Grammar & Verbal Ability • Topic 4 of 6

Active/Passive Voice & Narration

Transformation questions -- change this sentence from active to passive, or from direct to indirect speech -- are a CTET staple because they test whether a teacher truly controls sentence structure. For VOICE, the move is mechanical once learned: the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive, the verb becomes the matching form of 'be' + the past participle (V3), and the old subject moves to a 'by' phrase (often dropped if unimportant). 'The teacher praised the boy' becomes 'The boy was praised (by the teacher)'. Keep the tense the same -- present perfect active maps to present perfect passive (has eaten -> has been eaten). For NARRATION, reporting another's exact words as indirect speech needs three shifts: back-shift the tense one step into the past when the reporting verb is past (am -> was, will -> would, can -> could), change pronouns to match the new speaker's point of view, and shift time/place words (now -> then, today -> that day, here -> there, this -> that). Questions become statements introduced by asked/enquired (Wh- keep the question word; yes/no use if/whether), and commands use a 'to'-infinitive after told/ordered/requested.

✅ Solved examples

1. Change to passive voice: 'The mason is building a wall.'
'A wall is being built (by the mason).' Present continuous active -> 'is/are being + V3' in the passive; object 'a wall' becomes the subject.
2. Change to passive voice: 'Somebody has stolen my bicycle.'
'My bicycle has been stolen.' Present perfect maps to 'has/have been + V3'; the vague agent 'somebody' is dropped.
3. Change to indirect speech: She said, 'I am writing a letter now.'
She said that she was writing a letter then. Back-shift 'am' -> 'was', change 'I' -> 'she', and 'now' -> 'then'.
4. Change to indirect speech: He said to me, 'Please help me.'
He requested me to help him. A polite command/request uses 'requested + object + to-infinitive'; 'me' (his) -> 'him'.

✏️ Practice — try these, take hints as needed

1. Change to passive voice: 'The children are flying kites.'
Object "kites" becomes the subject.
Present continuous passive = is/are being + V3.
Kites are being flown (by the children).
2. Change to passive voice: 'Who wrote this letter?'
Keep it a question.
A "who" question becomes "By whom...".
By whom was this letter written?
3. Change to indirect speech: The teacher said to the students, 'Do not make noise.'
A negative command uses "not to".
Reporting verb: ordered / told.
The teacher ordered/told the students not to make noise.
4. Change to indirect speech: He said, 'I will come tomorrow.'
"will" back-shifts to "would".
"tomorrow" -> "the next day".
He said that he would come the next day.

📝 Topic test — 8 questions

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