ENG09 — Reported Speech, Voice & Conditionals
📚 Chapter ENG09 · NDA Grammar Level
NDA Level
📌 Three Chapters, One File: Reported Speech, Voice (Active/Passive), and Conditionals are tested across all three NDA question types. Each has a small, predictable set of rules that NDA repeats. This chapter covers all three with the exact transformations, error patterns, and PYQs needed to answer these questions confidently.
PART A — REPORTED SPEECH
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Reported Speech converts what someone said (Direct Speech) into our own words (Indirect Speech). NDA tests: backshift of tenses, pronoun changes, time/place expression changes, joiner selection, and reporting verb errors.
1 Joiners — Which Word Connects the Two Clauses
⚠ Question word order in Reported Speech — inversion is removed:
Direct: “Where is the camp?” (inverted — auxiliary before subject)
✗ He asked where was the camp. (inversion kept — wrong)
✓ He asked where the camp was. (subject before verb — statement order ✓)
Direct: “What are you doing?”
✓ He asked what I was doing. (no inversion; backshift ✓)
2 Backshift of Tenses — The Complete Table
Rule: When the reporting verb is in the past tense (said, told, asked, replied), the tense of the reported clause shifts one step back into the past. This is called backshift.
When backshift does NOT apply SPOTTING ERRORS
No backshift — tense stays as is
- Universal / scientific truths: She said the sun rises in the east. ✓
- Historical facts: He said India became independent in 1947. (past stays past — already fixed)
- Habitual facts still true: He said he gets up at 0500 daily. (still his habit)
- Reporting verb in present tense: He says he is ready. (no shift needed)
Common error — shifting what shouldn’t shift
- ✗ She said the sun rose in the east.
- ✓ She said the sun rises in the east. (universal truth)
- ✗ He said water boiled at 100°C.
- ✓ He said water boils at 100°C. (scientific fact)
3 Pronoun & Expression Changes
Pronoun changes FILL IN THE BLANK
Time & place expression changes VERY COMMON IN NDA
Direct Speech → Reported Speech
- now → then
- today → that day
- yesterday → the previous day / the day before
- tomorrow → the next day / the following day
- last night → the previous night
- last week → the previous week / the week before
- next week → the following week
- ago → before
- this → that
- these → those
Direct Speech → Reported Speech (place)
- here → there
- this place → that place
- come → go
- bring → take
- thus → so
No change needed when:
- The reporting is happening at the same time and place as the original speech
- The time/place is still current when reported
Complete Direct → Reported conversion
Direct
The CO said, “I will inspect the troops here tomorrow.”
Reported
The CO said that he would inspect the troops there the next day. (will→would; I→he; here→there; tomorrow→the next day)
4 Reporting Verb Errors — say vs tell & Other Verbs
The say/tell distinction is tested in almost every NDA paper. One takes a person as object; the other does not. Getting this wrong makes the whole sentence wrong.
say — NO person object after it
- ✓ He said that he was ready. (no person after “said”)
- ✓ She said, “I am tired.”
- ✗ He said me that he was ready.
- If a person follows “say”, “to” must come between: He said to me that…
tell — MUST have a person object directly after it
- ✓ He told me that he was ready. (“me” after “told”)
- ✓ She told the General that she had completed the mission.
- ✗ He told that he was ready. (person object missing)
Other reporting verbs and their structures SENTENCE IMPROVEMENT
⚠ “suggest” never takes a to-infinitive in reported speech:
✗ He suggested me to take a break.
✓ He suggested taking a break. (gerund) ✓
✓ He suggested that we should take a break. (that + should) ✓
✓ He suggested that we take a break. (subjunctive) ✓
Q1. (NDA 2025-I) Find the error: “(A) He said me / (B) that he had completed / (C) the assignment the previous day / (D) No error”
Answer: (A) “Say” cannot be directly followed by a person object. Either use “told me” or “said to me”. Correct: He told me that he had completed the assignment the previous day.
Q2. (NDA 2024-II) Convert to Reported Speech: “Where are you going?” he asked me.
- (a) He asked me where was I going.
- (b) He asked me where I was going.
- (c) He asked me where I am going.
- (d) He asked me where did I go.
