English Comprehension PYQs

The correct answer is Mary baked this cake for your birthday.

Key Points

• The original sentence is in the Passive Voice, specifically in the Simple Past Tense, as indicated by the structure was + past participle (baked).
• To convert a Simple Past passive sentence into the Active Voice, the object of the passive sentence (Mary) becomes the subject of the active sentence.
• The verb form must change from was baked to the simple past form of the main verb, which is baked (V2).
• The subject of the passive sentence (This cake) becomes the direct object in the active sentence.
• The phrase for your birthday remains as a prepositional adjunct at the end of the sentence to maintain the original meaning.
• Following the formula Subject + V2 + Object, the correct transformation is Mary baked this cake for your birthday.

 Additional Information

• Verb Tense Consistency:
• Has baked represents the Present Perfect Tense; it would correspond to the passive form has been baked.
• Bakes represents the Simple Present Tense; it would correspond to the passive form is baked.
• Has been baking represents the Present Perfect Continuous Tense, which focuses on an ongoing action rather than a completed one.
• Voice Rules:
• In Active Voice, the subject performs the action.
• In Passive Voice, the subject receives the action, and the agent is usually introduced by the preposition by.

The correct answer is A compelling novel was written by the author, weaving together multiple storylines that captivated readers until the last page..

Key Points

• The original sentence is in the Active Voice and uses the Simple Past Tense (indicated by the verb wrote).
• To convert a Simple Past sentence into Passive Voice, the structure follows: Subject (Object of active sentence) + was/were + V3 (Past Participle) + by + Object (Subject of active sentence).
• The Object of the active sentence is a compelling novel, which is singular, thus requiring the auxiliary verb was.
• The Past Participle (V3) form of the verb write is written.
• The phrase weaving together multiple storylines... is a participial phrase that acts as a modifier and remains unchanged in its structure while describing the novel in the passive construction. Hence, the second option is correct.

 Additional Information

• Analysis of Incorrect Options:
• Option 1: Uses has been written, which is the Present Perfect Passive. This changes the original tense from Simple Past.
• Option 3: Swaps the Subject and Object incorrectly by stating the reader wrote the novel, which alters the semantic meaning of the sentence.
• Option 4: Uses was writing, which creates a Past Continuous Active structure and implies the novel performed the action of writing the author, making it logically incorrect.
• Tense Conversion Rules:
• Simple Present: becomes is/am/are + V3.
• Simple Past: becomes was/were + V3.
• Simple Future: becomes will be + V3.
• Continuous Tenses: always require the addition of being (e.g., was being written).

The correct answer is My grandmother needs.

Key Points

• The sentence requires a possessive adjective rather than a possessive pronoun to modify the noun grandmother. My is a possessive adjective used before a noun, whereas Mine is a possessive pronoun used to replace a noun.
• The subject grandmother is a third-person singular noun; therefore, according to the rules of subject-verb agreement in the Simple Present Tense, the verb must take the -s/es suffix.
• The base verb need must be transformed into needs to correctly agree with the singular subject grandmother.
• Combining these grammatical requirements, the phrase must use the possessive adjective My followed by the singular verb form needs to be grammatically accurate.

 Additional Information

• Possessive Adjectives vs. Possessive Pronouns:
• Possessive Adjectives (my, your, his, her, its, our, their) are always followed by a noun (e.g., my book, her garden).
• Possessive Pronouns (mine, yours, his, hers, its, ours, theirs) stand alone and do not precede a noun (e.g., The book is mine).
• Subject-Verb Agreement:
• In the Present Indefinite Tense, if the subject is He, She, It or any singular noun, the first form of the verb takes s or es.
• For plural subjects and pronouns like I, You, We, They, the base form of the verb remains unchanged (e.g., They need).

The correct answer is Option 2.

 

Key Points

• The error lies in the phrase 'I was with the impression' in part 2 of the sentence.
• The correct idiomatic expression is 'under the impression' rather than 'with the impression'.
• The preposition 'under' is standardly used with 'impression' to mean believing something that is perhaps not true.
• Thus, the error is located in the prepositional usage of the sentence.

