Transformation of Sentences

Transformation of Sentences:

Changing the form of sentences without changing their meanings is called the Transformation of sentences.

Transformation of Sentences by Removing Adverb “too”:

Read the following sentences:

(1) He is too cunning to be deceived.

He is so cunning that he cannot be deceived.

(2) The patient is too weak to walk.

The patient is so weak that he cannot walk.

(3) He is too clever not to stand first.

He is so clever that he can stand first.

Note: If too is followed by an infinitive in Affirmation, remove too and break the sentence into two clauses- the Principal and the Subordinate.

The Subordinate Clause should be in negative as in sentences 1 and 2.

(4) She is too clever.

She is clever beyond the proper limit.

(5) The fox is too cunning.

The fox is more cunning than he should be.

(6) He is too wise.

He is over wise.

(7) He ate too much.

He ate more than enough.

Note: If too is not followed by an Infinitive, use the words beyond the proper limit, over, more than enough, etc. as in sentences 4, 6 and 7.

Transformation of Degrees of Comparison:

• Positive- Ramu is as old as Mohan.
• Comparative- Mohan is not older than Ramu.

• Positive- Gold is not so useful as iron.
• Comparative- Iron is more useful than gold.

• Comparative- The Ganges is longer than the Chenab.
• Positive- The Chenab is not so long as the Ganges.

• Comparative- My pen is not more costly than your pen.
• Positive- Your pen is as costly as my pen.

• Superlative- Kolkatta is the biggest city in India.
• Comparative- Kolkatta is bigger than any other city in India.
• Positive- No other city in India is so big as Kolkatta.

• Superlative- Gandhiji was the greatest leader of his time.
• Comparative- Gandhiji was greater than any other leader of his time.
• Positive- No other leader of his time was so great as Gandhiji.

• Superlative- Madras is one of the biggest cities of the Deccan.
• Comparative- Madras is bigger than most of the cities of the Deccan.
• Positive- Very few cities in the Deccan are as big as Madras.

• Superlative- Nehru was one of the greatest statesmen of the world.
• Comparative- Nehru was greater than most of the statesmen of the world.
• Positive- Very few statesmen of the world were as great as Nehru.

Interchange of Affirmative and Negative Sentences:

• Affirmative- The baby is too young to stand up without support.
• Negative- The baby is so young that she cannot stand up without support.

• Affirmative- Sohan is cleverer than Nitin.
• Negative- Nitin is not so clever as Sohan.

• Affirmative- Kolkatta is the biggest city in India.
• Negative- No other city in India is so big as Kolkatta.

• Affirmative- As soon as we reached the station, the train steamed off.
• Negative- No sooner did we reach the station than the train steamed off.

• Affirmative- We reached the school on time.
• Negative- We did not reach the school late.

• Affirmative- He is sometimes foolish.
• Negative- He is not always wise.

• Affirmative- Indian soldiers are brave.
• Negative- Indian soldiers are not timid.

• Affirmative- I always speak the truth.
• Negative- I never tell a lie.

Transformation of Affirmative into Negative by using a Prefix or Suffix:

• Affirmative- His schemes are practicable.
• Negative- His schemes are not impracticable.

• Affirmative- She is an intelligent girl.
• Negative- She is not an unintelligent girl.

• Affirmative- All metals are of use.
• Negative- No metals are useless.

• Affirmative- He is always full of hope.
• Negative- He is never without hope.

• Affirmative- She is born under lucky stars.
• Negative- She is not born under unlucky stars.

Transforming Interrogative into Assertive Sentences:

• Interrogative- Can wealth buy health?
• Assertive- Wealth cannot buy health.

• Interrogative- When can their glory fade?
• Assertive- Their glory can never fade.

• Interrogative- Who can buy such costly furniture?
• Assertive- None can buy such costly furniture.

• Interrogative- Who has not heard of Indira Gandhi?
• Assertive- Everybody has heard of Indira Gandhi.

• Interrogative- Why waste your time in idle gossips?
• Assertive- It is no use wasting your time in idle gossips.

• Interrogative- Do they ever fail who die in a noble cause?
• Assertive- They never fail who die in a noble cause.

• Interrogative- Do they always speak the truth?
• Assertive- They never tell a lie.

• Interrogative- Can anybody describe the beauty of Kashmir?
• Assertive- None (no one) can describe the beauty of Kashmir.

Transformation of Exclamatory into Assertive Sentences:

• Exclamatory- What a sunny morning!
• Assertive- It is a very sunny morning.

• Exclamatory- How beautiful the rose is!
• Assertive- The rose is very beautiful.

Note: Exclamatory sentences introduced by ‘what‘ and ‘how‘ are changed into Assertive sentences by replacing these words by ‘very‘.

• Exclamatory- Alas! I have missed the opportunity.
• Assertive- It is a pity that I have missed the opportunity or It is extremely sad that I have missed the opportunity.

• Exclamatory- Hurrah! we have won the match.
• Assertive- It is a matter of extreme joy that we have won the match.

• Exclamatory- O that I were a rich man!
• Assertive- I wish I were a rich man.