Types of Sentences and Transformation: Group 2 General English Practice Questions PDF

Assertive, interrogative, imperative and exclamatory sentences, clues to find the type, transformation from one type to another, 9 real TNPSC PYQs with the official answers, and 20 practice MCQs with answers and short explanations.

Real questions: TNPSC previous year questions (2025), official answer key. Practice questions: ArivArk Academy.

The four types of sentences

Type	What it does	Ends with	Example
Assertive (Declarative)	states a fact or an opinion	full stop	This pen is blue.
Interrogative	asks a question	question mark	How are you?
Imperative	gives an order, a request or advice; starts with a verb, please or let	full stop	Please help me. Clean your room. Let us go.
Exclamatory	shows a strong feeling; often starts with How or What	exclamation mark	How well she dances! What a great statue!

Clues to find the type

Starts with a verb, please or let and gives an order or request: imperative. "Let my head be shattered to pieces" is imperative, not exclamatory.

Starts with How or What, shows a feeling, ends with !: exclamatory.

Helping verb before the subject, ends with ?: interrogative (Is she ...? Has he ...?).

A question inside a statement ("Will you tell me who is there?"): the inner part "who is there" is an indirect question.

Transformation: one meaning, another type

Change	From	To
Assertive to imperative	You should answer all the questions.	Answer all the questions.
Interrogative to assertive	Is she not changing her dress?	She is not changing her dress.
Statement to question (Why)	He has gone to the railway station to see off his cousin.	Why has he gone to the railway station?
Exclamatory (wish) to assertive	Had she known it earlier!	I wish she had known it earlier.
Exclamatory to assertive	How well she dances!	She dances very well.
Imperative to assertive	Please help me.	I request you to help me.
Rhetorical question to assertive	Who does not love his country?	Everyone loves his country.
too ... to into negative	He is too shrewd to be cheated.	He is so shrewd that he cannot be cheated.

Quick tips

Making a question: the helping verb comes before the subject. He has gone. Has he gone? Why has he gone?

Making a statement: the helping verb goes back after the subject. Is she not changing? She is not changing.

too ... to becomes so ... that ... cannot (present) or so ... that ... could not (past).

Passive is not imperative: "All questions should be answered" is passive voice, not an order.

TNPSC PYQs (official key)

1. "Let my head be shattered to pieces" is an

(A) Interrogative sentence(B) Affirmative sentence(C) Imperative sentence(D) Exclamatory sentence

Answer: (C) Imperative sentence. It starts with "Let" and has no exclamation mark: an imperative sentence.

2. Match the following with correct type of sentence:
(a) This pen is blue (b) Please help me (c) How are you? (d) How well she dances!
1. Interrogative 2. Exclamatory 3. Declarative 4. Imperative

(A) 3214(B) 4312(C) 3412(D) 4321

Answer: (C) 3412. a declarative (3), b imperative (4), c interrogative (1), d exclamatory (2): 3 4 1 2.

3. Which of the following is an imperative sentence?
(a) Who are you? (b) How did you explain this question? (c) Clean your room (d) What a great statue!

(A) (a)(B) (b)(C) (c)(D) (d)

Answer: (C) (c). "Clean your room" starts with a verb and gives an order.

4. Transform the following assertive sentence into an imperative sentence: 'You should answer all the questions'.
(a) Should you answer all the questions? (b) Answer all the questions. (c) You answer all the questions. (d) All questions should be answered.

(A) (a)(B) (b)(C) (c)(D) (d)

Answer: (B) (b). Drop "You should" and start with the verb. (d) is passive voice, not imperative.

5. 'Is she not changing her dress'. Which of the following is the correct statement of this interrogative?

(A) She will not change her dress(B) She was not changing her dress(C) She will change her dress(D) She is not changing her dress

Answer: (D) She is not changing her dress. Put "is" back after the subject; the tense stays the same.

6. Frame a question to get the following answer: Why ______? He has gone to the railway station to see off his cousin.

(A) Why has he gone to the railway station?(B) Why he went to the railway station?(C) Why he go to the railway station?(D) Why have he gone to the railway station?

Answer: (A) Why has he gone to the railway station?. The helping verb "has" comes before the subject "he".

7. Convert the exclamatory sentence "Had she known it earlier" into an assertive sentence.
(a) She knew it earlier (b) I wish she had known it earlier (c) Knowing this earlier is beneficial (d) She should have known it earlier

(A) (a)(B) (b)(C) (c)(D) (d)

Answer: (B) (b). The exclamation shows a wish: I wish she had known it earlier.

8. Transform the following sentence into a negative sentence. "He is too shrewd to be cheated"
(a) He is not shrewd enough to be cheated (b) He is so shrewd that he cannot be cheated (c) He is not too shrewd to be cheated (d) He is shrewd

(A) (a)(B) (b)(C) (c)(D) (d)

Answer: (B) (b). too ... to becomes so ... that ... cannot.

