Understanding Active and Passive Voice Transformation

The question asks us to convert a sentence from its active voice to its passive voice. The original sentence is: "The students have performed a new version of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'."

Analyzing the Active Sentence

Let's break down the given active sentence:

• Subject: The students (the doer of the action)
• Verb: have performed (present perfect tense)
• Object: a new version of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' (the receiver of the action)

In the active voice, the subject performs the action described by the verb.

Rules for Converting Present Perfect Active to Passive Voice

To change a sentence in the present perfect tense from active to passive voice, we follow these steps:

1. Identify the object of the active sentence. This will become the subject of the passive sentence.
2. Use the passive verb form for the present perfect tense, which is has/have + been + past participle of the main verb. Use 'has been' if the new subject is singular and 'have been' if the new subject is plural.
3. Add 'by' followed by the original subject of the active sentence (this is optional but common, especially when the doer is important).

Applying the Transformation

Let's apply these steps to the given sentence:

Original active sentence: The students have performed a new version of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'.

• Step 1: The object is "a new version of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'". This becomes the new subject.
• Step 2: The new subject, "a new version of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'", is singular. The tense is present perfect. So, the passive verb form will be has been performed.
• Step 3: The original subject is "the students". Add "by the students".

Combining these parts, the passive sentence is: A new version of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' has been performed by the students.

Evaluating the Options

Now let's look at the provided options and compare them to our derived passive sentence:

• Option 1: Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' has been performed by the new version of the students.
  • Incorrect subject: "Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'" is not the complete object.
  • Incorrect 'by' phrase: "by the new version of the students" is grammatically incorrect and changes the meaning.
• Option 2: A new version of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' have been performed by the students.
  • Correct subject: "A new version of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'".
  • Incorrect verb: "have been performed". The subject "A new version..." is singular, so it should be "has been performed".
• Option 3: A new version of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' has been performed by the students.
  • Correct subject: "A new version of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'".
  • Correct verb: "has been performed" (singular subject + has been + past participle).
  • Correct 'by' phrase: "by the students".
  • This option correctly follows the passive transformation rules for the present perfect tense.
• Option 4: Shakespeare's 'Macbeth' have been performed by the new version of the students.
  • Incorrect subject: "Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'".
  • Incorrect verb: "have been performed".
  • Incorrect 'by' phrase: "by the new version of the students".

Based on our analysis, Option 3 is the correct passive form of the given sentence.

Revision Table: Active vs. Passive Voice

Additional Information: Why Use Passive Voice?

While active voice is generally preferred for clarity and directness, passive voice is useful in certain situations, such as:

• When the doer of the action is unknown or unimportant: "The window was broken."
• When you want to emphasize the action or the receiver of the action rather than the doer: "The discovery was made in 1952."
• In scientific or technical writing, where the process or result is more important than the person performing it: "The solution was heated to 100 degrees Celsius."

In the given sentence, shifting to passive voice focuses on "a new version of Shakespeare's 'Macbeth'" being performed, rather than emphasizing "the students" who performed it.