Perbedaan Simple Present dan Present Continuous Beserta Contoh Soalnya

Hai para pembaca ContohText semua, terkadang belajar tenses bahasa Inggris bisa lumayan membingungkan, tak terkecuali dengan tenses dasar seperti simple present dan present continuous. Kedua jenis tenses ini bisa jadi kerap membuat kita kebingungan untuk membedakannya, terutama kalau kamu masih pemula dalam belajar bahasa Inggris, karena secara garis besar sama-sama mengacu pada sesuatu yang terjadi di masa kini (present).

Tapi tenang saja, kali ini ContohText akan membahas perbedaan simple present dan present continuous secara lengkap beserta dengan contoh kalimatnya, agar kamu lebih memahami kedua jenis tenses ini secara konteks penggunaannya.

Karena dalam postingan ini kita tidak akan membahas struktur kalimat dari simple present dan present continuous, kamu bisa mempelajari strukturnya lebih dalam lagi pada postingan sebelumnya berikut:

Perbedaan Simple Present dan Present Continuous

Meski secara garis besar simple present tense dan present continuous tense membicarakan sesuatu yang terjadi di masa sekarang, tapi keduanya memiliki penggunaan spesifik masing-masing sesuai konteksnya.

Di sini kita tidak akan membahas perbedaan simple present dan present continuous ini secara mendalam, namun hanya perbedaan yang mendasar saja dan terlihat signifikan.

1. Perbedaan simple present dan present continuous yang pertama yakni simple present digunakan untuk membicarakan tindakan yang berulang, kebiasaan, kegiatan sehari-hari, dan kebenaran umum (fakta).

Contoh:

Giraffes have long legs and necks. (Jerapah memiliki kaki dan leher yang panjang.)
It rains more in rainy season. (Hujannya lebih sering di musim hujan.)
Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen. (Air terdiri dari hidrogen dan oksigen.)
The store opens at 7 o’clock. (Toko tersebut buka jam 7.)
We play table tennis every Wednesday. (Kami bermain tenis meja setiap Rabu.)
I get up at six every morning. (Aku bangun jam enam setiap paginya.)
I usually go to work by bus. (Aku biasanya berangkat kerja naik bis.)
Dian often works late at the office. (Dian sering kerja lembur di kantor.)

Sementara itu, present continuous digunakan untuk membicarakan sesuatu yang sedang berlangsung saat dibicarakan.

I need an umbrella because it is raining at the moment. (Aku butuh payung karena sedang hujan saat ini.)
The students are sitting at their desk right now. (Para pelajar sedang duduk di meja mereka sekarang.)
I am watching YouTube. (Aku sedang menonton YouTube.)
That man is taking a photo of a bird. (Orang itu sedang memotret seekor burung.)
Hi, I’m calling to let you know I’m coming, but it’s snowing and the traffic is moving slowly. (Hai, aku menelponmu untuk memberitahu aku datang, tapi ini sedang bersalju dan lalulintasnya sedang berjalan lambat.)

2. Perbedaan simple present dan present continuous selanjutnya yakni simple present digunakan untuk membicarakan tindakan atau situasi yang kita anggap bersifat permanen (dalam jangka waktu yang lama).

Contoh:

They live in a very nice apartment. (Mereka tinggal di sebuah apartemen yang bagus.)
I work at a sports shop. It’s a permanent job. (Aku bekerja di toko olahraga. Ini pekerjaan yang permanen.)
My sister Dena lives in Jakarta and works for an advertising agency. She promotes her clients’ businesses. (Saudariku Dena tinggal di Jakarta dan bekerja untuk agensi periklanan. Dia mempromosikan bisnis kliennya.)

Sedangkan present continuous digunakan untuk membicarakan tindakan atau situasi yang kita anggap bersifat sementara saja.

At the moment they’re living in a very small apartment. (Saat ini mereka sedang tinggal di sebuah apartemen yang sangat sempit.)
I’m working at a sports shop for five weeks. (Aku sedang bekerja di toko olahraga selama lima pekan.)
My brother Ridwan is living with my uncle just now in Bandung. He isn’t working yet. He’s looking for a job. (Saudaraku Ridwan sedang tinggal bersama pamanku belum lama ini di Bandung. Dia masih sedang menganggur. Dia sedang mencari pekerjaan.)

3. Perbedaan simple present dan present continuous yang ketiga yakni ketika mendapatkan keterangan waktu “always” maka akan memiliki makna yang berbeda.

Pada simple present tense, always memiliki makna “every time” atau setiap kali.

Contoh:

Andre always invites us to stay at New Year Eve. (Andre selalu mengundang kami untuk menginap saat malam tahun baru.)

Kalimat tersebut mengindikasikan kalau Andre mengundang kami untuk menginap setiap malam tahun baru.

I always make silly mistakes in exam. (Aku selalu membuat kesalahan konyol di ujian.)

Kalimat tersebut mengindikasikan kalau Aku membuat kesalahan konyol di setiap ujian.

Sementara pada present continuous tense, always memiliki makna “very often” atau sangat sering.

Contoh:

Andre is always inviting friends here. (Andre selalu mengundang teman-teman ke sini.)

Kalimat tersebut mengindikasikan kalau Andre kerap kali mengundang teman-temannya ke sini.

I am always making silly mistakes. (Aku selalu membuat kesalahan konyol.)

Kalimat tersebut mengindikasikan kalau Aku sering kali membuat kesalahan konyol.

