IMAT Reading Skills and General Knowledge · English Language and Grammar
Tenses, Voice, Reported Speech and Conditionals
The verb carries time, aspect and voice; recognising its form lets you spot a passive, report speech correctly and match the two halves of a conditional.
Why this matters
The 2024 ministry paper asked which of five sentences has a passive verb, the only grammar question of the current format so far. The wrong options were active sentences in different tenses, so knowing the tenses is what makes the passive easy to spot.
Concept 1 of 4: The English tenses: time and aspect
Every English verb form combines a time (past, present, future) with an aspect: simple (a fact or a whole event), continuous (an action in progress), perfect (completed before a later point), or perfect continuous (going on up to a point). Look at the helping verbs and at the form of the main verb, and you know the tense.
Definition
- Simple: the base form or the past form (works, worked, will work).
- Continuous (progressive): a form of be + the -ing form (is working).
- Perfect: a form of have + the past participle (has worked).
- Perfect continuous: have been + the -ing form (has been working).
- The past participle of a regular verb ends in -ed (worked, tested). Irregular verbs have their own: written, sung, taken, begun, known.
| Tense | Form | Example | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present simple | base form (+ s after he, she, it) | She studies every evening. | Habits and general truths |
| Present continuous | am, is, are + -ing | She is studying now. | An action in progress now |
| Present perfect | have, has + past participle | She has studied anatomy. | A past action linked to now |
| Present perfect continuous | have, has been + -ing | She has been studying for two hours. | An action continuing up to now |
| Past simple | past form | She studied in Rome. | A finished action at a past time |
| Past continuous | was, were + -ing | She was studying when I called. | An action in progress at a past moment |
| Past perfect | had + past participle | She had studied before the exam began. | An action before another past action |
| Future simple | will + base form | She will study tomorrow. | Predictions and decisions |
| Future continuous | will be + -ing | She will be studying at nine. | In progress at a future moment |
| Future perfect | will have + past participle | She will have finished by June. | Completed before a future time |
The helping verb carries the time; the form of the main verb (-ing or past participle) carries the aspect.
Practice this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
A past participle alone is not a verb
'Written', 'taken' and 'sung' are past participles. They need a helping verb: 'has written' is the present perfect, 'was written' is a passive. The past participle never works as the main verb of a sentence on its own.
Concept 2 of 4: Active and passive voice: recognising and forming the passive in every tense
In the active voice the subject does the action: the nurse checked the chart. In the passive the subject receives it: the chart was checked by the nurse. The passive always uses a form of 'be' followed by a past participle, and it is the 'be' that carries the tense.
Definition
- Passive = a form of be in the tense of the sentence + the past participle of the main verb. The doer may follow after by, or be left out.
- Only verbs that take an object (transitive verbs) can be passive. 'Arrive', 'sleep' and 'happen' cannot.
- To form it: the active object becomes the subject; 'be' takes the tense of the active verb; the old subject moves after 'by' or is dropped.
- Not passive: be + -ing is the active continuous ('was singing'); have + past participle is the active perfect ('has sung'); be + an adjective describes a state ('is tired').
- A passive can sit inside a perfect or continuous tense: 'has been sung', 'is being sung'.
Passive voice
- beam, is, are, was, were, been, being, will be
- past participlethe third form of the verb: checked, written, taken, sung
Worked example
Rewrite each active sentence in the passive.
(1) The lab analyses the samples.
(2) The lab analysed the samples.
(3) The lab is analysing the samples.
(4) The lab has analysed the samples.
(5) The lab will analyse the samples.
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
Be + -ing is not passive
'The choir was singing' is the active past continuous: the choir does the singing. A passive needs a past participle: 'The hymn was being sung'. Do not let the 'was' fool you.
A passive need not contain 'by'
'The bridge was built in 1890' is passive although the builder is never named. Look for a form of be followed by a past participle, not for the word 'by'.
Concept 3 of 4: Reported speech: shifting tenses, pronouns and time words
When you report later what someone said, everything moves one step back. Their 'now' is no longer now, their 'I' is now 'he' or 'she', and their present tense becomes past. Questions turn into statements, and orders turn into 'told someone to'.
Definition
When the reporting verb is in the past (said, told, asked):
- Tenses move back: present simple → past simple; present continuous → past continuous; present perfect and past simple → past perfect; will → would; can → could; may → might; must → had to (or stays must).
- Pronouns change to fit the reporter: I → he or she; my → his or her; you → I or me, when the reporter was the person spoken to.
