English Language

Sentence Transformation

697 Questions

Sentence transformation questions evaluate grammatical accuracy in converting sentences between active and passive voice, as well as direct and indirect speech. The focus lies on altering sentence structures without changing the original meaning while maintaining correct tense and verb forms. This is a highly weighted English language topic in SSC and banking exams.

Active and passive voiceDirect and indirect speechNarration changeTense consistencyVerb form transformation

Sentence Transformation Questions

Multiple choice

Directions: Choose the correct passive form of the given sentence.

Who teaches you English?

  1. By whom were you taught English?

  2. By whom are you taught English?

  3. English is taught by whom?

  4. By whom will you be taught English?
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

In passive voice subject of active voice becomes the object & vice-versa, and they interchange their places. This is an interrogative case. In such cases,  'subject' is preceded by 'auxilary'. This is a case of present tense. So, auxilary 'are' is to be used with subject 'you'. Hence, option 2.

Multiple choice

Directions: Choose the correct passive form of the given sentence.

Why do you waste time?

  1. Why is time wasted by you?

  2. Why is time being wasted by you?

  3. Why has time been wasted by you?

  4. Why has time being wasted by you?
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

In passive voice subject of active voice becomes the object & vice-versa, and they interchange their places. This is an interrogative case. In such cases,  'subject' is preceded by 'auxilary'. 'Time' (being a singular subject, that too in present tense) needs auxilary 'is'. Option 2 is rejected as it is not the case of continuous tense. Hence, option 1.

Multiple choice

Directions: Choose the correct passive form of the given sentence.

People claim to have seen the suspect in several cities.

  1. The suspect is being seen in several cities.

  2. The suspect has been the people in several cities.

  3. The suspect is claimed to have been seen by people in several cities.

  4. The suspect was seen by people in several cities
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

In passive voice subject of active voice becomes the object & vice-versa, and they interchange their places. Passive voice of present perfect is present perfect continuous tense. Hence, option 3.

Multiple choice

From the time of its colonisation by the British in 1764 until its liberation in 1947, India was a resentful and torn country; a kind of internecine conflict raged in the society between those who wanted to cooperate with the British with those who opposed them.

  1. between those who wanted to cooperate with the British with those who opposed them

  2. between those who wanted to cooperate with the British and those who opposed them

  3. between those wanting to cooperate with the British with those opposing them

  4. among those who wanted to cooperate with the British and those who opposed them

  5. among those wanting to cooperate with the British with those opposing them
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

‘among’ is incorrect for comparison between two things; ‘between’ being the right construct. The correct usage is ‘between X and Y’. Hence (2)

Multiple choice

For some mammals the sense of hearing seems to play a role in maintaining bearings, since mice with surgically removed cochlear nerve were found to have increased difficulties in staying balanced.

  1. were found to have increased difficulties

  2. have been found to have increased difficulty

  3. were found to have increasing difficulty

  4. had been found to have increased difficulties

  5. have been found to have increasing difficulties
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

In the second part of the sentence, "since" is used so we should use has/have. This leaves us with options (2) and (5). Option (5) can be eliminated because of "increasing". Besides in the context 'difficulty' is the usage of choice. Hence (2)

Multiple choice

Falling prices of property and land, the collateral against which builders borrow to get through the construction period, is going to force many banks to tighten or deny credit this season.

  1. the collateral against which builders borrow to get through the construction period, is

  2. which builders use as collateral to borrow against to get through the construction period, is

  3. the collateral which is borrowed against by builders to get through the construction period, is

  4. which builders use as collateral to borrow against to get through the construction period, are

  5. the collateral against which builders borrow to get through the construction period, are
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

The subject of the sentence is 'Falling prices' - plural, so all options with singular verb 'is' are wrong. Option (4) has a contrived sentence structure. Hence (5).

Multiple choice

Eating nuts may significantly reduce the risk of diabetes and also aid for sufferers of migraine and anaemia, according to research studies published recently.

  1. significantly reduce the risk of diabetes and also aid for

  2. be significant in reducing the risk of diabetes and aid for

  3. significantly reduce the risk of diabetes and aid

  4. cause a significant reduction in the risk of diabetes and aid to

  5. significantly reduce the risk of diabetes as well as aiding
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The immediate giveaway in the question is the usage of ‘aid’. The correct usage of the word is ‘aid + person/thing’ without any preposition. Hence (3).