Answer: (b) Wh-question reported: (1) Use the wh-word “where” as joiner ✓. (2) Remove inversion: “I was going” not “was I going” ✓. (3) Backshift: “are going” → “was going” ✓. Option (a) keeps inversion — wrong. Option (c) fails to backshift. Option (d) uses Simple Past instead of Past Continuous — wrong tense.
Q3. (NDA 2023-I) Find the error: “(A) He suggested / (B) me to take / (C) the earlier flight / (D) No error”
Answer: (A) and (B) “Suggest” never takes an indirect object + to-infinitive. This structure is completely wrong. Correct options: He suggested that I take the earlier flight. OR He suggested taking the earlier flight.
Q4. (NDA 2024-I) Find the error: “(A) The teacher said that / (B) water boiled / (C) at one hundred degrees Celsius / (D) No error”
Answer: (B) “Water boils at 100°C” is a universal/scientific truth. Scientific facts do not undergo backshift in reported speech — they remain in the present tense. Correct: The teacher said that water boils at one hundred degrees Celsius.
Q. Find all errors: “He told that he will visit us tomorrow and that he is very happy now.”
Error 1: “told that” → “Tell” requires a person object. No person follows “told” → use “said that” or “told us that”.
Error 2: “will visit” → Backshift: will → would visit.
Error 3: “tomorrow” → Expression change: tomorrow → the next day.
Error 4: “is very happy” → Backshift: is → was very happy.
Error 5: “now” → Expression change: now → then.
Corrected: He said that he would visit us the next day and that he was very happy then.
PART B — VOICE: ACTIVE & PASSIVE
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Voice shows whether the subject performs the action (Active) or receives it (Passive). NDA tests: correct form of ‘be’ for each tense, transformation of active to passive and vice versa, and special cases where passive cannot or should not be formed.
5 The Verb “be” — Forms in All Tenses
The passive is formed as: Subject + appropriate form of ‘be’ + Past Participle (V3)
Every passive sentence uses “be” as an auxiliary. The form of “be” must match the tense of the original active sentence. Getting the right form of “be” is the foundation of voice transformation.
Simple Present
is / am / are
Present Continuous
is/am/are being
Past Continuous
was/were being
Future Continuous
will be being*
Present Perfect
has/have been
Future Perfect
will have been
Pres. Perf. Cont.
has/have been being*
Past Perf. Cont.
had been being*
Modal (can/will…)
modal + be
*Marked forms are grammatically possible but rarely used or tested. NDA focuses on the first nine.
6 Active to Passive — Transformation Rules
The Four Steps:
1. Move the object of the active sentence to the subject position.
2. Use the correct form of ‘be’ for the tense (from the grid above).
3. Use the past participle (V3) of the main verb.
4. Move the original subject to “by + agent” at the end (or omit if unnecessary).
When to omit “by + agent” SENTENCE IMPROVEMENT
Omit “by + agent” when:
- Agent is obvious: He was arrested. (by police — obvious)
- Agent is unknown: The files were stolen. (by unknown person)
- Agent is unimportant: The road is being repaired.
- Agent is vague (people, they, someone): He was promoted. (by the authorities — not needed)
Keep “by + agent” when:
- Agent is specific and important: The novel was written by Premchand.
- Agent is surprising or noteworthy: The fire was extinguished by a single soldier.
- Without agent, the sentence would be incomplete in meaning
7 Passive to Active — Reverse Transformation
Reversing the passive: The agent after “by” becomes the subject. The passive subject becomes the object. Remove “be” and the past participle; replace with the active verb in the correct tense.
Passive → Active step by step
Passive: The report was written by the officer.
✓ Active: The officer wrote the report.
8 Special Cases & Exceptions
Intransitive verbs — cannot form passive SPOTTING ERRORS
These verbs never take passive — they have no object
- happen, occur, take place → The accident was happened. ✗
- arrive, come, go, walk, run → He was arrived. ✗
- die, fall, rise, appear, disappear → He was died. ✗
- sleep, sit, stand, laugh, cry → She was slept. ✗
Stative verbs — rarely/never passive
- have, own, possess, contain, consist of
- resemble, suit, fit, lack, cost
- ✗ This book is owned by him. → awkward; say He owns this book.
