Understanding Active and Passive Voice

Sentences can be written in either active voice or passive voice. Understanding how to transform a sentence from active to passive voice is a key part of English grammar.

In the active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action. The structure is typically: Subject + Verb + Object.

In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence receives the action. The structure is typically: Object (from active sentence) + Be verb (matching tense) + Past Participle of Verb + (optional) by + Subject (from active sentence).

Transforming the Sentence: "Accenture employs three thousand people"

Let's break down the given sentence:

• Subject: Accenture
• Verb: employs (Present Simple Tense)
• Object: three thousand people

To change this active sentence into passive voice, we follow these steps:

1. Identify the object of the active sentence ("three thousand people"). This becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
2. Identify the tense of the verb ("employs" is Present Simple).
3. Choose the correct form of the 'be' verb that matches the new subject ("three thousand people" is plural) and the original tense (Present Simple). The correct form is "are".
4. Use the past participle of the main verb ("employs"). The past participle of "employ" is "employed".
5. Add "by" followed by the original subject ("by Accenture").

Putting it all together, the passive voice sentence is: "Three thousand people are employed by Accenture."

Analyzing the Options for Passive Voice

Let's look at the provided options:

• Option 1: "Three thousand people employ Accenture."
  This sentence is in active voice, and it changes the meaning of the original sentence, suggesting people are employing Accenture. This is incorrect.
• Option 2: "Three thousand people are employed by Accenture."
  This sentence follows the passive voice structure: Object ("Three thousand people") + Be verb ("are") + Past Participle ("employed") + by + Subject ("by Accenture"). This correctly transforms the original sentence into passive voice while keeping the original meaning.
• Option 3: "Three thousand Accenture are employed by people."
  This sentence changes the subject and object incorrectly and is grammatically awkward. This is incorrect.
• Option 4: "Accenture is employing three thousand people."
  This sentence is in active voice, using the present continuous tense, which is different from the original sentence's present simple tense. This is incorrect.

Based on the transformation steps and the analysis of the options, the correct passive voice transformation of the sentence "Accenture employs three thousand people" is "Three thousand people are employed by Accenture."