Voice and Narration
Overview
Voice and Narration form a core grammar component in the WB TET Language II (English) paper. These topics test your ability to transform sentences while preserving meaning—a skill essential for both the exam and effective English teaching. Questions typically ask you to convert active sentences to passive (or vice versa) and to change direct speech into indirect speech (reported speech).
Mastery here also supports comprehension passages where understanding reported speech is crucial. The key is learning the mechanical rules thoroughly, then practising until transformation becomes automatic.
Key Concepts
- Voice refers to whether the subject performs the action (active) or receives the action (passive). Only transitive verbs (verbs with objects) can be changed to passive voice.
- Active Voice: Subject → Verb → Object (e.g., "The teacher explains the lesson.")
- Passive Voice: Object becomes subject → auxiliary "be" + past participle → original subject becomes agent with "by" (e.g., "The lesson is explained by the teacher.")
- Direct Speech quotes the exact words spoken, enclosed in quotation marks (e.g., She said, "I am tired.")
- Indirect Speech (Reported Speech) conveys the meaning without quoting exact words, requiring changes in pronouns, tenses, and time expressions (e.g., She said that she was tired.)
- Reporting Verb (said, told, asked) determines how the reported clause is structured—"told" needs an object; "said" does not.
- Backshift of Tense: When the reporting verb is in past tense, the tense in the reported clause typically shifts one step back (present → past, past → past perfect).
Formulas / Key Facts
Voice Transformation Table
| Active Tense | Passive Structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Present | is/am/are + V3 | writes → is written |
| Simple Past | was/were + V3 | wrote → was written |
| Present Continuous | is/am/are + being + V3 | is writing → is being written |
| Past Continuous | was/were + being + V3 | was writing → was being written |
| Present Perfect | has/have + been + V3 | has written → has been written |
| Past Perfect | had + been + V3 | had written → had been written |
| Simple Future | will + be + V3 | will write → will be written |
| Modals | modal + be + V3 | can write → can be written |
Narration Tense Shift Rules
| Direct Speech | Indirect Speech |
|---|---|
| Simple Present | Simple Past |
| Present Continuous | Past Continuous |
| Present Perfect | Past Perfect |
| Simple Past | Past Perfect |
| will | would |
| can | could |
| may | might |
Pronoun and Time/Place Changes
| Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|
| I, we | he/she, they (based on context) |
| you | he/she/I (context-dependent) |
| this | that |
| these | those |
| here | there |
| now | then |
| today | that day |
| yesterday | the previous day |
| tomorrow | the next day / the following day |
| ago | before |
Sentence Type Changes in Narration
- Statements: Use "that" after reporting verb
- Questions: Use "if/whether" (yes/no) or wh-word (wh-questions); change to statement word order
- Commands/Requests: Use "to + infinitive" (ordered/requested/told + object + to + verb)
- Exclamations: Use "exclaimed that" with appropriate adjective
Worked Examples
Example 1: Voice (Simple Past)
Active: The students completed the project. Step 1: Identify object → "the project" Step 2: Object becomes subject → "The project" Step 3: Add was/were + V3 → "was completed" Step 4: Add "by" + original subject → "by the students" Passive: The project was completed by the students.
Example 2: Voice (Modal)
Active: They can solve this problem. Step 1: Object → "this problem" Step 2: Modal + be + V3 → "can be solved" Passive: This problem can be solved by them.
Example 3: Narration (Statement)
Direct: He said, "I am learning English." Step 1: Remove quotation marks, add "that" Step 2: Change pronoun: I → he Step 3: Backshift tense: am learning → was learning Indirect: He said that he was learning English.
Example 4: Narration (Question)
Direct: She asked, "Where do you live?" Step 1: Use wh-word, no "that" Step 2: Change to statement order (subject before verb) Step 3: Pronoun: you → I (if speaker is being asked) Step 4: Tense shift: do live → lived Indirect: She asked where I lived.
Example 5: Narration (Command)
Direct: The teacher said, "Open your books." Step 1: Use "told/ordered" + object + to + verb Step 2: Change pronoun: your → their/our (context) Indirect: The teacher told the students to open their books.
Common Mistakes
- Using passive with intransitive verbs → Wrong: "He was slept." Fix: Only transitive verbs (with objects) form passive. "Sleep" has no object.
- Forgetting tense backshift → Wrong: "He said that he is busy." Fix: When reporting verb is past, shift tense: "He said that he was busy."
- Retaining question structure in indirect questions → Wrong: "She asked where do I live." Fix: Use statement word order: "She asked where I lived."
- Omitting "by" phrase when needed for meaning → Wrong: "The window was broken" (when doer matters). Fix: Include agent if important: "The window was broken by the children."
- Confusing "said" and "told" → Wrong: "He said me that..." Fix: "Told" requires an object; "said" does not. Use "He told me that..." or "He said that..."
- No tense change for universal truths → Students sometimes backshift when they should not. "The teacher said, 'The sun rises in the east'" → "The teacher said that the sun rises in the east." (No change—universal truth)
Quick Reference
- Passive = Object + be (tense-matched) + past participle + by + subject
- Only transitive verbs can become passive
- Reporting verb in past → backshift the reported tense by one step
- Yes/no questions use "if" or "whether" in indirect form
- Commands become: told/ordered + object + to + infinitive
- Universal truths and habitual facts do not require tense backshift