Finding the Correct Passive Form of a Sentence

The question asks us to convert the given active sentence into its passive voice equivalent. The original sentence is: "The coach received the members of the team with great excitement."

To convert an active sentence to a passive sentence, we generally follow these steps:

1. Identify the subject, verb, and object in the active sentence.
2. Make the object of the active sentence the subject of the passive sentence.
3. Use the appropriate form of the verb 'to be' and the past participle of the main verb.
4. The subject of the active sentence becomes part of a 'by' phrase in the passive sentence (optional but often included).
5. Keep other parts of the sentence, like adverbs or phrases, in the passive sentence.

Let's break down the given sentence:

• Subject: The coach
• Verb: received (This is in the Past Simple tense)
• Object: the members of the team
• Adverbial Phrase: with great excitement

The tense of the verb 'received' is Past Simple. The passive structure for the Past Simple tense is 'was' or 'were' + past participle.

Applying the steps:

1. The object "the members of the team" becomes the new subject.
2. The new subject "the members of the team" is plural, so we need to use 'were'.
3. The past participle of 'received' is 'received'.
4. The original subject "the coach" becomes "by the coach".
5. The phrase "with great excitement" remains.

Putting it all together, the passive sentence should be: "The members of the team were received by the coach with great excitement."

Now let's examine the given options:

• Option 1: "The members of the team had been received by the coach with great excitement." This uses "had been received," which is the passive form of the Past Perfect tense (e.g., "The coach had received..."). This does not match the Past Simple tense of the original verb "received". So, this option is incorrect.
• Option 2: "The members of the team was received by the coach with great excitement." This option uses "was received." However, the new subject "the members of the team" is plural. For a plural subject in the Past Simple passive, we must use 'were', not 'was'. So, this option is incorrect due to incorrect subject-verb agreement.
• Option 3: "The members of the team could be received by the coach with great excitement." This uses the modal verb 'could be received'. This changes the meaning of the sentence from a statement of fact in the past to a statement of possibility. This is not the correct passive form of the original sentence. So, this option is incorrect.
• Option 4: "The members of the team were received by the coach with great excitement." This option uses "were received." The new subject "the members of the team" is plural, and 'were' is the correct form of 'to be' for a plural subject in the Past Simple passive. 'received' is the correct past participle. The rest of the sentence structure is also correct. This matches our derived passive sentence.

Therefore, the correct passive form of the sentence is "The members of the team were received by the coach with great excitement."

Revision Table: Active vs. Passive Voice

Additional Information: Uses of Passive Voice

The passive voice is used in various situations:

• When the doer of the action (the subject in the active sentence) is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from the context. For example, "The window was broken" (we don't know who broke it).
• When the focus is on the action itself or the receiver of the action rather than the doer. In the given sentence, the focus shifts from "the coach" to "the members of the team" and the action of "being received."
• In formal writing, such as scientific reports, news articles, or academic papers, to maintain objectivity. For example, "The experiment was conducted at high temperature."
• To avoid naming the person responsible for something negative. For example, "Mistakes were made."

Understanding how to convert between active and passive voice is important for varying sentence structure and controlling emphasis in writing.