Voice, Narration and Question Tags

Voice, reported speech and question tags are all rule-driven, so every question here can be answered correctly with the rules below.

The Dean's Office model asks the passive of "We celebrate Democracy Day on Falgun seven" and the tag for "Let us go". Five questions in the paper come from this unit.

Imperatives: Open the door → Let the door be opened. Questions: Who wrote this book? → By whom was this book written? Intransitive verbs have no passive.

(a) Passive: built by Shah Jahan

(b) Everest was climbed in 1953

(c) Reported speech: what was said

4.2 Reported speech

• Back-shift: simple present → simple past; present continuous → past continuous; present perfect → past perfect; simple past → past perfect; will → would; can → could. A universal truth does not shift (The teacher said that the earth moves round the sun).
• Words: now → then; today → that day; tomorrow → the next day; yesterday → the day before; here → there; this → that.
• Statements use said/told that; yes–no questions use asked + if/whether with normal word order (She asked whether he would help her); wh-questions keep the wh-word (He asked where I was going); commands use told/ordered + to; exclamations use exclaimed with joy/sorrow that.

4.3 Question tags

• Positive statement → negative tag; negative → positive. The tag repeats the auxiliary (none → do/does/did).
• Special: I am → aren't I?; Let us / Let's → shall we?; imperatives → will you?; there is → isn't there?; nobody, everyone, someone → they; used to → didn't; had better → hadn't; ought to → oughtn't.
• Negative-meaning words (never, hardly, seldom, rarely, nobody, neither) make the statement negative, so the tag is positive: He never lies, does he?

4.4 Eight traps in voice, narration and tags

These topics are rule-based, so a careful check of each step removes almost every error. The eight traps below are the ones that appear most often as wrong options.

1. Keep the tense when you change the voice. She writes a letter becomes A letter is written by her, still present simple (Fig 4.1). Use be in the same tense plus the past participle. Changing the tense is the most common error.
2. Change the pronoun form. He becomes by him, they becomes by them and I becomes by me. The subject of the passive is the old object, so me becomes I. Check every pronoun when you swap.
3. Intransitive verbs have no passive. He sleeps and The sun rises have no object, so no passive can be formed. The verbs arrive, go and seem are in the same group. If there is no object, the option with a passive is wrong.
4. Present continuous and perfect need being and been. They are building a bridge becomes A bridge is being built, and He has finished the work becomes The work has been finished (Fig 4.1). A modal keeps be: must be obeyed. Students often drop being or been.
5. Back-shift one tense in reported speech. Direct I am happy becomes he was happy, will becomes would and can becomes could (Fig 4.2). If the reporting verb is present (He says), no shift is needed. A universal truth also stays in the present: He said that the earth moves round the sun.
6. Change the time and place words. Now becomes then, today becomes that day, tomorrow becomes the next day, here becomes there and this becomes that. The change depends on the moment of reporting. Do not forget to change the pronoun also.
7. Questions become statements in reported speech. A yes-no question uses asked if/whether and normal order: She asked whether he would help her. A wh-question keeps the wh-word: He asked where I was going. Remove the question mark and the auxiliary inversion.
8. The tag flips the polarity. A positive statement has a negative tag and a negative statement has a positive tag (Fig 4.3). Remember I am → aren't I?, Let's → shall we?, commands → will you?, and nobody or never give a positive tag. The tag pronoun for everyone and nobody is they.

4.4.1 Worked checks

Q. Change into the passive: "They are building a bridge."

Answer. The tense is present continuous, so the passive is A bridge is being built by them (Fig 4.1).

Q. Change into indirect speech: He said, "I will come tomorrow."

Answer. I becomes he, will becomes would and tomorrow becomes the next day. The result is He said that he would come the next day (Fig 4.2).

Q. Add a question tag: "Nobody came, ____?"

Answer. Nobody has a negative meaning, so the tag is positive and uses they: "Nobody came, did they?" (Fig 4.3).

Q. Add a question tag: "I am late, ____?"

Answer. The special form is aren't I? (Fig 4.3).

