Simple Present Tense: Bentuk, Penggunaan, & Latihan Soal

Simple Present tense, ada juga yang menyebutnya Present Simple tense, adalah bentuk kata kerja yang sangat sering digunakan dalam bahasa Inggris di samping Simple Past tense. Simple Present tense digunakan untuk membicarakan kejadian-kejadian yang terjadi sebagai rutinitas, fakta yang umum, sampai dengan kata kerja yang berkaitan dengan perasaan, panca indera, dll. Selengkapnya, mari kita pelajari semuanya di sini, baik tentang bentuk hingga penggunaan Simple Present tense.

1. Bagaimana bentuk kata kerja "Simple Present Tense"?

da beberapa hal yang harus diingat tentang kalimat dengan bentuk "Simple Present Tense", apakah itu kalimat dengan kata kerja utama (main verb) atau dengan kata kerja (verb) "be". Untuk lebih jelasnya, perhatikan contoh-contoh kalimat dalam tabel di bawah ini.

Simple Present dengan main verb

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative	Negative interrogative
I work	I do not work I don't work	do I work?	do I not work? don't I work?
we work	we do not work we don't work	do we work?	do we not work? don't we work?
you work	you do not work you don't work	do you work?	do you not work? don't you work?
they work	they do not work they don't work	do they work?	do they not work? don't they work?
he works	he does not work he doesn't work	does he work?	does he not work? doesn't he work?
she works	she does not work she doesn't work	does she work?	does she not work? doesn't she work?
it works	it does not work it doesn't work	does it work?	does it not work? doesn't it work?

Simple Present dengan kata kerja (verb) "be"

Affirmative	Negative	Interrogative	Negative interrogative
I am tall	I am not tall	am I tall?	am I not tall?
we are tall	we are not tall we aren't tall	are we tall?	are we not tall? aren't we tall?
you are tall	you are not tall you aren't tall	are you tall?	are you not tall? aren't you tall?
they are tall	they are not tall they aren't tall	are they tall?	are they not tall? aren't they tall?
he is tall	he is not tall he isn't tall	is he tall?	is he not tall? isn't he tall?
she is tall	she is not tall she isn't tall	is she tall?	is she not tall? isn't she tall?
it is tall	it is not tall it isn't tall	is it tall?	is it not tall? isn't it tall?

2. Kapan harus menggunakan "Simple Present Tense"?

Penggunaan simple present tense yang paling utama adalah untuk:

1. Membicarakan rutinitas/kebiasaan di masa sekarang. Karena itu, simple present tense seringkali digunakan bersama kata keterangan (adverbs) atau frasa keterangan (adverb phrase) seperti: always, never, occasionally, often, sometimes, usually, every day, every week, on Mondays, twice a year dll, atau dengan anak kalimat yang berfungsi sebagai keterangan waktu (time clause) biasanya didahului dengan "whenever" atau "when".
   Contoh:
   • Ida practices English every day.
   • He doesn't smoke.
   • She works in a bank.
   • How often do you wash your hair?
   • Whenever it rains the roof leaks.
   Kalimat-kalimat contoh di atas tidak membicarakan kegiatan yang sedang dilakukan, melainkan hal-hal yang terjadi setiap saat dan menjadi rutinitas / kebiasaan.
2. Membicarakan fakta atau kejadian yang umum.
   Contoh:
   • Cows eat grass.
   • The sun rises in the east.
   • A day consists of twenty four hours.
   Kalimat-kalimat contoh di atas membicarakan hal-hal yang bersifat umum atau fakta yang diakui kebenarannya oleh semua orang.
3. Dengan kata kerja (verb) be, simple present tense juga dapat membicarakan keadaan sekarang, maupun kondisi umum.
   Contoh:
   • Reza is not at home.
   • You are right.
   • I am happy.
   • Gold is expensive.
   • The ocean is deep.
4. Dengan kata kerja yang tidak dapat digunakan dalam bentuk continuous, yaitu:
   1. Kata kerja yang berkaitan dengan panca indera
      Misal: feel, hear, see, smell, look, taste.
      Contoh:
      • This food tastes delicious.
      • You look gorgeous in that red dress.
      • Do you hear that noise?
   2. Kata kerja tentang perasaan,
      Misal: admire, adore, appreciate, care for, desire, detest, dislike, fear, hate, like, loathe, love, mind, respect, value, want, wish.
      Contoh:
      • I always admire Balinese dances.
      • Do you mind if I use your phone?
      • I don't want to be late for work on my first day at the office.
   3. Kata kerja tentang aktifitas mental,
      Misal: agree, appreciate, assume, believe, expect, feel, forget, know, mean, perceive, realize, recall, recognize, recollect, remember, suppose, think, trust, understand.
      Contoh:
      • I agree with you.
      • Do you know what I think about this food?
      • I don't understand what you mean.
   4. Kata kerja tentang kepemilikan,
      Misal: belong, owe, own, possess.
      Contoh:
      • How much do I owe you?
      • The book belongs to me. It's mine.
   5. Kata kerja yang berfungsi hampir sama dengan kata kerja bantu (auxilliary),
      Misal: appear, concern, consist, contain, hold (= contain) keep (= continue), matter, seem, signify, sound.
      Contoh:
      • It doesn't matter to me.
      • That box contains explosives.

