DAY 3: VERBS & TENSES

Of course, when you join an English course for the first time, you will be presented with the most common greetings you can use in English such as:

  • Hello! How are you?
  • What is your name? My name is
  • Where are you from? I am from …
  • What do you do? I work as …
  • Where do you live? I live in …
  • What is your hobby?

But do you know that those sentences have something in common? The sentences must have VERBS, which we don’t always use in bahasa Indonesia. That is the first GAP that we are going to talk about; the importance & significance of VERBS in English.

VERBS are one of the most important aspects when it comes to English as a language because we can say that a sentence is complete when it has at least one SUBJECT and VERB. We can translate VERBS as KATA KERJA in Indonesian, but we treat VERBS quite differently in both languages. In English, VERBS have a super power! They are able to change according to the SUBJECT and TIME. We can tell different types of stories using one VERB:

As we can see from the example above, VERBS can change according to WHEN the activity happens. That is why in English we have TENSES:

Those are the TENSES that we have in English, where usually people are forced to remember the “rumus” of each tense. However, what we are trying to understand and apply here are the FUNCTIONS and PATTERNS. Now, we are going to talk about the FUNCTIONS and PATTERNS of the first tense; PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE.

This is the first TENSE that we are going to get to know. As we have learned in class, we divide this TENSE into 2 types; the one using STATE VERBS and using ACTIVITY VERBS.

We use STATE VERBS to talk about STATE (keadaan) or FACTS (fakta) about us, other people, or things around us. For example:

We use the VERB BE (ARE/AM/IS) in PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE with FACTS/STATES and NOT activities. Instead, this is how we use ACTIVITY VERBS in PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE:

We use ACTIVITY VERBS in this TENSE to talk about FACTS, COMMON KNOWLEDGES, AND HABITS. For example:

The examples above shows the functions of ACTIVITY VERBS in PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE. We have to pay attention to the CHANGE of the VERBS when it comes to different SUBJECTS:

  • I/you/we/they/plural nouns – VERB (I eat noodle every week.)
  • She/he/it/singular nouns – VERB+s (My brother eats noodle every week.)

The most common mistake that people always make is using both STATE and ACTIVITY VERB in one sentence. For example:

  • I am feel not okay today. ❌
  • She is go to the office by train every day. ❌
  • We want have a new house. ❌

Instead, we have to say:

  • She is very hardworking. (a BE VERB followed by a fact) ✅
  • She goes to the office by train every day. (an ACTIVITY VERB that shows a habit) ✅

  • A complete sentence in English has to have at least one SUBJECT and VERB. The VERB is divided into 2 types; STATE and ACTIVITY.
  • The VERBS have a super power to make it able to change according to the SUBJECT and the TIME; this is why we have many TENSES.
  • In PRESENT SIMPLE TENSE, we use the BE VERB to talk about STATES and ACTIVITY VERBS to talk about FACTS/ROUTINES.
  • The most common mistake is using STATE and ACTIVITY VERBS in one sentence, such as “I am go.” or “We are eat.”

Understanding the importance of VERBS in English and the difference between STATE and ACTIVITY VERBS are the first step to bridge your language gaps from bahasa Indonesia to English. Now, let’s try to challenge yourself to remember the materials that you just read by filling in the CHEAT SHEETS below. Try to remember by filling in the blanks without looking at the materials. AFTER you try to remember it yourself, you can look at the materials once again to check whether you get the answers right. Happy learning, Gems!

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