Meanwhile, simple past tense is used to express the idea that an action started and finished at a specific time in the past. Sometimes, the speaker may
not actually mention the specific time, but they do have one specific time in mind. The Simple Past can be used with a duration which starts and stops in
the past and it can also be used to describe a habit which stopped in the past. It can have the same meaning as used to
”. The samples of simple past tense either in active and passive form are as follow:
Active: Police found the drugs. Passive: The drugs were found by the police. simple present form of
be + past participle Eastwood, 1994: 135
2.3.1.1.2 The perfect
In line with simple tense, the perfect tense also can be divided into Present Perfect and Past Perfect. Present Perfect is used to say that an action
happened at an unspecified time before now. The exact time is not important. Present Perfect tense is also used to talk about several different actions which
had occurred in the past at different times. Present Perfect suggests the process is not complete and more actions are possible. Beside the active form,
Present Perfect also has its passive form as follow:
Active : The FBI has seized cocaine. Passive: Cocaine has been seized by the FBI. present perfect form of
be + past participle Eastwood, 1994: 135
Past Perfect tense expresses the idea that something occurred before another action in the past. It can also show that something happened before a
specific time in the past. Its active and passive forms are showed as follows:
Active : Someone had loaded the drugs onto the ship in Ecuador. Passive: The drugs had been loaded onto the ship in Ecuador. present
perfect form of be + past participle Eastwood, 1994: 135
2.3.1.1.3 The continuous
The continuous tense can be in present or past. Present Continuous tense is used to express the idea that something is happening now, at this very
moment. It can also be used to show that something is not happening now. Sometimes, we use the Present Continuous to say that we are in the process of
doing a longer action which is in progress. The sample of Present Continuous tense in active and passive forms are as follows:
Active: Someone is calling
the case „the chocolate connection‟.
Passive: The case is being called the chocolate connection. present
continuous form of be + past participle Eastwood, 1994: 135
Past Continuous tense is used to indicate that a longer action in the past was interrupted. The interruption is usually a shorter action in the Simple
Past. Remember this can be a real interruption or just an interruption in time. Below is the sample of Past Continuous Tense either in active of passive
form.
Active: Detectives were questioning three men last night. Passive: Three men were being questioned by detectives last night.
present continuous form of be + past participle Eastwood, 1994: 135.
2.3.1.1.4 Will and be going to
Simple Future has two different forms in English: will and be going to. Will often suggests that a speaker will do something voluntarily. A
voluntary action is one the speaker offers to do for someone else. Often, will is used to respond to someone elses complaint or request for help.
“Be going to expresses that something is a plan. It expresses the idea that a person
