ISC Class 12 Grammar, Structure and Usage: Transformation, Phrasal Verbs and Verb Forms

What Grammar, Structure and Usage is about

Weightage: Question 3 carries 15 of the 80 marks of English Paper 1: transformation 5 (5 × 1), phrasal verbs 5 (10 × ½), verb forms 5 (10 × ½). Advised time: not more than 30 minutes.Source: CISCE ISC 2027 English syllabus (Question Three); ISC Specimen Question Paper 2025 and the 2025 board paper (Analysis of Pupil Performance 2025)

Key concepts

Inversion after 'No sooner', 'Hardly', 'Scarcely' and 'Not only'

When a negative or restrictive adverb begins a sentence, the auxiliary comes before the subject. 'No sooner' takes did + base verb (for past events) and than; 'Hardly' and 'Scarcely' take had + past participle and when. 'Not only' at the start also inverts: 'Not only was he…, but he was also…'. The 2025 examiners noted candidates who wrote 'found' instead of 'find' after 'did' and who did not know that 'No sooner' needs 'did' and 'than'; the 2024 examiners noted 'does' instead of 'do' with a plural subject, and failure to invert after 'Not only'.

Worked example

Rewrite: (a) As soon as the students enter their classroom, the teacher welcomes them. (Begin: No sooner…) (b) Michelangelo was an architect and a poet. (Begin: Not only…)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. (a) Present tense, plural subject 'students': auxiliary 'do'.
2. Base verb 'enter' after 'do'; 'than' introduces the second clause.
3. (b) Put 'was' before the subject after 'Not only'; complete with 'but (he was) also'.

Answer: (a) No sooner do the students enter their classroom than the teacher welcomes them. (b) Not only was Michelangelo an architect, but he was also a poet. (Also accepted in form: 'Not only was Michelangelo an architect but also a poet.')

Degrees of comparison

A superlative can be rewritten with the comparative ('better than any other') or the positive ('No other… is as good as…'). When the instruction is 'Begin: No other', use the positive degree with as…as, keeping the noun after 'No other' singular. When the original says 'bigger than most other cities', the positive form is 'Very few… are as big as…'. The 2025 examiners reported candidates who used 'better' instead of the positive degree, and misspelt 'debater' as 'debator'.

Worked example

Rewrite: Sunita is the best debater in our team. (Begin: No other…)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. 'No other' + singular noun + 'in our team'.
2. Positive degree: 'is as good as'.
3. End with the original subject.

Answer: No other debater in our team is as good as Sunita.

Reported (indirect) speech

Yes/no questions are reported with if/whether; wh-questions keep the wh-word. Statement word order follows (no question mark). Tenses move back after a past reporting verb (will → would, is → was, present perfect → past perfect), pronouns change to fit the speaker, and time and place words shift (tomorrow → the following day / the next day; yesterday → the previous day / the day before; here → there). Going the other way (indirect to direct), restore the original words: 'the following day' → 'tomorrow'. The 2025 examiners noted misspelt 'whether' and 'everyday' written as one word; in 2024 they noted the full stop placed outside the quotation marks and the comma after 'said to me' left out.

Worked example

Rewrite: (a) The doctor said to the elderly lady, 'Will you be able to follow the schedule for taking medicines every day?' (Begin: The doctor asked…) (b) Sara said that she would come to my house the following day. (Begin: Sara said to me, '…')

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. (a) Yes/no question: 'whether' or 'if'; 'will' → 'would'; 'you' → 'she'; statement order.
2. (b) Restore direct words: 'she would come' → 'I will come'; 'my house' → 'your house'; 'the following day' → 'tomorrow'.
3. Place the full stop inside the closing quotation mark.

Answer: (a) The doctor asked the elderly lady whether she would be able to follow the schedule for taking medicines every day. (b) Sara said to me, 'I will come to your house tomorrow.'

Voice, cause and result (End: …; so…that; too…to; enough)

An instruction such as '(End: …heavy rains.)' forces the passive: 'Several landslides have been caused by heavy rains.' Keep the tense (have caused → have been caused) and the meaning; the 2025 examiners saw candidates who wrote that landslides caused heavy rains. 'Too + adjective + to' becomes 'so + adjective + that + subject + cannot/could not'; 'so…that he could be' becomes 'old enough to be'. 'Because… did not want' becomes 'so that… would not' for purpose.

