2. This chapter will cover:
• Active and passive construction
• Reported speech
• Numbers
3. Why do we need “Mechanics of
Language”?
• In reporting what a research has collected, it is
crucial to consider the mechanics or aspects
of the language such as active/passive voice
and direct/ indirect speech. This produces
neat and organised writing.
5. • There are two special forms for verbs called
VOICE:
– Active voice
– Passive voice
6. Active voice
1. Active voice is the “normal” voice which is
used most of the time.
2. In active voice, the object receives the action
of the verb. Example:
Active
Subject Verb Object
Cats eat fish
7. 3. Active voice is chose as it is shorter and more
direct.
4. Active clearly states relationship between
subject and action.
– The waiter dropped the tray of food
8. 5. The active voice sentence pattern drives the
reader forward through your writing thus
avoiding weak prose. Compare
PASSIVE ACTIVE
Your request for
funding has been
denied by the review
committee.
The review committee
denied your request
for funding.
9. Passive voice
1. It is less usual than the active voice.
2. Passive voice is used when the focus is on the
action. It is not important or not known, however,
who or what is performing the action.
– Example: My bike was stolen.
3. In the example above, the focus is on the fact that
my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.
10. 4. Sometimes a statement in passive is more
polite than active voice, as the following
example shows:
– Example: A mistake was made.
– In this case: I focus on the fact that a mistake was
made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have
made a mistake.).
11. Form of passive voice
• Subject + finite form of to be / auxiliary verb +
Past Participle
– Example: A letter was written.
12. • When rewriting active sentences in passive
voice, note the following:
– the object of the active sentence becomes the
subject of the passive sentence
– the finite form of the verb is changed (to be +
past participle)
– the subject of the active sentence becomes the
object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)
13. Tense Subject Verb Object
Simple
Present
Active: Rita writes a letter.
Passive: A letter is written by Rita.
Simple Past Active: Rita wrote a letter.
Passive: A letter was written by Rita.
Present
Perfect
Active: Rita has written a letter.
Passive: A letter has been written by Rita.
Future I Active: Rita will write a letter.
Passive: A letter will be written by Rita.
Hilfsverben Active: Rita can write a letter.
Passive: A letter can be written by Rita.
14. Tense Subject Verb Object
Present
Progressive
Active: Rita is writing a letter.
Passive: A letter is being written by Rita.
Past
Progressive
Active: Rita was writing a letter.
Passive: A letter was being
written
by Rita.
Past Perfect Active: Rita had written a letter.
Passive: A letter had been written by Rita.
Future II Active: Rita will have written a letter.
Passive: A letter will have been
written
by Rita.
15. Passive sentences with two objects
• Rewriting an active sentence with two objects
in passive voice means that one of the two
objects becomes the subject, the other one
remains an object.
• Which object to transform into a subject
depends on what you want to put the focus
on.
16. Example:
Subject Verb Object 1 Object 2
Active: Rita wrote a letter to me.
Passive: A letter was
written
to me by Rita.
Passive: I was
written
a letter by Rita.
17. • As you can see in the examples, adding by
Rita does not sound very elegant. That’s why it
is usually dropped.
18. Rewrite the sentences below using Passive
voice:
• E.g: Salbiah writes a report
– A report is written by Salbiah or,
– A report is written
19. 1. Kamal rescued two tigers.
2. The engineers handed in the report.
3. Suraya crashed into the red van.
4. Azizi sang the songs.
5. Suhaila has forgotten the module.
6. The technician has repaired the LCD projector.
7. They play football.
8. Harliana puts the backpack on the floor.
9. The boys had won the match.
10. The lecturer is not going to open the door.
11. He bought three oranges.
12. We won the competition.
13. The young man stole the green bandwagon.
14. The police has arrested the thieves.
15. Sofea drew that portrait.
16. The shark bit the old man
17. Tom and Max ate four chicken burgers.
18. Oliver taught the children.
19. Victoria rode the brown horse.
20. Grandmother told good stories.
21. • If we report what another person has said, we
usually do not use the speaker’s exact words (direct
speech), but reported (indirect) speech.
• The structure is a little different depending on
whether you want to transform a statement,
question or request.
22. Statements
• When transforming statements, check
whether you have to change:
– pronouns
– present tense verbs (3rd person singular)
– place and time expressions
– tenses (backshift)
23. Type Example
direct speech “I speak English.”
reported speech
(no backshift)
He says that he speaks
English.
reported speech
(backshift)
He said that he spoke
English.
25. Exceptions
• Backshift of Simple Present is optional if the
situation is still unchanged or if you agree with
the original speaker.
– Beispiel: “Canberra is the capital of Australia.“
– She said that Canberra is / was the capital of
Australia.
26. • Backshift of Simple Past and Past
Progressive is optional if they cannot be
mistakenly taken for backshift of Present
Tense. So backshift is not necessary if there is
a time expression indicating past.
– Example:
• “She left Boston on Monday.“
• He said that she left / had left Boston on
Monday.
27. • Simple Past and Past Progressive do not normally
change in sentences with when / if.
