Introduction
Translation questions usually appear as choose the correct translation items. They also matter in written parts and viva. The secret is to read the Bangla verb first, because its ending tells you the tense. After that you decide the subject, match the verb to it and arrange the English sentence in the correct order.
A five-step method
- Identify the tense from the Bangla verb ending.
- Identify the subject and match the verb to it.
- Mark the object, complement and adverbs of time, place and manner.
- Arrange the English sentence: Subject, Verb, Object, Place, Manner, Time.
- Check prepositions, articles and punctuation.
Reading the tense from the Bangla verb
| Bangla clue | English tense | Example |
|---|---|---|
| habitual or general action | Present Indefinite | আমি প্রতিদিন স্কুলে যাই. I go to school every day. |
| an action in progress (-ছি, -ছে) | Present Continuous | সে বই পড়ছে. He is reading a book. |
| a completed action (-েছি, -েছে) | Present Perfect | আমি কাজটি শেষ করেছি. I have finished the work. |
| ...ধরে (for a period until now) | Present Perfect Continuous | আমি দুই বছর ধরে ইংরেজি শিখছি. I have been learning English for two years. |
| a past event (-লাম, -ল) | Past Indefinite | সে গতকাল ঢাকা গিয়েছিল. He went to Dhaka yesterday. |
| a past action in progress (-ছিল) | Past Continuous | আমি তখন পড়ছিলাম. I was reading then. |
| the earlier of two past events | Past Perfect | আমি পৌঁছার আগেই ট্রেন ছেড়ে গিয়েছিল. The train had left before I reached. |
| past habit (-তাম) | used to + V1 | আমি শৈশবে সাঁতার কাটতাম. I used to swim in my childhood. |
| future (-ব) | Future Indefinite | আমি কাল ঢাকা যাব. I shall go to Dhaka tomorrow. |
| complete by a future time | Future Perfect | কাল সকালের মধ্যে আমি কাজটি শেষ করে ফেলব. I shall have finished the work by tomorrow morning. |
Common structures
| Bangla pattern | English structure | Example |
|---|---|---|
| যত ... তত | the + comparative ..., the + comparative ... | The more you read, the more you will know. |
| কেবল ... নয়, ... ও | not only ... but also ... | Not only he but also his brother is guilty. |
| যদি ... তবে | if ..., ... | If it rains, I shall not go. |
| না ... হলে | unless | I shall not go unless he comes. |
| যেন, যাতে | so that | He works hard so that he may succeed. |
| এত ... যে | so ... that | He is so weak that he cannot walk. |
| যেহেতু | as, since, because | As he is ill, he did not come. |
| সত্ত্বেও | in spite of, though | In spite of hard work, he failed. |
| ...মাত্রই | as soon as, no sooner had ... than | As soon as he saw me, he ran away. |
| ...উচিত | should, ought to | We should speak the truth. |
| ...করতেই হবে | must, have to | We must obey the rules. |
| ...পারা | can, be able to | He can speak English. |
Everyday expressions
| Bangla | English |
|---|---|
| বলা হয় যে... | It is said that... |
| আমার ক্ষুধা পেয়েছে। | I am hungry. |
| আমার তৃষ্ণা পেয়েছে। | I am thirsty. |
| আমার ঘুম পাচ্ছে। | I am feeling sleepy. |
| আমার মাথা ব্যথা করছে। | I have a headache. |
| আমার জ্বর হয়েছে। | I have a fever. |
| টেবিলে একটি বই আছে। | There is a book on the table. |
| ঘড়িতে কয়টা বাজে? | What time is it? |
Sentence patterns
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| S + V | Birds fly. |
| S + V + O | She reads a book. |
| S + V + C | He is a doctor. |
| S + V + IO + DO | He gave me a book. |
| S + V + O + C | They made him captain. |
Simple, compound and complex sentences
| Type | Feature | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Simple | one independent clause | Seeing the tiger, he ran away. |
| Compound | independent clauses joined by and, but, or, so | He saw the tiger and ran away. |
| Complex | an independent clause plus a dependent clause | When he saw the tiger, he ran away. |
Sentence transformation
| Change | Original | Transformed |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative to negative | He is a good boy. | He is not a bad boy. |
| Assertive to interrogative | Nobody can deny it. | Who can deny it? |
| Assertive to exclamatory | It is a very fine day. | What a fine day it is! |
| Superlative to positive | Rahim is the tallest boy in the class. | No other boy in the class is as tall as Rahim. |
| too...to to so...that | He is too weak to walk. | He is so weak that he cannot walk. |
| Simple to complex | Seeing the tiger, he ran away. | When he saw the tiger, he ran away. |
| Simple to compound | Having finished the work, he went home. | He finished the work and went home. |
Common exam traps
- I have hungry. Wrong. Hungry is an adjective, so say I am hungry.
- He has gone yesterday. Wrong. A past time word needs the Past Indefinite: He went yesterday.