Worked example

Rewrite: (a) The news is too good to be true. (Use: so…that) (b) He was so old that he could be my grandfather. (Use: …enough…)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. (a) 'too…to' expresses an impossible result: 'so good that it cannot be true'.
2. (b) 'so…that he could' expresses a sufficient degree: 'old enough to be'.

Answer: (a) The news is so good that it cannot be true. (b) He was old enough to be my grandfather.

Concession and other connectors

'In spite of' and 'Despite' take a noun or -ing form, never a full clause ('In spite of not knowing…', 'In spite of his illness…'); 'Although/Though' take a clause; 'nevertheless' and 'however' link two sentences. 'None but' means 'only' ('Only the wearer knows…' → 'None but the wearer knows…'); the 2024 examiners noted 'None other than' or 'except' used instead. 'Unless' = 'if… not', so it is never followed by another 'not'.

Worked example

Rewrite: (a) I don't know Helen very much; nevertheless, I like her. (Begin: In spite of…) (b) Only the wearer knows where the shoe pinches. (Begin: None…)

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. (a) 'In spite of' + gerund phrase: 'not knowing Helen very much'.
2. (b) 'None but' = 'only'.

Answer: (a) In spite of not knowing Helen very much, I like her. (b) None but the wearer knows where the shoe pinches.

Phrasal verbs and verb + preposition

A phrasal verb's meaning depends on its particle: put off (postpone), put on (wear), get along with (be friendly with), get down to (begin seriously), call off (cancel), call for (require), stand by (support), stand for (represent), turn down (reject), turn up (arrive). Verb + preposition pairs also change meaning: appeal against a judgement, appeal to the public; deal with a person or problem, deal in goods; jump at an offer, jump to conclusions; keep off the lawn, keep up with fashion. The 2025 examiners reported 'multiple answers for a single blank' and responses 'in the wrong sequence'.

Worked example

Replace the incorrect particle: (a) Never put out until tomorrow what you can do today. (b) The engagement was called through at the last moment. (c) Neha turned out the job offer.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. (a) Postpone = put off.
2. (b) Cancel = call off.
3. (c) Reject = turn down.

Answer: (a) off (b) off (c) down. Write only the word, numbered, in order.

Verb forms in a passage: tense, participle and infinitive

Decide the time frame of the passage (usually simple past) and then the job of each blank: the main verb (simple past: lived, were, stopped), an earlier past action (past perfect: had flown, had eluded), an action in progress (was admiring), a participle phrase (hoping, envisioning; drawn by the blossoms), or an infinitive or base form (decided to create; would… get up and move). Spell the forms correctly (trimmed, separated, showered, spread, not 'spreaded'). The 2024 examiners named spelling errors in 'trimmed', 'separated' and 'showered'; the 2025 examiners named 'spreaded'.

Worked example

Fill in: By the time she returned, the butterfly ________ (fly) away. Disappointed, Emily ________ (realise) that she had missed the opportunity.

Try it first, then show the solutionSolution

1. First blank: an action completed before another past action ('returned'): past perfect.
2. Second blank: the main narrative verb: simple past.

Answer: had flown; realised (specimen answer key).

Grammar, Structure and Usage in real life

Each concept, met in an everyday situation. Read the situation, answer the question in your own words, then compare with the model answer. The one-line hook is what to remember.

Topics in this chapter

• Sentence Transformation: Fixed Structures and Common Errors

How the board asks Grammar, Structure and Usage

The question patterns to expect, and the method that works for each.

Tricks to remember Grammar, Structure and Usage

Short memory aids. Say each one aloud once, then use it on a question the same day.

• Did-base-than; Had-participle-when

  No sooner DID she GO… THAN; Hardly HAD she GONE… WHEN.

  Use it when: Fixes the two most-tested inversion structures.

• No other = as…as

  'No other' always walks with 'as…as' (positive degree).

  Use it when: Avoids the 'better' error both reports flagged.

• One box, one answer

  Number, one word, next line.

  Use it when: Protects half-marks in parts (ii) and (iii).

• Pairs that bite

  appeal against/to; deal with/in; jump at/to; keep off/up; carry on/out; put off/on; call off/for; turn down/up; stand by/for.

  Use it when: Revise them in pairs, as the paper sets them.

Grammar, Structure and Usage: board-level solved questions

Ordered from board level to HOTS. Cover the solution, write your own, then compare step by step.

Where the marks are

How a typical answer is marked: the value points the examiner looks for and the marks each earns.

Where students lose marks in Grammar, Structure and Usage

The slips examiners see most often, and what to write instead.

