Introduction
Voice and narration together give two to four questions in most NTRCA papers. Both topics are mechanical: once you know the conversion pattern, every question becomes routine. This lesson has two parts. Part A covers active and passive voice. Part B covers direct and indirect speech.
Part A: Active and passive voice
Passive structure for each tense
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present Indefinite | S + V1 + O | O + is/am/are + V3 + by S |
| Present Continuous | S + is/am/are + V-ing + O | O + is/am/are being + V3 + by S |
| Present Perfect | S + has/have + V3 + O | O + has/have been + V3 + by S |
| Past Indefinite | S + V2 + O | O + was/were + V3 + by S |
| Past Continuous | S + was/were + V-ing + O | O + was/were being + V3 + by S |
| Past Perfect | S + had + V3 + O | O + had been + V3 + by S |
| Future Indefinite | S + shall/will + V1 + O | O + shall/will be + V3 + by S |
| Future Perfect | S + shall/will have + V3 + O | O + shall/will have been + V3 + by S |
| Modal | S + can/may/must + V1 + O | O + can/may/must be + V3 + by S |
Pronoun changes
| Active subject | I | We | He | She | They | You | Who |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Passive agent | by me | by us | by him | by her | by them | by you | by whom |
Passive for different sentence types
| Type | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Assertive | Rahim wrote a letter. | A letter was written by Rahim. |
| Negative | He did not do the work. | The work was not done by him. |
| Question with an auxiliary | Did he do the work? | Was the work done by him? |
| Question with who | Who wrote the letter? | By whom was the letter written? |
| Question with what or why | What did he say? | What was said by him? |
| Imperative | Open the door. | Let the door be opened. / You are requested to open the door. |
| Negative imperative | Do not touch the wire. | Let the wire not be touched. |
| Two objects | He gave me a book. | I was given a book by him. / A book was given to me by him. |
Prepositions other than by
| Passive structure | Example |
|---|---|
| surprised, astonished, shocked at | I was surprised at the news. |
| pleased, satisfied, disappointed, annoyed with | I am pleased with his result. |
| interested, involved, engaged in | He is interested in music. |
| known to (a person), for (a quality), as (a title) | He is known to me. He is known for honesty. |
| filled, covered, crowded with | The room was filled with smoke. |
| married to, tired of, worried about, made of or from | He is married to a doctor. |
Special points
- Intransitive verbs have no passive (He sleeps. She laughs.).
- People say that... can become It is said that...
- In continuous tenses, never forget being.
- For passive to active, identify the tense, then reverse the pattern.
Part B: Direct and indirect speech
Reporting verb by sentence type
| Direct speech is a... | Reporting verb | Connector |
|---|---|---|
| Statement | said to becomes told; said stays said | that |
| Yes/no question | asked, enquired | if or whether |
| Wh-question | asked, enquired | the same wh-word |
| Command, request, advice | ordered, requested, advised, forbade | to + V1 (negative: not to) |
| Exclamation | exclaimed with joy, sorrow or surprise | that |
| Prayer or wish | wished, prayed | that + may or might |
| Suggestion with let us | proposed, suggested | that + should |
Tense changes (when the reporting verb is past)
| Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|
| Present Indefinite | Past Indefinite |
| Present Continuous | Past Continuous |
| Present Perfect | Past Perfect |
| Past Indefinite | Past Perfect |
| shall, will | should, would |
| can, may | could, might |
| am, is, are | was, were |
If the reporting verb is in the present or future tense, the tense does not change. A universal truth also stays unchanged.
Time and place words
| Direct | Indirect | Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|---|---|
| now | then | here | there |
| today | that day | this | that |
| tomorrow | the next day | these | those |
| yesterday | the previous day | ago | before |
| tonight | that night | last night | the previous night |
| next week | the following week | thus | so |
Pronoun rule
- First person pronouns follow the subject of the reporting verb.
- Second person pronouns follow the object of the reporting verb.
- Third person pronouns usually do not change.
Worked conversions
| Type | Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|---|
| Statement | He said to me, “I am ill.” | He told me that he was ill. |
| Yes/no question | He said to me, “Will you help me?” | He asked me if I would help him. |
| Wh-question | He said to me, “Where do you live?” | He asked me where I lived. |
| Order | He said to me, “Go away.” | He ordered me to go away. |
| Request | She said to him, “Please help me.” | She requested him to help her. |
| Negative command | The teacher said to the boy, “Do not make a noise.” | The teacher advised the boy not to make a noise. |
| Exclamation | He said, “Hurrah! We have won the match.” | He exclaimed with joy that they had won the match. |
| Wish | He said, “May you be happy.” | He wished that I might be happy. |
| Let us | Rina said, “Let us go for a walk.” | Rina proposed that they should go for a walk. |
| Universal truth | The teacher said, “The sun rises in the east.” | The teacher said that the sun rises in the east. |
Common exam traps
- He asked me where did I live. Wrong. Indirect questions use statement order: where I lived.
