti terlihat komponen mana yang dihilangkan.
Dengan mengetahui komponen apa yang dihilangkan, maka paling tidak kita akan mencari ke
bagian pilihan yang memang kita perlukan dan mengeliminasi pilihan-pilihan yang salah.

Contoh:

A camel ______________ 30 gallons of water in ten minutes.

(a) it can drink

(b) a large drink of
(c) can drink
(d) with a drink of

Soal di atas adalah tipikal soal Part A (sentence completion), di mana kita diminta untuk
menentukan jawaban yang benar dari keempat pilihan yang diberikan.
Langkah 1: baca secara sangat sekilas kalimat tersebut
Langkah 2: tentukan secara cepat komponen apa yang dihilangkan
Langkah 3: eliminasilah pilihan-pilihan jawaban yang tidak mungkin dipilih (salah)
Langjah 4: jawablah pertanyaan tersebut

Jika dilihat, kalimat di atas memuat komponen Subject ('A camel') namun tidak ada komponen
Verb-nya (dalam Bahasa Indonesia kita mengenal komponen ini sebagai Predikat). Jadi kita
harus mencari Verb di dalam pilihan yang disediakan. Dari keempat pilihan, ada 2 pilihan yang
BUKAN Verb, yakni pilihan (b) dan (d), sehingga secara otomatis kita akan mengabaikan dua
pilihan ini. Pilihan jawaban (a) mengandung Verb, namun masih memuat Subject, yaitu 'it'.
Karena kalimatnya sudah mengandung Subject, pilihan (a) oleh karenanya juga salah. Jawaban
atas soal di atas adalah (c), mengingat hanya pilihan inilah yang memuat verb. Ingat, di dalam
bagian ke-2 TOEFL (Structure) jawaban atas pertanyaan harus secara pas menjawab pertanyaan,
Jika yang dihilangkan Verb, maka carilah Verb, tidak boleh kurang (tidak memuat Verb) atau
lebih (mengandung komponen lain yang tidak diperlukan).

Tentang Subject dan Verb

Komponen utama sebuah kalimat dalam Bahasa Inggris adalah Subject (S) dan Verb (V). Namun
istilah Verb (kata kerja) di sini sepadan dengan Predikat dalam Bahasa Indonesia. Mari kita lihat
ilustrasi berikut ini:
Kalimat: Saya lapar.
Subjek: Saya
Predikat : lapar
Kalimat di atas hanya terdiri dari dua kata, 'saya' dan 'lapar'. Di dalam Bahasa Indonesia kalimat
tersebut berterima secara gramatikal. Dilihat dari jenis katanya, komponen Subjek 'Saya' adalah
kata ganti (Pronoun atau Pronomina), dan Predikatnya terdiri dari kata sifat (adjective) 'lapar'.
Sebuah kalimat yang hanya memuat satu Subjek berbentuk kata ganti dan satu Predikat
berbentuk kata sifat atau kata benda (N) sangat dimungkinkan di dalam Bahasa Indonesia.
Namun berbeda halnya dalam Bahasa Inggris. Kalimat 'Saya lapar.' dalam Bahasa Indonesia
tidak sama dengan "I hungry', meskipun saya = I, dan lapar = hungry. Kalimat Bahasa Inggrisnya
harus "I am hungry." Sekarang, kalimat itu memuat 'am' antara I (saya) dan hungry (lapar).
Dengan kata lain, ada tambahan komponen dalam Predikat Basa Inggris.
Selama ini kita mengenal 'am' sebagai salah satu dari 'to be'. Namun jika dilihat di kamus, lema
'be' dikategorikan sebagai kata kerja (verb). Oleh karena itu, perbedaan mencolok antara predikat
Bahasa Indonesi dan Bahasa Inggris adalah bahwa predikat dalam Bahasa Inggris harus memuat
kata kerja (verb), dan oleh karenanya kita akan menyebut komponen dasar kalimat Basa Inggris
sebagai Subject & Verb (S + V), bukan lagi S + P.

