General English (AEC)

1. Active to Passive Voice

Voice shows whether the subject does the action or receives it. Active: “The student writes a letter” — the subject is the doer. Passive: “A letter is written by the student” — the subject is the receiver. Transformation keeps the meaning and changes the form.

Formula: the object of the active becomes the subject of the passive + a form of be that matches the tense + the past participle (V3) + by + the old subject (only if the doer still matters). “Someone stole the book” → “The book was stolen” — the doer is dropped because it is unknown.

Tense chart (base sentence: She writes a letter):

Note: present, past and future perfect continuous, and future continuous, are almost never made passive — those forms sound clumsy in English.

Modals: modal + be + V3. “She can solve the sum” → “The sum can be solved by her.” “You must obey the rules” → “The rules must be obeyed.”

Imperatives: “Open the door” → “Let the door be opened.” A polite request changes differently: “Please open the door” → “You are requested to open the door.”

Questions: invert the first auxiliary. “Does she write a letter?” → “Is a letter written by her?”

Two objects give two passives: “She gave him a pen” → “He was given a pen” / “A pen was given to him.” The person as the new subject is the more natural of the two.

Infinitives: “to write” → “to be written”: “There is a lot of work to do” → “There is a lot of work to be done.”

Pronoun shift: the old subject becomes an object after by, and the old object becomes the new subject. she → her, he → him, they → them, I → me. “She writes it” → “It is written by her.”

When to prefer the passive / drop the agent: the doer is unknown (“My bike was stolen”), obvious (“He was arrested”), or unimportant (“Rice is grown in Bengal”); formal and scientific writing also prefers it.

No passive is possible for intransitive verbs (“She sleeps” has no object, so it stays active) and for SVC sentences with be (“She is a teacher” can never become “A teacher is been by her”).

Solved examples:

1. She writes a letter. → A letter is written by her.
2. She is writing a letter. → A letter is being written by her.
3. She has written a letter. → A letter has been written by her.
4. She wrote a letter. → A letter was written by her.
5. She was writing a letter. → A letter was being written by her.
6. She had written a letter. → A letter had been written by her.
7. She will write a letter. → A letter will be written by her.
8. She will have written a letter. → A letter will have been written by her.
9. She can solve the sum. → The sum can be solved by her.
10. You must obey the rules. → The rules must be obeyed.
11. Open the window. → Let the window be opened.
12. Please help the poor. → You are requested to help the poor.
13. Does he read novels? → Are novels read by him?
14. She gave me a book. → I was given a book by her. / A book was given to me by her.
15. They are building a bridge. → A bridge is being built by them.
16. Someone has taken my pen. → My pen has been taken. (agent dropped — unknown)
17. People speak English here. → English is spoken here. (agent dropped — obvious)

💡 Exam tip (Sec C: 5 × 1.5 marks): first underline the object — it becomes your new subject. Keep the same tense family, and never add a doer the active never named. If there is no object, the answer is “no passive possible.”

2. Direct to Indirect Speech

Direct speech quotes the speaker’s exact words inside inverted commas. Indirect (reported) speech reports those words as a clause, without the quotation marks. “She said, ‘I am tired.’” → “She said that she was tired.”

Four things change: the reporting verb, the conjunction, the pronouns, and — when the reporting verb is in the past — the tense.

Backshift table (when the reporting verb is past):

Reporting verbs and conjunctions: said to + object becomes told + object (“She said to me” → “She told me”); said without an object can stay said. Statements take that (it may be dropped in easy English). Yes–no questions take asked + if/whether. Wh-questions keep the wh-word. Commands take told / ordered / requested + to-infinitive.

Questions: the reported clause uses statement order — subject before verb, no do if the tense no longer needs it. “She said, ‘Are you ready?’” → “She asked if I was ready.” “She said, ‘Where do you live?’” → “She asked where I lived.”

Imperatives: “She said to him, ‘Open the door.’” → “She told him to open the door.” Negative: “Don’t wait” → “She told me not to wait.” A request with please takes requested or asked.