- He told to me that... Wrong. Told takes its object directly: told me that.
- She said me. Wrong. Use said to me or told me.
- Forgetting being in the passive of continuous tenses.
- Changing the tense of a universal truth in indirect speech.
Memory tips
- Passive needs V3. The main verb in every passive is the third form.
- Continuous, being. Perfect, been. Future or modal, be.
- If or whether for yes/no questions. The wh-word stays for wh-questions.
- An indirect question never ends with a question mark.
- Time and place: now becomes then, here becomes there, this becomes that, today becomes that day, ago becomes before, tomorrow becomes the next day.
Solved examples
Example 1. Change to passive: They are building a new bridge. Answer: A new bridge is being built by them.
Example 2. Change to passive: The manager has cancelled the meeting. Answer: The meeting has been cancelled by the manager.
Example 3. Change to passive: Why did you break the window? Answer: Why was the window broken by you?
Example 4. Change to indirect: She said, “I have finished my homework.” Answer: She said that she had finished her homework.
Example 5. Change to indirect: He said to her, “Why are you crying?” Answer: He asked her why she was crying.
Example 6. Change to direct: He advised me not to waste time. Answer: He said to me, “Do not waste time.”
Practice problems
- Change to passive: The teacher praised the students.
- Change to passive: Someone stole my bicycle.
- Change to passive: Do it at once.
- Change to indirect: He said, “I shall go to Dhaka tomorrow.”
- Change to indirect: The mother said to the child, “Be quiet.”
- Change to indirect: She said, “Alas! I am ruined.”
Answers: 1. The students were praised by the teacher. 2. My bicycle was stolen. 3. Let it be done at once. 4. He said that he would go to Dhaka the next day. 5. The mother told the child to be quiet. 6. She exclaimed with sorrow that she was ruined.
Practice MCQs with solutions
Note: these are practice questions written in the style of past NTRCA/BCS preliminary papers. Please cross-check with the official question bank.
Question 1. Passive: Who wrote the letter?
- (a) Who was the letter written by?
- (b) By whom was the letter written?
- (c) Whom was the letter written?
- (d) By who was the letter written?
Correct answer: (b) By whom was the letter written?
Explanation: Who becomes by whom in the passive.
Question 2. Passive: The children are playing football.
- (a) Football is played by the children.
- (b) Football is being played by the children.
- (c) Football was being played by the children.
- (d) Football has been played by the children.
Correct answer: (b) Football is being played by the children.
Explanation: Present Continuous becomes is/am/are being + V3.
Question 3. Passive: He has finished the work.
- (a) The work has finished by him.
- (b) The work has been finished by him.
- (c) The work had been finished by him.
- (d) The work is finished by him.
Correct answer: (b) The work has been finished by him.
Explanation: Present Perfect becomes has/have been + V3.
Question 4. Passive: The news surprised me.
- (a) I was surprised by the news.
- (b) I was surprised at the news.
- (c) I was surprised with the news.
- (d) I am surprised of the news.
Correct answer: (b) I was surprised at the news.
Explanation: Surprised takes at.
Question 5. Indirect: He said to me, “Where do you live?”
- (a) He asked me where do I live.
- (b) He asked me where I lived.
- (c) He asked me where you lived.
- (d) He told me where I lived.
Correct answer: (b) He asked me where I lived.
Explanation: A wh-question becomes a statement, and the tense moves back.
Question 6. Indirect: The teacher said to the boy, “Do not make a noise.”
- (a) The teacher said the boy not to make a noise.
- (b) The teacher advised the boy not to make a noise.
- (c) The teacher asked the boy to not make noise.
- (d) The teacher told that the boy do not make noise.
Correct answer: (b) The teacher advised the boy not to make a noise.
Explanation: A negative command becomes advised or forbade + not to + V1.
Question 7. Indirect: He said, “Hurrah! We have won the match.”
- (a) He exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.
- (b) He said with joy that we have won the match.
- (c) He exclaimed that they have won the match.
- (d) He said that we won the match.
Correct answer: (a) He exclaimed with joy that they had won the match.
Explanation: Hurrah shows joy. Have won becomes had won and we becomes they.
Question 8. Indirect: Rina said, “Let us go for a walk.”
- (a) Rina ordered to go for a walk.
- (b) Rina proposed that they should go for a walk.
- (c) Rina asked to go for a walk.
- (d) Rina said that let us go for a walk.
Correct answer: (b) Rina proposed that they should go for a walk.
Explanation: Let us becomes proposed that ... should.
Key takeaways
- The passive verb always uses V3. Add being for continuous, been for perfect and be for future and modals.
- Who becomes by whom in the passive.
- Choose the reporting verb by sentence type: told, asked, ordered, exclaimed, wished, proposed.
- In indirect speech, questions take statement word order.
- A universal truth never changes its tense.