Active-Passive voice Questions and Answers

Answer: C

The passive is By whom was this done ?

'Who did this?' asks about the doer. In the passive, the object 'this' becomes the subject, the verb becomes 'was done', and 'who' becomes 'by whom'. Because it is still a question, the auxiliary 'was' comes before the subject, and the sentence ends with a question mark.

Option B has the right words but ends with a full stop, and option A also uses statement order ('this was done'). Option D uses 'by who', where the object form 'whom' is needed after a preposition, and puts the question word at the end.

Answer: A

The passive is I was asked my name by them.

'Ask' takes two objects here: the person asked ('me') and the thing asked ('my name'). In the passive the personal object usually becomes the subject: 'I was asked my name by them'. The tense stays simple past, 'was asked'.

'My name was asked' drops the person asked and the doer and is unnatural, 'My name had been asked' changes the tense to past perfect, and 'My name by them was asked' puts the agent phrase in the wrong place.

Answer: B

Correct answer: Was built

The date in 1970 fixes the tense as past, and by my grandfather marks the sentence as passive, so the verb must be was built. Was build uses the base form instead of the participle, and has built is active.

Answer: B

Correct answer: was promptly obeyed

The subject his command is the thing acted on, not the actor, so the verb must be passive: was promptly obeyed. Has promptly obeyed is active and would make the command itself the one obeying, and promptly obeyed alone has no auxiliary.

Answer: C

Correct answer: was painted

By my grandmother marks the sentence as passive, and a portrait already hanging was painted in the past, so the verb is was painted. Has painted is active and would make the portrait the painter.

Answer: B

Correct answer: have been invited

To the party tells us the people are the ones invited, not the ones inviting, so the verb must be passive. The present perfect gives have been invited; have invited and have been inviting are both active.

Answer: A

Correct answer: will be told

When the time comes points to the future, and you are the one who will receive the telling, so the verb is the future passive will be told. Will told puts a finite past form after a modal.

Answer: A

Correct answer: agrees

Agree is intransitive and has no passive, so is agreed cannot be used of a person agreeing. Everybody is singular, which gives agrees.

Answer: C

Correct answer: interested

-ed participles describe how a person feels; -ing participles describe what causes the feeling. The lesson may be interesting, but the speaker is interested.

Answer: A

Correct answer: bit

The dog is the one doing the biting, so the verb stays active. Was bitten would make the dog the victim, and was bit uses a non-standard participle after the passive auxiliary.