• ✗Mistake: Wrong verb form after 'did' in 'No sooner'

  Students keep the past tense of the original. The 2025 examiners reported 'found' written instead of 'find', and candidates unaware that 'No sooner' needs 'did' and 'than'.

  Wrong working

  No sooner did Mira found her lost diamond pendant, she ran to her mother.

  Right working

  No sooner did Mira find her lost diamond pendant than she ran to her mother in excitement.

  ✓Do this: No sooner + did + subject + base verb + than. Hardly/Scarcely + had + subject + past participle + when.

  Usually costs: The whole mark for the item.

• ✗Mistake: Comparative instead of positive degree after 'No other'

  Students see 'best' and write 'better'. Both the 2024 and 2025 examiners reported this.

  Wrong working

  No other debater in our team is better than Sunita.

  Right working

  No other debater in our team is as good as Sunita.

  ✓Do this: 'No other… as… as' (positive). Use 'better than any other' only when told to use the comparative.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Spelling and word division in otherwise correct answers

  Haste. The examiners listed misspellings of 'whether', 'pendant', 'debater', 'Michelangelo', 'tomorrow', 'trimmed', 'separated' and 'showered', and 'everyday' for 'every day' (CISCE examiners' comments, 2024 and 2025).

  ✓Do this: Copy names and words from the question exactly; check doubled consonants in past forms (trimmed, stopped).

  Usually costs: Half a mark or a full mark per item.

• ✗Mistake: Several answers for one blank, or answers out of order

  Students hedge. Both reports name 'multiple answers for a single blank' and answers 'in the wrong sequence' as causes of lost marks.

  Wrong working

  (c) along/with/up

  Right working

  (c) along

  ✓Do this: Number 1-10 (or a-j) and write exactly one word or form against each.

  Usually costs: No mark for a hedged item; a sequence error can cost several items.

• ✗Mistake: Changing the meaning in a transformation

  Students reshape the sentence to fit the given words. In 2025 some wrote that 'several landslides caused heavy rains'.

  ✓Do this: After rewriting, ask: does my sentence say exactly what the original said, in the same tense?

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

• ✗Mistake: Punctuation errors in direct speech

  The 2024 examiners noted the full stop placed after the closing quotation mark and the comma after 'Sara said to me' omitted.

  Wrong working

  Sara said to me "I will come to your house tomorrow".

  Right working

  Sara said to me, "I will come to your house tomorrow."

  ✓Do this: Comma before the opening quotation mark; the sentence's full stop inside the closing mark.

  Usually costs: 1 mark.

Practice questions on Grammar, Structure and Usage

Write each answer on paper first. Open the hint only if you are stuck, and the answer only when you have finished.

1. Q1 · 5 marks · Short answerHarder board level

   Rewrite as directed: (a) He is too weak to walk. (Use: so…that) (b) Although he was tired, he finished the work. (Begin: In spite of…) (c) If you do not hurry, you will miss the train. (Begin: Unless…) (d) Everyone admired the painting. (Begin: The painting…) (e) 'Where do you live?' the officer asked me. (Begin: The officer asked me…)

   Hint

   so…that + cannot/could not; In spite of + noun/-ing; Unless = if not; passive; wh-question in reported speech.

   Answer

   (a) He is so weak that he cannot walk. (b) In spite of being tired, he finished the work. (c) Unless you hurry, you will miss the train. (d) The painting was admired by everyone. (e) The officer asked me where I lived.

2. Q2 · 5 marks · Short answerHarder board level

   Rewrite as directed: (a) As soon as the minister arrived, the ceremony began. (Begin: No sooner…) (b) Only a genius can solve this puzzle. (Begin: None…) (c) She sings and she dances. (Begin: Not only…) (d) This is the tallest building in the city. (Use: taller) (e) He said, 'I have finished my homework.' (Begin: He said that…)

   Hint

   No sooner did…than; None but; Not only does…but also; comparative + than any other; present perfect → past perfect.

   Answer

   (a) No sooner did the minister arrive than the ceremony began. (b) None but a genius can solve this puzzle. (c) Not only does she sing, but she also dances. (d) This building is taller than any other building in the city. (e) He said that he had finished his homework.

3. Q3 · 4 marks · Short answerBoard level

   Replace the incorrect underlined word (items adapted from the 2025 specimen paper): (a) The teacher handed down the report cards. (down) (b) She handed in the business to her son. (in) (c) The Minister gave off the prizes. (off) (d) The doctor gave away hope when she fell into a coma. (away) (e) The patient pulled over a tough situation. (over) (f) Some seats are set by for the elderly. (by) (g) We immediately set forth fixing the roof. (forth) (h) He ran into President during the elections last year. (into)

   Hint

   distribute, transfer, present, abandon, survive, reserve, begin, compete.

