B2 transformation

B2 GRAMMAR

W3 transformation exercise

contents

W3 transformation

perfect modals

wishes and regrets

conditionals

contents

W3 transformation

passive voice

Reported speech

negative inversion

General

General

General

Reporting verbs

Advanced structures

Reporting verbs

Causative

wishes and regrets

about the past

When we regret something about the past, we can use these structures:

I wish + subject + past perfect (had/hadn't + past participle)If only + subject + past perfect (had/hadn't + past participle) I regret + (not) -ing verb

Examples:

I wish I had studied more for the exam

I regret not studying English when I was young

I regret not studying more for the exam

I wish I had studied English when I was young

If only I hadn't bought an electric car

I regret buying cryptocoins two years ago

I regret buying an electric car

If only I hadn't bought cryptocoins two years ago

conditionals

Second conditional

Past and present

If +PAST SIMPLEdiddidn't

WOULD +INFINITIVE

She didn’t pass the exam because she didn’t study.

Past simple

Past simple

If she had studied, she would have passed the exam.

Modal perfect

Past perfect

We use it to talk about imaginary or hypotetical situations in the present or the future.

Third conditional

I don’t eat the chocolate cake because I’m on a diet.

Present simple

Present simple

If +PAST PERFECThad + V3 hadn't + V3

WOULD + HAVE +V3

If I wasn't on a diet, I would eat the chocolate cake.

Past simple

Modal simple

To give the same meaning, we need to change the verbs (affirmative to negative ; negative to affirmative) or the sentence's order.

We use it to talk about situations that could be true in the past and its consequences. Normally we use it to regret about sth.

Modal verb + have + past participle

perfect modals

deduction and speculation

Modal verbs can be used in perfect tenses to talk about past actions, regrets, speculations or deductions.

I’m sure Mia forgot her wallet at home.

Must Certainty or strong deduction about the past. "She must have left early to catch her flight" Might/may/could Past possibility or uncertainty "He might have forgotten about the meeting" Might not /may not Uncertainty about sth. not happening in the past "He might not have recieved the message" Can't Impossibility in the past "He can't have finished the task that quickly"

Certainty

Mia must have forgotten her wallet at home.

Perhaps Emily took the wrong bus.

Uncertainty

Emily might have taken the wrong bus.

It’s not possible that Jake saw us; he was at work.

Impossibility

Jake can't have seen us; he was at work.

We can't use the negative couldn't to expreess Uncertainty about sth. not happening in the past

reported speech

general

When we use a past tense to report speech, there is usually a 'backshift' in the tense:

Present simple

Past simple

'l'm excited!'

She soid she was excited.

Past continuous

Present continuous

'You're wearing my hat.'

He said l was wearing his hot

Past simple

Past perfect

'We swam a lot.'

He said they had swum a lot.

Past continuous

Past perfect continuous

She said he had been driving too fast.

'He was driving too fast'

Present perfect

Past perfect

'They have viewed our video.'

He said thot they had viewed their video.

Present perfect continuous

Past perfect continuous

He soid they'd been revising for weeks.

'We've been revising for weeks.'

The most common are 'say and tell. They mean the same, but tell is followed by an object. He said (that) he loved her = He told me (that) he loved her.

was/were going to

am/is/are going to

'l'm going to visit my mum'grondr.'

She said she was go¡ng to visit her mum

would

will

'We'll meet you at the cinema'cinema.'

They said they'd meet us at the cinema.

may

might

'Your room may not be ready'

They said our room might not be ready

can

could

'l can't hear you.'

She said she couldn't hear me.

must/ have to (obligation)

had to

He said he had to tidy up.

'l must tidy up,'

must (certainty)

must/had to

'You must be hungry.'

She soid we must/had to be hungry.

The Past perfect and the modals could, might, mustn't, needn't, ought to and should don't change in reported speech.

other changes

• ln reported speech, we often have to change pronouns and possessive adjectives.

