Voice, Narration & Sentence Transformation: previous-year questions

Answer: (B) The impossible was made possible by Napoleon.

The active sentence has the pattern subject + verb + object + object complement (Napoleon / made / the impossible / possible). In the passive the object becomes the subject, the verb becomes 'was made' in the same tense, and the complement stays next to the verb: 'The impossible was made possible by Napoleon' (B). Option D changes the tense from simple past to present perfect, and A and C mix up the subject, object and complement. Rule to remember: voice change never alters the tense; simple past active (made) always becomes was/were + past participle.

Answer: (B) My daughter said, "I prefer History over English."

Although the question says "active voice", the task is really to turn the reported statement into direct speech. Because the original verb "expressed" is in the past, the reporting verb must be "said", followed by a comma and the actual words in double quotation marks: My daughter said, "I prefer History over English." Option (A) uses the present "says" and has no comma, (C) uses "tells" with a dash, and (D) uses "told", which needs an object (told me, told us). Rule to remember: "say" can stand without a listener, but "tell" must be followed by the person addressed.

Answer: (D) I asked him, "Why are you not in class?"

A direct question needs inverted word order (auxiliary before subject: "are you"), a comma after the reporting clause, double quotation marks and a question mark inside them: I asked him, "Why are you not in class?" Option (A) has no verb at all, while (B) and (C) keep the statement order "you are", which belongs to indirect speech. Note also the tense: "wasn't" in the reported version goes back to the present "are" in the direct question, because indirect speech had back-shifted the tense.

Answer: (D) He said that he would go there the next day.

In indirect speech after a past reporting verb, the pronoun changes to suit the speaker (I → he), "will" back-shifts to "would", and "tomorrow" becomes "the next day" (or "the following day"): He said that he would go there the next day. Option (A) leaves the pronoun unchanged, (B) uses "told" without an object and keeps "shall", and (C) does not back-shift the tense. Other standard changes: today → that day, yesterday → the previous day, now → then, here → there, this → that, ago → before.

Answer: (D) By whom has the work been done?

In the passive voice the object ('the work') becomes the subject, the verb becomes 'has been done', and the interrogative 'who' changes to 'by whom'. Correct word order for a passive question is: By whom + has + subject + been + past participle, i.e. 'By whom has the work been done?'. Option B has the right words but the wrong order, while A and C keep the active structure.

Answer: (D) Compound

'Do or die' has two independent clauses, (You) do and (you) die, joined by the coordinating conjunction 'or', so it is a compound sentence. A simple sentence has only one clause; a complex sentence has one main clause and at least one subordinate clause; an exclamatory sentence expresses sudden feeling. Coordinators to remember: FANBOYS (for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so). 'Do or Die' (Karo ya Maro) was also Gandhiji's call in the Quit India Movement, 1942.

Answer: (A) (Q) (P) (R) (S)

The full sentence reads: 'It has been established that although a great scientist (Q), Einstein was (P) weak in arithmetic (R) right from his school days (S).' The concessive clause beginning with 'although' must come first, 'Einstein was' needs its complement 'weak in arithmetic' immediately after it, and the time phrase closes the sentence. Option D breaks the link between 'was' and 'weak'; B and C leave 'although a great scientist' hanging.

Answer: (D) When will you meet me?

PSC's final key accepts 'When will you meet me?'. The statement 'I will meet you tomorrow' supplies information about time ('tomorrow'), so the question that draws out exactly this statement as its answer is the when-question; 'where' and 'how' ask for place and manner, which the sentence does not give. 'Will you meet me?' is a yes/no question that drops the time element altogether. Rule of thumb: adverbial of time - when; place - where; manner - how; reason - why. Several unofficial keys chose (C) 'Will you meet me?' as the plain yes/no interrogative form of the sentence; PSC's final answer key gives (D), which is retained here.

Answer: (B) Is not honesty the best policy?

Traditional grammar turns an assertive maxim into a rhetorical question by placing "not" right after the auxiliary: "Is not honesty the best policy?" is the form taught in standard grammar texts.

Answer: (A) He told that grass is green.

Universal truths keep their present tense unchanged in reported speech, regardless of the tense of the reporting verb.

Answer: (A) When Christmas celebrations occur everyone is happy.

A complex sentence needs a subordinate clause; "When Christmas celebrations occur" converts the time phrase into a dependent clause correctly.

Answer: (A) would

"Would" expresses future-in-the-past, which is required after the past-tense main clause "I was sure".

Answer: (C) Orange is sour when tasted.

Since "taste" here is a linking verb describing a quality, the natural passive-style equivalent is "is sour when tasted", not a literal passive.

Answer: (C) Where will you meet me?

The interrogative form must ask about the specific piece of information given in the statement. Since the original sentence specifies a place ("at the train station"), the correct question word is "where", not "when" or "how", which would ask about time or manner instead.

Answer: (B) She saved money for vacation.

A simple sentence has only one finite verb and no joining conjunction. "She saved money for vacation" reduces the purpose clause to a prepositional phrase ("for vacation"), keeping a single clause. Option (A) creates a complex sentence with the subordinating conjunction "as", and option (C) is a compound sentence joined by "and" — both have more than one clause.

Answer: (B) Pancakes are delicious only with syrup.

The original sentence means pancakes are delicious only on the condition that syrup is present. "Pancakes are delicious only with syrup" captures this exact conditional meaning in a single clause. Option (C) introduces a conditional clause with "if", making it complex rather than simple.

Answer: (C) had

"No sooner had + past participle ... than" is the fixed inverted structure used to describe one past event immediately followed by another; it requires the past perfect "had", not "has" (present perfect) or "did".

Answer: (C) They are writing the script.

The present continuous passive "is being written" converts to the present continuous active "are writing", with an unspecified agent supplied as "they": "They are writing the script."