Present Simple

Bagi pelajar pemula yang ingin mendalami Bahasa Inggris, tentu penguasaan grammar menjadi salah satu elemen penting. Saat ini kita akan membahas Present Simple Tense atau sering disingkat Present Simple saja. Present Simple memiliki ciri-ciri khusus yakni digunakan dalam kebiasaan sehari-hari, sesauatu yang sudah umum atau lumrah, dll.
Berikut ini panduan yang diberikan Raymon Murphy dalam bukunya Grammar In Use.
 1. Study this example situation:

Alex is the bus driver. But now he is asleep in bed.
So:
He is not driving a bus (he is asleep)
But: He drives a bus.
This is the present simple tense:
I/you/we/they drive
He/she/it drives

Dalam situasi di atas menunjukan bahwa Alex seorang pengemudi bis yang tentu setiap hari dia mengemudikan bisnya. Maka situasi tersebut harus diungkapkan dalam bentuk Present Simple.

Rumus:

Subject + Verb I + ........

We use the present simple to talk about things in general. We are not thinking only about the present. We use it to say that something happens all the time or repeatedly, or that something is true in general. It is not important whether the action is happening at the time of speaking. In short Present Simple is used to indicate a regular or habitual action:
Seperti yang dicetak tebal bahwa penggunaan present simple untuk membicarakan sesuatu yang umum yang terjadi secara berulang-ulang, sesuatu yang sudah lumrah secara umum dan menunjukan aksi atau aktivitas sehari-hari. Perhatikan contoh di bawah ini:

• The earth goes around the sun.
• Nurses look after patients in hospital.
• In Britain most of the shops close at 5.30 p.m.

Remember that we say he/she/it –s. Don’t forget the s:

• I work in the bank. Barry works in a shop.

This tense is usually not used to indicate present time. However, it is used to indicate present time (now) with following stative verbs.
Tapi ingat! kata-kata yang memang sering digunakan dalam bentuk Present Simple, tidak digunakan dalam Present Continuous sebagai berikut:

Know - believe - hear - see - smell - wish

Understand - hate - love- like - want - sound

Have - need - appeare - seem - taste -own

• They understand the problem now.(Not, They are understanding ...)
• We want to leave now. (Not, We are wanting ...)
• Your cough sounds bad.(Not, Your cough is sounding ...)

2. We use do/does to make questions and negative sentences:

Do I/you/we/they go
Does he/she/it/Ali I/you/we/they don’t go
He/She/It/Ali doesn’t

• Excuse me, do you speak English?
• ‘Would you like a cigarette?’ ‘No, Thanks. I don’t smoke.’
• What does this word mean?
• Rice doesn’t grow in Britain.

3. We use the present simple when we say how often we do things:

Seperti yang tadi dijelaskan bahwa Present Simple digunakan untuk kebiasaan sehari-hari. Lihat contoh:

• I get up at 8 o’clock every morning.
• How often do you go to the dentist?
• Ann doesn’t often drink tea.
• In summer Tom usually plays tennis twice a week.

4. Note that we say ‘where do you come from?

• Where do you come from?
• He comes from Japan.

5. When you make a suggestion, you can say ‘Why don’t you …?

• ‘I’m tired.’ ‘Why don’t you go bed early?’

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