compulsory · CSS study notes
7. Active/Passive Voice & Direct/Indirect Narration
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Examiner reports list voice among the four most frequent faults. Voice and narration also appear as "change the voice / narration" items in the 20-mark grammar question.
PART A — VOICE
Four steps
- Object of the active → subject of the passive.
- Use the correct form of be for the tense + past participle (V3).
- Active subject → by + object pronoun (omit if unimportant: by people, by someone).
- Keep the tense unchanged.
Pronoun changes
I → me · we → us · he → him · she → her · they → them · who → by whom
Tense table (verb: build)
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Simple present | They build roads. | Roads are built (by them). |
| Present continuous | They are building a dam. | A dam is being built. |
| Present perfect | They have built a school. | A school has been built. |
| Simple past | They built a bridge. | A bridge was built. |
| Past continuous | They were building a hospital. | A hospital was being built. |
| Past perfect | They had built a mosque. | A mosque had been built. |
| Simple future | They will build a port. | A port will be built. |
| Future perfect | They will have built it. | It will have been built. |
| Modals | We must/can/should build it. | It must/can/should be built. |
| Infinitive | I want to build a house. | I want a house to be built. |
Special cases
| Type | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Imperative (order) | Open the door. | Let the door be opened. |
| Imperative (request) | Please help me. | You are requested to help me. |
| Imperative (advice) | Respect your elders. | You are advised to respect your elders. |
| Yes/No question | Did he write this letter? | Was this letter written by him? |
| Wh- question | Who broke the glass? | By whom was the glass broken? |
| Wh- question | Why did you beat him? | Why was he beaten by you? |
| Two objects | He gave me a book. | I was given a book (by him). / A book was given to me. |
| Negative | He did not invite us. | We were not invited by him. |
| Let | Let him do it. | Let it be done by him. |
| Reporting (people say) | People say that he is corrupt. | It is said that he is corrupt. / He is said to be corrupt. |
| Prepositional verb | They laughed at him. | He was laughed at. |
Not by by: known to, pleased with, surprised at, interested in, filled with, covered with, married to, satisfied with, disappointed with/in.
No passive for: intransitive verbs (arrive, sleep, die, happen), perfect continuous & future continuous tenses (normally), stative have/resemble/lack/suit.
When to prefer the passive in writing
When the doer is unknown or unimportant, or the action matters more (The bill was passed yesterday). Prefer active voice elsewhere — it is clearer and shorter, which helps the précis.
PART B — NARRATION
Reporting-verb choice
| Sentence type | Reporting verb | Joining word |
|---|---|---|
| Statement | said / told (+ object) | that |
| Yes/No question | asked / enquired | if / whether |
| Wh- question | asked / enquired | the wh- word itself |
| Command | ordered / commanded | to (+ V1); not to |
| Request | requested / begged | to |
| Advice | advised | to |
| Exclamation | exclaimed with joy/sorrow/surprise | that |
| Wish / prayer | wished / prayed | that |
| Suggestion (Let's) | suggested / proposed | that we should … |
Changes after a past reporting verb
| Direct | Indirect | Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|---|---|
| present simple | past simple | now | then |
| present continuous | past continuous | today / tonight | that day / that night |
| present perfect | past perfect | tomorrow | the next day / the following day |
| past simple | past perfect | yesterday | the previous day / the day before |
| will / shall | would / should | ago | before |
| can / may | could / might | here / this / these | there / that / those |
| must | had to (obligation) / must | next week | the following week |
No change when: the reporting verb is present or future (He says that he is ill), the statement is a universal truth, or could, would, should, might, ought to already appear.
Worked examples
- He said to me, "I am writing a letter." → He told me that he was writing a letter.
- She said, "I visited Gilgit last year." → She said that she had visited Gilgit the previous year.
- The teacher said, "The earth is round." → The teacher said that the earth is round.
- He said to her, "Do you like mangoes?" → He asked her if she liked mangoes.
- I said to him, "Where are you going?" → I asked him where he was going.
- The officer said to the soldiers, "Fire!" → The officer commanded the soldiers to fire.
- Mother said, "Don't play in the sun." → Mother told us not to play in the sun.
- He said, "Please lend me your pen." → He requested me to lend him my pen.
- She said, "What a beautiful garden!" → She exclaimed that it was a very beautiful garden.
- They said, "May Pakistan prosper!" → They prayed that Pakistan might prosper.
- He said, "Let's go for a walk." → He suggested that we should go for a walk.
- He said, "Alas! I have lost my wallet." → He exclaimed with sorrow that he had lost his wallet.
Exercise — Change the voice / narration
- The police arrested the thief.
- Who wrote Bang-e-Dara?
- Shut the window.
- They are repairing the road.
- He said, "I will come tomorrow."
- She said to me, "Have you finished your work?"
- The captain said, "Stand up, boys."
- He said, "I can speak three languages."
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Key
1 The thief was arrested by the police. · 2 By whom was Bang-e-Dara written? · 3 Let the window be shut. · 4 The road is being repaired (by them). · 5 He said that he would come the next day. · 6 She asked me if I had finished my work. · 7 The captain ordered the boys to stand up. · 8 He said that he could speak three languages.