MUET Entry Test 2018 Past Paper

Change into passive: ‘Who did this’

A. By whom was this done?
B. By who was this done?
C. By whom is this done?
D. By whom this done?

Answer

A. By whom was this done?

Active Voice: Who did this?

Subject: Who + Verb: did + Object: this

Passive Voice: By whom was this done?

Subject: this (Object in active voice becomes the subject)
Helping Verb: was (Form of “to be” according to tense)
Past Participle: done (Main verb in active voice is changed to past participle)
Prepositional Phrase: By whom (Who becomes the object of the preposition “by”)

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Direct/indirect: He said, ‘I shall go as soon as it is possible.’

A. He said that he would go as soon as it was possible
B. He said that he should go as soon as it is possible
C. He told that he would go as soon as it was possible
D. He said that he would go as soon as it is possible

Answer

D. He said that he would go as soon as it is possible

Conversion to Indirect Speech:

The reporting verb “said” is in the past tense.
“Shall go” in direct speech expresses a future intention.
When the reporting verb is in the past tense and the direct speech talks about the future, we use “would” + base verb to maintain the future meaning in the indirect speech.
“It is possible” remains the same because it’s a state that doesn’t depend on the tense of the reporting verb.

there’s an exception to this rule when dealing with clauses that express:

Universal truths
Habitual actions
States of being

In the sentence “He said, ‘I shall go as soon as it is possible’”, the clause “as soon as it is possible” expresses a universal truth. The possibility itself doesn’t change based on when the reporting happens. So, even though the main verb (“shall go”) is backshifted, the verb in this dependent clause remains in the present tense.

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Direct/indirect: He said to me, ‘I don’t believe you,’

A. He said he don’t believe me.
B. He told he don’t believe me.
C. He said he didn’t believed me
D. He said he didn’t believe me.

Answer

D. He said he didn’t believe me.

Explanation:

The original sentence uses direct speech: “He said to me, ‘I don’t believe you.'” (present tense)
We’re converting it to indirect speech.
The reporting verb “said” is in the past tense.
Following the rule, the present tense verb “don’t believe” in the direct speech changes to the past tense “didn’t believe” in the indirect speech.

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Direct/indirect, ‘let me go’

A. He was shouted to them to let him go.
B. he has been shouted to them to let him go.
C. He shouted to them to let him gone,
D. He shouted to them to let him go.

Answer

D. He shouted to them to let him go.

Explanation:

The original sentence uses direct speech: “‘Let me go'” (present tense imperative).
We’re converting it to indirect speech.
However, in this case, the tense in the indirect speech doesn’t change because the reporting verb is implied but likely present tense (“shouted”).
Here, “shouted” implies giving a strong command, which aligns with the imperative “Let me go” in the direct speech.
We keep the verb in the base form (“let him go”) because it’s part of the reported command.

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Direct/Indirect: Aslam said, ‘I am very busy now.’

A. Aslam said that he was very busy then.
B. Aslam told that he was very busy then.
C. Aslam informed that he was very busy then.
D. Aslam said that he is very busy then

Answer

A. Aslam said that he was very busy then.

Explanation:

The original sentence uses direct speech: “Aslam said, ‘I am very busy now.'” (present tense)
We’re converting it to indirect speech.
The reporting verb “said” is in the past tense.
Since “I am very busy” refers to a current state in the direct speech, it becomes past tense (“he was very busy”) in the indirect speech because the reporting verb is past tense.
“Then” is added to clarify that the busyness was at the time of speaking in the direct speech.

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Direct/Indirect: He said, ‘Let us wait for the award.’

A. He proposed that they should wait for the award
B. He suggested that they should wait for the award
C. He proposed that they shall wait for the award
D. He suggested that they shall for the award

Answer

B. He suggested that they should wait for the award

Explanation:

The original sentence uses direct speech: “He said, ‘Let us wait for the award.'” (present tense)
We’re converting it to indirect speech.
The reporting verb “suggested” is in the past tense.
Since “Let us wait” expresses a suggestion, we use “suggested” as the reporting verb.
Following the rules, the tense in the indirect speech (“they should wait”) remains present because “suggested” implies a current recommendation, even though the reported speech itself is about waiting (future).

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Change into passive: ‘Someone has invited me to the party’

A. I have invited to the party.
B. I was invited to the party.
C. I had been invited to the party.
D. I have been invited to the party.

Answer

D. I have been invited to the party.

Here’s how we follow the active to passive voice rule, considering subject, verb, and object:

Active Voice: Subject (Someone) + Verb (has invited) + Object (me)

Passive Voice: Object (me) + Verb (to be + past participle) + By + Agent (Subject)

Explanation:

Object: “Me” becomes the subject in the passive sentence – “I”
Verb: “Has invited” becomes the past participle “invited” with the helping verb “been” – “been invited”
By + Agent: “By someone” clarifies who performed the action (inviting), but it’s often omitted in the passive voice when the agent is unknown or unimportant. Here, we can keep it implicit.

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Change into passive: ‘One should keep one’s promises’

A. Promise must be kept.
B. Promise would be kept.
C. Promise should be kept.
D. Promise shall be kept.

Answer

C. Promise should be kept.

Here’s how the active to passive voice rule applies:

Active Voice: Subject (One) + Verb (should keep) + Object (one’s promises) (One is implied, not a direct object)

Passive Voice: Object (Promises) + Verb (to be + past participle) + By + Agent (Subject) (One is general and not a specific agent, so often omitted)

Explanation:

Object: “One’s promises” becomes the subject in the passive sentence – “Promises”
Verb: “Should keep” is a modal verb indicating obligation. In the passive voice, we can’t directly convert it. “Should” suggests recommendation, so we can use “be kept” (past participle of “keep”) to indicate the action on the promises.
By + Agent: Since “one” is general and doesn’t specify who should keep promises, it’s often omitted in the passive voice.

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Change into passive: ‘All his friends laughed at him’

A. He is laughed at by all his friends.
B. He was laughed at by all his friends.
C. He were laughed at by all his friends.
D. He was laughed by all his friends.

Answer

B. He was laughed at by all his friends.

Here’s how we follow the active to passive voice rule:

Active Voice: Subject (All his friends) + Verb (laughed) + Object (him)

Passive Voice: Object (him) + Verb (to be + past participle) + By + Agent (Subject)

Explanation:

Object: “Him” becomes the subject in the passive sentence – “He”
Verb: “Laughed” becomes the past participle “laughed” with the helping verb “was” – “was laughed at”
By + Agent: “By all his friends” clarifies who performed the action (laughing) – remains the same

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The nearest meaning of SCALING is:

A. Decrease
B. Descend
C. Calculating
D. Fall

Answer

C. Calculating

Here’s why:

Scaling can have several meanings, but some of the most common involve:
Adjusting something according to a scale: This could involve increasing (scaling up) or decreasing (scaling down) something based on a specific reference point.
Measuring something: This can involve using a scale (like a ruler) or a system of measurement.
Calculating involves making a measurement or estimation, which aligns with the concept of using a scale or adjusting something based on a reference point.

Here’s how the other options compare:

Decrease – This refers specifically to making something smaller or less. Scaling can involve increasing or decreasing.
Descend – This means to move down, which is not always the case with scaling.
Fall – This means to drop or collapse, which is the opposite of scaling.

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