4. Untuk kata kerja yang berhubungan dengan pemikiran, perasaan, dan keadaan, kita tetap menggunakan simple present untuk membicarakannya, meskipun hal tersebut sedang berlangsung saat kita berbicara.

Contoh:

I think it is a good programme. (Aku rasa ini program yang bagus.)
Desi likes her job. (Desi menyukai pekerjaannya.)
I promise to be more careful. (Aku berjanji untuk lebih hati-hati.)
I accept your decision. (Aku menerima keputusanmu.)
It’s all right. I forgive you. (Tidak apa-apa. Aku memaafkanmu.)

Kata kerja semacam ini tergolong non-progressive sehingga jarang sekali atau hampir tidak pernah digunakan untuk present continuous tense. Beberapa kata kerja yang biasanya termasuk non-progressive seperti:

know
believe
doubt
recognize
remember
suppose
understand
like
appreciate
care about
please
prefer
dislike
fear
hate
mind
belong
possess
own
desire
need
want
wish
consist of
contain
exist
matter
hear
sound
seem
look like
resemble
agree
disagree
mean
promise
amaze
surprise

Contoh Soal Perbedaan Simple Present dan Present Continuous

Nah, setelah kita mempelajari perbedaan simple present dan present continuous di atas, langsung saja kamu bisa berlatih mengerjakan soal-soal berikut agar lebih memahami kembali konteks penggunaan dari simple present dan present continuous.

Contoh Soal Perbedaan Simple Present dan Present Continuous 1

A Present Continuous or Present Simple?

At work, Mark is talking to Alan in the corridor. Complete their conversation. Put in the Present Continuous or Present Simple of the verbs.

Mark	: (1) ___ (you/look) for someone?
Alan	: Yes, (2) ___ (I/need) to speak to Neil. He isn't in his office.
Mark	: (3) ___ (he/talk) to the boss at the moment. (4) ___ (I/think) (5) ___ (they/discuss) money.
Alan	: Oh, right. And what about you? (6) ___ (you/look) for someone too?
Mark	: Yes, Linda. (7) ___ (you/know) where she is?
Alan	: Oh, she isn't here today. She only (8) ___ (work) four days a week. (9) ___ (she/not/work) on Fridays. She'll be here on Monday.
Mark	: Thank you. (10) ___ (you/know) a lot about Linda.
Alan	: Well, most days (11) ___ (I/give) her a lift, or (12) ___ (she/give) me one. (13) ___ (she/live) quite close to me. (14) ___ (it/save) petrol.
Mark	: Yes, of course. Good idea. Yes, (15) ___ (I/agree). Well, (16) ___ (I/waste) my time here then. I'll get back to my computer.

Contoh Soal Perbedaan Simple Present dan Present Continuous 2

Complete the sentences. Put in the Present Continuous or Present Simple of the verbs.

1.	___ (I/write) to my parents. ___ (I/write) to them every weekend.
2.	___ (it/snow) outside. ___ (it/come) down quite hard, look.
3.	Normally___ (I/ start) work at eight o'clock, but ___ (I/start) at seven this week. We're very busy at the moment.
4.	I haven't got a car at the moment, so___ (I/go) to work on the bus this week. Usually ___ (I/drive) to work.
5.	The sun ___ (rise) in the east, remember. It's behind us so ___ (we/travel) west. I'm afraid I have no time to help just now___ (I/write) a report. But ___ (I/promise) I'll give you some help later.
6.	___ (I/want) a new car___ (I/save) up to buy one.

Contoh Soal Perbedaan Simple Present dan Present Continuous 3

Complete the sentences. Use always and the Present Continuous or Present Simple.

1.	Melanie	: Tom talks too much, doesn't he?
	Rita	: Yes, and ___ about football.
2.	Laura	: You forget your keys every time.
	Trevor	: I try to remember them, but I ___.
3.	Claire	: Sarah takes the train every day, doesn't she?
	Mark	: Yes, ___.
4.	Vicky	: Rachel misses lectures much too often in my opinion.
	Emma	: I agree ___.
5.	Mike	: Every time I drive along here, I go the wrong way.
	Harriet	: But it's very simple, isn't it? Why ___.
6.	David	: Trevor and Laura argue much too often, I think.
	Melanie	: I know___.

Contoh Soal Perbedaan Simple Present dan Present Continuous 4

Complete the sentences. Use the simple present or the present progressive of the verbs in parentheses.

1.	a. Kristin is in the shower. She (wash) ___ her hair.
	b. Kristin (wash) ___ her hair every other day or so.
2.	a. Tony usually (sit) ___ in the front row during class.
	b. Today he (sit) ___ in the last row.
3.	a. Lars (work) ___ the night shift on weekends.
	b. He's not home now. He (work) ___ a double shift.
4.	a. After six days of rain, I'm glad that the sun (shine) ___.
	b. Every morning, the sun (shine) ___ in my bedroom window and (wake) ___ me up.
5.	a. Babies (grow) ___ very quickly. Newborn babies are very different from three-month-old.
	b. Your baby (grow) ___ so fast. She isn't a newborn anymore!
6.	a. Please be quiet. I (try) ___ to concentrate on my math homework.
	b. Each day, our math teacher (try) ___ to explain the material clearly, but I am very confused.

Referensi:

Azar, Betty S.,. Hagen, Stacy A. (2016). Understanding and Using English Grammar - Fifth Edition. Pearson.
Yule, George. (2006). Oxford Practice Grammar - Advanced. Oxford University Press.
Eastwood, John. (1992). Oxford Practice Grammar - Intermediate. Oxford University Press.