Definition of Tense Type of Tenses

2. DEFINITION AND TYPE OF TENSES

2.1 Definition of Tense

In English, the time is very close to the tense not like in Indonesian language. Not only that, time is also Influence to the verb. Tense is one of the most important element in English and for the most people, and sometimes tense is very hard to understand because there is no tense in Indonesia language. Tense is a description about statement, news, occurrence which is probably the occurrence happen in the present, or maybe will happen in the future or happened in the past. It is depend on the situation. According to Manser 1995:427 tenses is a verb that show the time of the action. Based on Day 1977:4 tense is a simply a conventional verb form. It may involve a mutation of the basic form of the verb. Tense is an inflectional form of verbs, it express the time at which the action described by the verb takes place. The major tenses are past, present, and future Grammar dictionary: http: www.EnglishClub.com Besides, according to Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Tense is an inflected form of a verb indicating the time of a narrated event in relation to the time at which the narrator is speaking. Time is often perceived as a continuum with three main divisions; past, present, and future, defined in the relation to the time when the event is described Universitas Sumatera Utara

2.2. Type of Tenses

Based on Day 1977:4, generally the tenses in English are divided into past, present, and future; their aspect into Simple, Continuous, and perfect. Some describe states, some activities. Some indicate that the activity or state described is complete in itself, others that it is incomplete, habitual, or repetitive. Some forms not considered as tenses indicate such things as predictions, suggestions or wish projections. Besides, there are two aspects in English: Perfect and Progressive sometimes known as ‘continuous’. Aspects add time meaning to those expressed by tense. Each aspect can be combined with Present, Past, and Future. The perfect aspect most often described events or states taking place during a preceding period of time. The progressive aspect described an events or state of affairs in progress or continuing. Biber, 2002:156 There are 12 twelve common tenses 1 Present Tense is used to express an event or situation that exists always, usually, or habitually in the present For Examples: - Every twelve months, the earth circles in the sun - I go to school at 7 A.M every day - My father drinks a cup of coffee every morning Universitas Sumatera Utara 2. Present Continuous Tense is to express an activity that is in progress right now. For Examples: - She is studying now - They are playing foot ball - I am watching the film 3. Present Perfect Tense is used to express an activities or situation that occurred before now, at some unspecified time in the past. For Examples: - I have watched the film twice - She has bought that dictionary - He has ever gone to Chicago 4. Present Continuous Tense is used to express the duration of an activity that is in progress For Examples: - I have been knocking the door for an hour - She has been living in here for two weeks - He has been going to Jakarta for a month 5. Simple Past Tense is used to express the activities or situation that began and ended at a particular time in the past For Examples: - I went to Australia last month - She saw the accident last night - They played badminton yesterday Universitas Sumatera Utara 6. Past Progressive Tense is used to express an activity that was in progress was occurring, was happening at a point of time in the past or at the time of another action For Examples: - When the phone rang, I was eating dinner - When I was sleeping. Someone knocked the door - I was listening to the music, so I didn’t hear the fire alarm 7. Past Perfect Tense is used to express an activity that completed before a particular time in the past. For Examples: - I had visited that place three times - They had watched the movie several times - She had lost her money 8. Past Perfect Continuous Tense is used to express an action that began before the time of speaking in the past, and continued up to that time, or stopped just before it. For Examples: - She had been teaching at the university for more than a year before she left for Asia - I had been playing chess since1998 - When she came to Surabaya in 1980, he had been living there about three year Universitas Sumatera Utara 9. Simple Future Tense is used to express a future action which will be undertaken by the speaker in accordance with his wishes For Examples: - He will go to Chicago next month - They will meet you tomorrow - I will buy a motor cycle next week 10. Future Continuous Tense is used to express an action which start before the time and probably continuous after it in the future time For Examples: - I will be waiting for you when your bus arrives - She will be traveling to Japan next month - My sister will be arriving tomorrow 11. Future Perfect Tense is used for an action which at a given future time will be in the past, or will just have finished. For Examples: - He will have done his work by the end of this week - I will have finished this paper by next June - The Police will have punished you next week 12. Future Perfect Continuous tense can be used instead of the future perfect when the action is continuous. Universitas Sumatera Utara For Examples: - He will have been studying English for two years by the of this years - By the wends of this year we shall have been studying German for two years - We shall have been climbing the mountain by April 2009 Universitas Sumatera Utara

3. A BRIEF DESCRIPTION ABOUT FUTURE TENSE