Sekarang mari kita lihat, ada berapa jenis verb yang dapat mengisi komponen 'Predikat' dalam
Bahasa Inggris:
1) To be: is, am, are, was, were, be, been, being.
2) Finite verb: drive, walk, write, say, dan varian lainnya seperti says, walks, writes, drives,
sleeps, dan lain-lain. Termasuk dalam kelopok ini adalah bentuk ke-2 dari verb (V2/ past), yakni,
drove, slept, wrote, said, walked, dll.
3) Modals: can, may, must, should, would. shall, will
4) Auxiliary verb: do, does, did, serta varian lainnya seperti have, had, has.
Tidak ada kalimat biasa dalam Bahasa Inggris yang tidak memuat salah satu dari kelompok di
atas atau gabungannya. Ingat: Verb bentuk -ing (sleeping, driving, walking, writing, dll) tidak
dimasukkan ke dalam kelompok di atas mengingat penggunaan kata ini ada aturannya tersendiri.

Sekarang cobalah soal berikut ini:

The President ______________ the election by a landslide.

(a) won
(b) he won
(c) yesterday
(d) fortunately

S - V Agreement, Appositive, dan Object of

Preposition
Tidak seperti dalam Bahasa Indonesia, di dalam Bahasa Inggris Subject harus berkesesuaian
dengan Verb. Misal, dalam kalimat 'She is writing a letter' subject "She' dan verb 'is writing'
berkesesuaian, karena jika saya menggantinya dengan 'are writing', maka antara subject dengan
verb tidak berkesesuaian. Pertanyaan yang berkaitan dengan kesesuaian ini cukup banyak
ditemukan dalam soal TOEFL.
Pada umumnya, dalam konteks Present Tense dan beberapa Simple Past, S dan V harus
berkesesuaian. Misalnya:
We are students.
We have been waiting for him for more that five hours.
She was eating dinner when I arrived.

Perhatikan contoh yang lain:

The value of precious gems is determined by their hardness and brilliance.

Meskipun letak S dan V berjauhan seperti pada contoh kalimat di atas, mereka tetap harus
berkesesuaian.
Pada umumnya cara singkat untuk menghafalkan konsep ini adalah:

S+s + V-s
S-s + V+s
Artinya jika S-nya mengandung huruf 's' (jamak, misal Brothers) maka V-nya tidak
menggunakan huruf 's' (misalnya work, bukan works). Begitu pula sebaliknya. Contoh.
My brothers work at the post office.
My brother works at the post office.

Aposisi (Appositive) adalah kata atau kelompok kata yang biasanya tidak mengandung S dan V,
yang maknanya sama dengan S, atau menerangkan S. Ia bisa diletakkan antara S dan V yang
diapit dengan dua tanda koma, atau bisa juga diletakkan sebelum S dan dipisahkan dengan satu
tanda koma.
Contoh:
Influenza, a common disease, has no cure.
Aposisi-nya: 'a common disease'

atau bisa juga:

A common disease, influenza has no cure.

Sementara itu, sebuah S tidak boleh memuat kata depan (preposisi) seperti 'at, on, in, of, with'
dll. Jika pada sebuah S kita menemukan kata depan, maka bagian tersebut tidak dimasukkan
sebagai S. Misal, jika S-nya adalah: 'The value of precious gems' maka yang dihitung sebagai S
untuk disesuaikan dengan V (lihat S-V Agreement) adalah bagian sebelum preposis, yakni 'The
value' saja, mengingat kata-kata setelahnya diawali dengan preposis yaitu 'of'.
Jadi jika S 'The value of precious gems' memiliki V 'determines' maka S dan V tersebut TIDAK
berkesesuaian. Jangan terkecoh dengan bentuk jamak setelah preposis. Awas, seringkali peserta
terjebak.

Perlu pula diperhatikan bahwa ada ada beberapa S yang menghendaki V yang tunggal atau
jamak. Hal tersebut adalah beberapa pengecualian. Misal:
The number of......... menghendaki V yang tunggal
The number of female doctors is..... (bukan 'are')
A number of............. menghendaki V yang jamak
A number of students are...... (bukan 'is')
Kata-kata serapan dari Bahasa Latin dan Yunani berikut ini juga memiliki pola yang irregular:
Tunggal: medium ---> media (jamak)
bacterium ---> bacteria
datum ---> data
alumnus --> alumni
radius ---> radii
alga --> algae
vita --> vitae
phenomenon --> phenomena
criterion --> criteria
index --> indeces

