CDS English · Grammar
Changing the voice and reporting speech
Two transformations. Active to passive: the object becomes the subject and the tense stays. Direct to reported speech: the tense moves back, and pronouns and time words change.
Why this matters
CDS papers often set these transformations in a block. The four options usually differ in one small change: a tense, a pronoun, 'today' kept or changed. Check every change in order, and the right option is usually the only one left standing.
Concept 1 of 4: Active to passive: keep the tense, swap subject and object
In the active voice the doer comes first: The cat chased the mouse. In the passive the thing acted on comes first: The mouse was chased by the cat. The tense does not change. Only the form of the verb does.
Definition
The terms:
- Active voice: the subject does the action. Passive voice: the subject receives the action.
- Agent: the doer, placed after 'by' in the passive.
- V3: the past participle (written, answered, won).
The steps:
- Find the object of the active verb. It becomes the new subject.
- Keep the tense: write the matching form of 'be', then V3.
- Make 'be' agree with the new subject: is/are, was/were, has/have.
- Put the old subject after 'by'. Drop it if it adds nothing (by someone, by people).
The forms of 'be' by tense:
- Present simple: is/are + V3. Past simple: was/were + V3.
- Present continuous: is/are being + V3. Past continuous: was/were being + V3.
- Present perfect: has/have been + V3. Future: will be + V3.
Worked example
Change to the passive: The police were questioning the driver.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2018 · CDS (II) 2018 — English · Q117Easy
Example 1 · Grammar · Voice and Reported Speech
Directions: choose the correct passive-voice statement
All the examinees have answered one particular question in the long answer writing section. Select the correct passive voice statement.
Changing the tense
The passive keeps the tense of the active. 'Elect' (present) becomes 'is elected', not 'was elected' or 'has been elected'. Two of the four options usually differ only in tense.
Has with a plural new subject
'Be' agrees with the new subject. 'A dozen novels and a number of poetry collections have been authored', not 'has'. Look at the new subject, not the old one.
Reversing who did what
'The members of the parliament are elected by their group leader' swaps the doer and the receiver. The object of the active verb, and only it, becomes the new subject.
Cause and effect in a completion
'Many accidents cause careless driving' is backwards. Careless driving is the cause, so: Many accidents are caused by careless driving. Ask who or what does the action.
Concept 2 of 4: Commands and 'is said to' in the passive
A command has no stated subject, so its passive needs a frame: Let + object + be + V3. Advice or a duty is shown with 'should be'. And 'They say he is ...' has a short passive: He is said to be ...
Definition
The patterns:
- Command (imperative): Let + object + be + V3. Close the gate becomes Let the gate be closed.
- Advice or duty: object + should be + V3. Help the poor becomes The poor should be helped.
- Reporting with say: They say that he is rich becomes He is said to be rich. They said that he was rich becomes He was said to be rich.
- The tense of 'say' decides the tense of the rest: past said goes with was said, and the active form keeps 'was'.
| Active form | Passive form | Rule | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shut the door. | Let the door be shut. | Command: Let + object + be + V3 | 2018 (II), 2024 (II) The same item was set in 2018 (II) and again in 2024 (II). |
| Respect your elders. | Elders should be respected. | Advice or duty: should be + V3 | 2024 (II) |
| They said he was a good cricketer. | He was said to be a good cricketer. | Past 'said': was said to be. Going back to active, 'was' stays 'was'. | 2024 (II) |
A command keeps its force in the passive: Let ... be, or should be. 'Elders are respected' is a statement, not a command.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2018 · CDS (II) 2018 — English · Q119Easy
Example 2 · Grammar · Voice and Reported Speech
Directions: choose the correct passive-voice statement
Shut the door. Select the correct passive voice statement.
Dropping 'Let'
'The window be opened' is not a complete sentence. A command in the passive needs Let in front: Let the window be opened.
Turning a command into a statement
'Elders are respected' reports a fact; the order in 'Respect your elders' is lost. Keep the force of the command with should be or Let ... be.
