Hello everyone!!!!
Today we have a very special post prepared by our Director of Studies about sentence transformation but, before that, you need the answers for the passives exercises, don’t you? How do you think you did? Let’s take a look! 😉
Exercise 1:
1.- The game has been won by Manchester United
2.- The last piece of cake was had/taken by Mark and Kevin
3.- An umbrella is being carried by Jane
4.- My book has been stolen (we omit the agent)
5.- The police are being phoned by my neighbours.
Exercise 2:
1.- A message will be sent…
2.- … ball was kicked over the…
3.- … had clearly been broken…
4.- … have been met by…
5.- … being repaired by the technician…
And now… Welcome to the world of sentence transformations!!! Enjoy!!! 🙂
Deconstructing Transformations
Transformations can be found in various different Cambridge examinations and, for many students and candidates, they represent one of the greatest challenges in Use of English. One reason for this is that many transformations test not only a particular grammar point, but also vocabulary. Although the word limit differs, the same basic technique can be applied to FCE, CAE, CPE and to some extent, PET.
Technique: Deconstructing a transformation
Steps:
1. Read the instructions. Across the levels, the instructions are the same; complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning to the first, using the word given (except PET, where no word is given). What changes is the word limit:
PET 1 – 3 words
FCE 2 – 5 words
CAE 3 – 6 words
CPE 3 – 8 words
Remember, a contraction (e.g don’t / he’s) counts as 2 words.
2. Read the original sentence in this example.
What is the time reference (past / present /future)?
Example: They are building a new supermarket in the town centre
(FCE) BEING (word given)
A ………………………………………………………….. in the town centre.
Answer: present.
3. Compare the 2 sentences. Underline the words which appear in both.
They are building a new supermarket in the town centre
BEING (word given)
A ………………………………………………………….. in the town centre.
By doing this, you focus on what exactly needs to be changed, ‘..are building a new supermarket..’
4. Compare the order of the words in both sentences. If the order differs, why do you think this is? In the example, the transformation does not begin with the subject pronoun ‘They’, but with the article ‘A’. This would suggest a passive form.
5. Look carefully at the word given. What kind of word is it?
BEING (_ing form of the verb ‘be’)
Could this be the first word you need to write? ‘A BEING……..’
No. This would not make sense in the context of this transformation, but why not?
The article ‘A’… means a countable noun is probably required. Is there a countable noun in the original sentence?
Yes: ‘…a new supermarket..?
Is the adjective ‘new’ necessary?
In any transformation, if you are not sure whether to include the adjective or not, check the word limit. If it can be used without exceeding the word limit, use it. Remember step one: the second sentence must as similar as possible as the first sentence.
A new supermarket …………………………………. In the town centre
6. Look again at the word given: BEING. Can this word be used next? No, but why not?
Which auxiliary verb is needed to form a continuous tense?
Answer: is/are was/were
Remember step 2: time reference (in this case, present) = is/are
Is there a singular or plural reference? (in this case singular; ‘A new supermarket…) = is
A NEW SUPERMARKET IS BEING………………..in the town centre
By this point, 4 words have been used. If you have managed to get this far, you will know that this is a passive sentence so what is missing is a past participle. The original sentence uses the verb in its continuous form ‘building’. Is the verb ‘build’ a regular or an irregular verb?
Answer: irregular = BUILT
A NEW SUPERMARKET IS BEING BUILT in the town centre
This answer would receive 2 marks.
At FCE / CAE / CPE, each transformation is worth up to 2 marks. This means that if you have part of the transformation correct, you can still receive 1 mark. You do not lose marks for writing an incorrect answer, so always write something, using the word given, after all, 1 mark is better than 0!
Good Luck.
Andy (DOS)
The Red Lobster 