Transformation: Assertive to Negative, Interrogative, Exclamatory Sentences and Vice-Versa

Transformation: Assertive to Negative, Interrogative, Exclamatory Sentences and Vice-Versa

Definition:- 

♦ To change the structure of the sentence without changing its meaning.

 (A) Transformation of Affirmative Sentences into Negative sentence and vice-versa.

Rule (i)

♦  Positive « so/very

♦ Negative « at all

♦ By using ‘no/not/never’ + Opposite words

Examples:

•  Rama is very rich. (Aff.)

  Rama is not so rich. (Incorrect)

  Rama is not poor at all. (Neg.) (Correct)

• My friend is so lazy. (Aff.)

  My friend is not active at all. (Neg.)

•  It is foolish to waste time like this. (Aff.)

  It is not wise to waste time like this. (Neg.)

•  I admit that it was my fault. (Aff.)

  I don’t deny that it was my fault. (Neg.)

•  I will always remember this experience. (Aff.)

  I will never forget this experience. (Neg.)

•  These scissors are blunt. (Aff.)

  These scissors are not sharp. (Neg.)

• She is innocent. (Aff.)

  She is not guilty. (Neg.)

• She behaved in a foolish manner. (Aff.)

  She did not behave in a wise manner. (Neg.)

• He dislikes mangoes. (Aff.)

  He doesn't like mangoes. (Neg.)

• Ravi remembered the address. (Aff.)

  Ravi didn't forget the address. (Neg.)

• He rejected my proposal. (Aff.)

  He didn't accept my proposal. (Neg.)

• Ravi is quite honest. (Aff.)

  Ravi is not so dishonest. (Neg.)

Rule (ii)

♦ By using structure ‘has/have/had’ + be + without + noun

Examples:

• Every mother has affection for her children. (Aff.)

  There is no mother who doesn't have affection for her children. (Neg.)

                                   or

  No mother is without affection for her children.(Neg.)

• Every person has a problem. (Aff.)

  There is no person who doesn't have a problem. (Neg.)

                                   or

  No person is without a problem. (Neg.)

• Where there is fire, there is smoke. (Aff.)

  There is no smoke without fire. (Neg.)

• One has to take pain to gain something. (Aff.)

  No gains without pains. (Neg.)

• I love my country. (Aff.)

  I am not without love for my country. (Neg.)

• I have courage. (Aff.)

  I am not without courage. (Neg.)

Rule (iii)

♦ Affirmative « Negative (not + fail to)

Examples:

• Speak the truth. (Aff.)

  Don’t fail to speak the truth. (Neg.)

• He saw the Taj Mahal. (Aff.)

  He didn’t fail to see the Taj Mahal. (Neg.)

• He played cricket whenever he was free. (Aff.)

  He didn't fail to play cricket whenever he was free. (Neg.)

• He laughed at me. (Aff.)

  He didn't fail to laugh at me. (Neg.)

• They helped the old man. (Aff.)

  They didn't fail to help the old man. (Neg.)

• I failed to utter a word. (Aff.)

  I couldn't utter a word. (Neg.)

• We failed to swim across the river. (Aff.)

  We couldn't swim across the river. (Neg.)

• She fails to solve such questions. (Aff.)

  She can't solve such questions. (Neg.)

  I bought a nice car. (Aff.)

  I didn't fail to buy a nice car. (Neg.)

• I talked to him. (Aff.)

  I didn't fail to talk to him. (Neg.)

• Mr. Sharma recognized me. (Aff.)

  Mr. Sharma didn't fail to recognize me. (Neg.)

• I failed to reach there on time. (Aff.)

  I didn't reach there on time. (Neg.)

Rule (iv)

♦ Affirmative (Only/Alone)

  Negative (None but)

Examples:

• Only a fool will laugh at him. (Aff.)

  None but a fool will laugh at him. (Neg.)

• Only a poor man can live like this. (Aff.)

  None but a poor man can live like this. (Neg.)

• Only a greedy man can do so. (Aff.)

  None but a greedy man can do so. (Neg.)

• Only a woman can feel such things. (Aff.)

  None but a woman can feel such things. (Neg.)

• A fool alone can laugh at her. (Aff.)

  None but a fool can laugh at her. (Neg.)

• A mother alone can realise the importance of children. (Aff.)

  None but a mother can realise the importance of children. (Neg.)

Rule (v)

♦ Affirmative (As soon as) 

  Negative (No sooner__than)

Examples:

• As soon as he reached home, his phone rang. (Aff.)

  No sooner did he reach home than his phone rang. (Neg.)

• As soon as he saw me, he ran away. (Aff.)

  No sooner did he see me than he ran away.(Neg.)

• As soon as he entered the room, all the students stood up. (Aff.)

  No sooner did he enter the room than all the students stood up. (Neg.)

Rule (vi) 

♦ Affirmative (Seldom) « Negative (Very often)

Examples:

• It seldom rains here in winter. (Aff.)

  It doesn't rain here in winter very often. (Neg.)

• He seldom comes here. (Aff.)

  He doesn't come here very often. (Neg.)

 (B) Transformation of Assertive Sentences into Interrogative and vice-versa. 

Rule (i)

♦ Assertive « Interrogative

♦  Positive « Negative

♦  Negative « Positive 

Examples:

• I didn't hurt you. (Ass.)

  Did I hurt you? (Int.)

• She will do it. (Ass.)

  Won't she do it? (Int.)

• She will never come back. (Ass.)

  Will she ever come back? (Int.)

• She can't do it. (Ass.)

  Can she do it? (Int.)