   Answer

   (a) out (b) over (c) away (d) up (e) through (f) aside (g) about (h) for. (These follow the 2025 specimen key for the same phrasal verbs.)

4. Q4 · 5 marks · Short answerHarder board level

   Write the correct verb forms in order: 'The village ________ (1) (not see) rain for three months when the first clouds ________ (2) (appear). Farmers ________ (3) (gather) in the square, ________ (4) (look) anxiously at the sky. By evening, a heavy shower ________ (5) (soak) the fields. Children ________ (6) (run) out, ________ (7) (shout) with joy. An old farmer, ________ (8) (move) to tears, ________ (9) (say) he had never ________ (10) (feel) so grateful.'

   Hint

   Watch for the past perfect for actions before the main past time, and participles.

   Answer

   (1) had not seen (2) appeared (3) gathered (4) looking (5) had soaked (6) ran (7) shouting (8) moved (9) said (10) felt

5. Q5 · 5 marks · Short answerHOTS / competency

   Each sentence contains one error in a fixed structure. Correct it: (a) No sooner did she reached home than it started raining. (b) Hardly had we sat down than the lights went out. (c) No other student in the class is cleverer than Arjun. (d) In spite of he was ill, he attended school. (e) The teacher asked whether had I finished.

   Hint

   did + base verb; Hardly…when; positive degree after 'No other… is as'; In spite of + noun; statement order in reported questions.

   Answer

   (a) No sooner did she reach home than it started raining. (b) Hardly had we sat down when the lights went out. (c) No other student in the class is as clever as Arjun. (d) In spite of his illness (or: being ill), he attended school. (e) The teacher asked whether I had finished.

6. Q6 · 5 marks · Short answerBoard level

   Fill in with a suitable particle: (a) The match was called ________ because of rain. (b) He takes ________ his father in looks. (c) The fire brigade put ________ the fire. (d) Please look ________ the meaning in a dictionary. (e) The thief made ________ with the jewels. (f) We ran ________ of sugar. (g) The old house was pulled ________. (h) She broke ________ in tears. (i) The plan fell ________ at the last minute. (j) I came ________ an old photograph while cleaning.

   Hint

   cancel, resemble, extinguish, search, escape, exhaust, demolish, begin suddenly, fail, find by chance.

   Answer

   (a) off (b) after (c) out (d) up (e) off (f) out (g) down (h) down (i) through (j) across

7. Q7 · 1 mark · Short answerHOTS / competency

   Explain why 'The doctor asked the lady whether she will be able to follow the schedule everyday' would lose the mark, and correct it.

   Hint

   Two errors: one of tense, one of spelling or word division.

   Answer

   'will' must change to 'would' after the past reporting verb, and 'everyday' (an adjective: 'everyday life') must be the two words 'every day' (an adverbial phrase); the 2025 examiners noted exactly this error. Correct: 'The doctor asked the lady whether she would be able to follow the schedule every day.'

Test your recall

Answer in your head or on paper first, then open the card. Pulling an answer out of memory makes it stick far better than re-reading.

1. 1.How are the 15 marks of Question 3 divided?Show answer

   Transformation 5 (5 × 1), phrasal verbs or prepositions 5 (10 × ½), verb forms 5 (10 × ½).

2. 2.Which word follows 'Hardly had…'?Show answer

   'when' (not 'than').

3. 3.How is a yes/no question reported?Show answer

   With 'if' or 'whether', statement word order and back-shifted tense.

4. 4.What does 'None but' mean?Show answer

   Only.

5. 5.Which phrasal verb means 'reject'?Show answer

   Turn down.

6. 6.What is the advised time for Question 3?Show answer

   Not more than 30 minutes.

Quick revision checklist

The night before the exam: can you do each of these without looking?

• ☐Can you write No sooner/Hardly/Scarcely sentences in present and past?
• ☐Can you convert any superlative to 'No other… as… as'?
• ☐Can you report yes/no and wh-questions with correct back-shift?
• ☐Can you turn an active sentence into the passive without changing the tense?
• ☐Can you give the meaning of ten common phrasal verbs with put, get, call, stand and turn?
• ☐Can you spot when a blank needs the past perfect?

Grammar, Structure and Usage: frequently asked questions