Sentence Transformation English Grammar and Speaking

Objective - Sentence Transformation

  • Recognize the underlying pattern of sentences that have undergone
  • Interrogative
  • Negative
  • Imperative Transformation

Negative Sentences with Auxiliary Verbs

  • The negative word not appears after the auxiliary verb:
  • Peter will not (won’t) arrive early.
  • Frances has not (hasn’t) finished her homework.
  • Fred is not (isn’t) painting his room white.
  • In a combination of auxiliaries the negative marker not appears after the first one
  • Jan should not have been driving your car.
  • Edward has not been telephoning us regularly.

Negative Sentences with Be

  • When the main verb is a form of Be, the negative word not appears after be
  • Betty is here.
  • Betty is not (isn’t) here.
  • Harold’s old stereo was powerful.
  • Harold’s old stereo was not (wasn’t) powerful.

Negative Sentences Without Auxiliary Verbs or Be

  • To form a negative sentence we need to have an auxiliary verb or a verb be (as a main verb) and a negative indicator not.
  • If the sentence does not have an auxiliary verb or a main verb be, the substitute auxiliary verb (do) must be used.
  • Not is inserted after do.
  • Do doesn’t bring any meaning to the sentence – is called sometimes a dummy auxiliary
  • Tense is signaled by the form that do takes (do, does, did)
    • Do you know what is the time?
    • Do you know what is the time?
    • Did you see her today?
    • Does she know about the exam?

Analyzing the Substitute Auxiliary Do

  • Jan should have been driving your car.
    • Jan + [Present + should + have + {-en} + be + {-ing} + drive + your car
  • The negative transformation
    • Jan + [present + should + not + have + {-en} + be + {-ing} + drive + your car
  • Jan should not have been driving your car.
  • The bank remained open after 5:00 P.M.
    • The bank + [past + do] + remain + open + after 5:00 P.M.
  • The negative transformation
    • The bank + [past + do + not] + remain + open + after 5:00 P.M.

The bank did not remain open after 5:00 P.M.

Double Negatives

  • We have other ways of negating the sentences
  • Prefixes like in-or un –
  • Changing the indefinite pronoun some and any to no and none.
    • Her apologies were insincere.
    • He is treating them unkindly.
    • He blamed nobody for the accident.
    • The dog ate none of the cat food.
  • If not is added to the negative sentences, the result has two negative signals
    • Her apologies were not insincere. = positive
    • Her apologies were not insincere. = positive
    • He is not treating them unkindly. = positive
    • He didn’t blame nobody for the accident. – to emphasize
    • The dong didn’t eat none of the cat food. – to emphasize
  • The last two are avoided by native speakers (dialectal)

Interrogative Sentences

  • Sentences of the five basic types are all declarative
    • They make statements.
  • Interrogative sentences – ask questions
    • Yes/no questions (general questions)
      • Did someone eat last piece of cake?
    • Seeks yes/no answer.
    • Wh –questions (special questions)
  • Who ate the last piece of cake?
    • Assumes the truth of a statement
    • Seeks the missing information about it

Yes, No Questions

  • Are built by
  • Moving the first auxiliary verb to the front of the sentence
    • Has Barbarabeen reading the book?
  • Moving the main verb be to the front of the sentence
    • Is Twin Jim’s favourite author?
  • Inserting Do at the beginning of the sentence if auxiliaries are not present or the main verb is not Be
    • Did Bill turn off his computer?

Negative Yes, No Questions

  • We often find it useful to combine two or more transformations in a single sentence.
  • He opened his presents.
    • Statement
  • Did he open his presents early?
    • Question
  • He didn’t open his presents early.
    • Negative
  • Didn’t he open his presents early?
  • Negative question

Wh – Questions

  • Wh – questions differ from yes/no questions in two ways
    • They ask for missing information rather than for confirmation or denial
    • They begin with interrogative word (wh – word)
  • The most common wh- words: who, whom, what, when, where, why, how, which, whose
    • Who played the solo?
    • What will the judge decide?
    • Where has Dan go?
    • Why are the police on the corner?
    • When is the first exchange student arriving?

Interrogative Determiners

  • When you create wh-question corresponding to the following declarative sentence with the indefinite word (stand for unknown information), you sentence is likely to by this
  • Barbara wore someone’s coat
  • Whose coat did Barbara wear?
  • Note that the entire constituent containing an unknown must move to the front of the sentence in wh-question transformation
  • Whose did Barbara wear coat?
  • Whose coat did Barbara wear?

Ending a Sentence with Preposition

  • What happens when the unknown is the object of a preposition?
    • Keith polished his car with something.
    • What did Keith polished his car with? (conversational)
    • With what did Keith polished his car? (appropriate only in formal situations)
  • Who/Whom questions
    • Carolyn invited someone to the dance.
    • Who/Whom did Caroline invite to the dance?
    • Who/Whom was Caroline going to the dance with?

Imperative Sentences

  • Imperative sentences give commands and issue orders
    • Finish your soup!
    • Sit down!
  • More polite would be to say
    • Would you like to be seated?
  • To transform from declarative into imperative sentences
    • Delete the subject you
    • You walk faster – Walk faster!
    • You are here - * Are here! ; You are quiet - * Are quiet!
    • Check if the verb is in its uninflected base form
    • Be here! Be quiet!

Negative Forms of the Imperative

  • The negative form of imperatives contains a Do not , just like the negative of a sentence without an auxiliary constituent
  • Since imperatives delete you and will, you insert an expletive DO in order to introduce not
  • * Not wear black to the dance
  • You will wear black to the dance.
  • Not wear black to the dance.
  • Don’t wear black to the dance.
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