Multiple choice

Even though Cârvâka's philosophy has proved less popular than Basava's and less influential than Shankarcharya's, it is no less important.

  1. Basava's and less influential than Shankarcharya's, it

  2. Basava's and less influential than Shankarcharya's, he

  3. Basava's is and less influential than Shankarcharya's is, it

  4. Basava's and not as influential as Shankarcharya's, he
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Parallelism with 'Cârvâka's' requires 'Basava's' and 'Shankarcharya's' without 'is'. The correct pronoun for philosophy is 'it'. Hence (1).

Multiple choice

The author argues that just as rabies vaccine is given to every person bitten to protect the few who might actually contract the disease, mass vaccinating is needed against Hepatitis to protect the significant number who are susceptible to the life-threatening effects of the disease.

  1. just as rabies vaccine is given to every person bitten to protect the few who might actually contract the disease

  2. like rabies vaccine, which is given to every person bitten to protect the few who might contract the disease

  3. similar to rabies vaccine which is given to every person bitten in order to protect the few who might actually contract the disease

  4. while, to protect the few who might actually contract the disease, rabies vaccine is given to every person bitten

  5. similar to the giving of rabies vaccine to every person bitten in order to protect the few who might contract the disease actually
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

'Like' is used to compare nouns or noun phrases. In this example the actions of two clauses are compared so 'as' is the more relevant construct here. 'Similar' is used only in the cases where things are actually alike not the case in this sentence. Hence (1).

Multiple choice

A client accusing a service provider of deficiency will find it difficult to prove damage if there is a lack of some other service provider to testify about the proper procedures.

  1. if there is a lack of some other service provider to testify

  2. unless there will be another service provider to testify

  3. without another service provider’s testimony

  4. should there be no testimony from some other service provider

  5. lacking another service provider to testify
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The most obvious problem with options (1), (2) and (5) is the use of ‘testify’ with ‘about’ which is incorrect. Option (4) is unnecessarily verbose. Hence (3).

Multiple choice

An introvert, religious-minded individual who had barely passed law, Gandhi’s rise to the position of eminence by 1928 surprised many, though Gokhale had since the 1900s been extolling Gandhi’s courage.

  1. Gandhi’s rise to the position of eminence by 1928 surprised many

  2. Gandhi’s rise in 1957 to the position of eminence surprised many

  3. Gandhi’s becoming eminent by 1928 surprised many

  4. Gandhi surprised many by rising to the position of eminence by 1928

  5. the position of eminence attained by Gandhi by 1928 surprised many
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

The correct usage of modifiers is being tested here. An introvert, religious-minded individual who had barely passed law is modifying Gandhi, therefore the first word after the comma should be Gandhi which occurs only in 4. Hence (4)

Multiple choice

According to the National Dairy Producers Union, per-capita consumption of milk in India, which has already been approaching 3 litres a year, will achieve 5 litres a year by the middle of this century.

  1. According to the National Dairy Producers Union, per-capita consumption of milk in India, which has already been approaching 3 litres a year, will achieve 5 litres a year by the middle of this century.

  2. Already approaching 3 litres a year in India, the National Dairy Producers Union predicts that per-capita consumption of milk will reach 5 litres a year by the middle of this century.

  3. The National Dairy Producers Union predicts by the middle of this century that per-capita consumption of milk in India, which is already approaching 3 litres a year, will reach 5 litres a year.

  4. By the middle of this century, the National Dairy Producers Union predicts that per-capita consumption of milk in India, having already approached 3 litres a year, will reach 5 litres a year.

  5. According to the National Dairy Producers Union, per-capita consumption of milk in India is already approaching 3 litres a year and will reach 5 litres a year by the middle of this century.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
E Correct answer
Explanation

In option (1) 'which' modifies ‘India’ and is, hence, incorrect. In option (2) 'Already approaching.....' modifies ‘National Dairy Producers Union’ and is, hence, incorrect. Options (3) and (4) change the meaning and state that the prediction itself was made in this century which is not correct according to the context.  Hence (5).

Multiple choice

Directions: Pick out the correct alternative that completes the sentence in indirect narration.

My friend said to me, “Where do you go daily?” My friend :

  1. asked me where I went daily

  2. said to me that where I went daily

  3. told me that where I went daily

  4. asked me that where I go daily
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

In indirect speech for WH-questions, the reporting verb said to becomes asked and the question word where acts as the connector. The sentence is converted from a question to a statement, and the present simple do you go shifts to the past simple went.