Past Continuous Tense: Penggunaan Kata Kerja “Was/Were” + Verb-ing untuk Menyatakan Tindakan yang Sedang Berlangsung di Masa Lalu

Pengertian

Past Continuous Tense (juga dikenal sebagai Past Progressive Tense) adalah bentuk waktu dalam bahasa Inggris yang digunakan untuk menyatakan tindakan yang sedang berlangsung pada waktu tertentu di masa lalu. Tense ini dibentuk dengan menggunakan kata kerja “was” atau “were” (bentuk lampau dari kata kerja “to be”) diikuti oleh verb-ing (bentuk kata kerja yang berakhiran -ing).

Struktur Kalimat

Kalimat Positif:

• Subjek + was/were + Verb-ing + Complement
• Contoh: She was reading a book. (Dia sedang membaca buku.)

Kalimat Negatif:

• Subjek + was/were + not + Verb-ing + Complement
• Contoh: He was not (wasn’t) watching TV. (Dia tidak sedang menonton TV.)

1. Kalimat Tanya:

• Was/Were + Subjek + Verb-ing + Complement?
• Contoh: Were they playing soccer? (Apakah mereka sedang bermain sepak bola?)

Penggunaan

Tindakan yang Sedang Berlangsung pada Waktu Tertentu di Masa Lalu:

• She was cooking dinner at 6 PM yesterday. (Dia sedang memasak makan malam pada pukul 6 sore kemarin.)
• They were studying when the power went out. (Mereka sedang belajar ketika listrik mati.)

Tindakan yang Sedang Berlangsung Sementara Tindakan Lain Terjadi di Masa Lalu:

• I was reading a book while he was watching TV. (Saya sedang membaca buku sementara dia sedang menonton TV.)
• She was writing a letter when the phone rang. (Dia sedang menulis surat ketika telepon berdering.)

Deskripsi Latar Belakang dalam Cerita atau Narasi:

• The sun was setting as we were walking along the beach. (Matahari terbenam saat kami sedang berjalan di sepanjang pantai.)
• The children were playing in the yard while their parents were preparing dinner. (Anak-anak sedang bermain di halaman sementara orang tua mereka sedang menyiapkan makan malam.)

Contoh Penggunaan

Tindakan yang Sedang Berlangsung pada Waktu Tertentu:

• At 8 PM last night, I was watching a movie. (Pada pukul 8 malam tadi, saya sedang menonton film.)
  • “Was watching” menunjukkan aktivitas menonton film yang sedang berlangsung pada waktu tertentu di masa lalu.
• She was attending a meeting at noon. (Dia sedang menghadiri rapat pada siang hari.)
  • “Was attending” menunjukkan kegiatan menghadiri rapat yang sedang berlangsung pada waktu tertentu di masa lalu.

Tindakan yang Sedang Berlangsung Sementara Tindakan Lain Terjadi:

• While he was cooking dinner, she was setting the table. (Sementara dia sedang memasak makan malam, dia sedang menata meja.)
  • “Was cooking” dan “was setting” menunjukkan dua tindakan yang sedang berlangsung secara bersamaan.
• I was reading a book when it started to rain. (Saya sedang membaca buku ketika mulai hujan.)
  • “Was reading” menunjukkan tindakan membaca buku yang sedang berlangsung ketika tindakan lain (hujan) terjadi.

1. Deskripsi Latar Belakang:

• It was raining as we were walking through the park. (Hujan turun saat kami sedang berjalan melalui taman.)
  • “Was raining” dan “were walking” menunjukkan latar belakang situasi yang sedang berlangsung.

Latihan Soal

1. Isi tempat kosong dengan bentuk Past Continuous Tense yang tepat: a. They __ (play) football when it started to rain. b. I __ (not/listen) to the news yesterday evening. c. __ (you/see) the new movie last weekend? d. She _ (talk) on the phone while he _ (study) for his exam.
2. Ubah kalimat berikut ke bentuk negatif: a. He was watching a documentary. b. The students were discussing the project. c. I was preparing breakfast.
3. Tentukan jenis kalimat berikut: a. Was she attending a conference yesterday? b. They were playing video games. c. I was not reading the report.
4. Lengkapi kalimat dengan bentuk Past Continuous Tense dari kata kerja: a. We __ (drive) to the countryside when the car broke down. b. She __ (take) notes during the lecture. c. They __ (not/finish) their homework when the teacher arrived.

Kunci Jawaban

1. Isi tempat kosong: a. were playing b. was not (wasn’t) listening c. Did you see d. was talking / was studying
2. Kalimat negatif: a. He was not (wasn’t) watching a documentary. b. The students were not (weren’t) discussing the project. c. I was not (wasn’t) preparing breakfast.
3. Jenis kalimat: a. Tanya b. Positif c. Negatif
4. Bentuk Past Continuous Tense: a. were driving b. was taking c. were not (weren’t) finishing=