6. Past Continuous Tense
Kegunaan: Menyatakan aksi yang sedang berlangsung di waktu tertentu di masa lampau, atau dua aksi yang terjadi bersamaan di masa lampau.
📝 Rumus:
(+) Subject + was/were + Verb-ing
(-) Subject + was/were + not + Verb-ing
(?) Was/Were + Subject + Verb-ing?
💡 Contoh Kalimat:
- (+) I was sleeping when you called. (Saya sedang tidur ketika kamu menelepon.)
- (+) She was cooking at 7 PM yesterday. (Dia sedang memasak jam 7 malam kemarin.)
- (+) They were playing while I was studying. (Mereka sedang bermain sementara saya sedang belajar.)
- (+) It was raining when we left the house. (Hujan sedang turun ketika kami meninggalkan rumah.)
- (-) He wasn't paying attention during the class. (Dia tidak memperhatikan selama kelas.)
- (-) We weren't expecting any visitors. (Kami tidak mengharapkan tamu.)
- (?) Were you watching TV at 9 PM? (Apakah kamu sedang menonton TV jam 9 malam?)
- (?) What was she doing when you arrived? (Apa yang sedang dia lakukan ketika kamu tiba?)
⏰ Kata Keterangan Waktu:
when, while, as, at this time yesterday, at 8 PM last night, all day yesterday
💭 Tips Mengingat:
Sering dipakai dengan when + Simple Past: "I was eating when the phone rang." (aksi panjang + aksi pendek yang menyela)
🇮🇩 Kenapa Orang Indonesia Sering Bingung?
Dalam bahasa Indonesia: "Saya sedang makan ketika telepon berbunyi." Kata "sedang" menunjukkan aksi yang berlangsung, tapi bentuk kata kerja tetap sama.
Bahasa Inggris membedakan dua aksi: yang sedang berlangsung (was eating - lebih panjang) dan yang menyela (rang - lebih pendek/tiba-tiba).
❌ Kesalahan Umum & Akibatnya:
❌ "I was sleep when you called."
✅ "I was sleeping when you called."
Lupa -ing setelah was/were. Rumus: was/were + V-ing.
❌ "When I was cooking, the phone was ringing."
✅ "When I was cooking, the phone rang."
Aksi yang menyela (pendek, tiba-tiba) pakai Simple Past, bukan Past Continuous. Telepon berbunyi itu kejadian singkat.
❌ "I were watching TV."
✅ "I was watching TV."
Was untuk I, he, she, it. Were untuk you, we, they.
❌ "While she cooked, I was reading."
✅ "While she was cooking, I was reading."
Kalau dua aksi berlangsung bersamaan (dengan while), keduanya pakai Past Continuous.