Negative Sentence Transformation: "He is too shrewd to be cheated"

The task is to convert the given sentence into a negative sentence while keeping the original meaning intact. The original sentence uses the structure "too... to...". This structure typically implies that the degree of the adjective (here, 'shrewd') prevents the action (here, 'be cheated') from happening.

Understanding the Original Sentence

The sentence "He is too shrewd to be cheated" means:

• He possesses a high degree of shrewdness.
• Because of this extreme shrewdness, it is impossible for anyone to cheat him.

Analyzing the Options

Option (a): "He is not shrewd enough to be cheated"

This option changes the meaning. It suggests he lacks sufficient shrewdness, implying he *could* be cheated. This is the opposite of the original sentence's meaning.

Option (b): "He is so shrewd that he cannot be cheated"

This option uses the structure "so... that...". This structure is often used as an alternative way to express the meaning conveyed by "too... to...".

• "So shrewd" indicates an extreme level of shrewdness.
• "...that he cannot be cheated" clearly states the negative consequence – the impossibility of him being cheated due to his shrewdness.

This structure effectively creates a negative sentence ("cannot") while preserving the original meaning. Therefore, this is the correct transformation.

Option (c): "He is not too shrewd to be cheated"

Negating the "too... to..." structure directly ("not too... to...") changes the meaning. It implies that his shrewdness does not prevent him from being cheated, which contradicts the original statement.

Option (d): "He is shrewd"

This is a simple affirmative statement. While true based on the original sentence, it doesn't capture the full meaning (the consequence of his shrewdness) or fulfill the requirement of transforming it into a negative sentence.

Conclusion

The structure "too ADJECTIVE to VERB" can be transformed into "so ADJECTIVE that ... cannot VERB" to create a negative sentence that retains the original meaning. Option (b) correctly applies this transformation.