A REVIEW 

Conversion or transformation of a sentence implies changing   grammatical form of a sentence  from one to another without changing its meaning. It can be done  in a number of  ways.

These methods are to interchange different types of sentences i.e. Affirmative, Negative and Interrogative Sentences, Simple Sentence, Compound Sentence and Complex Sentence. Before understanding conversion a brief view about these types of  sentences.

A sentence comprises generally of following parts :  Subject, Verb and Object. OR Subject and Predicate.

The Simple Sentence

A sentence usually comprises of a subject and a predicate or in other words there is a subject , a verb and an object in a sentence. For example :

1. The girl sings a song.
2. He is a noble man.

In sentence no. 1 ‘The girl’ is subject and ‘sings a song’ is a predicate. OR

‘The girl’ is subject and ‘sings’ is a verb and ‘a song’ is  object.

Similarly is sentence no 2 ‘He’ is a subject and ‘is a noble man’ a predicate.

Such a sentence is called a Simple Sentence.

In other words, a simple sentence has a subject and a predicate.

The Compound Sentence

A compound sentence is sentence made up of two parts joined by a coordinating conjunction. For example :

1. The sun rose and the birds started chirping.
2. I went to the market and purchased sweets and ate them.

The sentence 1. is formed of two parts –

The sun rose.

The birds started chirping.

Both these parts are joined by conjunction ‘and’.

This is a compound sentence and each part is called a clause. Each part has a sense and its own meaning. Each one can be written independently. It is also called a ‘coordinate clause’.

Similarly sentence 2 is also a compound sentence. It comprises of three coordinating clauses –

I went to the market.

(I) purchased sweets.

(I) ate them.

All these three clauses are joined by conjunctions ‘and’.

These two sentences are called compound sentences.

A compound sentence is formed of two or more coordinate clauses. A compound sentence having two coordinate clauses is called Double Compound sentence whereas a Compound sentence with more than two coordinate clauses is called a Multiple Compound sentence.

The Complex Sentence

A complex sentence consists of two clauses one of which is the Main clause and the other Subordinate clause. Each clause has a Subject and a Predicate. The Principal clause is independent clause whereas Subordinate clause is dependent on the Principal clause and cannot be used as an independent clause. For example :

1. It started raining when I reached home.
2. When I reached my office, I found that my boss was not there.

In the case of sentence 1, there are two clauses :

1. It started raining 2. When I reached home.

First clause is independent part whereas the second clause is dependent on first. The second gives meaning when joined with first. So first is Principal clause and the second is Subordinate clause. Similarly in the sentence 2 there are three clauses –

1. I found
2. That my boss was not there.
3. When I reached my office.

Subordinate clauses are of three types : Adverbial clause, Adjective clause and Noun clause.

Here follow exercises of transformation of sentences for practice.

Exercises for Practice :

Exercise ONE:

Change the following Sentences (without changing their meaning) as directed:

1. What a piece of work is man !                                         (Change into Assertive form)
2. O! that I could fly high in the sky!                                  (Change into Simple Sentence)
3.  There is no greater feeling than love.                           (Change into an Interrogative Sentence)
4. This is not the way to talk to your elders.                     (Change into Interrogative Sentence)
5. Will any body forget those happy days spent here?    (Change into a Assertive Sentence)
6. If you do not hurry, you will be late in the office.         (Make use of the word ‘unless’)
7. But for your help, we would have ruined.                      (Make use of the word ‘If’)
8. No one but a fool would trust him.                                 (Change into an Affirmative Sentence)
9. What a delicious food we had yesterday!                       (Change into an Assertive Sentence )
10. The child is very pretty.                                                  (Change into an Exclamatory Sentence

 

Exercise TWO :

Change the following Sentences (without changing their meaning) as directed.

(Use the form of the italicized word as given in parenthesis )

Example :

Children listened to the teacher carefully.                          (Use Noun form )

Children listened to the teacher with care.

1. We are proud of our rich heritage.                                                  (Use Noun form)
2. The prisoner confessed his guilt.                                                      (Use Adjective form)
3. She is very popular among her friends.                                           (Use Noun form)
4. Our culture is different from theirs.                                                  (Use Verb form)
5. They tried but could not find solution of  the problem.                   (Use Verb form)
6. The team succeeded in executing the plan.                                      (Use Adverb form)
7. They extended their help to the needy.                                                (Use Verb form)
8. We did not intend to harm them.                                                       (Use Adverb form)
9. We are free to move in the country.                                                   (Use Adverb form)
10. All the people escaped narrowly in the accident.                              (Use Adjective form)

Exercise THREE:

Change the following Sentences (without changing their meaning) as directed:

 

1. You must abide by the rules of the club. You must leave the club.   ( Combine two sentences by using or)
2. The old woman was carrying a basket. The basket was full of fresh fruit. (Change sentences into a simple sentence)
3. He is very old. He enjoys very good health.                                  (Combine two sentences by using ‘although…yet’)
4. To avoid punishment, the student must apologise.                     (Change the sentence by using ‘either…or’)
5. She is very beautiful. She has a charming personality.                 (Change the sentence by using ‘not only …but also)
6. The official accomplished his job and went out of the office.       (Change into to a simple sentence)
7. Taking his breakfast, he rushed to his office.                                  (Change into a compound sentence)
8. One has to work hard or one cannot succeed.                                (Change into a simple sentence)
9. Night fell and all the birds returned to their nests.                          (Change into a simple sentence)
10. No one knows the time of his returning home.                                 (Change into a complex sentence)

 

Exercise  FOUR

Change the following Sentences (without changing their meaning) as directed:

1. What a fine it is today!                                                        (Change into Assertive Sentence)
2. If only I could be successful in the examination!               (Change into Assertive Sentence)
3. O’ for a cup of tea!                                                                (Change into Assertive Sentence)
4. It is of great joy that our team won the match.                  (Change into Exclamatory Sentence)
5. She is a very clever fellow.                                                    (Change into Exclamatory  Sentence)
6. These flowers are very beautiful.                                         (Change into Exclamatory Sentence)
7. What a naughty child this is !                                                (Change into Assertive Sentence)
8. It is sad that we have lost our way!                                       (Change into Assertive Sentence)
9. Bravo! Well done.                                                                   (Change into Assertive Sentence)
10. How easy it is to accomplish the job!                                   (Change into Assertive Sentence)

Exercise FIVE

Combine the following Simple Sentences to form a single Simple Sentence.

1. He took off his clothes. He jumped into the river.
2. He went to the office. He met the chairman in the office.
3. He read the question carefully. He wrote the answer.
4. He heard the news. He felt delighted.
5. She listened to him. She started weeping bitterly.
6. The boy heard her version carefully. The boy followed her.
7. The boy ran very fast. The boy won the race.
8. The sun rose. All the workers set out on their journey.
9. She waited for him for one hour. She went to her home.
10. He is very clever. He cannot be befooled.

 

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