Therefore, the correct answer is 2.

 

Correct Sentence: 'I was under the impression that I had returned the books that I had borrowed from you.'

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: 'that I had returned' – This uses the past perfect tense correctly to indicate an action completed before another past point.
• Option 3: 'the books that I had' – This part correctly identifies the objects (books) and begins the relative clause.
• Option 4: 'borrowed from you' – This completes the past perfect construction ('had borrowed') and correctly identifies the source.
• In English, fixed phrases or idioms must use specific prepositions to maintain their meaning and grammatical validity.

The correct answer is Option 3.

 

Key Points

• Direct Speech: Mother said to Rahul, ‘Don’t forget that the last date for geo-tagging our apartment is tomorrow.’
• Key Conversions:
• Reporting Verb: The phrase ‘said to Rahul, "Don’t forget"’ functions as a reminder. Therefore, the reporting verb ‘reminded’ is the most appropriate choice to convey the intent.
• Tense Change: The present tense ‘is’ in the direct speech changes to the past tense ‘was’ in indirect speech because the reporting verb is in the past tense.
• Pronoun Change: The first-person plural possessive pronoun ‘our’ changes to the third-person plural ‘their’ to reflect the perspective of the reporter.
• Time Adverbial Change: The word ‘tomorrow’ changes to ‘the next day’ or ‘the following day’ in indirect speech.
• Structure: When using ‘reminded’ followed by a ‘that-clause’, the negative command ‘Don’t forget’ is absorbed into the meaning of the verb ‘reminded’, leading to a statement format: ‘Mother reminded Rahul that...’.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 3.

 

Correct Sentence: ‘Mother reminded Rahul that the last date for geo-tagging their apartment was the next day.’

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: Fails to change the tense of the helping verb ‘is’ to ‘was’.
• Option 2: Uses incorrect grammatical structure ‘told... that do not forget’; imperative sentences in indirect speech usually use the ‘to + infinitive’ structure or a specialized reporting verb.
• Option 4: Fails to change the pronoun ‘our’ to ‘their’, the tense ‘is’ to ‘was’, and the time ‘tomorrow’ to ‘the next day’.

The correct answer is Option 1.

 

Key Points

• Indirect Speech: Mohit told his father that he could not solve that sum as it was very difficult.
• Key Conversions:
• "he could not solve" becomes "I cannot solve"
• The pronoun he (referring to the subject Mohit) changes to I in direct speech.
• The modal verb could changes back to its present form can.
• "that sum" becomes "this sum"
• In direct speech, that (demonstrative) changes to this to show proximity.
• "as it was very difficult" becomes "as it is very difficult"
• The past tense was is converted back to the present tense is for direct speech.
• Reporting verb:
• The indirect told his father is converted to said to his father in direct speech.
• Punctuation and Format:
• The direct speech is enclosed in double quotation marks.
• A comma follows the reporting clause Mohit said to his father.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 1.

 

Correct Sentence: Mohit said to his father, 'I cannot solve this sum as it is very difficult.'

 

Additional Information

• Option 2: Incorrect because it uses had been (past perfect), which is not the correct tense conversion for the original sentence.
• Option 3: Incorrect because it maintains he and could, failing to revert to the first person and present tense required for direct speech.
• Option 4: Incorrect because it changes the pronoun to you, which would mean the father cannot solve the sum, changing the meaning of the original sentence.

The correct answer is Option 2.

 

Key Points

• Direct Speech: The tourist said to me, 'Can you give me the directions to the temple?'
• Key Conversions:
• Reporting Verb:
• The reporting verb 'said to' is changed to 'asked' because the direct speech is an interrogative sentence.
• Conjunction:
• For Yes/No questions (starting with a modal verb like 'Can'), the conjunction 'if' or 'whether' is used to join the reporting clause and the reported speech.
• Pronoun Changes:
• The pronoun 'you' (second person) changes according to the object of the reporting verb ('me'), so it becomes 'I'.
• The pronoun 'me' (first person) changes according to the subject of the reporting verb ('The tourist'), so it becomes 'him'.
• Tense Change:
• The modal verb 'can' changes to its past form 'could' because the reporting verb is in the past tense ('said').
• Sentence Structure: In indirect speech, the question form is changed into an assertive form (Subject + Verb), and the question mark is replaced by a full stop.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 2.

