Simple Past Tense: Bentuk, Penggunaan, dan Latihan Soal

Simple Past tense adalah bentuk kata kerja yang digunakan untuk membicarakan kegiatan atau kejadian di waktu lampau. Ada beberapa tenses yang bisa digunakan untuk membicarakan sesuatu yang terjadi di masa lampau, akan tetapi bentuk lampau inilah yang paling sering digunakan. Dalam materi ini, kita akan mempelajari bentuk atau struktur serta penggunaannya melalui contoh-contoh kalimat dan latihan soal untuk membantu kalian dalam belajar.

Struktur Kalimat dan Bentuk Kata Kerja Simple Past Tense

Untuk membuat kalimat dalam Simple Past tense, kita harus menyesuaikan dengan jenis kata kerja yang akan digunakan.

Kalimat dengan Kata Kerja Biasa (Action Verbs)

kata kerja bentuk lampau (Verb 2)
atau
auxiliary (did) + kata kerja dasar (verb 1)

Struktur kalimat positif, kalimat tanya, dan kalimat negatif dalam Simple Past tense secara lengkap adalah sebagai berikut:

(+) Subject + verb 2
(?) Did + subject + verb 1?
(-) Subject + did not (didn't) + verb 1

Lihatlah contoh-contoh kalimat berikut ini.

Contoh kalimat positif dengan Kata Kerja Biasa (Action Verbs)

Subject	Past verb (verb 2)
I	arrived	last week.
He	left	this morning.
Alya	worked	hard yesterday.

Contoh kalimat tanya dengan Kata Kerja Biasa (Action Verbs)

Did	subject	verb 1
Did	you	arrive	last week?
Did	he	leave	this morning?
Did	Alya	work	hard yesterday?

Contoh kalimat negatif dengan Kata Kerja Biasa (Action Verbs)

Subject	did not (didn't)	verb 1
I	did not (didn't)	arrive	yesterday.
He	did not (didn't)	leave	this morning.
Alya	did not (didn't)	work	hard yesterday.

Di bawah ini adalah contoh beberapa kata kerja dasar (verb 1), baik regular maupun irregular verbs, dengan perubahannya dalam bentuk kata kerja lampau (verb 2).

Regular verbs		Irregular verbs
Verb 1	Verb 2	Verb 1	Verb 2
base	based	blow	blew
work	worked	go	went
want	wanted	come	came
like	liked	see	saw
visit	visited	read	read
play	played	write	wrote

Untuk daftar irregular verbs yang lebih lengkap, bisa dilihat dan diunduh di halaman Daftar Irregular Verbs Lengkap Dengan Artinya.

Kalimat dengan Kata Kerja Bantu "To Be" (Auxilliary Verbs)

Penting diketahui bahwa kata kerja "to be" tidak menggunakan struktur kalimat past tense seperti di atas. Kata kerja "to be" (was, were) tidak membutuhkan auxiliary pada kalimat negatif dan kalimat tanya. Subyek I/he/she/it membutuhkan bentuk "to be" was, sedangkan we/you/they membutuhkan bentuk "to be" were. Perhatikan struktur kalimat berikut ini:

Struktur kalimat Simple Past tense dengan kata kerja "to be"

	Subject	to be
(+)	I He They	was was were	at home this morning.
(?)	Were Was Were	you he they	at home this morning?
(-)	I He They	was not (wasn't) was not (wasn't) were not (weren't)	at home this morning.

Bagaimana dan Kapan Simple Past Tense Digunakan?

Seperti yang telah disebutkan di atas, Simple Past tense adalah bentuk kata kerja yang digunakan untuk kegiatan atau kejadian di waktu lampau. Karena itu, bentuk lampau ini hampir selalu digunakan dalam teks recount tentang pengalaman seseorang atau biografi seorang tokoh, narrative, seperti dongeng, legenda, dan cerita rakyat, serta teks berita (news item).

