MECHANICS OF LANGUAGE

Noor Shahariah bt Saleh Faculty of Science, Technology and Human Development

This chapter will cover:

Active and passive construction Reported speech Numbers

Why do we need Mechanics of Language?

In reporting what a research has collected, it is crucial to consider the mechanics or aspects of the language such as active/passive voice and direct/ indirect speech. This produces neat and organised writing.

1. ACTIVE AND PASSIVE CONSTRUCTION

There are two special forms for verbs called VOICE:
Active voice Passive voice

Active voice
Active voice is the normal voice which is used most of the time. In active voice, the object receives the action of the verb

 Example:
Subject Verb Active Cats eat Object fish

 Active voice is chose as it is shorter and more direct. Active voice is less awkward and clearly states relationship between subject and action.
The waiter dropped the tray of food

 The active voice sentence pattern propels the reader forward through your writing thus avoiding weak prose.
Compare 1. Your request for funding has been denied by the review committee. 2. Active: The review committee denied your request for funding.

Passive voice
It is less usual than the active voice. Passive voice is used when the focus is on the action. It is not important or not known, however, who or what is performing the action.
Example: My bike was stolen.

In the example above, the focus is on the fact that my bike was stolen. I do not know, however, who did it.

 Sometimes a statement in passive is more polite than active voice, as the following example shows:
Example: A mistake was made.

In this case, I focus on the fact that a mistake was made, but I do not blame anyone (e.g. You have made a mistake.).

Form of passive voice

Subject + finite form of to be / auxiliary verb + Past Participle
Example: A letter was written.

 When rewriting active sentences in passive voice, note the following:

the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence the finite form of the verb is changed (to be + past participle) the subject of the active sentence becomes the object of the passive sentence (or is dropped)

Tense
Simple Present Active: Passive:

Subject
Rita A letter

Verb
writes is written

Object
a letter. by Rita.

Simple Past

Active: Passive: Active: Passive: Active:

Rita A letter Rita A letter Rita

wrote was written has written has been written will write

a letter. by Rita. a letter. by Rita. a letter.

Present Perfect

Future I Hilfsverben

Passive:
Active: Passive:

A letter
Rita A letter

will be written
can write can be written

by Rita.
a letter. by Rita.

Tense Present Progressive Active: Passive: Active: Passive: Active:

Subject Rita A letter Rita A letter Rita

Verb is writing is being written was writing was being written had written

Object a letter. by Rita. a letter. by Rita. a letter.

Past Progressive

Past Perfect

Passive:
Future II Active: Passive:

A letter
Rita A letter

had been written

will have written will have been written

by Rita.
a letter. by Rita.

Passive sentences with two objects

Rewriting an active sentence with two objects in passive voice means that one of the two objects becomes the subject, the other one remains an object. Which object to transform into a subject depends on what you want to put the focus on.

Example:
Subject Active: Rita Verb wrote Object 1 a letter Object 2 to me.

Passive:

A letter

was written
was written

to me

by Rita.

Passive:

a letter

by Rita.

 As you can see in the examples, adding by Rita does not sound very elegant. Thats why it is usually dropped.

Personal and impersonal passive

Personal Passive simply means that the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. So every verb that needs an object (transitive verb) can form a personal passive.
Example: They build houses. Houses are built.

 Verbs without an object (intransitive verb) normally cannot form a personal passive sentence (as there is no object that can become the subject of the passive sentence). If you want to use an intransitive verb in passive voice, you need an impersonal construction therefore this passive is called Impersonal Passive.
Example: he says it is said

 Personal:
Active: They say that women live longer than men. Passive: Women are said to live longer than men.

Impersonal:
Active: They say that women live longer than men. Passive: It is said that women live longer than men

Rewrite the sentences below using Passive voice:

E.g: Salbiah writes a report
A report is written by Salbiah or, A report is written

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20.

Kamal rescued two tigers. The engineers handed in the report. Suraya crashed into the red van. Azizi sang the songs. Suhaila has forgotten the module. The technician has repaired the LCD projector. They play football. Harliana puts the backpack on the floor. The boys had won the match. The lecturer is not going to open the door. He bought three oranges. We won the competition. The young man stole the green bandwagon. The police has arrested the thieves. Sofea drew that portrait. The shark bit the old man Tom and Max ate four chicken burgers. Oliver taught the children. Victoria rode the brown horse. Grandmother told good stories.

2. REPORTED SPEECH
If we report what another person has said, we usually do not use the speakers exact words (direct speech), but reported (indirect) speech. Therefore, you need to learn how to transform direct speech into reported speech. The structure is a little different depending on whether you want to transform a statement, question or request.

Statements
When transforming statements, check whether you have to change:
pronouns present tense verbs (3rd person singular) place and time expressions tenses (backshift)

Type direct speech reported speech (no backshift) reported speech (backshift)

Example I speak English. He says that he speaks English.

He said that he spoke English.

Questions
Also note that you have to:
transform the question into an indirect question use the interrogative or if / whether

Type with interrogative reported speech direct speech without interrogative reported speech direct speech

Example Why dont you speak English? He asked me why I didnt speak English. Do you speak English? He asked me whether / if I spoke English.

Requests
When transforming requests, check whether you have to change:
pronouns place and time expressions

Type direct speech reported speech

Example Carol, speak English.

He told Carol to speak English.

Additional information and exception

Additional Information and Exceptions
Apart from the above mentioned basic rules, there are further aspects that you should keep in mind, for example:
main clauses connected with and / but tense of the introductory clause reported speech for difficult tenses exceptions for backshift requests with must, should, ought to and lets

Main Clauses connected with and / but

If two complete main clauses are connected with and or but, put that after the conjunction.
Example:
He said,I saw her but she didnt see me. He said that he had seen her but that she hadnt seen him.