- ✗ A doctor is resembled by him. ✗ → never passive
Imperative passive SENTENCE IMPROVEMENT
Converting imperative (command) to passive
Active (Imperative): Shut the gate.
✓ Passive: Let the gate be shut.
Active (Negative Imperative): Do not open the files.
✓ Passive: Let the files not be opened.
Formula: Let + object + (not) + be + V3
Verbs with two objects (double object verbs) FILL IN THE BLANK
Either object can become the passive subject
- Active: The General gave him a medal.
- ✓ He was given a medal by the General. (indirect object as subject)
- ✓ A medal was given to him by the General. (direct object as subject)
- Verbs: give, send, show, teach, offer, promise, award, tell, pay
Phrasal verbs — preposition stays with verb in passive
- Active: Everyone laughed at him.
- ✓ He was laughed at by everyone. (“at” stays)
- Active: We must look into the matter.
- ✓ The matter must be looked into.
Get-passive — informal but tested in NDA Sentence Improvement
“get” as passive auxiliary — emphasis on process/experience
✓ He got promoted last year. (= was promoted, but emphasises the event happening to him)
✓ She got injured during training.
Get-passive often implies the subject experienced something unexpected or significant. In Sentence Improvement, choosing between “was promoted” and “got promoted” depends on whether the sentence emphasises a result (was) or an event (got).
Q5. (NDA 2025-II) Find the error: “(A) The accident was happened / (B) on the highway / (C) during the night exercise / (D) No error”
Answer: (A) “Happen” is an intransitive verb — it has no object and therefore cannot be made passive. Correct: The accident happened on the highway during the night exercise.
Q6. (NDA 2024-I) Sentence Improvement: “The troops are being inspected by the Commanding Officer.” — Change to active.
- (a) The Commanding Officer is inspecting the troops.
- (b) The Commanding Officer inspects the troops.
- (c) The Commanding Officer was inspecting the troops.
- (d) No improvement needed
Answer: (a) The passive uses “are being inspected” — Present Continuous passive. The active equivalent is Present Continuous: “is inspecting”. The Commanding Officer (agent after “by”) becomes the subject. Option (b) changes the tense to Simple Present — wrong.
Q7. (NDA 2023-II) Fill in the blank — passive: “The report ___ by the adjutant before the CO arrived.”
- (a) was submitted
- (b) had been submitted
- (c) has been submitted
- (d) is submitted
Answer: (b) had been submitted
Two past actions — “before the CO arrived” establishes the later past event. The report submission happened earlier → Past Perfect Passive: “had been submitted”. Present Perfect (c) is wrong because the entire context is in the past.
Q8. (NDA 2024-II) Change to passive: “Shut the door immediately.”
- (a) The door is shut immediately.
- (b) Let the door be shut immediately.
- (c) The door should be shut immediately.
- (d) The door was shut immediately.
Answer: (b) Let the door be shut immediately.
Imperative passive uses the formula: Let + object + be + V3. “Let the door be shut immediately” ✓. Option (c) adds a modal not present in the original. Option (a) changes the meaning to a general statement.
Q. Convert to passive: “Everyone laughed at his mistake.”
Step 1: Identify the phrasal verb: “laughed at” — the preposition “at” stays attached to “laughed” in the passive.
Step 2: Object = “his mistake” → becomes the passive subject.
Step 3: Tense: Simple Past → was/were + V3 → “was laughed at”.
Passive: His mistake was laughed at by everyone.
Note: “at” must not be dropped: His mistake was laughed by everyone ✗
Q. Find the error: “The news was known by everyone in the battalion.”
Error: “Know” is a stative verb — it expresses a state of mind, not an action. Stative verbs cannot form passive voice in standard usage.
Correct: Everyone in the battalion knew the news. (active is the only correct form)
Similarly: A dog was resembled by him ✗ / The dress was suited by her ✗
PART C — CONDITIONALS
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Conditionals express ‘if-then’ relationships. NDA tests four types (0, 1, 2, 3). Mixed conditionals have not appeared in NDA so far and are not covered here. The most tested errors: using ‘will’ in the if-clause, using ‘would have’ in the if-clause (Type 3), and mixing tenses between clauses.
9 The Four Conditionals — Formula, Meaning & Errors
① Zero Conditional — Type 0
General Truths & Scientific Facts
If + Simple Present | Simple Present
Used for facts that are always true — whenever the condition exists, the result always follows. Not a specific future event — a universal truth. “When” can replace “if” with no change in meaning.
