Cerita pendek ini untuk pelatihan English grammar, pelatihan penggunaan tense yang tepat, untuk penyampaian cerita/pesan yang efektif dan komunikatif.
Cerita ini adalah e-mail, ditulis seorang perempuan berasal dari Indonesia yang sedang berlibur di San Francisco, Amerika Serikat, ditulis pada malam hari, kepada ibundanya yang berada di Indonesia.
Soal latihan dikerjakan, dengan mengubah, mengganti kata kerja biasa (ordinary verb), kata kerja pelengkap (auxiliary verb), atau kata kerja penghubung (linking verb), dalam tanda kurung, dengan kata kerja yang sesuai dengan tense yang digunakan.
Semisal kalimat: “She (call) her friend last night.”
Menjadi kalimat: “She called her friend last night.”
Untuk dapat mengerjakan dengan baik, baca lah terlebih dulu tulisan menyeluruh, ulangi beberapa kali bila perlu, sampai dipahami cerita, jalannya kejadian serta maksud penyampaian pesan.
Ordinary Verb, Auxiliary Verb dan Linking Verb.
Mengenai kata kerja dalam penggolongan ini, dapat diterangkan sebagai berikut:
– Ordinary Verb, kata kerja biasa, seperti: work, go, do, study, sleep, cook, dan lain-lain.
– Auxiliary Verb, kata kerja pelengkap, seperti: am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being, do, does, did, have, has, had, shall, will, can, may, must, ought, need, dare, dan sebagainya.
– Lingking Verb, kata kerja yang menghubungkan, seperti: am, is, are, was, were, be, been, being.
Penggunaan ketiga golongan kata kerja tersebut selalu disesuaikan dengan tense yang digunakan. Meski tidak dibahas mendalam secara khusus, tetapi penggunaan praktis akan terlihat dengan sendirinya dalam pelajaran terdahulu mengenai setiap tense.
Shopping abroad, short story.
Hello mom, how are you in Jakarta?
This is the fifth day of my visit to San Francisco. Today, I (spend) time with Tina, who (bring) me out around the city for fun. Tina (pick) me up in the morning at uncle’s house where I (stay) since my first day visit here.
Mom, (do) you remember Tina? Who (be) a close friend of mine since we (be) teenagers, we (go) to same high school in Indonesia. We (miss) each other since she (go) to this country to study at a university here. Tina now (work) for a local company for three years, I (get) her number from phone book. I (call) her yesterday and it (be) good that she (have) time to come to see me today.
Tina (arrive) at uncle’s house so early this morning, while I (be) in the kitchen room, I (make) some scrambled egg for our breakfast. She (come) earlier than the time she (mention) on phone, uncle (open) the door for her. She (have) her breakfast, she (just talk) to us as we (have) our breakfast.
She (talk) about hard living in here, recently. And she (not forget) to say something good about the flower garden of aunt’s and my uncle’s shooting medal championship collection. You know, uncle (shoot) object of cigarette pack size at the centre from fifty yard distance before he (get) cataract with his eyes.
Tina (drive) a sedan, I (remember) the time when we (learn) how to drive together. When I (have) my driving license, she still (have) hard time to drive. It (be) good to see how good she (drive) now.
Tina (know) what I like the most. I (like) shopping fashion goods, I (not miss) shopping every time while I (travel), now even I (be) in the country like United States, where I (believe) the shops (offer) only best quality product ever. Tina (bring) me from one mall to another the whole day.
In the evening, Tina (drive) me back to my uncle’s house. She (help) me carrying many bags of the goods I (buy). After Tina (leave), I (show) auntie everything I (get) from shopping, among them (be) a beautiful pair of shoes for one hundred dollars, which I (like) very much.
It (come) to my surprise that auntie (show) me the same model of shoes of hers, the pair she (buy) last month for eighty dollars, and she (find) the price (be) too high comparing to price at other store. The price difference (do) not bother me that much for they (be) really shoes of my dream.
Mom, the minute before I (write) to you, I (sit) in my bed room, (take) a close look at them, (wonder) myself how they (make) such good shoes. I (find) a label inside of the shoes, it (be) so tiny that I (not see) it when I (be) at the store. The label (say): “Made in Indonesia”.
I (learn) my lesson, I want my mom.
I (think) I (go) to sleep now, I (love) you, mom.
_____________________________________
Bagi peminat serious berlatih berbahasa Inggris, dapat mengikuti dalam group “English is English“, facebook, yang diadakan Pro*Readers team, untuk kesempatan sekali saja dalam waktu yang terbatas, beberapa bulan saja.
Pelatihan baik diikuti seawal mungkin, mengingat cara belajar yang efektif; penguasaan atas tense sederhana akan mempermudah pemahaman atas tense berikut yang lebih kompleks.