'l'll call you on your mobile.' She said she would call him on his mobile.

• When we use a past tense to report what someone said, expressions of time and place often change.

Reported speech

Direct speech

Reported speech

Commands

• We report requests using subject + ask + object + (not) to infinitive.

• Direct question with who, why, when, how, which, where or what:

I asked her,'Could you wait a moment, please?'I asked her to wait a moment.

'When will you be home?' Lia asked Eva. Lia asked Eva when she would be home.

• We report commands using subject + tell + object + (not) to infinitive.

• To report a Yes/No question, we use if or whether.

'Don't run!' Mum told us. Mum told us not to run.

'Do you want to come?' I asked her.I asked (her) if/whether she wanted to come.

• We usually report questions using the verb ask.
• We use the same word order as in positive sentences (subject + verb).
• We don't use the auxiliary verb do/ does/did in reported questions and we don't use a question mark.
• We have to make a backshift in the tense:

'Do you play basketball?' George asked me. George asked (me) if I played basketball.

Questions

reporting verbs

verb + preposition + noun/ -ingaccuse of, admit to, apologise for and complain about

'He apologised for damaging my bike'Everyone complained about the poor service'

verb + noun/ -ing admit, deny, recommend and suggest

He denied copying her friend's essay.Poppy recommended this film..

verb + object + (not) to infinitiveadvise, ask (command), beg, encourage, force, invite, order, permit, persuade, remind, rely, urge and warn

'Carl advised me to get to the concert early'The government warned everyone not to travel in the bad weather.

verb + (not) to infinitiveagree, offer, promise, refuse and threaten

My mum's agreed to teach me how to drive'I promised not to be late.

verb + (that)add, admit, accept, agree, argue, complain, deny, explain, insist, point out, promise, protest, recommend, say, suggest and warn

Tom agreed thot the tickets were too expens¡veThe teacher exptained that there would be a quiz the following week. We promised that we'd clean up after the party

we have to do a 'backshift' in tense

verb + object + (that)persuade, promise, remind, tell and warn

He promised me that it was a good ideaTom reminded Dad that we'd run out of milk

passive voice

general

We create the passive by using the correct form of he verb be + the past participle (+ by + the agent).

Present simple

am/is/are + past participle

''The students do homework'

'Homeworks are done by the students'

am/is/are + being + past participle

Present continuous

'She is painting the walls'

'The walls are being painted'

Past simple

was/were + past participle

'Stephen king wrote IT'

IT was written by Stephen King'

Past continuous

was/were + being + past participle

'The house was being cleaned'

'They were cleaning the house'

Present perfect

have/has + been + past participle

'The mechanic has repaired the car'

'The car has been repaired by the mechanic'

Past Perfect

had + been + past participle

'The project had been finished'

'He had finished the project'

We include by + the agent only if it is important to say who or what does the action.

be going to + be + past participle

be going to

'They're going to paint my house'grondr.'

'My house is going to be painted'

will + be + past participle

will

'Spohie will bake a cake.'

'A cake will be baked by Sophie'

can

can + be + past participle

'Karl can't finish the exam'

'The exam can't be finished by Karl'

should

should + be + past participle

'They shuld check the documents'

'The documents should be checked'

infinitive

infinitive + object+ to be + past participle

'He wants a house to be built'

'Joe wants to build a house'

gerund

gerund + object + being + past participle

'Spectators enjoy watching movies'

'They enjoy movies being watched'

Practically all modal verbs can be used in passive (can, could, must, may, might, should, would, shall, ought to, have to, need to and used to) they follow the same structure modal + be + past participle

Impersonal passive

passive

Reporting structures

• We often use the impersonal lt with these verbs.

• With an impersonal lt passive, we can follow the reportlng verb with either an infinitive or that.

'It is rumored that the manager wíll announce his resignation

• Some verbs, such as allege, assume, believe, expect, know, say, report, rumour, suppose, understand, are often used in the passive as reporting verbs.

