Past Continuous Tense: Pengertian, Rumus, Fungsi, dan Contoh Kalimat

Past Continuous Tense adalah salah satu materi dalam belajar tenses yang cukup sering digunakan dalam percakapan sehari-hari. Namun, apakah kamu tahu apa itu present continuous tense dan bagaimana cara menggunakannya? Yuk, kita pelajari sama-sama materi tenses ini!

Pengertian Past Continuous Tense

Past continuous tense adalah bentuk dari verb tense yang digunakan untuk menggambarkan suatu kejadian yang sedang berlangsung pada masa lalu dan berlanjut setelah waktu tertentu.

Istilah “past continuous tense” mungkin mengelirukan karena kita sebenarnya membahas bentuk masa lampau, yaitu past continuous tense yang digunakan untuk masa lalu.

Untuk lebih memahami Past continuous tense, mari kita lihat contoh-contoh berikut ini:

1. I was studying when the phone rang. (Saya sedang belajar ketika telepon berdering.)
2. They were playing soccer at the park yesterday.(Mereka bermain sepak bola di taman kemarin.)
3. She was cooking dinner while he was watching TV.(Dia memasak makan malam sementara dia menonton TV)

Kalimat-kalimat ini menunjukkan penggunaan Past continuous tense untuk menggambarkan tindakan yang sedang berlangsung di masa lalu. Pada contoh pertama, orang tersebut sedang belajar ketika telepon tiba-tiba berdering.

Pada contoh kedua, sekelompok orang sedang bermain sepak bola di taman pada waktu tertentu kemarin. Terakhir, contoh ketiga menunjukkan dua tindakan yang terjadi secara bersamaan: satu orang sedang memasak makan malam, sementara yang lain sedang menonton TV.

Rumus Past Continuous Tense

Jika Present continuous tense dapat membentuk kalimat positif, negative, dan interrogative maka begitu juga dengan Past Continuous Tense.

Rumus Kalimat positif

Dalam rumus kalimat positif, pola kalimat present continuous tense menggunakan “was/were” (sebagai auxiliary verb) + present participle (kata kerja utama + ing).

Rumus: S + To Be (Was/Were) + Verb-ing + O/C

Contoh:

1. I was reading a book last night. (Saya sedang membaca buku tadi malam.)
2. They were traveling to Paris during the summer vacation. (Mereka bepergian ke Paris selama liburan musim panas.)
3. She was working on her project yesterday. (Dia sedang mengerjakan proyeknya kemarin.)

• First person singular (I): was
• Second person (you), first person plural (we), third person plural (they): were
• Third person singular (he, she, it): was

Rumus Kalimat negatif

Rumus kalimat negatif menggunakan auxiliary verb “was/were” + “not” + present participle.

Rumus: S + To Be (Was/Were) + Not + Verb-ing + O/C

Contoh:

1. I was not reading a book last night. (Saya sedang tidak membaca buku tadi malam.)
2. They were not traveling to Paris during the summer vacation. (Mereka tidak bepergian ke Paris selama liburan musim panas.)
3. She was not working on her project yesterday. (Dia sedang tidak mengerjakan proyeknya kemarin.)

Kalimat interogatif

Pertanyaan dibuat dengan membalik posisi subject dan “was/were”.

Rumus: To Be (Was/Were) + S + Verb-ing + O/C + ?

Contoh:

1. Was I reading a book last night? (Apakah saya sedang membaca buku tadi malam?)
2. Were they traveling to Paris during the summer vacation? (Apakah mereka bepergian ke Paris selama liburan musim panas?)
3. Was she working on her project yesterday? (Apakah dia sedang mengerjakan proyeknya kemarin?)

Contoh kalimat Past Continuous Tense

• My mother was cooking dinner when I arrived home. (“mother” sebagai third person singular menggunakan “was”)
• They were watching TV the whole afternoon. (“people” sebagai third person plural menggunakan “were”)
• I was thinking about future plans while taking a shower. (“I” sebagai first person singular menggunakan “was”)

Adverb of Time Past Continuous Tense

Dalam penggunaan past continuous tense, seringkali kita menggunakan kata keterangan waktu untuk memberi konteks kapan aksi tersebut berlangsung. Beberapa contoh kata keterangan waktu untuk past continuous tense antara lain: while, when, as, dan during.