 

Correct Sentence: 'The tourist asked me if I could give him the directions to the temple.'

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: 'The tourist asked me if you could give me...' Incorrect because the pronouns 'you' and 'me' are not changed.
• Option 3: 'The tourist asked me if you could give him...' Incorrect because the pronoun 'you' is not changed to 'I' to reflect the listener.
• Option 4: 'The tourist asked me if I can give him...' Incorrect because the tense of 'can' is not changed to 'could'.

The correct answer is Does this deal have to be accepted?.

Key Points

• The given sentence is an interrogative sentence in the Active Voice using the auxiliary verb do and the semi-modal expression have to followed by an infinitive.
• The structure for an Active Voice question using 'do' and 'have to' is: Do/Does + Subject + have to + Verb (V1) + Object?
• To convert this into Passive Voice, the object of the active sentence (this deal) becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
• The structure for the Passive Voice of such sentences is: Do/Does + New Subject + have to be + Past Participle (V3) + (by + agent)?
• In the passive form, the auxiliary Does is used because the new subject this deal is singular.
• The infinitive phrase have to accept transforms into its passive counterpart have to be accepted.
• Applying these rules, the sentence becomes: Does this deal have to be accepted?

 Additional Information

• Interrogative Transformations:
• If a sentence begins with do/does/did in active voice, the passive voice begins with an appropriate form of be (is/am/are/was/were) or retains the do/does structure depending on the presence of have to.
• Since have to is treated as a semi-modal verb, the do-support is maintained in the interrogative passive form.
• The word accepted is the Past Participle form of the verb accept, which is mandatory for all passive constructions.
• Incorrect options like Is this deal to be accepted? change the grammatical nuance by omitting the necessity implied by the word have.

The correct answer is A new product will be launched by the company next month.

Key Points

• The original sentence is in the Active Voice and follows the structure of the Future Indefinite Tense (Simple Future): Subject + will + Verb (V1) + Object.
• To convert a Future Indefinite sentence into Passive Voice, the standard grammatical formula is: Object + will be + Past Participle (V3) + by + Subject.
• In the given sentence, The company is the Subject, will launch is the Verb, and a new product is the Object.
• During conversion, the Object (A new product) moves to the Subject position, the auxiliary will is followed by be, and the main verb launch changes to its V3 form, launched.
• The original Subject (The company) is placed after the preposition by, resulting in the correct passive construction.

 Additional Information

• Active vs. Passive Voice Rules:
• Tense Consistency: The Passive Voice must maintain the same Tense as the Active Voice; changing will to should or is to alters the Modal meaning and Intent of the sentence.
• Subject-Object Swap: The Recipient of the Action must become the Grammatical Subject in the passive form to ensure clarity.
• Transitive Verbs: Only sentences containing Transitive Verbs (verbs that take an object) can be effectively converted into Passive Voice.

The correct answer is Option 3.

 

Key Points

• The error lies in the subject-verb agreement in the first part of the sentence.
• The subject 'My mother' is a third-person singular noun.
• According to the rules of Simple Present Tense, when the subject is singular (he, she, it, or a singular noun), the verb must take the 's' or 'es' suffix.
• The verb 'give' should be corrected to 'gives' to match the singular subject.
• Thus, the error is located in part 3 of the sentence.

Therefore, the correct answer is My mother give me.

 

Correct Sentence: 'My mother gives me fresh carrot juice every evening.'

 

Additional Information

• Option 2: 'fresh carrot juice' – This is a noun phrase acting as the object and is grammatically correct.
• Option 4: 'every evening' – This is an adverbial phrase of frequency commonly used with the simple present tense to indicate a habit.
• Subject-Verb Rule: Singular Subject + Verb(s/es); Plural Subject + Base Verb (e.g., They give, She gives).

The correct answer is Option 1.

