AN INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH GRAMMAR & LANGUAGE
Exclamatory   :  How beautiful is night!                  Active   : They proposed to hold a meeting.
Assertive     :  Night is very beautiful.                 Passive : It was proposed by them that a meeting should
Exclamatory   :  How sweet the moonlight sleeps upon this             be held
                 bank!                                    Active   : They were conducting him to the chair.
Assertive     : The moonlight very sweetly sleeps upon    Passive : He was being conducted by them to the chair.
                 this bank.                               Active   : The audience highly applauded his speech.
Exclamatory : O that I were young again!                  Passive : His speech was highly applauded.
Assertive     : I wish that I were young again.           Active   : Brutus stabbed Caesar.
Exclamatory : Alas! that youth should pass away!          Passive : Caesar was stabbed by Brutus.
Assertive     : It is sad to think that youth should pass Active   : The people will make him king
                 away.                                    Passive : He will be made king by the people
Affirmative and Negative Sentences Affirmative into       Active   : Who taught you grammer?
Negative
                                                          Passive : By whom was grammar taught you?
Affirmative   : He failed to notice me when he came in.
                                                                      or By, whom were you taught grammar?
Negative      : He did not notice me when he came in
                                                          Active   : The king gave him a reward.
Affirmative   : As soon as he came he made objections.
                                                          Passive : He was given a reward by the king.
Negative      : No sooner did he come than he made
                                                                      or, A reward was given him by King
                 objections.
                                                          Active   : The Romans expected to conquer Carthage
Affirmative   : Only the everning star has as yet ap-
                 peared.                                  Passive : It was expected by the Romans that they would
                                                                      conquer Carthage
Negative      : None but the evening star has yet ap-
                 peared.                                  Passive : It is time to shut up the shop
Affirmative   : He was a man of some intelligence.        Active   : It is time for the shop to be shut up.
Negative      : He was a man of no great intelligence     Passive : The audience loudly cheered the Mayors
                                                                      speech.
Affirmative   : Kolkata is the biggest city in India.
                                                          Active   : The Mayor’s speech was loudly cheered.
Negative      : There is no other city in India as big as
                 Kolkata. or                              Passive into Active
                 There is no bigger city in India than    Passive : The house had been deserted by those who
                 Kolkata.                                             lived in it.
Negative into Affirmative                                 Active   : Those who lived in the house had deserted it.
Negative      : I am not a little tired.                  Passive : I have been shocked at his conduct.
Affirmative   : I am very tired.                          Active   : His conduct has shocked me.
Negative      : There is no rose without a thorn.         Passive : John prayed to the judge that he might be
Affirmative   : Every rose has a thorn.                               pardoned.
Negative      : We did not find the road very bad.        Active   : John prayed that the judge might pardon him.
Affirmative   : We found the road fairly good.            Passive : Everybody was satisfied with him
Negative      : There could be no smoke without fire.     Active   : He satisfied everybody.
Affirmative   : Wherever there is smoke there in fire.    Passive : Our purpose has been served.
Negative      : None but a Hercules could do this.        Active   : It has served our purpose.
Affirmative   : Only a Hercules could do this.            Passive : Caves must be dug for them.
Negative      : A good boy never neglects his lessons.    Active   : Others must dig caves from them.
Affirmative   : A good boy alwasys minds his lessons.     Passive : I was compelled to go.
Negative      : No one can deny that he was a great man.  Active   : Circumstances compelled me to go.
Affirmative   : Everybody must admit that he was a        Passive : Police has arrested the thief.
                 great man.                               Active   : The thief has been arrested.
Active into Passive                                       Simple into Double or Multiple (Compound)
Active    : They proposed to build a dam for irrigation        Simple sentences may be converted into Compound
            purposes.                                     ones by enlarging Words or Phrases into Co-ordinate
Passive : It was proposed by them that a dam should       clauses.
            be built for irrigation purposes.             Simple      : Besides doing his own work, he helped me.
Active    : The Curator of the Museum showed us some      Compound : He not only did his own work, but also he
            ancient coins.                                              helped me.
Passive : We were shown some ancient coins by the         Simple      : Shifting himself along the arm, he rose to
            Curator of the Museum.                                      his feet.
Active    : They laughed at him.                          Compound : He shifted himself along the arm and rose to
Passive : He was laughed at by them                                     his feet.
                                                      SEE–76