TENSES
Materi tentang tense adalah materi paling 'menyeramkan' ketika kita SMP atau SMA, mengingat
ada banyak sekali pola dan rumus yang harus dihafal. Namun mari kita sederhanakan: Tense itu
berkaitan dengan waktu. Secara logis, waktu yang dialami manusia hanya ada DUA saja, yakni
MASA LAMPAU dan MASA SEKARANG! Bagaimana dengan MASA YANG AKAN
DATANG? Wallahu 'alam bi murodih! Tidak seorang pun yang tahu apa yang akan terjadi esok!
Itu sudah domainnya Yang Mahakuasa. Apa buktinya: misalnya bentuk waktu Future Tense
Simple: 'I will go to Semarang next week' PASTI diucapkan pada masa sekarang! Jadi bentuk
future itu akan diucapkan dalam kerangka waktu sekarang atau masa lampau.
Oleh karena bentuk waktu itu hanya 2 saja, PAST dan PRESENT, maka di dalam TOEFL
pertanyaan tentang Tenses hanya berkutat di dua tenses ini saja. Mengapa demikian? Dari empat
bentuk kata kerja, V1, V2, V3, dan V-ing, hanya V1 dan V2 lah yang berkaitan dengan waktu!!
Contoh:
1) She is writing a letter (PRESENT)
2) She was writing a letter (PAST)
Penjelasan: dalam kalimat 1): kata dalam V yang menunjukkan Present adalah 'is' (V1) bukan
'writing'; dalam kalimat 2): kata dalam V yang menunjukkan Past adalah 'was' (V2) bukan
'writing'. Coba perhatikan apakah bentuk -ing 'writing' mengalami perubahan dikarenakan
waktu? Jawabnya: TIDAK!! Sejujurnya, kita sering terjebak mengatakan bahwa V yang ada -ing
nya (apalagi memakai salaitu tidak ah satu dari to be) itu adalah PRESENT. Mulai sekarang
marilah kita pahami bahw V-ing itu tidak ada kaitannya apa pun dengan PRESENT!!!

Contoh lain:
1) She has written her thesis.
2) She had written her thesis.
Penjelasan: dalam kalimat 1) kata 'has' (V1) menunjukkan PRESENT, bukan 'written'; dalam
kalimat 2) kata 'had' (V2) menunjukkan PAST, bukan 'written'. Sekali lagi, kita kadang terjebak
memahami V3 sebagai PAST, padahal V3 TIDAK ada urusannya dengan PAST!!!
Di dalam TOEFL, pertanyaan seputar Tenses hanya berkisar pada masalah apakah bentuk V-nya
sudah sesuai dengan konteks kalimatnya ataukah belum; dan itu hanya tentang bentuk PAST dan
PRESENT saja. Contoh:
In the Milkyway Galaxy, the most recently observed supernova has appeared in 1604.

Verb 'has appeared' dalam kalimat di atas tidak tepat, mengingat penanda waktunya adalah
lampau, yakni 1964.

RUMUS yang berkaitan dengan PENGGUNAAN

VERBS
Setiap Verb memiliki 4 bentuk, yakni V1, V2, V3, dan V-ing. Masing-masing verb ini jika
digunakan sebagai Predikat, artinya verb tersebut memiliki S di samping kiri atau kanannya, ada
rumus tertentu yang perlu untuk dipahami dan, tentu saja, dihafalkan:

S + V1/s :They write letters every week.

She writes a letter every week.
Penggunaan V1 langsung setelah S, tidak boleh memakai to be atau has, have, had!!

S + V2 : She wrote a letter last week.

Penggunaan V2 juga langsung setelah S!

S + to be + V-ing : She is writing a letter.

Penggunaan V-ing harus selalu disertai salah satu dari bentuk to be jika digunakan sebagai
Predikat. Ingat: jika TIDAK sebagai Predikat, maka V-ing tidak boleh menggunakan to be!!!

Contoh: The boy standing in the corner is naughty.

Kata 'standing' dalam kalimat di atas BUKAN-lah sebuah Predikat,

S + has/have/had/to be + V3 : She has written a letter.

Penggunaan V3 harus selalu disertai dengan Has/have/had/ to be jika digunakan sebagai

Predikat! Ingat: jika TIDAK sebagai Predikat, maka V3 harus 'sendirian'!!!

Contoh: The letter written last week arrived today.

Kata 'written' dalam kalimat di atas BUKAN Verb, melainkan hanya sebuah Adjective. Verb
(Predikat) kalimat di atas adalah 'arrived'.