CSS English Precis and Composition Sentence Structure and Composition Syllabus

Convert to passive (present continuous): 'She is writing a letter.'

'A letter is being written (by her).'

Convert to passive (present perfect): 'They have completed the project.'

'The project has been completed (by them).'

Why is passive voice often discouraged in concise writing, and when is it appropriate?

It is discouraged because it can be wordy and obscure the agent. It is appropriate when the agent is unknown, unimportant, or deliberately de-emphasized, or to keep focus on the receiver of the action.

How do modal verbs form the passive? Give the pattern.

Modal + be + past participle. Example active 'They can solve it' becomes passive 'It can be solved (by them).'

What is direct speech and how is it punctuated?

Direct speech reports the exact words of a speaker, enclosed in quotation marks and usually separated from the reporting verb by a comma. Example: He said, 'I am tired.'

What is indirect (reported) speech?

Indirect speech reports what was said without exact words or quotation marks, typically introduced by 'that', with tense, pronoun, and time/place changes. Example: He said that he was tired.

In reported speech, how does the present simple typically change?

Present simple usually backshifts to past simple. Example: 'I work here' becomes 'He said that he worked there.'

In reported speech, how do present continuous and present perfect change?

Present continuous backshifts to past continuous; present perfect (and past simple) backshift to past perfect.

How are time and place words changed in reported speech (now, today, here, tomorrow, ago)?

now to then, today to that day, here to there, tomorrow to the next day/the following day, ago to before, this to that, these to those.

How are yes/no questions reported in indirect speech?

Use 'asked' + 'if/whether' + statement word order (no inversion, no question mark). Example: 'Are you ready?' becomes 'She asked if I was ready.'

How are wh-questions reported in indirect speech?

Use 'asked' + the wh-word + statement word order, with no question mark. Example: 'Where do you live?' becomes 'He asked where I lived.'

How are commands and requests reported in indirect speech?

Use a reporting verb like told/ordered/asked + object + 'to' + infinitive (or 'not to' for negatives). Example: 'Sit down' becomes 'He told me to sit down.'

What is ambiguity in a sentence and what are its two main types?

Ambiguity is when a sentence can be understood in more than one way. The two main types are lexical ambiguity (a word has multiple meanings) and structural/syntactic ambiguity (the arrangement of words allows multiple interpretations).

Identify and fix the ambiguity: 'I saw the man with the telescope.'

It is structurally ambiguous (who has the telescope). Fix by rewording: 'Using the telescope, I saw the man' or 'I saw the man who had the telescope.'

What is parallelism (parallel structure) in a sentence?

The use of the same grammatical form for two or more elements that share the same function, especially in lists, comparisons, and paired constructions.

Correct the faulty parallelism: 'She likes swimming, to hike, and biking.'

'She likes swimming, hiking, and biking.' (All items in the same -ing form.)

Why must correlative conjunctions (either…or, not only…but also) maintain parallelism?

The grammatical structure following each part of the pair must match. Example: 'He is not only intelligent but also hardworking,' not 'not only intelligent but also he works hard.'

What is conciseness (word economy) in writing?

Expressing ideas in the fewest words necessary without losing meaning, by eliminating redundancy, wordy phrases, and filler.

Give the concise replacement for these wordy phrases: 'due to the fact that', 'in order to', 'at this point in time'.

'due to the fact that' to 'because'; 'in order to' to 'to'; 'at this point in time' to 'now'.

What is redundancy (tautology)? Give two examples to trim.

Redundancy is the needless repetition of meaning. Examples: 'free gift' to 'gift'; 'past history' to 'history'; 'completely finished' to 'finished'.

What is coherence in writing?

Coherence is the logical, orderly connection of ideas so that the text flows and is easy to follow as a unified whole.

What is cohesion and how is it achieved?

Cohesion is the grammatical and lexical linking of sentences, achieved through transitional words, pronoun reference, conjunctions, repetition of key terms, and synonyms.

What is a misplaced modifier?

A word, phrase, or clause placed so far from the word it should modify that it seems to modify the wrong word, distorting meaning. Example: 'She served sandwiches to the children on paper plates.'

What is a dangling modifier?

A modifier (usually an introductory phrase) whose intended subject is missing from the sentence, so it appears to modify the wrong subject. Example: 'Walking down the street, the trees were beautiful.'

Correct this dangling modifier: 'Having finished the test, the room was quiet.'

Add the logical subject: 'Having finished the test, the students found the room quiet,' or 'When the students finished the test, the room was quiet.'

What is a run-on sentence and its two common forms?

A run-on joins two or more independent clauses without proper punctuation or conjunction. The two forms are the fused sentence (no punctuation) and the comma splice (clauses joined only by a comma).

What is a comma splice and three ways to fix it?

A comma splice incorrectly joins two independent clauses with only a comma. Fix by: using a period; using a semicolon; or adding a coordinating conjunction after the comma (or subordinating one clause).

What is a sentence fragment?

An incomplete sentence punctuated as a full one; it lacks a subject, a finite verb, or a complete thought (often a stray subordinate clause or phrase). Example: 'Because he was late.'

What is a faulty comparison and how is it fixed?

A faulty comparison compares things that are not logically comparable or is incomplete/illogical. Fix by ensuring like things are compared, often with 'that of' or 'those of.' Example: 'The climate of Lahore is hotter than Murree' to 'The climate of Lahore is hotter than that of Murree.'

Explain the comparison errors in 'He is taller than any boy in his class' and the correct form.

It illogically compares him to a group that includes himself. Correct: 'He is taller than any other boy in his class' (or 'than all the other boys').