- Forgetting the auxiliary in continuous tenses: He reading should be He is reading.
- Confusing so...that (result) with too...to (impossibility).
- আছে is not always have. For place, use there is or there are.
Memory tips
- Read the verb ending first. It gives the tense straight away.
- ধরে or থেকে means Perfect Continuous. Two hours of reading means have been reading for two hours.
- আগে and পরে means Past Perfect for the earlier of the two events.
- Use simple, familiar words. A simple accurate sentence is better than a fancy wrong one.
Solved examples
Example 1. সে গতকাল বাড়ি ফিরেছে। Answer: He returned home yesterday. Yesterday forces the Past Indefinite.
Example 2. আমি সকাল থেকে অপেক্ষা করছি। Answer: I have been waiting since morning.
Example 3. সে এলে আমি যাব। Answer: I shall go if he comes.
Example 4. তিনি এত ক্লান্ত ছিলেন যে কথা বলতে পারছিলেন না। Answer: He was so tired that he could not speak.
Example 5. ডাক্তার আসার আগেই রোগী মারা গিয়েছিল। Answer: The patient had died before the doctor came.
Practice problems
- আমি প্রতিদিন ভোরে ঘুম থেকে উঠি।
- শিক্ষক ছাত্রদের বকা দিলেন।
- যত পরিশ্রম করবে তত ভালো ফল পাবে।
- সে অসুস্থ বলে স্কুলে আসেনি।
- আমরা কাল কক্সবাজার যাব।
- সত্য বলা আমাদের কর্তব্য।
Answers: 1. I get up early every morning. 2. The teacher scolded the students. 3. The more you work hard, the better result you will get. 4. He did not come to school because he was ill. 5. We shall go to Cox's Bazar tomorrow. 6. It is our duty to speak the truth.
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. সে গতকাল ঢাকা গিয়েছিল। Choose the correct translation.
- (a) He has gone to Dhaka yesterday.
- (b) He went to Dhaka yesterday.
- (c) He goes to Dhaka yesterday.
- (d) He was going to Dhaka yesterday.
Correct answer: (b) He went to Dhaka yesterday.
Explanation: Yesterday needs the Past Indefinite.
Question 2. আমি দুই বছর ধরে ইংরেজি শিখছি।
- (a) I am learning English for two years.
- (b) I have been learning English for two years.
- (c) I learnt English for two years.
- (d) I had learnt English two years.
Correct answer: (b) I have been learning English for two years.
Explanation: ধরে with an ongoing action gives the Present Perfect Continuous.
Question 3. সে না এলে আমি যাব না।
- (a) I shall not go if he comes.
- (b) I shall not go unless he comes.
- (c) I shall go unless he comes.
- (d) I did not go unless he comes.
Correct answer: (b) I shall not go unless he comes.
Explanation: না...হলে is unless, which is already negative.
Question 4. সে এত দুর্বল যে হাঁটতে পারে না।
- (a) He is too weak that he cannot walk.
- (b) He is so weak that he cannot walk.
- (c) He is so weak to walk.
- (d) He is very weak that he cannot walk.
Correct answer: (b) He is so weak that he cannot walk.
Explanation: The pattern is so + adjective + that + clause.
Question 5. Transform: He is too weak to walk.
- (a) He is so weak that he cannot walk.
- (b) He is very weak and cannot walk.
- (c) He is weak, so walking.
- (d) He is weak that he walks.
Correct answer: (a) He is so weak that he cannot walk.
Explanation: Too...to becomes so...that ... cannot.
Question 6. Positive degree of: Rahim is the tallest boy in the class.
- (a) No other boy in the class is as tall as Rahim.
- (b) Rahim is taller than any other boy.
- (c) Rahim is very tall in the class.
- (d) Rahim and other boys are equally tall.
Correct answer: (a) No other boy in the class is as tall as Rahim.
Explanation: Superlative to positive uses No other ... as ... as.
Question 7. Complex form of: Seeing the tiger, he ran away.
- (a) He saw the tiger and ran away.
- (b) When he saw the tiger, he ran away.
- (c) Because seeing the tiger, he ran away.
- (d) He ran away seeing the tiger and.
Correct answer: (b) When he saw the tiger, he ran away.
Explanation: A participle phrase becomes a subordinate clause.
Question 8. কেবল সে নয়, তার ভাইও দোষী।
- (a) Not only he but also his brother is guilty.
- (b) Not only he and also his brother are guilty.
- (c) Only he but his brother is guilty.
- (d) He not only but his brother guilty.
Correct answer: (a) Not only he but also his brother is guilty.
Explanation: With not only...but also, the verb agrees with the nearer subject.
Key takeaways
- Read the Bangla verb ending first to fix the tense.
- Never use the Present Perfect with a definite past time word.
- Learn the paired structures: the more...the more, not only...but also, so...that, unless.
- Practise transformation. Many questions are just structure swaps.