✓ If you heat water to 100°C, it boils.
✓ If soldiers train hard, they perform well.
✓ When metal gets hot, it expands.
✗ If you heat water, it will boil. (Type 0 truth doesn’t need “will”)
② First Conditional — Type 1
Real / Possible Future Condition
If + Simple Present | will + base verb
Used for conditions that are possible in the future — the speaker believes the condition might actually be met. The if-clause uses Simple Present (never will). The result clause uses will + base verb.
✓ If he trains hard, he will pass the selection.
✓ If she submits the form today, she will be considered.
✓ He will fail if he does not prepare.
✗ If he will train hard, he will pass. (“will” in if-clause = WRONG)
✗ If she submits, she would be considered. (“would” in Type 1 result = WRONG)
③ Second Conditional — Type 2
Unreal / Hypothetical Present or Future
If + Past Simple | would + base verb
Used for conditions that are unlikely, hypothetical, or contrary to present reality. The if-clause uses Simple Past (NOT past in time — it signals unreality). “Were” is used for all persons in the subjunctive (especially tested in NDA).
✓ If he trained harder, he would succeed.
✓ If I were the CO, I would change this rule. (not “was”)
✓ She would be promoted if she worked harder.
✗ If I was the CO, I would change this. (“was” wrong — use “were” in subjunctive)
✗ If he trained harder, he will succeed. (“will” wrong — use “would”)
④ Third Conditional — Type 3
Unreal Past — What Did Not Happen
If + Past Perfect (had + V3) | would have + Past Participle
Used for imagining a different past — the condition did NOT happen. Both clauses are about the past, but one describes what could have been. Critical rule: “would have” never appears in the if-clause — only in the result clause.
✓ If he had trained harder, he would have passed.
✓ She would have been promoted if she had performed better.
✓ If the reinforcements had arrived earlier, the outcome would have been different.
✗ If he would have trained, he would have passed. (“would have” in if-clause = ALWAYS WRONG)
✗ If he had trained, he had passed. (“had passed” in result = wrong)
✗ If he trained, he would have passed. (Type 2 if-clause + Type 3 result = mixed — not tested in NDA)
10 Conditional Summary Table — All Four at a Glance
11 Conditional Inversion — Formal & NDA Tested
In formal English (and NDA Sentence Improvement), “if” can be dropped and the sentence is inverted. The auxiliary moves to the front of the clause. This creates an elevated, formal tone. NDA tests whether students recognise these inverted conditionals as grammatically correct.
Type 1 — “Should” inversion
- If he should arrive late, call me.
- → Should he arrive late, call me.
- Drop “if”; move “should” to front
Type 2 — “Were” inversion
- If I were the CO, I would change this.
- → Were I the CO, I would change this.
- Drop “if”; move “were” to front
Type 3 — “Had” inversion
- If he had known, he would have acted.
- → Had he known, he would have acted.
- Drop “if”; move “had” to front
12 “unless”, “provided that”, “as long as” as Conditional Substitutes
Q9. (NDA 2025-I) Find the error: “(A) If he would have prepared / (B) better for the written test, / (C) he would have cleared it easily / (D) No error”
Answer: (A) In Type 3 conditional, the if-clause must use Past Perfect (had + V3), never “would have”. “Would have” belongs only in the result clause. Correct: If he had prepared better for the written test, he would have cleared it easily.
Q10. (NDA 2024-II) Find the error: “(A) If I was him, / (B) I would have accepted / (C) the posting without hesitation / (D) No error”
Answer: (A) Type 2 conditional (hypothetical present) requires “were” for all persons, not “was”. Correct: If I were him, I would have accepted… Note: the main clause “would have accepted” is technically Type 3 but acceptable when the result describes a past action in a Type 2 scenario.
Q11. (NDA 2023-II) Fill in the blank: “If the correct map ___ provided, the platoon would not have lost its way.”
- (a) was
- (b) were
- (c) had been
- (d) has been
Answer: (c) had been
Type 3 conditional (the event did NOT happen in the past — they did lose their way). If-clause → Past Perfect: “had been provided”. The main clause “would not have lost” confirms Type 3. Option (b) “were” is Type 2 (present unreal) — wrong here. Option (a) “was” is never correct in a conditional if-clause.
