ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICES
- Contexte: Dans la voix active, le sujet fait l'action. Ex. I (sujet) am eating (verbe) rice (objet). Par contre, dans la voix passive, le sujet subit l'action. On utilise alors le complément d'agent "By" pour introduire ce fait. Ex. Rice is being eaten by me.
- Forme: Le passage de la voix active à la voix passive implique de nombreux changements tant au niveau du sujet, des verbes que des pronoms personnels. Pour ce qui est des verbes, c'est l’auxiliaire "BE" qui est utilisé pour passer d'une voix à l'autre. Dans le tableau ci dessous, nous avons dressé la liste des principaux verbes et des modifications qu'ils subissent lorsqu'on passe de la voix active à la voix passive.
- Remarque: Il faut faire attention au temps au sujet lorsqu'on passe la voix active à la voix passive. Prenons le cas suivant: We (sujet) have caught (verb) an antelop (objet). Ici l'objet est au singulier, par conséquent, lors de la transformation, le verbe devra subir des modifications comme suit: An antelop has been caught by us
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| Temps du verbe |
Voix active |
Voix passive |
| Simple present |
I eat rice |
Rice is eaten by me |
| Simple past tense |
I ate rice |
Rice was eaten by me |
| Present progressive |
I am eating rice |
Rice is being eaten by me |
| Past progressive |
I was eating rice |
Rice was being eaten by me |
| futur |
I will/shall eat rice |
Rice will/shall be eaten |
| Conditionnel |
I would eat rice |
Rice would be eaten |
| Past perfect |
I had eaten rice |
Rice had been eaten |
| Present perfect |
I have eaten Rice |
Rice has been eaten by me |
| Future perfect progressive |
I will have eaten rice |
Rice will have been eaten by me |
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D'autres transformations ont eu lieu au niveau des pronoms surtout personnels
- I devient Me
- We devient Us
- They devient Them
- He devient him
- she devient her...
DIRECT SPEECH / REPORTED OR INDIRECT SPEECH
1- Pour commencer: Le passage du discours direct au discours indirect et vice versa implique de nombreuses transformations tant au niveau du groupe verbal que des pronoms personnels ou des adverbes de lieu ou de temps. Dans le discours direct ou indirect il d'entrée de jeu connaître les différents temps et savoir les transformations qu'ils doivent subir lorsqu'on passe d'un temps à un autre.
TENSE CHANGE - IN - INDIRECT SPEECH
Present simple tense into Past simple
Present Continuous tense into Past continuous
Present Perfect tense into Pas perfect
Present Perfect Continuous into Past perfect continuous
Past simple into Past Perfect
Past Continuous into Past Perfect Continuous
Past Perfect into Past Perfect
Future simple, will into would
Future Continuous, will be into would be
Future Perfect, will have into would have
DIRECT SPEECH
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INDIRECT SPEECH
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PRESENT SIMPLE changes into PAST SIMPLE
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He said, “I write a letter”
She said, “he goes to school daily”
They said, “we love our country”
He said, “he does not like computer”
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He said that he wrote a letter.
He said that she went to school daily.
They said that they loved their country
He said that he did not like computer. |
PRESENT CONTINUOUS changes into PAST CONTINUOUS
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“I am listening to the music”
She said, “I am washing my clothes”
They said, “we are enjoying the weather”
I said, “it is raining”
She said, “I am not laughing”
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He said that he was listening to the music.
She said that she was washing her clothes.
They said that they were not enjoying the weather.
She said that she was not laughing.
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PRESENT PERFECT changes into PAST PERFECT
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She said, “i have finished his work”
He said, “I have started a job”
I said, “she have eaten the meal”
They said, “we have not gone to New York.
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She said that she had finished her work.
He said that he had started a job.
I said that she had eaten the meal.
They said that they had not gone to New York. |
PRESENT PERFECT CONTINUOUS changes into PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
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He said, “I have been studying since 3 O’clock”
She said, “It has been raining for three days.”
I said, “She has been working in this office since 2007”
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He said that he had been studying since 3 O’clock.
She said that it been raining for three days.
I said that she had been working in this office since 2007.
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PAST TENSE
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PAST SIMPLE changes into PAST PERFECT
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He said to me, “you answered correctly”
John said, “they went to cinema”
He said, “I made a table”
She said, “I didn’t buy a car”
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He said to me that I had answered correctly.
John said that they had gone to cinema.
He said that he had made a table.
She said that she had not bought a car. |
PAST CONTINUOUS changes into PAST PERFECT CONTINUOUS
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They said, “we were enjoying the weather”
He said to me, “ I was waiting for you”
I said, “It was raining”
She said, “I was not laughing”
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They said that they had been enjoying.
He said to me that he had been waiting for me.
I said that it had been raining.
She said that she not been laughing.
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PAST PERFECT changes into PAST PERFECT (tense does not change)
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She said, “She had visited a doctor”
He said, “I had started a business”
I said, “she had eaten the meal”
They said, “we had not gone to New York.
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She said that she had visited a doctor.
He said that he had started a business.
