(A I Patel)
B.Com. – II , Semester –
IV
Sub – English
MODULE – VI
A) English
for competitive Examinations –II
The competitive
examinations are conducted to evaluate the knowledge and skills of person. The
syllabi of almost all competitive examinations are more or less same. The
comprehension of English language is tested through objective type questions
based on grammar and comprehensive writing. The present unit focuses on a
certain grammatical and comprehensive elements in the context of competitive
examinations. Of course, to consider all components of English grammar of
competitive examinations in the present unit is fairly difficult. Hence, the
present unit focuses on a certain constituents like transformation of
sentences, precis writing and essay writing. The aim of this unit is to help
you to study and learn language skills for Competitive Examinations.
Transformation of
Sentences:
'Transform' means to change from one
form into another. Transformation of sentence is a grammatical process in which
the sentence is transformed from one form into another form without changing
its meaning. Transformation of sentence comprises the different types of
changes. However, some essential types of transformation have been considered
in the present unit. They are as follows:
•Changing the Simple, Compound and
Complex sentences into the other two forms of sentences respectively.
•Affirmative into negative
Let us see the above different types of sentences in
detail:
•Changing the Simple, Compound and
Complex sentences into the other two forms of sentence:
In English, there are mainly three types
of sentences;
a) Simple sentence
b) Compound sentence
c) Complex sentence
• Simple
sentence:
When there is only one finite verb in a
sentence, it is considered as simple sentence. Finite verb means a verb which
has a connotation of tense and there is subject-verb agreement. A simple
sentence has just one clause. We can change a simple sentence into a compound
sentence or a complex sentence. Study the examples given below:
•Siddhartha plays cricket every
evening.
•Tejaswini talks very fast.
In the above examples, each sentence has
only one independent clause and a finite verb. Therefore they are simple
sentences. Such types of simple sentences can be changed into a compound or
complex sentences.
• Compound
sentence:
A compound sentence has more than one
main clause. It consists of two or more independent clauses. The clauses of a
compound sentence are joined together by coordinating conjunctions. Such
sentences have two finite verbs and two subjects. Study the examples given
below:
•Buy two shirts and get one free.
•I tried to speak English, and my friend
tried to speak Hindi. In the above examples, each sentence has
two independent clauses joined together by coordinating conjunctions and finite
verbs. Therefore, they are compound sentences.
• Complex sentence:
Complex sentence consists of at least
one main clause and one subordinate clause. Both the clauses have finite verbs
and they are connected by subordinating conjunction. Study the following
examples:
•The students are studying because
they have a test tomorrow, • He worked hard that he might pass the examination.
In the above examples. The students are
studying and 'He worked hard' are main clauses; and 'because they have a test
tomorrow' and that he might pass the examination are subordinate clauses.
Combination of Simple Sentences into a single Simple
Sentence:
To avoid the repetition and monotonous
impression, different simple sentences are combined in a single simple
sentence. To combine such different simple sentences, we have to follow some
basic changes.
•When two simple sentences have
the similar subject, use participle is accepted for transforming them into a
single simple sentence.
For example:
Rahul was tired of work. He decided to
watch television.
•Tired of work, Rahul decided to
watch television.
OR
Having tired of
work. Rahul decided to watch television.
•When the
information about the subject of first simple sentence is stated in a second
sentence, it is combined in a single sentence by placing a comma after a
subject.
For example:
Her sister died yesterday. She was a
great doctor.
•Her sister, a great doctor died
yesterday.
By adding a preposition with a noun or
gerund, two different simple sentences are combined in a single sentence.
For example:
His wife heard the news. Her joy knew no
bounds.
•On hearing the news, his wife's joy
knew no bounds.
Two different simple sentences can be
combined in a single sentence by using an infinitive verb.
For example:
She is very poor. She can't educate her
son.
•She is too poor to educate her son.
Transforming Simple Sentences into Compound or Complex
Sentences:
•While transforming simple sentences into
a compound sentence, we have to use coordinating conjunctions like and/
but/or/and/so/. We also have to maintain the meaning of given sentence.
For example:
Sumit is a poor boy. He is a clever boy.
•Sumit is a poor but he is a clever boy.
Deepika is interested in English. Her
friend is interested in Hindi.
•Deepika is interested in English and
her friend in Hindi.
Similarly, while transforming simple
sentence into complex sentence, we have to use subordinating conjunctions like
though/since/as/when/ or a relative pronoun. Here also we have to maintain the
meaning of given sentence.
For example:
Alka sings a song. Her brother plays a
piano.
•Alka sings a song, whereas her brother
plays a piano.
My friend is Harun. He lives in Pune.
•My friend is Harun who lives in Pune.
.
Affirmative into negative:
While transforming affirmative sentences
into negative sentences, certain rules have to be considered. These rules are
given below:
Rules of transforming affirmative into negative sentences:
•Sentence with 'only/alone', changes
into 'none but/nothing but/not
more than/not less than'.
Examples:
•Affirmative
: A brave man alone can do this.
•Negative : None
but a brave man can do this.
•Affirmative
: She needs a pen only.
•Negative
: She needs nothing but a pen.
•Affirmative : They need bread only.
•Negative
: They don't need more than
bread.
•'Must/have
to/can' turns into 'cannot
Example:
Affirmative : You must study hard.
Negative : You cannot but study hard.
▪
'And/both' becomes 'not only ... but also':
Example:
Affirmative : I bought
cell phone and memory card.
Negative : I
bought not only cell phone but also memory card.
•'Every'
becomes 'there is no ... but':
Example:
Affirmative : Every
mother loves her child.
Negative : There
is no mother but loves her child.
▪
'Always' in affirmative becomes 'never + opposite word' in negative statements:
Example:
Affirmative : She is always against of smoking.
Negative : She
is never in favour of smoking.
▪ Many
affirmative sentences can be changed into negative by using negative word 'Not'
and an 'opposite word' of the verb:
Example:
Affirmative : He missed
the bus.
Negative : He
could not catch the bus.
•Sometimes' in affirmative becomes 'not always' in
negative:
Example:
Affirmative : The
poor are sometimes happy.
Negative : The
poor are not always happy.
•‘Too...to'
in affirmative becomes 'so... that ...+ cannot+verb':
Example:
Affirmative:
He is too weak to walk.
Negative
: He is so weak that he cannot walk.
• 'As
soon as' in Affirmative becomes 'No sooner had....than' in Negative:
Example:
Affirmative : As soon as
the teacher came, the students stood up.
Negative : No
sooner had the teacher came than the students stood up
• 'As+
adjective + as' in affirmative becomes 'not less + adjective... than' in
negative sentence:
Example:
Affirmative : Harun is
as good as Prakash.
Negative : Harun is not less good than Prakash.
