mpt · CSS study notes
Part 3 — Negative, Interrogative & Negative Questions
The central rule
When changing voice:
- keep the sentence negative if it is negative;
- keep the sentence interrogative if it is a question;
- preserve the original tense;
- place not after the first helping verb;
- maintain question word order.
1. Negative sentences
Active pattern
Subject + helping verb + not + main verb + object
Passive pattern
Object + helping verb/form of be + not + passive structure + optional by + doer
2. Present simple negative
Active
She does not write letters.
Step 1 — Remove “does” mentally
The underlying tense is present simple.
Step 2 — Use present-simple passive
am/is/are + not + V3
Passive
Letters are not written by her.
Important
Do not write:
Letters do not written by her. ❌
The passive uses are not written.
3. Past simple negative
Active
She did not write the letter.
Passive formula
was/were + not + V3
Passive
The letter was not written by her.
Incorrect
The letter did not written by her. ❌
4. Present continuous negative
Active
They are not repairing the road.
Passive formula
am/is/are + not + being + V3
Passive
The road is not being repaired by them.
5. Past continuous negative
Active
They were not questioning the suspect.
Passive
The suspect was not being questioned by them.
6. Present perfect negative
Active
She has not completed the work.
Passive formula
has/have + not + been + V3
Passive
The work has not been completed by her.
7. Past perfect negative
Active
They had not announced the result.
Passive
The result had not been announced by them.
8. Future negative
Active
They will not hold the meeting.
Passive
The meeting will not be held by them.
9. Modal negative
Active
You must not break the rules.
Passive
The rules must not be broken.
Active
They cannot solve the problem.
Passive
The problem cannot be solved by them.
🧠
Negative position
Put not after the first helping verb:
is not written
was not written
has not been written
will not be written
must not be written
10. Yes/no questions
In a passive question, place the first helping verb before the new subject.
Present simple with do/does
Active
Does she write letters?
Passive
Are letters written by her?
Does disappears because the passive now uses are.
Active
Does he clean the room?
Passive
Is the room cleaned by him?
11. Simple past questions with did
Active
Did she write the letter?
Passive
Was the letter written by her?
Incorrect
Did the letter written by her? ❌
Was written the letter by her? ❌
12. Present continuous questions
Active
Is she writing the letter?
Passive
Is the letter being written by her?
Active
Are they building the houses?
Passive
Are the houses being built by them?
13. Past continuous questions
Active
Was she preparing the report?
Passive
Was the report being prepared by her?
14. Present perfect questions
Active
Has she completed the assignment?
Passive
Has the assignment been completed by her?
Active
Have they announced the results?
Passive
Have the results been announced by them?
15. Past perfect questions
Active
Had they completed the project?
Passive
Had the project been completed by them?
16. Future questions
Active
Will they announce the result?
Passive
Will the result be announced by them?
17. Modal questions
Active
Can she solve the problem?
Passive
Can the problem be solved by her?
Active
Should we follow these rules?
Passive
Should these rules be followed by us?
18. WH-questions when the WH-word is not the subject
Keep the question word at the beginning.
Then use normal passive question order.
What
Active
What did she write?
Passive
What was written by her?
Why
Active
Why did they cancel the meeting?
Passive
Why was the meeting cancelled by them?
When
Active
When will they announce the result?
Passive
When will the result be announced?
Where
Active
Where did they find the documents?
Passive
Where were the documents found?
How
Active
How did she solve the problem?
Passive
How was the problem solved by her?
19. Questions beginning with “who” as the doer
When who is the active subject, the formal passive form uses by whom.
Active
Who wrote this letter?
Passive
By whom was this letter written?
Active
Who broke the window?
Passive
By whom was the window broken?
Active
Who has completed the work?
Passive
By whom has the work been completed?
MPT note
Formal examinations usually prefer by whom.
Informal English may say:
Who was this letter written by?
The formal MPT option is normally:
By whom was this letter written?
20. “Whom” as the object
Active
Whom did the teacher praise?
The object is whom.
Passive
Who was praised by the teacher?
The object pronoun becomes the subject pronoun who.
21. Negative yes/no questions
Preserve both the question and the negative.
Present simple
Active
Does she not write letters?
Passive
Are letters not written by her?
Contracted active:
Doesn't she write letters?
Passive:
Aren't letters written by her?
Simple past
Active
Did he not complete the work?
Passive
Was the work not completed by him?
Contracted passive:
Wasn't the work completed by him?
Present perfect
Active
Has she not submitted the form?
Passive
Has the form not been submitted by her?
Contracted:
Hasn't the form been submitted by her?
Future
Active
Will they not announce the result?
Passive
Will the result not be announced by them?
Contracted:
Won't the result be announced by them?
Modal
Active
Can they not solve the problem?
Passive
Can the problem not be solved by them?
Contracted:
Can't the problem be solved by them?
22. Negative WH-questions
Active
Why did they not inform us?
