Active & Passive Voice — Set 12

Correct Answer: A. The play was being watched by us.

Past Continuous Passive = was/were + being + past participle. 'Was being watched' is correctly formed. Option B uses 'watch' (not past participle). Option C uses 'is been' (incorrect — 'been' cannot follow 'is' without 'have'). Option D uses 'was been' which is wrong. Only A is grammatically correct.

Correct Answer: C. She is singing the song.

Present Continuous Passive → Present Continuous Active. 'Is being sung' → 'is singing'. 'By her' → 'she' (active subject). 'The song' → direct object. The continuous nature is preserved in active form: 'She is singing the song.'

Correct Answer: A. Let the work be done by him.

When active sentence has 'Let + person + do + object', passive = Let + object + be + past participle + by + person. 'Let him do the work' → 'Let the work be done by him.' 'Do' past participle is 'done'. 'Be' must be present before 'done'.

Correct Answer: A. The poor man was laughed at by them.

With phrasal verbs like 'laugh at', the preposition stays with the verb in passive. 'Laughed at' → 'was laughed at'. The preposition 'at' is NOT moved. Object 'the poor man' becomes the passive subject. 'They' → 'by them'. The phrasal verb remains intact.

Correct Answer: A. Dishonest persons are looked down upon by people.

Phrasal verb 'look down upon' must be kept intact in passive. 'Look down upon' → 'are looked down upon'. The entire phrasal verb moves together. 'People' → 'by people' (though vague agent may be omitted). Simple Present passive: 'are looked down upon'.

Correct Answer: B. The answer is known to everyone.

Stative verb 'know' with subject 'everyone' typically uses 'is known to' rather than 'is known by'. This is an idiomatic usage: things are 'known to' people. 'Everyone knows the answer' → 'The answer is known to everyone.' The preposition changes from 'by' to 'to' with 'know'.

Correct Answer: D. Both A and C are acceptable.

When 'please' is used, the passive can drop the agent 'by him' and retain 'with his performance' as the cause. 'I was pleased with his performance' (common usage) and 'I was pleased by his performance' (treating performance as agent) are both acceptable. 'By him with his performance' is awkward.

Correct Answer: A. We were surprised by the news.

Simple Past Passive: 'Surprised' → 'were surprised'. Emotion-causative verbs like 'surprise', 'shock', 'disappoint' use 'by' in passive. 'The news' becomes the agent. 'Us' → 'We'. Passive: 'We were surprised by the news.' The cause/stimulus becomes the agent with 'by'.

Correct Answer: A. You are expected to complete the task by me.

With 'expect + object + to-infinitive', passive = subject + is/are + expected + to-infinitive. 'Expect you to complete' → 'You are expected to complete the task by me.' The infinitive 'to complete' is preserved. Simple Present active → 'are expected'.

Correct Answer: B. He was asked to resign by the management.

With 'ask + object + to-infinitive', passive retains 'to-infinitive'. 'Asked him to resign' → 'He was asked to resign by the management.' Simple Past passive = was/were + asked + to-infinitive. The 'to' before 'resign' is retained. 'Him' → 'He'.