Exclamations: “She said, ‘What a hot day!’” → “She exclaimed that it was a very hot day.”

Two exceptions — no backshift: (1) a fact that is still or always true: “The teacher said, ‘Water boils at 100°C.’” → “The teacher said that water boils at 100°C.” (2) a present reporting verb: “She says she is tired” — tenses inside usually stay.

Pronouns turn from the speaker’s I/you to the reporter’s he/she/they. Time and place words move with a past reporting verb:

Solved examples:

1. She said, “I am tired.” → She said that she was tired.
2. She said to me, “I will come.” → She told me that she would come.
3. He said, “I have finished my work.” → He said that he had finished his work.
4. She said, “I wrote a letter yesterday.” → She said that she had written a letter the previous day.
5. She said, “I can swim.” → She said that she could swim.
6. He said, “I may come tomorrow.” → He said that he might come the next day.
7. She said, “Are you ready?” → She asked if I was ready.
8. She said, “Where do you live?” → She asked where I lived.
9. She said to him, “Open the door.” → She told him to open the door.
10. She said, “Don’t wait for me.” → She told me not to wait for her.
11. The teacher said, “Please sit down.” → The teacher requested us to sit down.
12. She said, “What a beautiful garden!” → She exclaimed that it was a very beautiful garden.
13. The teacher said, “Water boils at 100°C.” → The teacher said that water boils at 100°C. (no backshift — universal truth)
14. She says, “I am busy now.” → She says she is busy now. (no backshift — present reporting verb)
15. He said, “I met her here last week.” → He said that he had met her there the previous week.

💡 Exam tip (Sec C: 5 × 1.5 marks): do the four changes in order — verb, conjunction, pronoun, tense. Drop the inverted commas completely, and never leave a question mark in indirect speech: “She asked where I lived” is still a reported question without one.

3. Simple, Complex, Compound

Sentences are sorted by how many finite clauses they hold — a finite verb is one that shows tense (writes, wrote). Participles, infinitives and phrases do not count.

Simple: one finite verb — “She opened the door.” It may still hold phrases: “Hearing the news, she wept” is simple, because hearing is not finite.

Compound: two or more independent clauses of the same rank, joined by a coordinating conjunction — and, but, or, nor, yet, so (FANBOYS). “She heard the news and she wept.”

Complex: one main clause + at least one subordinate clause, opened by because, if, when, although, that, who, which, unless. “When she heard the news, she wept.”

Simple → Complex: turn one idea into a subordinate clause. Use a participle, an infinitive, a preposition + noun, or a relative clause:

• Participle → adverb clause: “Hearing the news, she wept” → “When she heard the news, she wept.”
• Infinitive → noun clause: “She hoped to pass” → “She hoped that she would pass.”
• Noun → noun clause: “I know his name” → “I know what his name is.”
• Two simples → relative clause: “I met the teacher. She teaches English” → “I met the teacher who teaches English.”
• Contrast: “She is poor. She is honest” → “Although she is poor, she is honest.”

Complex → Simple (the reverse): use a participle, an infinitive, or a phrase. “When she heard the news, she wept” → “Hearing the news, she wept.” “She hoped that she would pass” → “She hoped to pass.”

Simple → Compound: add a coordinator and a second finite verb. “She is poor. She is honest” → “She is poor but she is honest.” “She finished the work. She went home” → “She finished the work and she went home.”

Compound → Complex: change the coordinator into a subordinator. “She was tired but she finished the work” → “Although she was tired, she finished the work.” “He was ill so he stayed at home” → “Because he was ill, he stayed at home.”