Q12. (NDA 2025-II) Sentence Improvement: “If she will arrive on time, we will start the briefing.”
- (a) If she arrives on time, we will start the briefing.
- (b) If she would arrive on time, we will start the briefing.
- (c) If she had arrived on time, we would have started the briefing.
- (d) No improvement needed
Answer: (a) Type 1 conditional: the if-clause must use Simple Present, never “will”. “If she arrives” is correct. Option (b) uses “would” — also wrong in the if-clause. Option (c) changes the whole conditional type unnecessarily.
Q13. (NDA 2024-I) Identify the type and correct any error: “Had he informed the CO, this situation could have been avoided.”
Type 3 — Inverted conditional. No error.
“Had he informed” = inversion of “If he had informed” (Past Perfect) ✓. “Could have been avoided” = modal perfect passive ✓. The sentence correctly uses Type 3 inversion where “if” is dropped and “had” moves to the front. NDA includes correctly formed inverted conditionals to test whether students know when not to correct a sentence.
Q. Find all errors: “He told that if he would study harder, he will clear the exam, and that the answer was already been given.”
Error 1 (Reported Speech): “told that” → “tell” needs a person object. Correct: “said that” or “told me that”.
Error 2 (Conditional + Backshift): “if he would study” → “would” cannot appear in the if-clause. In reported Type 1, the if-clause backshifts to Simple Past: “if he studied”.
Error 3 (Backshift): “he will clear” → After past reporting verb, “will” → “would”: “he would clear”.
Error 4 (Voice): “was already been given” → Wrong passive form. Past Perfect Passive = “had already been given” (“had” not “was”; this is Past Perfect backshifted).
Corrected: He said that if he studied harder, he would clear the exam, and that the answer had already been given.
📋 Quick Reference — Reported Speech, Voice & Conditionals
💬 RS — Joiners
- Statement → that (omittable)
- Yes/No Q → if / whether
- Wh- Q → the wh-word itself
- Command/Request → to + infinitive
💬 RS — Backshift
- is/am/are → was/were
- will → would; can → could; may → might
- have/has → had; past simple → past perfect
- could/would/might/should → NO CHANGE
💬 RS — No Backshift
- Universal truths (sun rises in the east)
- Scientific facts (water boils at 100°C)
- Habitual facts still true now
- Reporting verb in present tense
💬 RS — say vs tell
- say → NO person object directly after
- tell → MUST have person object
- “said me” → WRONG (said to me / told me)
- “told that” → WRONG (no person after told)
💬 RS — Expression Changes
- now → then; today → that day
- yesterday → the previous day
- tomorrow → the next day
- here → there; this → that; ago → before
💬 RS — Question in Reported
- Remove inversion: “where was he” → “where he was”
- Backshift the tense
- Use wh-word / if / whether as joiner
- No question mark in reported question
🔄 Voice — BE Forms
- Simple: is/am/are / was/were / will be
- Continuous: is/was being
- Perfect: has/have/had been
- Modal: can/must/will + be
🔄 Voice — Active → Passive
- Object → Subject position
- Add correct form of ‘be’ + V3
- Subject → by + agent (or omit if obvious)
- Formula: S + be + V3 + by + agent
🔄 Voice — Special Cases
- Intransitive verbs → NEVER passive
- Imperative → Let + object + be + V3
- Phrasal verbs → preposition stays
- Stative verbs (know/resemble/suit) → avoid passive
🔬 Conditionals — Summary
- Type 0: Pres + Pres (always true)
- Type 1: Pres + will (possible future)
- Type 2: Past + would (unreal present)
- Type 3: Past Perf + would have (unreal past)
🔬 Conditionals — Key Rules
- “will” NEVER in if-clause (any type)
- “would have” NEVER in if-clause (Type 3)
- Type 2: use “were” for ALL persons (not was)
- Inversion: Had/Were/Should + subject (drop ‘if’)
⚠ Top NDA Traps
- “If he would have prepared” → WRONG
- “If I was him” → WRONG (use were)
- “The accident was happened” → WRONG
- “He suggested me to go” → WRONG
- “He told that” → WRONG (no person object)