The wrong tense after 'said'
'He was said to be ...' goes back to 'They said he was ...'. 'They said he is ...' breaks the past sequence.
Concept 3 of 4: Reported statements: shift tense, pronouns and time words; universal truths stay
Reported speech tells what someone said without quoting them. Because the speaking now lies in the past, each tense moves one step back, and words like I, we, now and today change to fit the new speaker. A fact that is always true keeps its present tense.
Definition
The terms:
- Reporting verb: the verb that introduces the speech: said, told, asked.
- Backshift: moving each tense one step into the past after a past reporting verb.
- Universal truth: a fact that is always true. It keeps the present.
The tense steps:
- Present becomes past: is becomes was, need becomes needed.
- Present perfect becomes past perfect: have received becomes had received.
- Past becomes past perfect: sowed becomes had sown.
- Will becomes would; can becomes could.
The other changes:
- Pronouns follow the reporter's point of view: we becomes they, our becomes their, I becomes he or she.
- Time and place words: now becomes then, today becomes that day, tomorrow becomes the next day, yesterday becomes the day before, last week becomes the week before, this becomes that, here becomes there.
- Said to + person becomes told + person + that.
- A universal truth keeps the present: The teacher said that the earth moves round the sun.
Worked example
Report this: Meena said to me, "I am leaving for Goa tomorrow."
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2020 · CDS (I) 2020 — English · Q113Moderate
Example 3 · Grammar · Voice and Reported Speech
Directions: choose correct indirect-speech version
Raj said to Sheela, "The Sun rises in the east."
Half a change
Options often change the tense but keep 'our' or 'now', or change the pronoun but keep 'this season'. Check every word that can change: tense, each pronoun, each time word.
Backshifting a universal truth
'The teacher said that the earth moved round the sun' is wrong. A fact that is always true keeps the present: moves.
Said + person + that
'The manager said his colleagues that ...' is wrong. With a listener, use told + person + that; 'said' needs 'to' before the person.
Asked for a statement
'Asked' reports a question. A statement is reported with said or told. 'He asked her that the train was late' is wrong.
Concept 4 of 4: Reporting verbs by sentence type: questions, requests, orders, exclamations, wishes
The reporting verb changes with the type of sentence. A question is reported with asked; a polite request with requested; a command with ordered; an exclamation with exclaimed; a blessing with blessed or prayed. After 'asked', the words go back to the order of a statement.
Definition
The terms:
- Sentence types: statement, question, request, command, exclamation, wish.
- Statement order: subject before verb (where she had been), not question order (where had she been).
The patterns:
- Yes/no question: asked + if or whether + statement order.
- Wh-question: asked + wh-word + statement order.
- Polite request (Could you please ...?): requested + person + to + verb. Drop 'please'.
- Command: ordered or commanded + person + to + verb.
- Exclamation (What a ...! How ...!): exclaimed + that + statement.
- Wish or blessing (May you ...!): blessed or prayed + that + would or might.
- Backshift and the time-word changes still apply: today becomes that day, last evening becomes the previous evening.
| Sentence type | Reporting verb | Pattern | Tested in | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Command | ordered | ordered + person + to + verb | Move forward and face the target now. March forward and aim at the peak of the hill today. | 2018 (II), 2020 (I) |
| Polite request: Could you please ...? | requested | requested + person + to + verb, with no 'please' | Turn off the switch. Close the door. Pass the bill this week. | 2018 (II), 2020 (I) |
| Wh-question | asked | asked + wh-word + subject + verb | Where were your ideas when we faced the troubles last week? What is the way to solve the question? Where were you last evening? | 2018 (II), 2020 (I) |
| Yes/no question | asked | asked + if + subject + verb | Will you go with me for a cup of tea in the evening today? | 2018 (II) |
| Exclamation | exclaimed | exclaimed + that + statement | What a scintillating beauty it is! | 2020 (I) |
| Wish: May you ... | blessed / prayed | blessed + person + that + would | May you live long with all good things of life. | 2020 (I) |
Name the sentence type first. It decides the reporting verb before you check any tense.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2020 · CDS (I) 2020 — English · Q115Moderate
Example 4 · Grammar · Voice and Reported Speech
Directions: choose correct indirect-speech version
The Captain said to the soldiers, "March forward and aim at the peak of the hill today."