 

Key Points

• Direct Speech: Sandhya said to me, 'Would you like to have some herbal tea?'
• Key Conversions:
• Reporting Verb: Since the direct speech is an interrogative sentence (a question), the reporting verb 'said to' is changed to 'asked'.
• Conjunction: For Yes/No questions (questions starting with auxiliary verbs like 'Would'), we use 'if' or 'whether' as a connector in indirect speech.
• Pronoun Change: The second-person pronoun 'you' changes according to the object of the reporting verb ('me'), thus becoming 'I'.
• Sentence Structure: The interrogative form (Would you...) is changed into the assertive form (I would...) in indirect speech.
• Tense: The modal 'would' remains 'would' as it is already in the past/conditional form.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 1.

 

Correct Sentence: 'Sandhya asked me if I would like to have some herbal tea.'

 

Additional Information

• Option 2: Changes the meaning to a statement about giving tea, rather than asking a question.
• Option 3: Changes the polite question into an imperative command or suggestion, losing the original 'Would you like' context.
• Option 4: Incorrect because 'that' and 'would' cannot be used together as connectors in this manner, and it fails to change the pronoun 'you' and the sentence structure to assertive.

The correct answer is Option 1.

 

Key Points

• Direct Speech: ‘Let’s go for a walk in the park,’ he said.
• Key Conversions:
• "Let’s" (Let us) becomes "suggested that they should"
• Sentences starting with Let’s usually express a suggestion or a proposal.
• In indirect speech, the reporting verb said is changed to suggested or proposed.
• The phrase Let’s is replaced by that they/we should.
• Pronoun Change:
• The inclusive us (in Let’s) changes to they when the speaker is reporting a suggestion made to a group that may not include the current reporter.
• Conjunction:
• The conjunction that is used to introduce the reported clause.
• Structure:
• The structure follows: Subject + suggested + that + they/we + should + base verb.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 1.

 

Correct Sentence: He suggested that they should go for a walk in the park.

 

Additional Information

• Option 2: ‘He requested that we should go for a walk in the park.’
• The reporting verb requested is incorrect as Let’s signifies a suggestion, not a formal request.
• Option 3: ‘He said that let’s go for a walk in the park.’
• This incorrectly retains the word let’s in indirect speech, which is grammatically improper.
• Option 4: ‘He told us to go for a walk in the park.’
• The reporting verb told changes the tone from a collaborative suggestion to a command or a simple statement.

The correct answer is Option 3.

 

Key Points

• Direct Speech: Aditya said to Kavya, 'What do you prefer to do in your free time – painting or basketball practice?'
• Key Conversions:
• Reporting Verb: In interrogative sentences, the reporting verb said to is changed into asked.
• Conjunction: When a direct question begins with a Wh-word (what, where, who, etc.), no external conjunction like 'that' is used; the Wh-word itself acts as the connector.
• Tense Change: The direct speech is in the Simple Present Tense ('do you prefer'). In reported speech, this must be converted to the Simple Past Tense ('she preferred').
• Pronoun Change: The second-person pronoun you changes according to the object 'Kavya', becoming she. Similarly, the possessive adjective your changes to her.
• Sentence Structure: The interrogative form ('do you prefer') is changed into an assertive form ('she preferred') in indirect speech.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 3.

 

Correct Sentence: 'Aditya asked Kavya what she preferred to do in her free time - painting or basketball practice.'

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: Incorrect because it uses the conjunction that along with what, and fails to change the pronouns and tense.
• Option 2: Incorrect because it retains the interrogative word order ('does she prefer') and the present tense, which is not allowed in reported speech for past reporting verbs.
• Option 4: Incorrect because it uses the auxiliary verb did, which maintains an interrogative structure rather than the required assertive structure in indirect speech.

The correct answer is Option 3.

 

Key Points

• Direct Speech: She said, 'I am going to the park.'
• Key Conversions:
• 'I am going' becomes 'she was going'
• The first-person pronoun 'I' changes to the third-person 'she' to match the subject of the reporting verb.
• The Present Continuous tense ('am going') changes to the Past Continuous tense ('was going') because the reporting verb ('said') is in the past tense.
• Reporting Verb and Conjunction:
• The reporting verb 'said' remains 'said'.
• The conjunction 'that' is used to introduce the reported speech after removing the comma and quotation marks.
• Structure: The sentence follows the standard rule where direct speech in the present continuous tense shifts to past continuous when converted to indirect speech.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 3.