- Time and place words change: now → then; today → that day; tomorrow → the next day; yesterday → the day before; here → there; this → that; ago → before.
- Questions become statements with normal word order, using if or whether for yes or no questions: 'Are you ready?' → she asked if I was ready.
- Orders use told or asked + to: 'Sit down.' → he told me to sit down. 'Don't touch it.' → he told me not to touch it.
- No backshift is needed after a present reporting verb ('she says') or for a statement that is still true ('He said that water boils at 100 °C').
Worked example
A doctor spoke to you yesterday. Report each sentence, starting 'The doctor said' or 'The doctor asked' or 'The doctor told me'.
(1) 'I am checking your results now.'
(2) 'Did you take the tablets yesterday?'
(3) 'You will feel better tomorrow.'
(4) 'Rest for two days.'
Practice this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
A reported question loses the question word order
'Where is the lab?' becomes 'she asked where the lab was', not 'she asked where was the lab'. A reported question is a statement: subject before verb, and no question mark.
Concept 4 of 4: Conditionals: zero, first, second, third and mixed
A conditional joins a condition (the if-clause) to a result (the main clause). The pair of tenses tells you how real the condition is: always true, likely in the future, imaginary now, or imaginary in the past.
Definition
- The if-clause does not take 'will' or 'would' in standard English: 'If it rains', not 'If it will rain'.
- The two clauses can swap places. Use a comma when the if-clause comes first.
- Unless means 'if not': 'Unless you hurry' = 'If you do not hurry'.
- In formal English the second conditional uses were for every person: 'If I were you'.
- Mixed conditionals join a past condition to a present result, or the other way round.
| Type | If-clause | Main clause | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zero | present simple | present simple | If you heat ice, it melts. | Always true: a general fact |
| First | present simple | will + base form | If it rains, the match will be cancelled. | A real, likely future |
| Second | past simple | would + base form | If I had more time, I would learn Greek. | Unreal or unlikely, now or in the future |
| Third | past perfect | would have + past participle | If she had studied, she would have passed. | Unreal past: it did not happen |
| Mixed | past perfect | would + base form | If he had taken the job, he would live in Milan now. | Past condition, present result |
Practice this conceptself-check · 3 quick reps
No will or would after if
'If it will rain' and 'If I would have known' are common errors. The if-clause takes the present for a real condition, the past for an unreal present and the past perfect for an unreal past. 'Will' and 'would' belong in the main clause.
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.
Formulas (1)
Reference tables (2)
The English tenses: time and aspect10 rows
| Tense | Form | Example | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present simple | base form (+ s after he, she, it) | She studies every evening. | Habits and general truths |
| Present continuous | am, is, are + -ing | She is studying now. | An action in progress now |
| Present perfect | have, has + past participle | She has studied anatomy. | A past action linked to now |
| Present perfect continuous | have, has been + -ing | She has been studying for two hours. | An action continuing up to now |
| Past simple | past form | She studied in Rome. | A finished action at a past time |
| Past continuous | was, were + -ing | She was studying when I called. | An action in progress at a past moment |
| Past perfect | had + past participle | She had studied before the exam began. | An action before another past action |
| Future simple | will + base form | She will study tomorrow. | Predictions and decisions |
| Future continuous | will be + -ing | She will be studying at nine. | In progress at a future moment |
| Future perfect | will have + past participle | She will have finished by June. | Completed before a future time |
The helping verb carries the time; the form of the main verb (-ing or past participle) carries the aspect.
Conditionals: zero, first, second, third and mixed5 rows
| Type | If-clause | Main clause | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Zero | present simple | present simple | If you heat ice, it melts. | Always true: a general fact |
| First | present simple | will + base form | If it rains, the match will be cancelled. | A real, likely future |
| Second | past simple | would + base form | If I had more time, I would learn Greek. | Unreal or unlikely, now or in the future |
| Third | past perfect | would have + past participle | If she had studied, she would have passed. | Unreal past: it did not happen |
| Mixed | past perfect | would + base form | If he had taken the job, he would live in Milan now. | Past condition, present result |
Watch out for (5)
- A past participle alone is not a verb→ The English tenses: time and aspect
- Be + -ing is not passive→ Active and passive voice: recognising and forming the passive in every tense
- A passive need not contain 'by'→ Active and passive voice: recognising and forming the passive in every tense
- A reported question loses the question word order→ Reported speech: shifting tenses, pronouns and time words
- No will or would after if→ Conditionals: zero, first, second, third and mixed
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