Simple Past Tense: Rumus, Fungsi, Contoh Kalimat, dan Latihan Soal

Apa Itu Simple Past Tense?

Simple Past digunakan untuk menyatakan aksi yang terjadi dan selesai di masa lalu tanpa hubungan dengan sekarang.

The Simple Past Tense

Biasanya disertai waktu seperti:

• yesterday
• last night
• two days ago
• in 2020

Kunci penting:

• Sudah selesai (finished action)
• Waktu biasanya disebutkan

Contoh:

I met him yesterday. 

(Saya bertemu dia kemarin)

She finished her homework last night. 

(Dia menyelesaikan tugasnya tadi malam)

Kenapa Simple Past Penting?

Simple past sangat sering digunakan untuk:

• storytelling (cerita)
• pengalaman masa lalu
• laporan kejadian

Bahkan hampir semua cerita dalam bahasa Inggris menggunakan tense ini.

Rumus Simple Past Tense 

a) Kalimat Verbal

Bentuk Kalimat	Rumus	Contoh
Positif	Subject + Verb 2 (V2)	She visited Bali.
Negatif	Subject + did not + Verb 1 (V1)	She did not visit Bali.
Interogatif	Did + Subject + Verb 1 (V1)?	Did she visit Bali?

b) Kalimat Nominal

Bentuk Kalimat	Rumus	Contoh
Positif	Subject + was/were	She was happy.
Negatif	Subject + was/were not	She was not happy.
Interogatif	Was/Were + Subject?	Was she happy?

Fungsi Simple Past Tense 

a) Kejadian di Masa Lalu (Finished Action)

Digunakan untuk kejadian yang sudah selesai.

Contoh:

I watched a movie yesterday.

(Saya menonton film kemarin)

She called me last night.

(Dia menelpon saya tadi malam)

b) Kebiasaan di Masa Lalu

Untuk aktivitas yang dulu sering dilakukan, yang diulang-ulang tapi di masa lalu.

Contoh:

I played football every weekend.

(Saya bermain bola setiap akhir pekan)

She studied every night.

(Dia belajar setiap malam hari)

c) Urutan Kejadian (Storytelling)

Sangat penting untuk narasi.

Contoh:

He entered the room, sat down, and started talking.

(Dian memasuki ruangan, duduk dan mulai berbicara)

Ini alasan kenapa simple past sangat penting untuk speaking & writing.

Time Signal Simple Past

Beberapa kata yang sering digunakan:

yesterday = kemarin

last night = tadi malam

last week = minggu lalu

last year = tahun lalu

ago = dulu

Regular vs Irregular Verb 

Regular Verb

Tambahkan -ed

work → worked

play → played

Irregular Verb

Berubah bentuk (harus dihafal)

go → went

eat → ate

see → saw

Perbedaan Simple Past Vs Present Perfect 

Simple Past	Present Perfect
Digunakan untuk kejadian yang sudah selesai di masa lalu dengan waktu yang jelas.	Digunakan untuk kejadian yang berhubungan dengan sekarang tanpa waktu spesifik.
I visited Bali last year.	I have visited Bali.
She finished her homework yesterday.	She has finished her homework.
Menggunakan Verb 2 (V2).	Menggunakan have/has + Verb 3 (V3).

Kesalahan Umum (Dengan Penjelasan)

Berikut ini kesalahan yang sering dialami oleh pemelajar terhadap penggunaan Simple Past Tense

1. Salah pakai V2 setelah did

❌ She did not went

✅ She did not go

Karena setelah did, verb harus kembali ke V1

Salah di pertanyaan

❌ Did you went there?

✅ Did you go there?

Salah verb (kata kerja)

❌ I did not ate

✅ I did not eat

10 Contoh Kalimat Lebih Natural

1.I watched a movie last night.

(Saya nonton film tadi malam)

2. She cooked dinner yesterday.

(Dia memasak makan malam kemarin)

3. They visited their grandparents.

(Mereka mengunjungi rumah kakek-nenek mereka)

4. We studied English last week.

(Kita belajar Bahasa Inggris minggu lalu)

5. He bought a new phone.

(Dia membeli sebuah hp baru)

6. I saw him two days ago.

(Saya melihat dia dua hari yang lalu)

7. She was very happy yesterday.

(Dia sangat Bahagia kemarin)

8. They were tired after the trip.

(Mereka kelelahan setelah perjalanan)

9. We went to the beach last Sunday.

(Kami pergi ke pantai hari Minggu lalu)

10. He finished his homework quickly.

(Dia menyelesaikan PR nya dengan cepat)

Native speaker sering pakai simple past untuk cerita gabungkan dengan connectors:

then

after that

suddenly

Contoh:

I woke up, took a shower, and then went to work.

Latihan Soal Simple Past Tense

Simple Past Tense Quiz (20 Multiple Choice)

Choose the correct answer, then click Check Answers.

References

Swan, Michael. Practical English Usage (4th ed.). Oxford University Press, 2016.

Azar, Betty Schrampfer, and Stacy A. Hagen. Understanding and Using English Grammar (5th ed.). Pearson Education.

Murphy, Raymond. English Grammar in Use (5th ed.). Cambridge University Press, 2019.

Hopkins, Diana, and Pauline Cullen. Grammar for IELTS. Cambridge University Press.

Eastwood, John. Oxford Practice Grammar. Oxford University Press.