It is understood te be a cormplícated situation.It ts understood that the sítuation is complicated.

• We can build personal or impersonal structures with those verbs.

Personal passive

• With a personal reporting structure, beginning with l/you/he/she/it/we/they, we use the past participle of the reporting verb, followed by to + inflnitive.

• ln both personal and impersonal constructions, we can use the reporting verb in the past if we are referring to sth people expected/knew/thought, etc.

• However, if the action was done in the past, and we are reporting it now, the verbs must reflect this.

He is known to be a thief

to + infinitive

present

She is thought to be planning a crime.

to + continuous infinitive

He was known to be a good writer It was thought that they had broken up He is understood to have run a marathon It is believed that he discovered the crime

They are rumoured to have a secret

to + perfect infinitive

past

They are believed to have been cheating

to + perfect continuous infinitive

negative inversion

general

Negative inversion occurs when a negative or restrictive word (such as never, rarely, hardly, little, not only) begins the sentence, causing the auxiliary verb to come before the subject. This structure makes the sentence more dramatic or formal.

Examples of Negative Inversion:

✅ She rarely goes out at night. → Rarely does she go out at night.✅ I had hardly left the house when it started to snow. → Hardly had I left the house when it started to snow. ✅ A short time after he arrived, the show started. → No sooner had he arrived than the show started.

negative inversion

Common structures

In this case, we add the negative adverb at the first part of the sentence and we change the order of the subject and the auxiliary verb. Using the same tense. Notice that in the past simple and the present simple, we have to add "do/does, did"

• I have not once seen such a talented musician.

• She hardly ever watches TV.
• He had barely begun his speech when the microphone turned off.
• They rarely go on holiday.
• She barely knew how difficult the exam would be.
• She had hardly finished her meal when the waiter took her plate.

Never ➡ Never have I seen such a talented musician. Rarely ➡ Rarely does she watch TV.Hardly ➡ Hardly had he begun his speech when the microphone turned off. Seldom ➡ Seldom do they go on holiday. Little ➡ Little did she know how difficult the exam would be. Scarcely ➡ Scarcely had she finished her meal when the waiter took her plate.

Present perfect

Present simple

We add 'does'

• You should by no means speak with him.
• She was never at any moment aware of the danger.
• You must under no condition open this door for strangers.
• I have not ever seen such an amazing performance.

negative inversion

Under no circumstances ➡ Under no circumstances should you speak with him. At no time ➡ At no time was she aware of the danger. On no account ➡ On no account must you open this door for strangers. Never before ➡ Never before have I seen such an amazing performance

Other structures

These sentences have two clauses and they require a conjunction (but also; tan) to connect them.

• She as well as passed the test, she also got the highest score.
• He had hardly entered the house when the lights went out.
• When it started to snow, I had hardly left the house.

optional

Not only... but also ➡ Not only did she pass the test, but she (also) got the highest score.Hardy... when ➡ Hardly had he entered the house when the lights went out No sooner... than ➡ No sooner had he left the house than it started to snow.

No sooner is always followed by 'had'

negative inversion

Present perfect

Second part structures

• I have never visited my hometown after I moved abroad

• I really believed he was safe when I saw John with my own eyes.
• She understood the exercise just when the teacher explained it again.
• They apologized only after I confronted them.
• Then she realized the truth.
• We succeeded just by working extremely hard.

Not since ➡ Not since I moved abroad have I visited my hometown. Not until ➡ Not until I saw John with my own eyes did I really believe he was safe. Only when ➡ Only when the teacher explained the exercise again did she understand it. Only after ➡ Only after I confronted them did they apologize. Only then ➡ Only then did she realize the truth. Only by ➡ Only by working extremely hard did we succeed.

With these negative phrases we do the inversion in the second part of the sentence.

Present perfect

We need to find the same time expression: Not since = after

We do the inversion using the same auxiliary verb / verb tense.