Converting Passive Voice to Active Voice: Step-by-Step

The question asks us to find the correct active form of the sentence, "Every penny must be accounted for by you." This sentence is in the passive voice because the subject ("Every penny") is receiving the action, and the actual doer of the action is mentioned in a "by" phrase ("by you").

Identifying Components in the Passive Sentence

Let's break down the passive sentence:

• Subject (receiving the action): Every penny
• Verb (passive form): must be accounted for
• Agent (doing the action): you (mentioned in the 'by you' phrase)

Transforming to Active Voice

To convert a passive sentence to active voice, we need to make the agent the subject and change the verb form from passive to active. The original passive subject becomes the object in the active sentence.

Following these steps:

1. The agent 'you' becomes the new subject.
2. The passive verb 'must be accounted for' needs to be changed to its active form. The modal verb 'must' remains. The passive structure 'be + past participle' becomes the active verb. The base verb is 'account for'. So, the active form is 'must account for'.
3. The original passive subject 'Every penny' becomes the object of the active sentence.

Putting these together, the active sentence is: "You must account for every penny."

Analysing the Options for Active Voice Conversion

Let's examine the given options based on our transformation:

• Option 1: "You must be account for every penny." - This is grammatically incorrect. The verb form "must be account" is not a valid English structure.
• Option 2: "You must account for every penny." - This matches our derived active sentence. The agent 'you' is the subject, the verb form 'must account for' is active, and 'every penny' is the object.
• Option 3: "You must be accounted for every penny." - This option still uses the passive verb form "must be accounted for". This is not the active voice.
• Option 4: "You must account every penny." - The phrasal verb in the original sentence is "account for". Omitting "for" here changes the meaning or makes the sentence grammatically incorrect in this context. "Account for" means to explain or provide a record of something, which is the intended meaning.

Therefore, option 2 is the correct active form of the given sentence.

Revision Table: Understanding Passive and Active Voice

Additional Information: Passive Voice with Modals

When converting sentences with modal verbs (like can, could, may, might, will, would, shall, should, must, ought to) between active and passive voice, the modal verb is retained. The structure changes as follows:

• Active: Subject + Modal + Base Form of Verb + Object
• Passive: Object + Modal + be + Past Participle of Verb + (by Subject)

In our example:

• Active: You + must + account for + every penny.
• Passive: Every penny + must + be + accounted for + by you.

Understanding the correct structure for active and passive voice, especially with modal verbs and phrasal verbs like 'account for', is crucial for accurate sentence transformation.