Penggunaan dan Contoh Kalimat Past Continuous Tense

1. Menggambarkan aksi yang terjadi pada waktu tertentu di masa lalu:

Contoh: Kamu sedang belajar pada jam 7 malam kemarin. (You were studying at 7 p.m. yesterday.)

2. Menunjukkan dua tindakan yang terjadi secara bersamaan di masa lalu:

Contoh: Saya sedang mendengarkan musik ketika adik saya sedang menonton TV. (I was listening to music while my brother was watching TV.)

3. Untuk menggambarkan suasana di masa lalu:

Contoh: Anak-anak sedang bermain di luar, burung-burung bernyanyi, dan matahari bersinar cerah. (The children were playing outside, birds were singing, and the sun was shining brightly.)

Namun, perlu diingat ada beberapa kata kerja yang tidak bisa digunakan dalam present continuous tense, yaitu stative verbs. Contohnya, penggunaan kata “feel” atau “hate” lebih sering digunakan dalam bentuk sederhana.

Contoh Soal Past Continuous Tense

Now, waktunya untuk menguji pemahaman kalian tentang penjelasan tersebut di atas melalui beberapa contoh soal tentang past continuous tense berikut ini.

Questions:

1. What is the correct form of the Past Continuous tense for the verb “play”?
   a) played
   b) was playing
   c) plays
   d) play
2. Which of the following sentences is NOT in the past continuous tense?
   a) She was reading a book.
   b) They were singing loudly.
   c) I likes to play football.
   d) He was running fast.
3. Fill in the blank: They … at the park yesterday evening.
   a) was playing
   b) were playing
   c) played
   d) is playing
4. What is the negative form of “She was cooking”?
   a) She weren’t cooking.
   b) She wasn’t cook.
   c) She was not cooking.
   d) She doesn’t cooking.
5. Which sentence is in the past continuous tense?
   a) They study hard.
   b) He has been watching TV.
   c) The sun shines brightly.
   d) The birds were chirping.
6. Choose the correct sentence:
   a) They was watching a movie.
   b) She were eating dinner.
   c) The kids were playing outside.
   d) It were raining heavily.
7. Fill in the blank: When I called her, she ….
   a) is sleeping
   b) slept
   c) was sleeping
   d) sleeps
8. Which of the following sentences is in the past continuous tense?
   a) The teacher taught math.
   b) She was drawing a picture.
   c) They swim in the pool.
   d) He writes a letter.
9. Fill in the blank: While you were at the store, I … for you.
   a) waits
   b) was waiting
   c) am waiting
   d) waited
10. Which of these is the correct form of the question in the past continuous tense for “eat”?
    a) Did she eat?
    b) Was she eating?
    c) Is she eats?
    d) Has she been eating?

Answers:

1. b) was playing
2. c) I likes to play football.
3. b) were playing
4. c) She was not cooking.
5. d) The birds were chirping.
6. c) The kids were playing outside.
7. c) was sleeping
8. b) She was drawing a picture.
9. b) was waiting
10. b) Was she eating?

Frequently Asked Questions on Past Continuous Tense

Apa itu past continuous tense?

Ini adalah bentuk verb tense yang menggambarkan kejadian yang sedang berlangsung pada masa lalu.

Apa perbedaan antara Present Continuous Tense dengan Past Continuous Tense?

Present continuous tense adalah bentuk kata kerja yang menunjukkan aksi sedang berlangsung sekarang. Sementara Past Continuous menggambarkan aksi yang sedang berlangsung di masa lalu.

Bagaimana rumus kalimat positif dan negatif?

Untuk kalimat positif, gunakan “was/were + present participle” dan untuk negatif gunakan “was/were + not + present participle”.

Kesimpulan

Past continuous tense adalah bentuk verb tense yang menggambarkan kejadian yang sedang berlangsung pada masa lalu. Selain itu, penting untuk memahami rumus kalimat positif, negatif, dan interogatif serta memperhatikan penggunaan kata kerja utama dan auxiliary verb. Semoga artikel ini membantu kamu dalam memahami materi ini dengan lebih baik!