Practice questions

Set A — Recall (20 questions)

1. The passive of "She writes a letter" isaA letter wrote by her.bA letter is written by her.cA letter was written by her.dA letter is being written by her.
2. The passive of "They are building a bridge" isaA bridge is built by them.bA bridge was built by them.cA bridge has been built by them.dA bridge is being built by them.
3. The passive of "He has finished the work" isaThe work has been finished by him.bThe work was finished by him.cThe work is finished by him.dThe work had been finished by him.
4. Let us go, ___awill we?bdo we?cshall we?ddon't we?
5. She is a teacher, ___ais she?bisn't she?cdoesn't she?dwasn't she?
6. You can swim, ___adon't you?bcan you?cwon't you?dcan't you?
7. "He said, 'I am happy.'" becomes: He said thatahe is happy.bI was happy.che was happy.dhe has been happy.
8. He never lies, ___adoes he?bdoesn't he?cis he?ddid he?
9. I am late, ___aam I not?bisn't I?camn't I?daren't I?
10. "He said, 'I will come tomorrow.'" becomes: He said thatahe will come tomorrow.bhe would come the next day.che would come tomorrow.dhe will come the next day.
11. The passive of "Open the door." isaThe door opened.bLet the door open.cLet the door be opened.dThe door is opened.
12. Nobody called, ___adid they?bdidn't they?cdid he?ddidn't he?
13. "She said, 'I live in Pokhara.'" becomes: She said that shealives in Pokhara.blived in Pokhara.chad lived in Pokhara.dwas living in Pokhara.
14. Open the window, ___ashall we?bdon't you?cwill you?dwon't we?
15. The passive of "Who wrote this book?" isaWho was this book written?bBy who this book was written?cBy whom is this book written?dBy whom was this book written?
16. "He said, 'I have finished.'" becomes: He said that heahad finished.bhas finished.cfinished.dhave finished.
17. There is a problem, ___ais there?bisn't there?cisn't it?ddoesn't there?
18. "She asked, 'Where do you live?'" becomes: She asked me where Ialive.bdo live.cam living.dlived.
19. The passive of "People speak English all over the world." isaEnglish was spoken all over the world.bEnglish speaks all over the world.cEnglish is spoken all over the world.dEnglish has spoken all over the world.
20. "He said to me, 'Close the door.'" becomes: He ___ me to close the door.atoldbsaidcasked todordered at

Set B — Understanding (12 questions)

1. He hardly works, ___adoesn't he?bis he?cdoes he?dhasn't he?
2. The teacher said, "The earth moves round the sun." The teacher said that the earthamoves round the sun.bmoved round the sun.chad moved round the sun.dwas moving round the sun.
3. The passive of "The boy broke the window" isaThe window is broken by the boy.bThe window has been broken by the boy.cThe window broke the boy.dThe window was broken by the boy.
4. "He said, 'I am reading a book.'" becomes: He said that heais reading a book.bwas reading a book.chad read a book.dread a book.
5. Everyone came, ___adidn't he?bdid they?cdidn't they?dwasn't they?
6. "She said to him, 'Will you help me?'" becomes: She asked himawhether he would help her.bthat he would help her.cif will he help her.dwould he help her.
7. The passive of "They will complete the project" isaThe project is completed by them.bThe project will complete by them.cThe project would be completed.dThe project will be completed by them.
8. She used to live here, ___awasn't she?bdidn't she?cdid she?ddoesn't she?
9. "He said, 'I saw her yesterday.'" becomes: He said that he had seen herathe day before.byesterday.cthe next day.dthat day.
10. The passive of "Someone has stolen my bag" isaMy bag was stolen.bMy bag is stolen.cMy bag has been stolen.dMy bag had been stolen.
11. "He said, 'I can swim.'" becomes: He said that heacan swim.bwill swim.cwould swim.dcould swim.
12. You had better go, ___adidn't you?bhadn't you?cwouldn't you?dshouldn't you?

Set C — Application (8 questions)

1. "She said, 'I am going tomorrow.'" becomes: She said that she was goingatomorrow.btoday.cyesterday.dthe next day.
2. The passive of "Who has broken the glass?" isaBy whom has the glass been broken?bWho was the glass broken by?cBy whom had the glass broken?dBy who has the glass broken?
3. "He said, 'Where are you going?'" becomes: He asked me whereawas I going.bam I going.cI was going.dI am going.
4. Mother said, "Do not play in the sun." Indirect speech:aMother said me not play in the sun.bMother told me not to play in the sun.cMother told me do not play.dMother said that I not to play.
5. Neither of them came, ___adidn't they?bdid he?cdidn't he?ddid they?
6. The passive of "The chef is cooking dinner" isaDinner is being cooked by the chef.bDinner was cooked by the chef.cDinner is cooked by the chef.dDinner has been cooked by the chef.
7. "He said, 'Alas! I am ruined.'" becomes: He exclaimed with sorrow that heais ruined.bwere ruined.cwas ruined.dhad ruined.
8. He ought to go, ___aisn't he?boughtn't he?cdoesn't he?dshouldn't he?