SEE English Grammar Complete Guide - Tenses, Voice, Speech, Prepositions
Complete SEE English Grammar guide covering all tenses, active/passive voice, direct/indirect speech, prepositions, and practice exercises for SEE 2026.
SEE English Grammar Overview#
Grammar carries between 20 and 25 marks in the SEE English exam, which makes it one of the most reliable ways to secure a good score. The marks are distributed across several topics: tenses carry about 5 to 6 marks, voice change is worth 3 to 4 marks, reported speech is another 3 to 4 marks, prepositions account for 2 to 3 marks, sentence transformation is worth 3 to 4 marks, and error correction adds another 2 to 3 marks. Master these core topics, and you can virtually guarantee yourself a strong grammar score.
1. Tenses#
12 Tenses Overview#
| Tense | Structure | Example | Use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | S + V1/V1+s/es | She writes | Habits, facts |
| Present Continuous | S + is/am/are + Ving | She is writing | Now, temporary |
| Present Perfect | S + has/have + V3 | She has written | Completed, relevant |
| Present Perfect Continuous | S + has/have been + Ving | She has been writing | Started past, continuing |
| Past Simple | S + V2 | She wrote | Completed past |
| Past Continuous | S + was/were + Ving | She was writing | At specific past time |
| Past Perfect | S + had + V3 | She had written | Before another past |
| Past Perfect Continuous | S + had been + Ving | She had been writing | Duration before past |
| Future Simple | S + will + V1 | She will write | Prediction, promise |
| Future Continuous | S + will be + Ving | She will be writing | At future time |
| Future Perfect | S + will have + V3 | She will have written | By future time |
| Future Perfect Continuous | S + will have been + Ving | She will have been writing | Duration by future time |
Key Time Markers#
| Tense | Time Markers |
|---|---|
| Present Simple | always, usually, often, every day, on Sundays |
| Present Continuous | now, at the moment, currently, look!, listen! |
| Present Perfect | already, yet, just, since, for, ever, never |
| Past Simple | yesterday, last week, in 2020, ago |
| Past Continuous | at 5 PM yesterday, while, when |
| Past Perfect | before, after, by the time |
| Future Simple | tomorrow, next week, soon, in future |
| Future Perfect | by tomorrow, by next year, by then |
In the SEE exam, pay particular attention to the differences between Present Simple and Present Continuous, Past Simple and Present Perfect, and Future Simple and Future Continuous. Knowing the time markers for each tense is the key to getting these questions right.
Passive Voice in All Tenses#
Here is how active verbs convert to passive across all tenses:
| Tense | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Present Simple | writes | is written |
| Present Continuous | is writing | is being written |
| Present Perfect | has written | has been written |
| Past Simple | wrote | was written |
| Past Continuous | was writing | was being written |
| Past Perfect | had written | had been written |
| Future Simple | will write | will be written |
| Modal (can/could) | can write | can be written |
Let us look at some examples to see how this works in practice. "She writes a letter" becomes "A letter is written by her." "They are building a house" becomes "A house is being built by them." "He has finished the work" becomes "The work has been finished by him." And "She will teach English" becomes "English will be taught by her."
2. Voice Change Rules#
Active to Passive Steps#
- Object becomes Subject
- Verb changes to be + V3
- Subject becomes Object (by + agent)
- Tense remains same
- Pronouns change: I → me, we → us, he → him, she → her, they → them
Active: Ram helps Sita.
Passive: Sita is helped by Ram.
Active: The teacher is teaching us.
Passive: We are being taught by the teacher.
Active: Someone stole my pen.