Passive
Why were we not informed by them?
Active
Why has she not completed the report?
Passive
Why has the report not been completed by her?
Active
When will they not use this road?
This sentence is unusual in meaning, but its passive structure is:
When will this road not be used by them?
23. Question conversion checklist
Before selecting an MPT option, check:
- Is the question word still present?
- Is the first helping verb before the new subject?
- Is the tense unchanged?
- Is being present for continuous tense?
- Is been present for perfect tense?
- Is the main verb V3?
- Is not in the correct position?
- Have the pronouns changed correctly?
24. Solved MPT-style questions
Question 1
Change into passive:
Did the police arrest the thief?
A. Did the thief arrest by the police?
B. Was the thief arrested by the police?
C. Was arrested the thief by the police?
D. Has the thief been arrested by the police?
Answer: B
The active tense is simple past, so use was + V3.
Question 2
Change into passive:
She has not completed the assignment.
A. The assignment has not completed by her.
B. The assignment was not completed by her.
C. The assignment has not been completed by her.
D. The assignment is not completed by her.
Answer: C
Present perfect passive is has/have been + V3.
Question 3
Change into passive:
Why did they cancel the match?
A. Why the match was cancelled?
B. Why was the match cancelled?
C. Why did the match cancelled?
D. Why has the match cancelled?
Answer: B
Keep why first and use passive question order.
Question 4
Change into passive:
Who wrote this poem?
A. By whom this poem was written?
B. Who was written this poem by?
C. By whom was this poem written?
D. This poem was written by whom?
Answer: C
Formal passive questions beginning with the doer use by whom.
Question 5
Change into passive:
Are they repairing the bridge?
A. Is the bridge repaired by them?
B. Is the bridge being repaired by them?
C. Does the bridge being repaired by them?
D. Has the bridge been repaired by them?
Answer: B
Present continuous passive is is/am/are being + V3.
Negative sentence summary table
| Tense | Negative active | Negative passive | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present simple | She does not write letters. | Letters are not written by her. | Remove does; use are not + V3. |
| Simple past | She did not write the letter. | The letter was not written by her. | Remove did; use was not + V3. |
| Present continuous | They are not repairing the road. | The road is not being repaired by them. | Keep not after is and include being. |
| Past continuous | They were not questioning him. | He was not being questioned by them. | Use was not being + V3. |
| Present perfect | She has not completed the work. | The work has not been completed by her. | Place not after has; keep been. |
| Past perfect | They had not announced the result. | The result had not been announced by them. | Use had not been + V3. |
| Future simple | They will not hold the meeting. | The meeting will not be held by them. | Use will not be + V3. |
| Modal | You must not break the rules. | The rules must not be broken. | Use modal + not + be + V3. |
| Perfect modal | She should not have ignored the warning. | The warning should not have been ignored by her. | Use modal + not + have been + V3. |
Interrogative sentence summary table
| Question type | Active question | Passive question | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present simple | Does she write letters? | Are letters written by her? | Does disappears; are begins the question. |
| Simple past | Did she write the letter? | Was the letter written by her? | Did disappears; use was + subject + V3. |
| Present continuous | Is she writing the letter? | Is the letter being written by her? | Keep is first; insert being. |
| Past continuous | Were they repairing the roads? | Were the roads being repaired by them? | Use were + subject + being + V3. |
| Present perfect | Has she completed the work? | Has the work been completed by her? | Use has + subject + been + V3. |
| Past perfect | Had they announced the result? | Had the result been announced by them? | Use had + subject + been + V3. |
| Future | Will they hold the meeting? | Will the meeting be held by them? | Use will + subject + be + V3. |
| Modal | Can she solve the problem? | Can the problem be solved by her? | Use modal + subject + be + V3. |
| Why-question | Why did they cancel the match? | Why was the match cancelled? | Keep why first, then use passive question order. |
| Who as doer | Who wrote this letter? | By whom was this letter written? | Formal MPT form uses by whom. |
Negative-interrogative summary table
| Tense | Negative active question | Negative passive question | Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present simple | Does she not write letters? | Are letters not written by her? | The negative remains after the passive auxiliary. |
| Simple past | Did he not complete the work? | Was the work not completed by him? | Use was + subject + not + V3. |
| Present continuous | Are they not repairing the bridge? | Is the bridge not being repaired by them? | Keep both not and being. |
| Present perfect | Has she not submitted the form? | Has the form not been submitted by her? | Use has + subject + not been + V3. |
| Future | Will they not announce the result? | Will the result not be announced by them? | Use will + subject + not be + V3. |
| Modal | Can they not solve the problem? | Can the problem not be solved by them? | Use modal + subject + not be + V3. |
| Negative WH-question | Why did they not inform us? | Why were we not informed by them? | Keep the WH-word first and preserve the negative. |
⚡
Question order
Question word + first helping verb + new subject + remaining passive structure
Example:
Why + was + the match + cancelled?