Secara lebih spesifik, Simple Past tense digunakan untuk:

• Membicarakan suatu keadaan, kejadian atau kegiatan di waktu lampau dan waktu kejadiannya disebutkan atau sudah diketahui. Contoh:
  • Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon in 1969.
  • The Apollo 11 mission landed on the moon in July 1969.
  • Wage Rudolf Supratman, the writer of "Indonesia Raya" national anthem, was born on March 9, 1903 in Somongari, Purworejo, Central Java.
• Membicarakan suatu keadaan, kejadian atau kegiatan yang sudah jelas terjadi di waktu lampau meskipun waktu kejadian tidak disebutkan secara spesifik. Contoh:
  • I graduated from a vocational high school in Probolinggo.
  • She worked in that factory for two years. (but she does not work there now.)
  • I bought this book in a used-book market in Kayutangan, Malang.
• Membicarakan suatu keadaan, kejadian atau kegiatan yang terjadi di suatu periode waktu lampau yang tidak mungkin akan terjadi lagi. Contoh:
  • Ismail Marzuki wrote at least 22 songs in his life.
  • My father took me to the zoo twice when I was a child.
  • It rained three times last week.
  Di sinilah letak perbedaan Simple Past dengan Present Perfect tense.

  Peristiwa-peristiwa lampau dalam kalimat contoh di atas tidak mungkin akan terjadi lagi karena jangka waktunya sudah berakhir. Jika jangka waktu masih belum berakhir dan masih ada kemungkinan untuk terjadi lagi, kita harus menggunakan bentuk Present Perfect tense.

• Menanyakan kapan waktu terjadinya suatu keadaan, kejadian, atau kegiatan di waktu lampau. Contoh:
  
  • When did you arrive from Surabaya?
  • When did you meet her?
  • What time did you leave the office last night?
• Dengan adverbs of frequency seperti always, usually, often, sometimes, seldom, rarely, never, digunakan untuk membicarakan kebiasaan di masa lampau, sama seperti penggunaan used to untuk membicarakan kebiasaan lampau. Contoh:
  • My father always picked me up from school.
  • They never came late.
  • He was always busy in the morning.
• Membuat kalimat conditional (conditional sentence) type 2. Contoh:
  • If you took a closer look, you would be able to see the difference between these two pictures.
  • If they weren't so noisy, we would be able to concentrate.
  • It would not be so cold if you closed that window.

Soal Latihan

A. Pilihlah Kata Kerja yang Paling Benar

Lengkapilah kalimat-kalimat di bawah ini dengan bentuk lampau (verb 2) dari kata kerja yang sesuai.

---

walk - work - attend - sing - have - travel - visit - do - arrive - buy

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1. Dian his grandparents last weekend.
2. We to the mountains last summer.
3. Irma all her chores before going out.
4. The team late last week to finish the project.
5. Our supervisor the meeting yesterday.
6. They at the airport just in time for their flight.
7. I to the park yesterday morning.
8. We a great time at the party last night.
9. My father it at a souvenir shop in Bali.
10. The duo at the concert last Friday.

B. Lengkapi Kalimat dengan Simple Past Tense

Lengkapilah kalimat-kalimat berikut dengan mengubah kata kerja di dalam kurung ke dalam Simple Past tense. Lakukan perubahan susunan kalimat jika diperlukan.
Contoh:

• She (plant) the flower last year.
  Jawaban: She planted the flower last year.
• Where (live) before moving here?
  Jawaban: Where did you live before moving here?

1. In 1970's, my grandparents in Jember, East Java.
2. They late because of the traffic jam.
3. He in a garment-exporting company from 1993 to 1999.
4. They the city car from a showroom three years ago.
5. her after work yesterday?
6. I am really sorry. I the telephone ring.
7. When the parcel?
8. On August 17, 1945, Indonesia its independence.
9. We the public because of the outbreak.
10. your summer holiday?

C. Positif atau Negatif?

Lengkapilah kalimat-kalimat berikut dengan mengubah kata kerja di dalam kurung ke dalam Simple Past tense. Pilihlah antara kalimat positif dan negatif sesuai dengan makna kalimat.
Contoh:

• The weather was hot, so we ... the windows. (open)
  Jawaban: The weather was hot, so we opened the windows.
• The weather was cold, so we ... the windows. (open)
  Jawaban:The weather was cold, so we didn't open the windows.

1. He to the party because he was sick.
2. I missed the school bus, so I a taxi to school.
3. Rama was very tired, but he very well. The bed was uncomfortable.
4. I called you earlier, but you .
5. They forgot their sunscreen, so they it from a nearby shop.

Updated: Jan 28, 2025
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