Passive: My pen was stolen. (agent unknown - omit)
Special Cases#
| Active | Passive |
|---|---|
| Imperative (Open the door) | Let the door be opened |
| Let + object + V1 (Let him go) | Let him be allowed to go |
| Infinitive (to + V1) | to be + V3 |
| Gerund (Ving) | being + V3 |
| Double object (gave me a book) | I was given a book / A book was given to me |
3. Reported Speech (Direct/Indirect)#
Basic Rules#
| Direct | Indirect | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| "I am happy," she said. | She said that she was happy. | Present → Past |
| "I will go," he said. | He said that he would go. | will → would |
| "I can swim," she said. | She said that she could swim. | can → could |
| "I must study," he said. | He said that he had to study. | must → had to |
| "Do you like it?" she asked. | She asked if/whether I liked it. | Question: if/whether |
| "Where do you live?" he asked. | He asked where I lived. | Wh-question: keep wh-word |
| "Open the door," he said. | He told/ordered me to open the door. | Imperative → to + V1 |
| "Don't touch it," she said. | She warned/advised me not to touch it. | Negative: not to + V1 |
Time/Place Changes#
| Direct | Indirect |
|---|---|
| now | then |
| today | that day |
| yesterday | the day before / the previous day |
| tomorrow | the next day / the following day |
| last week | the week before / the previous week |
| next week | the following week |
| here | there |
| this | that |
| these | those |
| ago | before |
Reporting Verbs#
| Direct | Indirect Reporting Verbs |
|---|---|
| Statement | said, told, informed, stated, declared |
| Question | asked, inquired, wanted to know |
| Command/Request | ordered, told, asked, requested, advised, warned |
| Exclamation | exclaimed, cried out, shouted |
Direct: "I am reading a book," she said.
Indirect: She said that she was reading a book.
Direct: "Will you help me?" he asked.
Indirect: He asked if/whether I would help him.
Direct: "Please open the window," she said.
Indirect: She requested me to open the window.
Direct: "What a beautiful day!" he exclaimed.
Indirect: He exclaimed that it was a very beautiful day.
4. Prepositions#
Time Prepositions#
| Preposition | Use | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| at | Exact time | at 5 PM, at noon, at midnight |
| on | Days, dates | on Monday, on July 15, on my birthday |
| in | Months, years, seasons, parts of day | in July, in 2026, in summer, in the morning |
| by | Deadline | by 5 PM, by Friday |
| since | From past point | since Monday, since 2020 |
| for | Duration | for 2 hours, for 3 years |
| during | Within period | during the meeting, during summer |
| before/after | Relative time | before lunch, after school |
| from...to/until | Period | from 9 to 5, until Friday |
Place Prepositions#
| Preposition | Use | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| at | Point | at home, at school, at the bus stop |
| on | Surface | on the table, on the wall, on the floor |
| in | Enclosed space | in the room, in Kathmandu, in Nepal |
| above/over | Higher than | above the clouds, over the bridge |
| below/under | Lower than | below the surface, under the table |
| between | Two things | between Ram and Sita |
| among | More than two | among friends |
| near/by | Close to | near the temple, by the river |
| in front of/behind | Position | in front of the house |
| next to/beside | Side by side | beside me |
Movement Prepositions#
| Preposition | Use | Example |
|---|---|---|
| to | Destination | go to school |
| into | Entering | walk into the room |
| onto | Moving to surface | climb onto the roof |
| out of | Leaving | walk out of the room |
| from | Origin | come from Nepal |
| through | Passage | walk through the tunnel |
| across | Crossing | swim across the river |
| along | Following | walk along the road |
| around | Circular | walk around the park |
Common Preposition Errors#
| Incorrect | Correct | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| He is good in English | He is good at English | good at |
| She is married with him | She is married to him | married to |
| He is interested to learn | He is interested in learning | interested in |
| She depends on her parents | She depends on her parents | depends on |
| He is different from me | He is different from me | different from |
| I prefer tea than coffee | I prefer tea to coffee | prefer X to Y |
| He died from cancer | He died of cancer | die of (illness) |
| The train arrived to Kathmandu | The train arrived in/at Kathmandu | arrive in/at |
5. Sentence Transformation#
Common Transformations#
| From | To | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Affirmative | Negative | He is honest → He is not dishonest |
| Active | Passive | She writes → It is written by her |
| Direct | Indirect | "I am tired" → He said he was tired |
| Simple | Complex | He worked hard to pass → He worked hard so that he could pass |
| Simple | Compound | Being tired, he slept → He was tired, so he slept |
| Complex | Simple | He came when it was morning → He came in the morning |
| Superlative | Comparative | Everest is highest → Everest is higher than any other |
| Positive | Comparative | As tall as → Not taller than |
| Exclamatory | Assertive | What a beautiful day! → It is a very beautiful day |
| Interrogative | Assertive | Who doesn't love his country? → Everyone loves his country |
Degrees of Comparison#
| Positive | Comparative | Superlative |
|---|---|---|
| tall | taller | tallest |
| beautiful | more beautiful | most beautiful |
| good | better | best |
| bad | worse | worst |
| little | less | least |
| much/many | more | most |
Superlative to Comparative:
Everest is the highest mountain. → Everest is higher than any other mountain.