9. "Will you tell me who is there?" is an example for ______

(A) Direct question(B) Indirect question(C) Exclamation(D) Basic formation

Answer: (B) Indirect question. The inner part "who is there" is not asked directly; it is part of the sentence: an indirect question.

Practice MCQs

1. "Shut the door." is a/an ______ sentence.

(A) interrogative(B) exclamatory(C) imperative(D) assertive

2. "The sun rises in the east." is a/an ______ sentence.

(A) imperative(B) interrogative(C) exclamatory(D) assertive

3. "What a lovely garden!" is a/an ______ sentence.

(A) exclamatory(B) imperative(C) assertive(D) interrogative

4. "Let us go for a walk." is a/an ______ sentence.

(A) interrogative(B) assertive(C) exclamatory(D) imperative

5. "Where do you live?" is a/an ______ sentence.

(A) imperative(B) assertive(C) interrogative(D) exclamatory

6. Change into assertive: "How beautiful the sky is!"

(A) How is the sky beautiful?(B) The sky is very beautiful.(C) Look at the beautiful sky.(D) Is the sky beautiful?

7. Change into assertive: "Please lend me your pen."

(A) I request you to lend me your pen.(B) Lend me your pen.(C) You lend me your pen!(D) Will you lend me your pen?

8. Change into assertive: "Who does not love his mother?"

(A) Love your mother.(B) Does everyone love his mother?(C) Everyone loves his mother.(D) No one loves his mother.

9. Change into interrogative: "She has finished her work."

(A) Has she finished her work?(B) Did she has finished her work?(C) Has she finish her work?(D) She has finished her work?

10. Change into imperative: "You must be careful."

(A) Careful you must be.(B) You be careful.(C) Must you be careful?(D) Be careful.

11. Change into negative: "He is too weak to walk."

(A) He is weak to walk.(B) He is so weak that he cannot walk.(C) He is not weak enough to walk.(D) He is so weak that he can walk.

12. Change into assertive: "Would that I were a bird!"

(A) Am I a bird?(B) I was a bird.(C) I wish I were a bird.(D) I am a bird.

13. Frame a question: "They went to Madurai yesterday." Where ______?

(A) did they go yesterday?(B) they did go yesterday?(C) they went yesterday?(D) did they went yesterday?

14. Change into assertive: "Is she not your friend?"

(A) She is not your friend.(B) Is she your friend?(C) Be her friend.(D) She is your friend.

15. Change into exclamatory: "It is a very sad story."

(A) How sad story it is!(B) What sad a story it is!(C) What a sad story it is!(D) Is it a sad story?

16. Change into imperative: "I request you to help me."

(A) Will you help me?(B) You help me.(C) Please help me.(D) Help me, I request.

17. Which sentence is interrogative?

(A) How well you swim!(B) You can swim.(C) Can you swim?(D) Swim now.

18. "Do not touch the wire." is a/an ______ sentence.

(A) assertive(B) exclamatory(C) interrogative(D) imperative

19. Change into negative: "Only Ravi passed the exam."

(A) Not Ravi passed the exam.(B) Ravi did not pass the exam.(C) Ravi only did not pass the exam.(D) None but Ravi passed the exam.

20. Which is an indirect question?

(A) I wonder where he lives.(B) Where does he live?(C) Where he lives?(D) Does he live here?

Answer key: 1 C, 2 D, 3 A, 4 D, 5 C, 6 B, 7 A, 8 C, 9 A, 10 D, 11 B, 12 C, 13 A, 14 D, 15 C, 16 C, 17 C, 18 D, 19 D, 20 A

Why? Short explanations

1 (C) It starts with a verb and gives an order.

2 (D) It states a fact and ends with a full stop.

3 (A) What + a feeling + exclamation mark.

4 (D) Sentences that start with Let are imperative.

5 (C) It asks a question and ends with a question mark.

6 (B) How + adjective becomes "very" + adjective.

7 (A) A request becomes "I request you to ...".

8 (C) A negative rhetorical question becomes a positive statement.

9 (A) Move "has" before the subject.

10 (D) Drop "You must" and start with the verb.

11 (B) too ... to becomes so ... that ... cannot.

12 (C) "Would that" shows a wish: I wish ...

13 (A) Past tense question: did + subject + base verb.

14 (D) A negative question expects "yes": She is your friend.

15 (C) What a + adjective + noun + subject + verb!

16 (C) "I request you to" becomes "Please".

17 (C) Helping verb before the subject and a question mark.

18 (D) A negative order is still imperative.

19 (D) "Only" (a person) becomes "None but".

20 (A) The question "where he lives" is inside a statement and has no question mark.

Types of Sentences and Transformation: Practice Questions with Answers (Group 2 General English)

The four types of sentences

Clues to find the type

Transformation: one meaning, another type

Quick tips

TNPSC PYQs (official key)

Practice MCQs

Why? Short explanations

What is inside

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