2.

BASIC ENGLISH STRUCTURES

i. The Active and Passive Voice
• We can categorise sentences as active or passive
• The passive is formed by using the verb to be followed by the main
verb in past participle
• Verb to be: be, being, been, is, was, are, were, am
• Active voice refers to the sentences where the “doer” of the action
is the subject and the “receiver” is the object
• In passive voice, the receiver (object) becomes the doer (subject)
and the doer (subject) becomes the receiver (object) formed by
“by phrase” which is optional material
 ….cont.
Examples:
• Active: The bandits destroyed the houses
• Passive: The houses were destroyed (by the bandits)
• Active: The engineers will build a modern bungalow next year
• Passive: The modern bungalow will be built next year (by engineers)
• Active: Everyone must obey University by-laws
• Passive: The University by-laws must be obeyed (by every one)
• Active: Computer scientists are testing new applications
• Passive: New applications are being tested (by computer scientists)
 ….cont.
Uses of the Passive.
(a) When the doer of the action is unknown or we don’t want to mention the doer
Active: The rebels killed his father
Passive: His father was killed
Active: Mkuki na Nyota printed that book.
Passive: That book was printed
(b) Used in scientific reports/experiments where is unnecessary to mention the doer
• Sulphuric acid was added then the mixture was heated for 5 minutes…..
• The prototype car was designed at MUST
(c) When we wish to draw attention to the subject rather than the agent
• President Kennedy was killed by a bullet
• His sister was knocked down by a coach
ii. Direct and Indirect (reported) Speeches
• Direct speech refers to actual words of the original speaker WHILE
• Indirect speech refers to utterances that are not quotations, but,
reflect what somebody else said sometimes in the past
• Indirect speech is when you report somebody else’s statement in your
own words without any change in the meaning of the statement
When changing from direct to reported speeches there are some
rules to pay attention to:
(a) Tense changes
Simple present becomes simple past
• “I study structural mechanics every Monday,” he said.
• He said (that) he studied structural mechanics every Monday.
 ….cont.
Present continuous becomes past continuous
• “I am studying structural mechanics at the moment,” he said.
• He said, he was studying structural mechanics at that moment.
Present perfect becomes past perfect
• “I have studied structural mechanics for three years,” he said.
• He said, he had studied structural mechanics for three years.
Present perfect continuous becomes past perfect continuous
• “I have been studying structural mechanics for three years,” he said.
• He said, he had been studying structural mechanics for three years.
 ….cont.
Simple past usually remains simple past
• “I studied structural mechanics last year,” he said.
• He said, he studied structural mechanics last year.
Future becomes conditional
• “I will study structural mechanics next year,” he said.
• He said, he would study structural mechanics next year.
Future perfect becomes conditional perfect
• “ I will have studied structural mechanics for three years next month,”
he said.
• He said, he would have studied structural mechanics for three years
next month.
(b) Pronoun and possessive adjective changes
• “I have left my book in your car,” Mary told her boyfriend.
• Mary told her boyfriend (that) she had left her book in his car.
(c) Demonstrative adjective changes
• “I borrowed this pen from my cousin,” Eliakim said.
• Eliakim said that he borrowed that pen from his cousin.
Direct Indirect
This That or the
These Those or the
iv. Adverb changes
• “I will bring the photo tomorrow,” he said.
• He said, he would bring the photo the next day.
Direct Indirect
Today That day
Yesterday The day before/the previous day
Tomorrow The next day/the following day
Last night The night before/the previous night
Here There
Ago Before
Now Then
 v. Commands
• “Take the books to the office,” the boss ordered the secretary.
• The boss ordered the secretary to take the books to the office.