Positive to Comparative:
As tall as → Not taller than
Exclamatory to Assertive:
What a fool he is! → He is a great fool.
6. Error Correction#
Common Error Patterns#
| Error Type | Incorrect | Correct | Rule |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subject-Verb | The team are playing | The team is playing | Collective noun = singular |
| Each of the boys are | Each of the boys is | Each/every = singular | |
| Tense | He is working since morning | He has been working since morning | Since + Perfect Continuous |
| If I was you, I would go | If I were you, I would go | Subjunctive: If I were | |
| Preposition | He is good in English | He is good at English | good at |
| She married with him | She married him / got married to | marry + object / married to | |
| Article | He is a honest man | He is an honest man | an before vowel sound |
| The gold is precious | Gold is precious | No 'the' for materials in general | |
| Pronoun | Everyone should do their work | Everyone should do his/her work | Singular antecedent |
| Between you and I | Between you and me | Object pronoun after preposition | |
| Number | Five rupees are enough | Five rupees is enough | Amount = singular |
| Many a student have come | Many a student has come | Many a + singular verb | |
| Word Order | He only eats rice | He eats only rice | Only before word it modifies |
| Double Negative | I don't know nothing | I don't know anything | One negative only |
| He hasn't got no money | He hasn't got any money | One negative only |
Common Confusables#
| Word Pair | Difference | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Affect/Effect | Affect = verb, Effect = noun | Rain affects crops. Effect of rain. |
| Advice/Advise | Advice = noun, Advise = verb | Give advice. I advise you. |
| Practice/Practise | Practice = noun, Practise = verb | Practice makes perfect. Practise daily. |
| Lose/Loose | Lose = verb, Loose = adjective | Don't lose it. Loose shirt. |
| Their/There/They're | Possessive/Place/They are | Their book. There it is. They're happy. |
| Your/You're | Possessive/You are | Your book. You're late. |
| Its/It's | Possessive/It is | Its color. It's raining. |
| Who/Whom | Subject/Object | Who called? Whom did you see? |
Practice Exercises#
SEE Grammar Practice Questions#
Exercise 1: Tense Forms
- She usually _____ (go) to school by bus.
- Look! It _____ (rain).
- I _____ (finish) my homework just now.
- They _____ (play) football when it started raining.
- By next year, he _____ (complete) his degree.
Exercise 2: Voice Change
- Who wrote this book?
- Someone is cleaning the room.
- They have cancelled the meeting.
- The police caught the thief.
- You must submit the form by Friday.
Exercise 3: Reported Speech
- "I am tired," she said.
- "Will you come tomorrow?" he asked.
- "Please help me," she said.
- "Where do you live?" he asked.
- "What a beautiful flower!" she exclaimed.
Exercise 4: Error Correction
- Each of the students have a book.
- If I was you, I would study harder.
- She is married with a doctor.
- The news are very good.
- Everyone should bring their own lunch.
- I don't know nothing about it.
Exercise 5: Prepositions
- He is good _____ English.
- She is interested _____ music.
- He died _____ cancer.
- I prefer tea _____ coffee.
- The train arrived _____ Kathmandu at noon.
Exercise 6: Transformation
- Change to passive: They are building a new school.
- Change to indirect: "I will help you," he said.
- Change to comparative: Kathmandu is the biggest city.
- Change to negative: He is always punctual.
- Change to exclamatory: It is a very hot day.
SEE Grammar Checklist#
Before your exam, make sure you have reviewed all twelve tense forms with examples, passive voice for all tenses, direct to indirect speech rules, common prepositions with verbs and adjectives, error correction patterns, sentence transformations, confusing word pairs, subject-verb agreement rules, article usage rules, and question tags.
Last-Minute Tips#
Here are some strategies that will help you in the exam. Read each question carefully — many errors hide in small words like a, the, is, and are. When doing voice or reported speech transformations, identify the tense first before applying the rules. Never change the meaning of the sentence during transformation. Watch for negative words like no one, which is singular, and none of, which can be plural. For prepositions, memorize common verb and preposition combinations. And manage your time wisely — aim to complete the grammar section within 30 minutes.
Good luck with your SEE English Grammar preparation.
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