 

Correct Sentence: 'She said that she was going to the park.'

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: 'She said that she is going to the park.' - Incorrect because the tense 'is going' (present) was not changed to the past tense.
• Option 2: 'She said she will go to the park.' - Incorrect because it changes the meaning to a future action ('will go') which is not in the original sentence.
• Option 4: 'She said she may be going to the park.' - Incorrect because it introduces modality/uncertainty ('may') which was not present in the original statement.

The correct answer is Option 3.

 

Key Points

• Reporting Verb in Present Tense: When the reporting verb is in the present tense (e.g., says), the tense of the verb in the reported speech does not change. Therefore, the present perfect tense have completed remains in the present perfect tense form.
• Key Conversions:
• 'says' remains 'says':
• The reporting verb says is preserved as it is followed by the conjunction that.
• Pronoun Change:
• The first-person pronoun I in the direct speech changes to the third-person feminine pronoun she to agree with the subject Avika.
• Verb Agreement:
• With the singular pronoun she, the auxiliary verb changes from have to has to maintain subject-verb agreement in the present perfect tense (has completed).

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 3.

 

Correct Sentence: 'Avika says that she has completed the math assignment.'

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: 'Avika says that she had completed the math assignment.'
• Incorrect because the tense is changed to the past perfect (had completed), which is wrong since the reporting verb is in the present tense.
• Option 2: 'Avika says that I have completed the math assignment.'
• Incorrect because the pronoun I is not updated to refer to Avika.
• Option 4: 'Avika said that she has completed the math assignment.'
• Incorrect because the reporting verb is changed from the present tense says to the past tense said.

The correct answer is Option 2.

 

Key Points

• The primary issue in the sentence is the incorrect use of the preposition with after the verb complaining.
• When expressing a physical ailment or symptom, the verb complain is standardly followed by the preposition of.
• The phrase complain of means to state that one is suffering from a particular symptom or illness.
• Therefore, with should be replaced by of to make the sentence grammatically correct.

Therefore, the correct answer is of.

 

Correct Sentence: 'Since last evening, the boy has been complaining of pain in his legs.'

 

Additional Information

• From: This is often used with suffer (e.g., suffering from pain), but is not the standard idiomatic choice with complain in a medical context.
• For: This preposition is used when expressing the reason for a complaint to an authority, not for describing a symptom.
• Complain about: This is generally used for expressing dissatisfaction with a situation or person (e.g., complaining about the noise).
• No improvement required: This is incorrect because the original preposition with is non-standard in this grammatical structure.

The correct answer is Option 3.

 

Key Points

• Direct Speech: My daughter said, 'I might go out to the Mall with my friends tonight.'
• Key Conversions:
• Pronoun Change:
• The first-person pronoun 'I' in direct speech refers to the speaker (the daughter). In indirect speech, it changes to 'she'.
• The possessive adjective 'my' (friends) changes to 'her' to match the subject.
• Modal Verb Change:
• The modal verb 'might' is already in its past form. In reported speech, 'might' typically remains unchanged.
• Time Adverb Change:
• The word 'tonight' changes to 'that night' when converting from direct to indirect speech to reflect the shift in time perspective.
• Reporting Verb and Conjunction:
• The reporting verb 'said' is followed by the conjunction 'that' to introduce the reported clause.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 3.

 

Correct Sentence: 'My daughter said that she might go out to the Mall with her friends that night.'

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: Incorrect because it fails to change the pronoun 'I' and the time adverb 'tonight'.
• Option 2: Incorrect because it changes 'might' to 'may'. In indirect speech, we move the tense backward or keep it in the past form; we do not move from past back to present.
• Option 4: Incorrect because it fails to change the possessive adjective 'my' and the time adverb 'tonight'.

The correct answer is Option 3.

