The Example of Narrative Text

19 tense. The present is like the base form, although the verb of the third person singular is added –s. Regular verbs are added ed or –d to show the past tense, while irregular verbs change in many different ways, or not all in some cases. The time that a verb shows is usually called tense. The most common tenses are the simple present, past and future, in addition, there are nine or other tenses, that enable to express more specific idea about the time. 25 Furthermore, Azar stated in more detailed overview the English verb tenses as the simple tense. The progressive tenses, the perfect tenses, and the perfect progressive tenses. 26 There are four types of verb tense in English: the simple, the countinous, the perfect, and the perfect countinous. Each type of tense has a present, a past, and a future form, as well as other modal forms. Thus just as there are four present tenses in English, there are also four past tenses: the simple past, the past countinous, the past perfect, and the past perfect countinous. Based on explanation above, the writer concludes that there are twelve verb tenses, and examples of each tense. They are: 27 Table 2.1 Example of Tense Tense Examples Present I wash the clothes every day Past We watched the opera last night Future Rudi will go to the beach next holiday Present Perfect Mr. Hasan has taught English since four years ago. 25 John Langan, Sentence Skills, form A, New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc, 2003, 7ed, p. 188 26 Betty Schrampfer Azar, Understanding and Using English Grammar, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1989, p. 2-7 27 Langan, Op.Cit., p. 189 20 Past Perfect They had bought a motorcycle in the showroom. Future perfect Jack will have done his work by the end of this week. Present Continuous Reza and Robi are reading the otomotive magazine. Past Continuous When you called me, I was listening to the radio. Future Continuous We will be studying when you come. Present Perfect Continuous I have been staying here since 1970 Past Perfect Continuous When I came to Surabaya in 1970, Rudi had already been living there about six years. Future Perfect Continuous By next Idul Fitri I shall have been working at this office for five years. The perfect tense are formed by adding have, has or had to the past participle the form of the verb that ends, usually, in -ed. The continuous tense are formed by adding am, is are, was, were to the present participle the form of verb that ends in -ing. The perfect progressive tense are formed by adding have been, has been, or had been to the present participle.

D. Simple Past Tense

1. The definition of Simple Past Tense

There are several definitions of simple past tense based on grammarians’ statement. According to W.D.Bald, D.J. Cobb and A.Schwarz in their book “Active Grammar”, the simple past is concerned with spesific events which happened at certain time in the past 28 . This definition is similiar to Michael Swan in his book Practical English Usage which states that “simple past tense is the most often used to talk about 28 W.D.Bald, D.J. Cobb A.Schwarz, Active Grammar England: Longman House, 1987,p. 52