– Example:
• “When I was having breakfast, the telephone
suddenly rang.“
• She said that when she was having breakfast,
the telephone suddenly rang.
– Example:
• “If I had more time, I would learn French.“
• He said that if he had more time, he would
learn French.
28. Questions
• Also note that you have to:
– transform the question into an indirect question
– use the interrogative or if / whether
29. Type Example
with
interrogative
direct
speech
“Why don’t you speak
English?”
reported
speech
He asked me why I
didn’t speak English.
without
interrogative
direct
speech
“Do you speak
English?”
reported
speech
He asked me whether
/ if I spoke English.
30. Requests
• When transforming requests, check whether
you have to change:
– pronouns
– place and time expressions
33. –Apart from the above mentioned basic
rules, there are further aspects that you
should keep in mind, for example:
• main clauses connected with and / but
• tense of the introductory clause
• reported speech for difficult tenses
• exceptions for backshift
• requests with must, should, ought to and let’s
34. Main Clauses connected with and / but
• If two complete main clauses are connected
with ‚and‘ or ‚but‘, put ‚that‘ after the
conjunction.
– Example:
• He said,“I saw her but she didn’t see me.”
• – He said that he had seen her but that she
had not seen him.
35. • If the subject is left out in the second main
clause (the conjunction is followed by a verb),
do not use ‚that‘.
– Example:
• She said,“I am a nurse and work in a hospital.“
• – He said that she was a nurse and worked in a
hospital.“
36. Requests
• Advise expressions
with must, should and ought are usually
reported using advise / urge.
– Example:
• “You must read that book.“
• He advised / urged me to read that book.
37. • The basic rule for requests is: introductory
clause + ‚to‘ + infinite verb.
– Example:
• “Say hello to your mum.“
• She asked me to say hello to my mum.
38. • The expression let’s is usually reported
using suggest. In this case, there are various
possibilities for reported speech: gerund or
statement with should.
– Example:
• “Let’s go to the cinema.“
• He suggested going to the cinema.
• He suggested that we should go.to the cinema.
39. Finish the sentences below using reported
speech: always change the tense,
although it is sometimes not necessary.
• Eg: Peter: “I clean the black shoes.”
• Answer: Peter told me that he cleaned the
black shoes.
40. 1. Samad: “Zarina is at school”.
Samad said that ….
2. Azwan: “I’m watching movie.”
3. Haidar: “Ziana often reads novels.”.
4. Jasmin: “Huda was ill.”
5. Pn. Rohani “My father will be 60 years old.”
42. Rule 1. Spell out single-digit whole
numbers. Use numerals for numbers
greater than nine.
Correct
Examples:
I want five copies.
I want 10 copies.
43. Rule
2.
Be consistent within a category. For example, if you
choose numerals because one of the numbers is greater
than nine, use numerals for all numbers in that
category. If you choose to spell out numbers because
one of the numbers is a single digit, spell out all
numbers in that category.
If you have numbers in different categories, use
numerals for one category and spell out the other.
Correct
Examples:
My 10 cats fought with their 2 cats.
My ten cats fought with their two cats.
Given the budget constraints, if all 30
history students attend the four plays,
then the 7 math students will be able to
attend only two plays. (Students are
represented with figures; plays are
represented with words.)
Incorrect
Example: I asked for five pencils, not 50.
44. Rule 3. Always spell out simple fractions
and use hyphens with them.
Examples: One-half of the pies
have been eaten.
A two-thirds majority
is required for that
bill to pass in
Congress.
45. Rule 4. A mixed fraction can be expressed
in figures unless it is the first word
of a sentence.
Examples: We expect a 5 1/2
percent wage increase.
Five and one-half
percent was the
maximum allowable
interest.
46. Rule 5. The simplest way to express large numbers
is best. Round numbers are usually spelled
out. Be careful to be consistent within a
sentence.
Correct:
You can earn from one million to
five million dollars.
Incorrect:
You can earn from one million to
$5,000,000.
Correct:
You can earn from five hundred to
five million dollars.
Correct:
You can earn from $5 hundred to
$5 million.
Incorrect:
You can earn from $500 to $5
million.
Incorrect:
You can earn from $500 to five
million dollars.
47. Rule 6. Write decimals in figures. Put a zero
in front of a decimal unless the
decimal itself begins with a zero.
Examples: The plant grew 0.79 of
a foot in one year.
The plant grew only .07
of a foot this year
because of the drought.
48. Rule 7. The following examples apply when
using dates:
Examples: The meeting is
scheduled for June
30.
The meeting is
scheduled for the
30th of June.
We have had tricks
played on us on April
1.
The 1st of April puts
some people on
edge.
49. Rule 8. When expressing decades, you
may spell them out and lowercase
them.
Example: During the eighties
and nineties, the U.S.
economy grew.
50. Rule 9. If you wish to express decades
using incomplete numerals, put an
apostrophe before the incomplete
numeral but not between the year
and the s.
Correct:
During the '80s and
'90s, the U.S.
economy grew.
Incorrect:
During the '80's and
'90's, the U.S.
economy grew.