 

Key Points

• Direct Speech: She said, 'I don't want to attend the meeting.'
• Key Conversions:
• Reporting Verb: Since the reporting verb 'said' is in the past tense, the tense of the reported speech must change accordingly (Backshift).
• Pronoun Change: The first-person pronoun 'I' changes to the third-person pronoun 'she' to match the subject of the reporting verb.
• Tense Change: The Present Simple ('don't want') changes to the Past Simple ('did not want').
• Conjunction: The conjunction 'that' is used to introduce the reported clause in assertive sentences.
• Sentence Structure: The comma and quotation marks are removed, and the sentence ends with a full stop.

Therefore, the correct answer is Option 3.

 

Correct Sentence: 'She said that she did not want to attend the meeting.'

 

Additional Information

• Option 1: While the grammar is similar, in standard objective exams, the most formal and grammatically precise version (often including the full expansion of contractions or matching the specific key) is preferred. In this case, Option 3 is the designated correct choice.
• Option 2: 'She told' is incorrect because the verb 'tell' must be followed by an indirect object (e.g., She told me that...). Since there is no listener mentioned, 'said' should be retained.
• Option 4: This option fails to change the pronoun ('I') to 'she' and fails to change the tense ('don't') to the past tense, making it grammatically incorrect for reported speech.

The correct answer is The car was not fixed by the mechanic yesterday.

Key Points

• The original sentence is in the Active Voice and follows the Simple Past Tense structure: Subject + did + not + base verb (V1) + Object. Hence, the sentence 'The mechanic did not fix the car yesterday' follows this rule.
• To convert a Simple Past Tense negative sentence into Passive Voice, the structure must change to: New Subject (original object) + was/were + not + Past Participle (V3) + by + New Object (original subject). Hence, the correct transformation involves using was not fixed.
• The object of the active sentence, the car, becomes the subject of the passive sentence. Since the car is singular, the auxiliary verb was is required. Hence, the correct construction is 'The car was not...'.
• The main verb 'fix' must be converted into its third form or Past Participle, which is fixed. Hence, the phrase becomes 'The car was not fixed'.
• The agent or doer (the mechanic) is introduced using the preposition by at the end of the clause. Hence, the final structure is 'The car was not fixed by the mechanic yesterday'.

 Additional Information

• Verb Tense Consistency:
• In Passive Voice, the tense of the original sentence must be maintained. The use of did indicates Past Indefinite, which strictly requires was/were in passive form.
• The option using had not been is incorrect as it represents Past Perfect Tense, which changes the original meaning and temporal context.
• The option The car did not fix is grammatically incorrect in passive form because it lacks the to be verb and the past participle.
• Passive voice is commonly used when the action or the receiver of the action is more important than the performer.

The correct answer is Is the upcoming exam being discussed by the students in the library?.

Key Points

• The original sentence is an interrogative sentence in the Present Continuous Tense, following the structure: Is/Am/Are + Subject + Verb-ing + Object?
• To convert a Present Continuous question into Passive Voice, the structure must change to: Is/Am/Are + New Subject (Object of Active Voice) + being + Past Participle (V3) + by + New Object (Subject of Active Voice)?
• The Active Subject is the students (plural), and the Active Object is the upcoming exam (singular).
• In the passive form, the auxiliary verb must agree with the new singular subject the upcoming exam, therefore Is is used at the beginning of the sentence.
• The continuous nature of the action is maintained by adding the word being before the Past Participle form of the verb discuss, which is discussed.
• The prepositional phrase in the library remains in its relative position to provide circumstantial context.

 Additional Information

• Verb Tense Logic:
• Has... been discussed represents the Present Perfect Tense, which indicates a completed action rather than one currently in progress.
• Was... being discussed represents the Past Continuous Tense, changing the timeline of the event from the present to the past.
• What upcoming exam... changes the sentence into a Wh- question, which alters the fundamental meaning and intent of the original Yes/No question.
• Voice Transformation Rules:
• Subject-Object Swap: The performer of the action (students) moves to the end of the sentence following the agentive by.
• Auxiliary Verb Placement: In Passive Interrogative forms, the auxiliary verb remains at the front to maintain the questioning tone.