Solved examples:

1. She is poor. She is honest. → She is poor but she is honest. (compound) / Although she is poor, she is honest. (complex)
2. Hearing the news, she wept. (simple) → When she heard the news, she wept. (complex) / She heard the news and she wept. (compound)
3. I met the teacher. She teaches English. → I met the teacher who teaches English. (complex)
4. He was ill so he stayed at home. (compound) → Because he was ill, he stayed at home. (complex)
5. She finished the work and she went home. (compound) → After finishing the work, she went home. (simple)
6. When the rain stopped, we left. (complex) → The rain having stopped, we left. (simple)
7. He is too tired to walk. (simple) → He is so tired that he cannot walk. (complex)
8. I know that he is honest. (complex) → I know of his honesty. (simple)
9. She worked hard and she passed. (compound) → Because she worked hard, she passed. (complex)
10. Unless you hurry, you will miss the bus. (complex) → Hurry up, or you will miss the bus. (compound)
11. The boy who stole the pen was punished. (complex) → The boy stealing the pen was punished. (simple)
12. She is rich, yet she is not happy. (compound) → Although she is rich, she is not happy. (complex)

💡 Exam tip (Sec C: 5 × 1.5 marks): first count the finite verbs — one = simple, two joined by and/but/or/so = compound, a when/because/who clause on a main clause = complex. Meaning must not gain a new cause or lose the contrast of but / although.

4. Declarative, Negative, Interrogative

A declarative states: “She writes a letter.” A negative denies: “She does not write a letter.” An interrogative asks: “Does she write a letter?” The three move on the auxiliary.

If the sentence already has an auxiliary (be, have, do, will, can, must…), put not after it for the negative, and bring the auxiliary before the subject for a yes–no question. “She is ready” → “She is not ready” → “Is she ready?” “She can swim” → “She cannot swim” → “Can she swim?”

If there is no auxiliary, English inserts do / does / did, and the main verb returns to its base form. Present simple: “She writes” → “She does not write” → “Does she write?” Past simple: “She wrote” → “She did not write” → “Did she write?”

Be as a main verb never takes do: “She is a teacher” → “She is not a teacher” → “Is she a teacher?”

Word changes in the negative: some often becomes any, already becomes yet — “She has some paper” → “She does not have any paper.” Words that are already negative take no second not: never, nobody, nothing, no — “She never writes,” not “She does not never write.”

Wh-questions: wh-word first, then auxiliary, then subject, then the rest. “She lives in Bikaner” → “Where does she live?” “She bought a book” → “What did she buy?” But a wh-word that is itself the subject does not invert: “Who wrote this?” (never “Did who write this?”).

Negative interrogative (“Doesn’t she write?”) expects a yes or shows surprise.

Opposite forms that keep the meaning (favourite exam patterns):

• too … to → so … that … not: “He is too tired to walk” → “He is so tired that he cannot walk.”
• not only … but also: “She sings. She dances” → “She not only sings but also dances.”
• no sooner … than / hardly … when: “As soon as he came, it rained” → “No sooner did he come than it rained.”
• Tag questions (statement + short question): positive statement → negative tag, negative statement → positive tag. “She writes well, doesn’t she?” “She is ready, isn’t she?” “They won’t come, will they?”

Solved examples:

1. She is ready. → She is not ready. → Is she ready?
2. She writes a letter. → She does not write a letter. → Does she write a letter?
3. She wrote a letter. → She did not write a letter. → Did she write a letter?
4. She can swim. → She cannot swim. → Can she swim?
5. She will come. → She will not come. → Will she come?
6. She lives in Bikaner. → She does not live in Bikaner. → Where does she live?
7. He bought a book yesterday. → What did he buy yesterday?
8. Who broke the glass? → (subject question — no inversion needed)
9. She has some money. → She does not have any money.
10. He is too proud to beg. → He is so proud that he cannot beg.
11. As soon as the bell rang, the boys ran out. → No sooner did the bell ring than the boys ran out.
12. You are coming, aren’t you? (tag after be)

💡 Exam tip (Sec C: 5 × 1.5 marks): keep the tense family and the person unchanged — the negative of “She wrote yesterday” is “She did not write yesterday,” not “She has not written.” And will already does the work of do: “Will she come?”, never “Does she will come?”