Bentuk Waktu 1 :    ( Tenses ) Simple Present Present Continuous Simple Past Present Perfect Continuous Simple Future Present Perfect Past Continuous Bingung? Ikut belajar sama Iwan!

The IDEA is important, not the rule. It's no surprise actually, that students are always confused with tenses, especially if their language doesn't have tenses in their grammar (like Bahasa Indonesia). The problem is that even if they have learned the rules (the grammar) they often still do not have a clear understanding of the idea that is connected to it. What's the difference between "Has Kate called?" and "Did Kate call?"? As we have said many times before, what's important is the idea, not the grammar. Of course you have to know and understand grammar, but what you really need to know is which grammar form to use based on the idea that you're trying to express. The section "Bentuk Waktu 1" shows a sampling of how tenses are traditionally explained in Bahasa. From these explanations and the examples, it's easy to see why Indonesians find it all very confusing. It's not really, and with some better examples and some better explanations, and a little practice, anyone can master those tricky English tenses. First, let's quickly review the basic 7 tenses:

The 7 most important tenses in English:

1. Simple Present:	present fact   ;   do / does + (verb)  ;   am/are/is + (noun, adjective) My name is... ; I'm from... ; That's my... ; I'm tired/bored/.. Where do you live/work/..? ; Why does he...? ; Why are you late? Sorry, he's in a meeting. Can he call you back later?
2. Present Continuous:       (Present Progressive)	action happening now or over a period of time ; am/are/is + (verb)+ing Sorry, he's sleeping. Can you call back later? Oh no, it's raining! planned future action ; I'm going to Bandung on Saturday.
3. Simple Past:	finished fact ; past action, finished ; did ; -ed Did it rain yesterday? Yes, it did. (Yes, it rained yesterday.) I forget. (now, present fact) ...(remember or are told)... I forgot. (past tense) I don't have a pen. (now, present fact) ; I didn't bring a pen. (past action)
4. Pres. Perfect Continuous:      (Present Perfect Progressive)	since before and still ; have been / has been + (verb)ing How long have you been living in Indonesia? He's been working here for 3 years. (He has been...)
5. Simple Future:	sudden decision to do something in the future (often near or immediate future) (phone rings) I'll get it. - Do you have my book?    - Oh, sorry, I forgot.  I'll bring it tomorrow.    (asking present fact)               (past action)     (sudden decision) prediction of future ; I'll be there around 8:00.
6. Present Perfect:	past action finished but relative to now Has Kate called (yet)? (you're waiting to hear from her)    Did anyone call? (asking past tense fact) Have you done your homework (yet)? (still have time to do it)    Did you do your homework? (class has started; no more time left to do it)
7. Past Continuous:      (Past Progressive)	past action during time period ; was/were + (verb)ing I was taking a shower when you called. (past fact during past action) past 'future' plan ; I was going to call you.

Practice makes perfect: If you simply begin practicing with basic sentences and review the above notes when you make mistakes, then you will improve very quickly, and will develop a 'sense' of which tense to use and you will begin to use the correct tense 'automatically', without thinking.	Here's a slightly different look at English tenses: Making Sense of Tenses Graphic illustration of tenses Another graphic illustration of tenses And for a little practice: sit
Vocabulary Exercises 1 : (coming soon...) Go to Navigator bar and get started!	For most people learning English, vocabulary is the least of their problem. Yes, for reading advanced English, you need a large vocabulary, but the most important thing is to be able to use the words you already know correctly.