• We can never forget such things. (Ass.)

  Can we ever forget such things? (Int.)

• A lawyer never speaks the truth. (Ass.)

  Does a lawyer speak ever the truth? (Int.)

• You know me. (Ass.)

  Don't you know me? (Int.)

• She was laughing at me. (Ass.)

  Wasn't she laughing at me? (Int.)

• He was tired. (Ass.)

  Wasn't he tired? (Int.)

• He won't join the party. (Ass.)

  Will he join the party? (Int.)

• She never behaves well. (Ass.)

  Does she ever behave well? (Int.)

Rule (ii)

♦ Interrogative « Assertive

♦ Interrogative (Who + Affirmative) « Negative(No one/None/Nobody)  

♦ Interrogative (Who + Negative) «  Affirmative(Everyone/Everybody)

Examples:

• Who can challenge him? (Int.)

  No one can challenge him. (Ass.)

• Who will welcome such a man? (Int.)

  No one will welcome such a man. (Ass.)

• Who will dislike him? (Int.)

  No one will like him. (Ass.)

• Who doesn't like him? (Int.)

  Everyone likes him. (Ass.)

• No one dares to talk to him. (Ass.)

  Who dares to talk to him? (Int.)

• Who is mightier than God? (Int.)

  No one is mightier than God. (Ass.)

• Who doesn't love his motherland? (Int.)

  Everyone loves his motherland. (Ass.)

Rule (iii)

♦ Interrogative (What more) « Assertive (Any more)

Examples:

• What more can she do? (Int.)

  She can't do any more. (Ass.)

• What more can one ask for? (Int.)

  One can't ask for any more. (Ass.)

Rule (iv)

♦ Interrogative «  Assertive

♦ Why + verb «     It is no use + Gerund

                                 or

                              It is not useful + Gerund

                                            or

                              It is not wise + to + V₁

Examples:

• Why wait for him? (Int.)

  It is not wise to wait for him. (Ass.)

  It is no use waiting for him. (Ass.)

• Why waste our time here? (Int.)

  It is not wise to waste our time here. (Ass.)

                                         or

  It is useless to waste our time here. (Ass.)

                                 or

  It is no use wasting our time here. (Ass.)

• Why sit here? (Int.)

  It is no use sitting here. (Ass.)

                                   or

  It is not useful sitting here. (Ass.)

• Why cry over spilt milk? (Int.)

  It is not wise to cry over spilt milk. (Ass.)

(C) Transformation of Assertive Sentences into Exclamatory Sentences and vice-versa 

Rule (i)

♦ Exclamatory « Assertive

♦  What!, How! + Adj./Adverb    Very

♦  What! + Noun          Strange/Great

Examples:

• What a nice person he is! (Exc.)

  He is a very nice person. (Aff.)

• What a beautiful picture it is! (Exc.)

  It is a very beautiful picture. (Aff.)

• What a scene! (Exc.)

  It is a very nice/pleasant scene. (Aff.)

• What a man! (Exc.)

  He is a very great man. (Aff.)

• How lucky she is! (Exc.)

  She is very lucky. (Aff.)

• How well he is playing! (Exc.)

  He is playing very well. (Aff.)

• How fast you are walking! (Exc.)

  You are walking very fast. (Aff.)

• How foolish you are! (Exc.)

  You are very foolish. (Aff.)

• What a pleasant sight it was! (Exc.)

  It was a very pleasant sight. (Aff.)

• What a talented teacher Mr. Sharma is! (Exc.)

  Mr. Sharma is a very talented teacher. (Aff.)

• What an arrogant person he is! (Exc.)

  He is a very arrogant person. (Aff.)

• How shy the girl was! (Exc.)

  The girl was very shy. (Aff.)

• What a greedy the man was! (Exc.)

  The man was very greedy. (Aff.)

• How loudly she was crying! (Exc.)

  She was crying so loudly. (Aff.)

• What a great king Ashoka was! (Exc.)

  Ashoka was a great king. (Aff.)

Rule (ii)

♦  Exclamatory (o that, oh that, oh for, would that etc.) 

♦  Assertive (I wish + that)

Examples:

• Oh that I were rich! (Exc.)

  I wish that I were rich. (Aff.)

• Would that I had not watched movie when I was young! (Exc.)

  I wish that I had not watched movie when I was young. (Aff.)    

• Would that she had played well! (Exc.)

  I wish that she had played well. (Aff.)       

• O that she were here! (Exc.)

  I wish that she were here. (Aff.)

• O that I had a car! (Exc.)

  I wish that I had a car. (Aff.)

Rule (iii)

♦  Exclamatory (Alas!) «  Affirmative (It’s a matter of sadness/It’s extremely sad + that)

♦  Exclamatory (Bravo!) «  Affirmative (It’s a matter of praise + that)

♦  Exclamatory (Hurrah!) «  Affirmative (It’s a matter of joy/happiness + that)

♦  Exclamatory (Fie! Fie!) «  Affirmative (It’s a matter of shame + that)

Examples:

• Hurrah! I have done it. (Exc.)

  It is a matter of joy that I have done it. (Aff.)

• Alas! She has met with an accident. (Exc.)

  It is matter of sorrow/sadness that she has met with an accident. (Aff.)

• Bravo! You have done well. (Exc.)

  It is a matter of praise/appreciation/applause that you have done well. (Aff.)

• Well done! You have got selected. (Exc.)

  It is a matter of praise that you have got selected.(Aff.)

• Fie, Fie! You are a cheat. (Exc.)

  It is a matter of shame that you are a cheat.(Aff.)