vi. Questions
• “ Why have you locked the door?” the teacher asked me.
• The teacher asked me why I had locked the door.
• “Have you been to London before?” my father asked him.
• My father asked him if he had been to London before.
• “Have you ever watched terminator iii movie?”Joakina asked Ali
politely.
• Joakina asked Ali politely if he had ever watched terminator iii movie.
 ….cont.
 General rules
a) A question changes to a statement
b) The question mark is dropped
c) Questions not beginning with interrogative words like why, who,
when and what, require the addition of if or whether.
 vii. Reporting Universal Facts
 When reporting permanent states, facts, habits or universal truth,
there will be no changes of tense.
 Here the logic is what was said is still true when it is reported
 Thus, in this case we keep the tense of the original speech
 Examples
i) “The world rotates around the sun”, that geographer said.
That geographer said that the world rotates around the sun.
ii) “ The earth has spherical shape”, the teacher said.
The teacher said that the earth has spherical shape.
 …Cont.
iii) “Water freezes at zero degrees of centigrade”, the scientist said.
The scientist said said that water freezes at zero degrees of
centigrade.
iv) “ Magnet attracts iron”, the student told the class.
The student told the class that magnet attracts iron.
v) “The sun rises from east and set to west”, the professor reported.
The professor reported that the sun rises from east and set to west
iii. Conditional Sentences
• These are sentences that express a condition to be fulfilled first before
something else happens
• eg. If the rain stops, we will be able to finish the work.
I will tell her the truth if we meet in canteen.
• Basically, there are three types of conditional sentences:
• The three types require different tense sequences and have different
meanings.
(a) Conditional type 1
• This is called likely or open condition because there is a great possibility
that something will happen if the condition is fulfilled
• It uses simple present tense in the dependent clause and future time in
the main clause
 ….cont.
Type of Condition Dependent Clause Main Clause
1
Likely/Open/Probable Simple Present Tense Future Time
If Tom goes to MUST He will study
engineering
 ….Cont.
• If Tom goes to MUST, he will study engineering.
This implies that it is possible that Tom will join MUST and study
engineering
• More examples
• If you step on a snake it will bite you
• People will starve if it does not rain for two years
• Yunis will go home if she finishes the work
 Sometimes “Unless” is used to mean “If not”
• Unless you work hard, you will not pass this module
• You will not go to heaven unless you repent the sins
(b) Conditional Type 2
• This is called unlikely/closed condition because it is unlikely that the
condition will be fulfilled
• It uses simple past tense in the dependent clause and conditional
tense in the main clause
 ….Cont.

Type of Condition Dependent Clause Main Clause

2
Unlikely/closed Simple Past Tense Conditional Tense
If Tom went to He would study
MUST engineering
 ….Cont.
• If Tom went to MUST, he would study engineering.
This implies that Tom is unlikely to go to MUST to study engineering
• More examples
• If a thief broke into my house, I would call the police
• If it rained much in Dodoma, they would plant rice
• You could be selected if you passed your examinations
• If I had enough money I would buy a new model of V8
(c) Conditional Type 3
• This is purely hypothetical conditional because everything is in the
past which implies that nothing can be changed at the moment
• Is formed by dependent clause in past perfect and main clause in past
conditional
 ….Cont.

Type of Condition Dependent Main Clause

3 Clause
Hypothetical/ Past Perfect Tense Past Conditional
Unfulfilled/Rejected
If Tom had gone He would have
to MUST studied engineering
 ….Cont.
• If Tom had gone to MUST, he would have studied engineering
The sentence implies that Tom did not go to MUST therefore did not
study engineering
• More examples
• If I had been in Argentine, I would have witnessed Diego’s burial
ceremony
• If we had hired a car, we could have saved some money
• If his brother had been driving, the accident would not have
happened
• The architect would have designed a more expensive house if the
owner had agreed to pay.
iii. Question Tags
• In conversation, we sometimes ask a question not because we need
information but confirmation of what we already know
• We want the person addressed to agree with us and keep the
conversation going
• To achieve this, we add a tag question to a statement.
• A question tag is therefore, a short question that follows a statement
• It is made up of an auxiliary plus personal pronoun
eg. You don’t like history, do you?
We need to buy a new radio, don’t we?
Some Guiding Rules:
(a) There should be a comma before a question tag and a question
mark after the tag
(b) If the statement is affirmative (positive) the tag question should be
negative
 You are the prospective engineer, aren’t you?
(c) If the statement is negative, the question tag should be positive
 You will not read that book, will you?
(d) If you are asking a question tag in which you want “YES” answer, a
question tag should be negative
 She likes mathematics, doesn’t she?
Answer: YES, she does
 ….Cont.
(e) If you expect the answer “NO” the question tag becomes positive
 You are not my enemy, are you?
Answer: NO, I am not
(f) The tense of the tag should correspond to the tense of the
statement.
 They did not greet their teacher, did they?
 We are lost, aren’t we?
(g) Need, dare and am when used positively in a statement are not
repeated in the tag
 We need a rest, don’t we?
 ….Cont.

 I am your enemy, aren’t I?

 He dared to stroke the lion, didn’t he?
(h) A command can be made into less of a command and more of a
request by the addition of a positive tag in the future tense:
 Pass me the sugar, will you?
 Open the window, will you?
(I) Since question tags are used almost solely in conversation, the
shortened form of the negative (don’t, won’t, doesn’t etc.) is used and
pronounced as one word.