Transformation of Sentences | A Tool for Better Writing and Speaking

This article discusses the grammatical term Transformation of Sentences.

Changing the form of a sentence without changing its sense is called Transformation.

Changing an exclamatory sentence into an assertive sentence

What a wonderful event! (Exclamatory)

It is a wonderful event. (Assertive)

O that I were a king! (Exclamatory)

I wish I were king. (Assertive)

How kind of him to help us like that! (Exclamatory)

It is very kind of him to help us like that. (Assertive)

How noble she is! (Exclamatory)

She is truly noble. (Assertive)

What a pleasure it is! (Exclamatory)

This is indeed a pleasure. (Assertive)

Changing an interrogative sentence into an assertive sentence

Is not wisdom better than wealth? (Interrogative)

Wisdom is better than wealth. (Assertive)

Why worry about what people say? (Interrogative)

It is foolish to worry about what people say. (Assertive)

Did they ever ask him to do it? (Interrogative)

They never asked him to do it. (Assertive)

Is there any sense in wasting time? (Interrogative)

There is no sense in wasting time. (Assertive)

What does it matter whether she wins or loses? (Interrogative)

It matters little whether she wins or loses. (Assertive)

Changing an imperative sentence into an interrogative sentence

Stop talking. (Imperative)

Will you stop talking? (Interrogative)

Shut the door. (Imperative)

Will you shut the door? (Interrogative)

Please, get me a bunch of flower. (Imperative)

Will you, please, get me a bunch of flowers? (Interrogative)

Get out of here. (Imperative)

Will you get out of here or not? (Interrogative

The interrogative is a milder or more polite form of the imperative. However, the addition of “or not” (as in the last example) adds a little bit of threat to the command.

Interchange of the degrees of comparison

No other player in the team is as tall as Chris Gayle. (Positive)

Chris Gayle is taller than any other player in the team. (Comparative)

Chris Gayle is the tallest of all players in the team. (Superlative)

K-2 is higher than all other peaks in Pakistan. (Comparative)

No other peak in Pakistan is as high as K-2. (Positive)

K-2 is the highest peak in Pakistan. (Superlative)

Kashmir is the most beautiful place I have seen. (Superlative)

No other place I have seen is as beautiful as Kashmir. (Positive)

Kashmir is more beautiful than any other place I have seen. (Comparative)

Nothing else travels as fast as light. (Positive)

Light travels faster than anything else. (Comparative)

Of all things in the world light travels fastest. (Superlative)

New York is one of the biggest cities in USA. (Superlative)

Very few cities in USA are bigger than New York. (Comparative)

Most cities in USA are not as big as New York. (Positive)

Transformation of sentences beginning with “no sooner”

You can do this in two ways—using the expressions as soon as and scarcely (hardly) had … when … .

No sooner had I reached the station than the train left.

As soon as I reached the station, the train left.

Scarcely (or hardly) had I reached the station when the train left.

No sooner had the referee whistled than the player kicked the ball.

As soon as the referee whistled, the player kicked the ball.

Scarcely had the referee whistled when the player kicked the ball.

No sooner did I enter the hall than the burglar ran away.

As soon as I entered the hall, the burglar ran away.

Scarcely had I entered the hall when the burglar ran away.

Transformation sentences containing too … to

You can do this by using so … that … .

The shepherd was too clever to be outwitted.

The shepherd was so clever that he could not be outwitted.

Sam is too poor to continue his studies.

Sam is so poor that he cannot continue his studies.

We are too late to catch the bus.

We are so late that we cannot catch the bus.

The lady was too tired to walk.

The lady was so tired that she could not walk.

Transformation of a Simple Sentence into a Compound Sentence

In a Simple Sentence we have only one subject and one predicate. A compound sentence must have two or more co-ordinate clauses; and each co-ordinate clause has its own subject and predicate. Examples can be seen as under.

Climbing up the hill, he looked at the landscape spread like a green turf. (Simple Sentence)

He climbed up the hill and looked at the landscape spread like a green turf. (Compound Sentence)

Accordingly, if we see, we changed the participle phrase ‘Climbing up the tree’ into the clause ‘He climbed up the tree’ and connected it to the original clause with the coordinating conjunction “and”. Thus we converted a simple sentence into a compound sentence by expanding a word or a phrase into a clause and by using the conjunction to connect the clauses. Moreover, you can find some further examples below.

Driven by heavy rain, he parked his car under the bridge (Simple sentence).

He was driven by heavy rain and parked his car under the bridge (Compound Sentence).

Besides being intelligent, she is hard-working. (Simple Sentence)

She is not only intelligent but also hard-working. (Compound Sentence)

In spite of his small salary, he is happy. (Simple Sentence)

He has a small salary but he is happy. (Compound Sentence)

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