Selain penggunaan yang paling umum di atas, simple present tense juga bisa digunakan dalam beberapa kondisi lainnya seperti:

1. Dengan kata kerja "say", jika kita bertanya atau mengutip dari buku, rambu / tanda.
   Contoh:
   • What does that notice say?
     It says, 'No parking.'
   • What does the manual say?
     It says, 'Follow every steps in assembling the parts.'
   • Soekarno says, 'Give me 10 young men, I will shake the world.'
2. DIgunakan pada judul surat kabar (headline).
   Contoh:
   • COVID-19: INDONESIA EXPANDS BAN
   • GOVT REMOVES PRICE FLOOR FOR UNSUBSIDIZED FUELS
3. Dalam narasi drama, komentar olah raga, dll.
   Contoh:
   • When the curtain rises, Juliet is writing at her desk. Suddenly the window opens and a masked man enters.
4. Untuk rencana / jadwal perjalanan.
   Contoh:
   • We leave Surabaya at 7.00 next Tuesday and arrive in Mataram at 10.00. We spend a night in Mataram and leave for Gili Trawangan at 9.00 on Wednesday.
5. Dalam conditional sentence type 1.
   Contoh:
   • If I see Udin I'll tell him.
   • If you pull the handbrake the car won't move.
6. Dengan "why" dalam bentuk negative question untuk memberikan saran.
   Contoh:
   • Why don't we go out?
   • Why don't you talk to him about the problem?

I. Buatlah kalimat dalam Simple Present Tense bentuk affirmative, negative, dan question menggunakan subyek dan kata kerja yang telah disediakan. Lihatlah tabel Simple Present dengan action verb

1. He - like - Padang food.
   (+) Affirmative:
   (-) Negative:
   (?) Interrogative:
2. They - work - in the factory.
   (+) Affirmative:
   (-) Negative:
   (?) Interrogative:
3. The bus - leave - at seven fifteen.
   (+) Affirmative:
   (-) Negative:
   (?) Interrogative:
4. She - know - this place well.
   (+) Affirmative:
   (-) Negative:
   (?) Interrogative:
5. It - say - "No Parking".
   (+) Affirmative:
   (-) Negative:
   (?) Interrogative:

II. Lengkapilah kalimat-kalimat berikut dengan kata kerja di bawah ini. Sesuaikan bentuk kata kerja dengan subyek kalimat. Lihat contoh jawaban pada nomer 1.

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1. Rani ... Japanese very well.
   Jawaban: Rani speaks Japanese very well.
2. The museum ... at 4 o’clock on Sundays.
3. The news program ... at five P.M. every day.
4. Koko and Adi ... to the same school.
5. The Olympic Games ... place every four years.
6. My parents ... in a small town.
7. They ... working at five PM every day.
8. Bad driving ... many accidents.
9. A notice at the end of the road ... people not to go any further.
10. As soon as he ... any money he will spend it.

III. Ubahlah kata kerja (verb) di dalam kurung ke dalam bentuk yang benar. Lihat contoh jawaban pada nomer 1.

1. Shella ... (not / drink)... coffee very often.
   Jawaban: Shella doesn’t drink coffee very often.
2. What time ...(the banks / close)... here?
3. I have a car, but I ...(not / use)... it much.
4. Where ...(the new teacher / come)... from?
5. ‘What ...(you / do)...?’ ~ ‘I’m an electrician.’
6. Look at this sentence. What ...(this word / mean)...?
7. David isn’t very fit. He ...(not / do)... any sport.
8. It ...(take)... me an hour to get to work in the morning. How long ...(it / take)... you?
9. ...(you / play)... football? ~ Yes, sometimes.
10. ...(you / work)... at night? ~ No, we ...(not)....

IV. Lengkapi kalimat-kalimat berikut dengan salah satu kata kerja di bawah ini. Bentuklah menjadi kalimat negatif jika perlu. Lihat contoh pada nomer 1 & 2.

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1. The earth ... round the sun.
   Jawaban: The earth goes round the sun.
2. Rice ... in cold climates.
   Jawaban: Rice doesn’t grow in cold climates.
3. Bees ... honey.
4. Vegetarians ... meat.
5. An atheist ... in God.
6. An interpreter ... from one language into another.
7. Liars are people who ... the truth.
8. The River Amazon ... into the Atlantic Ocean.
9. He is a taxi driver. He ... a bus.
10. The restaurant is one of my favorites. It ... good food.

V. Lengkapilah kalimat-kalimat berikut ini dengan menggunakan kata-kata di bawah ini. Lihat contoh soal nomer 1.

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1. Mr Evans is not in the office today. ... you try calling him tomorrow.
   Mr Evans is not in the office today. I suggest you try calling him tomorrow.
2. I won’t tell anybody what you said. ....
3. You must let me enter the room. ....
4. ... for what I said. I shouldn’t have said it.
5. The new restaurant in Baker Street is very good. ... it.
6. I think you’re absolutely right. ... with you.

Reference:

• Thomson & Martinet. A Practical English Grammar (4th Ed). Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986.
• Murphy, Raymond. English Grammar in Use, Fourth Edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012.

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