I said that she had eaten the meal.
They said they had not gone to New York.
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FUTURE TENSE
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FUTURE SIMPLE TENSE WILL changes into WOULD
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He said, “I will study the book”
She said, “I will buy a computer”
They said to me, “we will send you gifts”
I said, “I will not take the exam”
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He said that he would study the book.
She said that she would buy a computer.
They said to me that they would send you gifts.
I said that I would not take the exam. |
FUTURE CONTINUOUS TENSE WILL BE changes into WOULD BE
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I said to him, “ I will be waiting for him”
She said,” I will be shifting to new home”
He said, “I will be working hard”
He said, “he will not be flying kite”
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I said to him that I would be waiting for him.
She said that she would be shifting to a new home.
He said that he would be working hard.
She said that he would not be flying kites.
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FUTURE PERFECT TENSE WILL HAVE changes into WOULD HAVE
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He said, “I will have finished the work”
She said, “they will have passed the examination”
He said, “I will have gone”
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He said that he would have finished the work.
She said that they would have passed the examination.
He said that he would have gone.
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Note: The tense of reported speech may not change if reported speech is a universal truth though its reporting verb belongs to past tense.
A) Verb tenses:We change the tenses in the following way:
1. Present becomes past
"I never understand you," she told me. - She told me she never understood me.
2- Present progressive becomes Past progressive
"We are doing exercises," he explained. - He explained that they were doing exercises.
3. Present perfect becomes past perfect
"I have broken the window," he admitted. - He admitted that he had broken the window.
"I have been waiting since the morning," he complained. - He complained that he had been waiting since the morning.
4. Past becomes past perfect
"She went to Rome," I thought. - I thought that she had gone to Rome.
"He was thinking of buying a new car," she said. - She said he had been thinking of buying a new car.
5. Will becomes conditional
Will changes into the conditional.
"I will come on Sunday," he reminded me. - He reminded me that he would come on Sunday.
Notes
I shall, we shall usually become would.
"I shall appreciate it," he said. - He said he would appreciate it.
I should, we should usually changes into would.
"We should be really glad," she told us. - She told us they would be really glad.
May becomes might.
"I may write to him," she promised. - She promised that she might write to him.
Care about it: The verb forms remain the same the following cases.
1. If the reporting verb is in the present tense.
Bill: "I am enjoying my holiday." - Bill says he is enjoying his holiday.
Sandy: "I will never go to work." - Sandy says she will never go to work.
2. When we report something that is still true.
Dan: "Asia is the largest continent." - Dan said Asia is the largest continent.
Emma: "People in Africa are starving." - Emma said people in Africa are starving.
3. When a sentence is made and reported at the same time and the fact is still true.
Michael: "I am thirsty." - Michael said he is thirsty.
4. With modal verbs would, might, could, should, ought to, used to.
George: "I would try it." - George said he would try it.
Mimi: "I might come." - Mimi said she might come.
Steve: "I could fail." - Steve said he could fail.
Linda: "He should/ought to stay in bed." - Linda said he should/ought to stay in bed.
Mel: "I used to have a car." - Mel said he used to have a car.
5. After wish, would rather, had better, it is time.
Margo: "I wish they were in Greece." - Margo said she wished they were in Greece.
Matt: "I would rather fly." - Matt said he would rather fly.
Betty: "They had better go." - Betty said they had better go.
Paul: "It is time I got up." - Paul said it was time he got up.
6. In if-clauses.
Martha: "If I tidied my room, my dad would be happy." - Martha said that if she tidied her room, her dad would be happy.
B) Pronouns
We have to change the pronouns to keep the same meaning of a sentence.
- We becomes they "We are the best students," he said. - He said they were the best students.
- They becomes Them "They called us," he said. - He said they had called them.
- "I like your jeans," she said. - She said she liked my jeans.
- "I can lend you my car," he said. - He said he could lend me his car.
- This becomes That
- Here becomes There
C) Time and place
Let's suppose that we talked to our friend Mary on Friday. And she said: "Greg came yesterday." It means that Greg came on Thursday. If we report Mary's sentence on Sunday, we have to do the following:
Mary: "Greg came yesterday." Mary said that Greg had come the day before.
If we say: Mary said Greg had come yesterday, it is not correct, because it means that he came on Saturday.
The time expressions change as follows.
- Today - that day,
- Tomorrow - the next day/the following day,
- The day after tomorrow - in two days' time,
- Yesterday - the day before, the day before yesterday - two days before,
- Next week/month - the following week/month,
- Last week/month - the previous week/month,
- A year ago - a year before/the previous year
Bill: "She will leave tomorrow." - Bill said she would leave the next day.
Sam: "She arrived last week." - Sam said she had arrived the previous week.
Julie: "He moved a year ago." - Julie said he had moved a year before.
Note:If something is said and reported at the same time, the time expressions can remain the same.
"I will go on holiday tomorrow," he told me today. - He told me today he would go on holiday tomorrow.
"We painted the hall last weekend," she told me this week. - She told me this week they had painted the hall last weekend.