Keeping question order
'The lady asked her maid where had she been' keeps the order of a question. Reported questions use statement order: where she had been.
Told for a question
'Told' introduces a statement, not a question. 'Rahul told his teacher what the way was' is wrong because Rahul was asking. Use asked.
Ordered versus requested
Politeness decides the verb. 'Could you please ...?' is a request, so requested. 'Get out of my office!' from an angry manager is an order, so ordered. Swapping them is a standard wrong option.
Keeping 'please' or 'what a'
'Requested his friend to please close the door' keeps a word the reporting verb already carries. 'Exclaimed what a beauty it was' keeps the exclamation form. Drop both.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (2)
Commands and 'is said to' in the passive3 rows
| Active form | Passive form | Rule | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shut the door. | Let the door be shut. | Command: Let + object + be + V3 | 2018 (II), 2024 (II) The same item was set in 2018 (II) and again in 2024 (II). |
| Respect your elders. | Elders should be respected. | Advice or duty: should be + V3 | 2024 (II) |
| They said he was a good cricketer. | He was said to be a good cricketer. | Past 'said': was said to be. Going back to active, 'was' stays 'was'. | 2024 (II) |
A command keeps its force in the passive: Let ... be, or should be. 'Elders are respected' is a statement, not a command.
Reporting verbs by sentence type: questions, requests, orders, exclamations, wishes6 rows
| Sentence type | Reporting verb | Pattern | Tested in | Sitting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Command | ordered | ordered + person + to + verb | Move forward and face the target now. March forward and aim at the peak of the hill today. | 2018 (II), 2020 (I) |
| Polite request: Could you please ...? | requested | requested + person + to + verb, with no 'please' | Turn off the switch. Close the door. Pass the bill this week. | 2018 (II), 2020 (I) |
| Wh-question | asked | asked + wh-word + subject + verb | Where were your ideas when we faced the troubles last week? What is the way to solve the question? Where were you last evening? | 2018 (II), 2020 (I) |
| Yes/no question | asked | asked + if + subject + verb | Will you go with me for a cup of tea in the evening today? | 2018 (II) |
| Exclamation | exclaimed | exclaimed + that + statement | What a scintillating beauty it is! | 2020 (I) |
| Wish: May you ... | blessed / prayed | blessed + person + that + would | May you live long with all good things of life. | 2020 (I) |
Name the sentence type first. It decides the reporting verb before you check any tense.
Watch out for (15)
- Changing the tense→ Active to passive: keep the tense, swap subject and object
- Has with a plural new subject→ Active to passive: keep the tense, swap subject and object
- Reversing who did what→ Active to passive: keep the tense, swap subject and object
- Cause and effect in a completion→ Active to passive: keep the tense, swap subject and object
- Dropping 'Let'→ Commands and 'is said to' in the passive
- Turning a command into a statement→ Commands and 'is said to' in the passive
- The wrong tense after 'said'→ Commands and 'is said to' in the passive
- Half a change→ Reported statements: shift tense, pronouns and time words; universal truths stay
- Backshifting a universal truth→ Reported statements: shift tense, pronouns and time words; universal truths stay
- Said + person + that→ Reported statements: shift tense, pronouns and time words; universal truths stay
- Asked for a statement→ Reported statements: shift tense, pronouns and time words; universal truths stay
- Keeping question order→ Reporting verbs by sentence type: questions, requests, orders, exclamations, wishes
- Told for a question→ Reporting verbs by sentence type: questions, requests, orders, exclamations, wishes
- Ordered versus requested→ Reporting verbs by sentence type: questions, requests, orders, exclamations, wishes
- Keeping 'please' or 'what a'→ Reporting verbs by sentence type: questions, requests, orders, exclamations, wishes
Test yourself on Grammar
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