English Grammar — All 12 Tenses, Active/Passive Voice, Direct/Indirect Speech

English Grammar carries 3-5 questions in every Kerala PSC exam. Tenses, voice change, and reported speech are the three most repeated topics. Master the formulas and conversion rules below.

The 12 Tenses — Structure and Examples

Present Tenses

Tense	Structure	Example	Signal Words
Simple Present	S + V1(s/es)	She writes letters.	always, usually, every day, often
Present Continuous	S + is/am/are + V-ing	She is writing a letter.	now, at the moment, currently
Present Perfect	S + has/have + V3	She has written a letter.	already, just, ever, never, since, for
Present Perfect Continuous	S + has/have + been + V-ing	She has been writing for 2 hours.	since, for (with ongoing action)

Past Tenses

Tense	Structure	Example	Signal Words
Simple Past	S + V2	She wrote a letter.	yesterday, last week, ago, in 2020
Past Continuous	S + was/were + V-ing	She was writing a letter.	while, when, at that time
Past Perfect	S + had + V3	She had written before I came.	before, after, by the time, already
Past Perfect Continuous	S + had + been + V-ing	She had been writing for 2 hours.	for, since (before a past event)

Future Tenses

Tense	Structure	Example	Signal Words
Simple Future	S + will/shall + V1	She will write a letter.	tomorrow, next week, soon
Future Continuous	S + will be + V-ing	She will be writing at 5 PM.	at this time tomorrow
Future Perfect	S + will have + V3	She will have written by then.	by tomorrow, by next year
Future Perfect Continuous	S + will have been + V-ing	She will have been writing for 3 hours.	for, by (future duration)

Active and Passive Voice

Basic Rule

Active: Subject + Verb + Object Passive: Object + Helping Verb + V3 (Past Participle) + by + Subject

Conversion Table for All Tenses

Tense	Active	Passive
Simple Present	writes	is/am/are + written
Present Continuous	is writing	is being + written
Present Perfect	has written	has been + written
Simple Past	wrote	was/were + written
Past Continuous	was writing	was being + written
Past Perfect	had written	had been + written
Simple Future	will write	will be + written
Future Perfect	will have written	will have been + written
Modal verbs	can/may/must write	can/may/must be + written

Solved Examples (PSC Pattern)

Example 1: Change to passive: “The teacher teaches the students.” Answer: “The students are taught by the teacher.” (Simple Present passive)

Example 2: Change to passive: “They are building a new bridge.” Answer: “A new bridge is being built by them.” (Present Continuous passive)

Example 3: Change to passive: “Someone had stolen my wallet.” Answer: “My wallet had been stolen.” (Past Perfect passive; “by someone” often omitted)

Example 4: Change to passive: “The manager will announce the results.” Answer: “The results will be announced by the manager.” (Simple Future passive)

Special Passive Voice Rules

Rule	Example
Imperative sentences	”Open the door” becomes “Let the door be opened”
Negative imperative	”Don’t touch it” becomes “Let it not be touched”
Interrogative (who)	“Who wrote this?” becomes “By whom was this written?”
Interrogative (what/when)	“When did they build it?” becomes “When was it built?”
Two objects (give, tell, show)	“He gave me a book” becomes “I was given a book” OR “A book was given to me”

Direct and Indirect Speech (Reported Speech)

Basic Rule

Direct: He said, “I am happy.” Indirect: He said that he was happy.

Changes in Reported Speech

Pronoun Changes

Direct	Indirect
I	he/she
we	they
my	his/her
our	their
me	him/her
you (object of reporting)	depends on context

Tense Changes (When reporting verb is in past tense)

Direct (Present)	Indirect (Past)
Simple Present (V1)	Simple Past (V2)
Present Continuous (is + V-ing)	Past Continuous (was + V-ing)
Present Perfect (has + V3)	Past Perfect (had + V3)
Simple Past (V2)	Past Perfect (had + V3)
Past Continuous (was + V-ing)	Past Perfect Continuous (had been + V-ing)
will	would
can	could
may	might
shall	should

No tense change needed when:

• Reporting verb is in present tense (“He says, ‘I am happy’” stays as “He says that he is happy”)
• Universal truths (“The teacher said, ‘The earth revolves around the sun’” — no tense change)
• Habitual actions being reported as still true

Time and Place Changes

Direct	Indirect
now	then
today	that day
tomorrow	the next day / the following day
yesterday	the previous day / the day before
here	there
this	that
these	those
ago	before
last night	the previous night
next week	the following week

Sentence Type Conversions

Statements

Direct: He said, “I am tired.” Indirect: He said that he was tired.

Questions (Yes/No type)

Direct: She asked, “Are you coming?” Indirect: She asked if/whether I was coming. (No question mark; normal word order)

Questions (Wh- type)

Direct: He asked, “Where do you live?” Indirect: He asked where I lived. (Wh-word retained; no question mark; normal word order)

Commands/Requests

Direct: The officer said, “Stand up.” Indirect: The officer ordered them to stand up.

Direct: She said, “Please help me.” Indirect: She requested me to help her.

Exclamations

Direct: He said, “What a beautiful day!” Indirect: He exclaimed that it was a very beautiful day.

PSC-Pattern Solved Examples

Q1: Change to indirect: Ram said, “I have finished my work.” A: Ram said that he had finished his work. (Present Perfect to Past Perfect)

Q2: Change to indirect: She said to me, “Will you come tomorrow?” A: She asked me whether I would go the next day. (will to would, tomorrow to the next day, come to go based on context)

Q3: Change to indirect: The teacher said, “Don’t make noise.” A: The teacher ordered/told them not to make noise.

Q4: Change to direct: He asked me if I had seen the movie. A: He said to me, “Have you seen the movie?”

Quick Revision Checklist

1. Tenses: Know all 12 structures and their signal words.
2. Voice: Passive = Object + be-form + V3 + by + Subject. No passive for intransitive verbs.
3. Speech: Backshift tenses one step. Change pronouns and time/place words. Questions use if/whether (yes/no) or wh-word (wh-questions) with normal word order.

These three topics together can yield 3-5 marks. The rules are finite and mechanical — pure practice rewards.