 If the subject is left out in the second main clause (the conjunction is followed by a verb), do not use that.
Example:
She said,I am a nurse and work in a hospital. He said that she was a nurse and worked in a hospital.

Tense of the Introductory Clause

The introductory clause usually is in Past Tense.
Example:
He said that

 Present Tense is often used to report a conversation that is still going on, e. g. during a phone call or while reading a letter.
Example:
I am fine. Tom says / writes that he is fine.

 The introductory clause can also be in another tense. In the following table you can see, for which tense of the introductory clause you have to use backshift in reported speech.

No Backshift if introductory clause is in Simple Present (He says ) Present Perfect (He has said ) Future I will (He will say ) Future I going to (He is going to say )

Backshift if introductory clause is in Simple Past (He said ) Past Perfect (He had said ) Future II ( He will have said ) Conditional I (He would say ) Conditional II (He would have said )

Backshift in reported speech

Some of the examples are:

Direct Speech Simple Present Present Progressive Simple Past Present Perfect Past Perfect Past Progressive Present Perfect Progressive

Reported Speech Simple Past Past Progressive Past Perfect Simple

Past Perfect Progressive was / were going to Conditional I Conditional II

Past Perfect Progressive

Future I (going to) Future I (will) Conditional I Future II Conditional II

exceptions
Backshift of Simple Present is optional if the situation is still unchanged or if you agree with the original speaker.
Beispiel: Canberra is the capital of Australia. She said that Canberra is / was the capital of Australia.

 Backshift of Simple Past and Past Progressive is optional if they cannot be mistakenly taken for backshift of Present Tense. So backshift is not necessary if there is a time expression indicating past.
Example:
She left Boston on Monday. He said that she left / had left Boston on Monday.

 Simple Past and Past Progressive do not normally change in sentences with when / if.
Example:
When I was having breakfast, the telephone suddenly rang. She said that when she was having breakfast, the telephone suddenly rang.

Example:
If I had more time, I would learn French. He said that if he had more time, he would learn French.

Requests
Advise expressions with must, should and ought are usually reported using advise / urge.
Example:
You must read that book. He advised / urged me to read that book.

 The basic rule for requests is: introductory clause + to + infinite verb.
Example:
Say hello to your mum. She asked me to say hello to my mum.

 The expression lets is usually reported using suggest. In this case, there are various possibilities for reported speech: gerund or statement with should.
Example:
Lets go to the cinema. He suggested going to the cinema. He suggested that we should go.to the cinema.

Finish the sentences below using reported speech: always change the tense, although it is sometimes not necessary.

Eg: Peter: I clean the black shoes. Answer: Peter told me that he cleaned the black shoes.

1.
2.

1. Samad: Zarina is at school.

Samad said that .

3.
4. 5.

Azwan: Im watching movie. Azwan told me that Haidar: Ziana often reads novels.. Haidar said to me that Jasmin: Huda was ill. Jasmin said that.. Pn. Rohani My father will be 60 years old. Pn Rohani told me that

3. NUMBERS
There several rules of writing numbers.

Rule 1.

Spell out single-digit whole numbers. Use numerals for numbers greater than nine.

I want five copies. Correct Examples I want 10 copies. :

Rule 2.

Be consistent within a category. For example, if you choose numerals because one of the numbers is greater than nine, use numerals for all numbers in that category. If you choose to spell out numbers because one of the numbers is a single digit, spell out all numbers in that category. If you have numbers in different categories, use numerals for one category and spell out the other.

Correct My 10 cats fought with their 2 cats. Examples My ten cats fought with their two cats. : Given the budget constraints, if all 30 history students attend the four plays, then the 7 math students will be able to attend only two plays. (Students are represented with figures; plays are represented with words.)
Incorrect Example: I asked for five pencils, not 50.

Rule 3.

Always spell out simple fractions and use hyphens with them.

Examples:

One-half of the pies have been eaten. A two-thirds majority is required for that bill to pass in Congress.

Rule A mixed fraction can be expressed in figures 4. unless it is the first word of a sentence.
Examples: We expect a 5 1/2 percent wage increase. Five and one-half percent was the maximum allowable interest.

Rule 5.

The simplest way to express large numbers is best. Round numbers are usually spelled out. Be careful to be consistent within a sentence. Correct: Incorrect: Correct: You can earn from one million to five million dollars.

You can earn from one million to $5,000,000.

You can earn from five hundred to five million dollars. You can earn from $5 hundred to $5 million. You can earn from $500 to $5 million. You can earn from $500 to five million dollars.

Correct:
Incorrect: Incorrect:

Rule 6.

Write decimals in figures. Put a zero in front of a decimal unless the decimal itself begins with a zero.

Examples:

The plant grew 0.79 of a foot in one year. The plant grew only .07 of a foot this year because of the drought.

Rule 7.

The following examples apply when using dates:

Examples:

The meeting is scheduled for June 30. The meeting is scheduled for the 30th of June. We have had tricks played on us on April 1. The 1st of April puts some people on edge.

Rule 8.

When expressing decades, you may spell them out and lowercase them.

Example: During the eighties and nineties, the U.S. economy grew.

Rule 9.

If you wish to express decades using incomplete numerals, put an apostrophe before the incomplete numeral but not between the year and the s.

Correct:

During the '80s and '90s, the U.S. economy grew.

Incorrect:

During the '80's and '90's, the U.S. economy grew.

References
http://www.uark.edu/campusresources/qwrtcntr/resources/handouts/activepassi ve.htm http://www.ego4u.com/en/cramup/grammar/passive http://www.ego4u.com/en/cramup/grammar/reported-speech http://www.grammarbook.com/numbers/numbers. asp