Tenses dan Penanda Waktu: Since, Ago, By the Time

Pernah nggak, kamu yakin jawabanmu benar karena bentuk verbnya sudah rapi, tapi ternyata salah? Sering kali masalahnya bukan di bentuk verb, melainkan di tense. Kalimat TOEFL hampir selalu menyimpan petunjuk waktu: since 1970, in 1903, by the time, so far. Petunjuk kecil inilah yang menentukan tense mana yang benar.

Kamu tidak perlu menghafal teori dua belas tense. Yang diuji di TOEFL hampir selalu pasangan antara penanda waktu dan tense tertentu. Jadi strateginya: temukan penanda waktunya dulu, baru pilih tense.

Peta penanda waktu

Penanda waktu	Tense yang cocok	Contoh
in 1903, last year, ago, yesterday, in the 1800s	simple past	The Wright brothers flew in 1903.
since + titik waktu, for + durasi sampai sekarang	present perfect	Wolves have lived here since 1995.
so far, already, yet, recently, in recent years, over the past decade	present perfect	So far, the probe has sent back 500 images.
every year, usually, always, fakta umum	simple present	Water boils at 100 degrees Celsius at sea level.
now, currently, at the moment	present progressive	The team is testing a new design.
by the time + past, kejadian yang lebih dulu di masa lalu	past perfect	By the time help arrived, the fire had spread.
by + waktu masa depan, by the time + present	future perfect	By 2030, the city will have built two new lines.

Pola

SINCE + titik waktu | FOR + durasi (sampai sekarang) => HAVE / HAS + V3

Pasangan yang paling sering keluar. Since 1958, since the war ended; for ten years, for two centuries.

Simple past atau present perfect?

Ini pertanyaan yang paling sering muncul. Pegangannya sederhana. Kalau waktunya sudah selesai dan disebut jelas (tahun, ago, last, in the nineteenth century), pakai simple past. Kalau waktunya masih menyambung sampai sekarang (since, for sampai kini, so far, in recent years), pakai present perfect.

Tokoh yang sudah meninggal dan peristiwa sejarah juga memakai simple past. Benjamin Franklin ==conducted== experiments with electricity, bukan has conducted. Franklin tidak sedang melanjutkan eksperimennya sampai hari ini.

Benar:
The Erie Canal opened in 1825.
tahun yang sudah lewat: simple past
Salah:
Thomas Edison has patented more than a thousand inventions.
Edison sudah wafat: patented
Benar:
Ecologists have studied the wolves of Isle Royale since 1958.
since: present perfect
Salah:
Since 2010, the number of electric cars increased sharply.
since: has increased
Salah:
The first crewed lunar landing has taken place in 1969.
1969: took place
Benar:
In recent years, many universities have expanded their online programs.
in recent years: present perfect

Cek pemahaman 1/3

The Hubble Space Telescope ____ more than a million observations since its launch in 1990.

Yang perlu diingat

Tense ditentukan oleh penanda waktu. Temukan penandanya dulu, baru pilih bentuk verbnya.

Past perfect: yang lebih dulu di masa lalu

Past perfect (had + V3) dipakai kalau ada dua kejadian di masa lalu dan kamu ingin menegaskan mana yang lebih dulu. Bayangkan garis waktu: kejadian A terjadi, lalu kejadian B. Kejadian A yang lebih dulu memakai had + V3, kejadian B memakai simple past.

Pola

BY THE TIME + S + V2, S + HAD + V3

Klausa utama, yang sudah selesai lebih dulu, memakai past perfect.

Benar:
By the time Lewis and Clark reached the Pacific, they had traveled thousands of miles.
perjalanan selesai sebelum mereka tiba
Salah:
When the firefighters arrived, the building has already collapsed.
lebih dulu di masa lalu: had already collapsed
Benar:
The volcano had been dormant for centuries when it erupted.
keadaan sebelum letusan
Salah:
By the time she retired, the professor has published twelve books.
had published

Ada juga pasangan untuk masa depan. By the time + simple present, lalu klausa utama memakai future perfect (will have + V3). By the time the bridge opens, workers ==will have used== thousands of tons of steel. Kalau ada by + tahun di masa depan, seperti by 2050, polanya sama.

Cek pemahaman 2/3

By the time the rescue team arrived, the climbers ____ the summit.

Klausa waktu untuk masa depan: tanpa will

Ini jebakan yang halus. Setelah penghubung waktu seperti when, before, after, until, as soon as, once, by the time, kalau maknanya masa depan, verbnya tetap simple present. Will hanya muncul di klausa utama.

Pola

S + WILL + V1 ... WHEN / AS SOON AS / BEFORE / UNTIL + S + simple present

Benar:
The team will publish its results as soon as the data are verified.
klausa waktu: simple present
Salah:
Applicants will be notified after the committee will review their files.
after the committee reviews
Benar:
We will start the experiment when the equipment arrives.
when + simple present
Salah:
Students cannot register until they will pay the fee.
until they pay

Cek pemahaman 3/3

The museum will reopen once the renovation ____.

Urutan tense dalam kalimat laporan

Kalau verb utamanya sudah past (said, predicted, believed, announced), verb di klausa that biasanya ikut mundur: will jadi would, can jadi could, is jadi was. The engineers predicted that the dam ==would== generate power for three cities. Pengecualiannya fakta umum yang tetap benar sampai sekarang, misalnya The teacher explained that water ==boils== at 100 degrees Celsius.

Bagaimana tenses muncul di TOEFL

Sentence Completion: pilihannya tense berbeda dari verb yang sama (rose, has risen, rising, is rising). Kuncinya selalu penanda waktu.
Written Expression: verb dengan tense salah digarisbawahi bersama tahun atau penanda waktu. Kadang yang salah justru penandanya, misalnya since yang seharusnya for.
Since + titik waktu (since 1958), for + durasi (for two centuries). Kalau tertukar, itu kesalahan.

Ringkasan

Tahun, ago, last, in the 1800s: simple past. Tokoh yang sudah wafat juga simple past.
Since, for sampai sekarang, so far, in recent years: present perfect.
Dua kejadian di masa lalu: yang lebih dulu pakai had + V3. By the time + past menuntut past perfect.
By the time + present atau by + waktu masa depan: will have + V3.
Setelah when, before, after, until, as soon as, once dengan makna masa depan: simple present, bukan will.
Verb utama past (said, predicted) membuat will jadi would di klausa that.