Voice - Study Mode
[#116] Drafting a letter is a skill which can be acquired by you with a lot of practice.
Correct Answer
(D) Drafting a letter is a skill which you can acquire with a lot of practice.
Explanation
Solution: Drafting a letter is a skill which you can acquire with a lot of practice. The given sentence contains one of Model verb (Model Verb = will, shall, can, may, might, could, might, must, would). It is in passive voice. Rule : Subject + Model verb + V 1 + Optional Objects
[#117] The telegraph wires have been cut.
Correct Answer
(B) Someone has cut the telegraph wires.
Explanation
Solution: Someone has cut the telegraph wires. Given sentence is in present perfect tense and it is in passive voice. Rule : Subject + (Have/has) + V 1 + Other agents
[#118] He said to me, "What time do the offices close?"
Correct Answer
(C) He asked me what time the offices closed.
Explanation
Solution: Voice in Grammar: Voice refers to the relationship between a verb and its subject. There are two main voices: active and passive. In the active voice, the subject performs the action (e.g., "The dog chased the ball"). In the passive voice, the subject receives the action (e.g., "The ball was chased by the dog"). This question focuses on reported speech, which often involves a shift in voice and tense. Reported Speech: Reported speech is when we tell someone what another person said. It often requires changes to the tense of the verb and pronouns to reflect the change in speaker and time. Correct Answer: Option C: He asked me what time the offices closed. This option correctly reports the direct speech ("What time do the offices close?") while using the appropriate grammatical structure for indirect speech. The tense of the verb "close" changes from present simple ("do close") to past simple ("closed") to reflect the shift from the original speaker's perspective to the reported speech perspective. The question word "what time" remains unchanged. Why other options are incorrect: Option A: He wanted to know what time the offices close. While grammatically correct, this option doesn't directly report the question. It paraphrases the speaker's intent but lacks the directness of a reported question. Option B: He asked me what time did the offices close. This is grammatically incorrect. In reported speech, the word order should follow the structure of a statement, not a question. The correct word order would be "He asked me what time the offices closed." Option D: He asked me what time the offices did close. Similar to option B, this option uses incorrect word order for reported speech. The auxiliary verb "did" is unnecessary and creates an ungrammatical sentence.
[#119] He said, "I must go next week."
Correct Answer
(C) He said that he would have to go the following week.
Explanation
Solution: This question tests your understanding of Reported Speech , specifically in the context of changing from Direct to Indirect Speech when the sentence contains a modal verb like "must" and a time expression like "next week". Reported Speech is the act of reporting what someone else has said, without quoting them directly. In English grammar, when converting direct speech to indirect (or reported) speech, we typically follow rules of tense change, pronoun change, and time expression change. Direct Speech: He said, "I must go next week." Step-by-step conversion: The reporting verb is "said" in the past tense, so we generally shift the tense of the reported speech. The modal verb " must " is a special case. It can change depending on the context: - When "must" is used for obligation (as it is here), it usually changes to " would have to " in reported speech. The time expression " next week " changes to " the following week " in reported speech. The pronoun "I" changes to "he" to match the subject. Correct transformation: "He said that he would have to go the following week ." Correct Answer: Option C : He said that he would have to go the following week. Other Options: Option A: He said that he must go next week. — ❌ Incorrect because "must" and "next week" are not changed according to the rules of reported speech. Option B: He said that he must go the following week. — ❌ Incorrect because "must" should change to "would have to". Option D: He said that he was to go the following week. — ❌ Grammatically possible, but less natural and not the standard transformation for "must". Conclusion: The best and most accurate option is Option C .
[#120] He said, "I clean my teeth twice a day."
Correct Answer
(A) He said that he cleaned his teeth twice a day.
Explanation
Solution: This question belongs to the topic of Reported Speech in the area of Voice . It specifically focuses on converting a simple present tense sentence into indirect speech when the reporting verb is in the past tense. Reported Speech is used to report what someone has said without quoting their exact words. When changing from direct to indirect speech, we usually apply three key rules: 1. Change of pronouns 2. Change of verb tense (if the reporting verb is in the past) 3. Change of time expressions (if needed) Original Sentence (Direct Speech): He said, "I clean my teeth twice a day." Step-by-step Conversion: The reporting verb is " said " — it's in the past tense. The verb inside the quotes is " clean ", which is in the simple present tense . In reported speech, when the reporting verb is in the past tense, simple present generally changes to simple past . So "clean" becomes "cleaned". The pronoun "I" changes to "he" to match the subject. The time expression "twice a day" remains unchanged because it's a general habitual statement. Correct transformation: He said that he cleaned his teeth twice a day. Correct Answer: Option A : He said that he cleaned his teeth twice a day. Other Options: Option B: He said that he cleans his teeth twice a day. — ❌ Incorrect. "Cleans" is still in the present tense, which should have been shifted to past ("cleaned"). Option C: He said that he used to clean his teeth twice a day. — ❌ Incorrect. "Used to" implies a past habit that no longer continues, which changes the meaning. Option D: He said that he is used to cleaning his teeth twice a day. — ❌ Incorrect. "Is used to" means he is accustomed to it, which again alters the meaning. Conclusion: The only grammatically and logically correct transformation is Option A