Understanding Active and Passive Voice

The question asks us to convert a sentence from passive voice to active voice. Let's first understand the difference between these two voices.

• Active Voice: The subject performs the action. Structure often is: Subject + Verb + Object.
• Passive Voice: The action is performed on the subject. The performer of the action (agent) is often introduced by 'by' or is not mentioned. Structure often is: Subject + form of 'be' + Past Participle + (by Agent).

The given sentence is: "A car full of explosives was apprehended today by the forces."

Let's analyze its structure:

• Subject: "A car full of explosives" (the thing that received the action)
• Verb Phrase: "was apprehended" (form of 'be' + past participle)
• Agent: "the forces" (the performer of the action, introduced by 'by')
• Adverbial: "today" (when the action happened)

This structure clearly indicates passive voice because the subject ("A car full of explosives") is receiving the action ("was apprehended"), and the actual performer of the action ("the forces") is mentioned as the agent after 'by'. The tense used is Simple Past (indicated by 'was apprehended').

Converting Passive Voice to Active Voice

To convert a passive voice sentence to active voice, follow these steps:

1. Identify the agent in the passive sentence (usually after 'by'). This agent will become the subject of the active sentence.
2. Identify the verb in the passive sentence and determine its tense. Convert the verb to the corresponding active voice form, ensuring the tense remains the same.
3. Identify the subject of the passive sentence. This will become the object of the active sentence.
4. Keep any other parts of the sentence (like adverbs) in their appropriate place.

Applying Conversion to the Sentence

Let's apply the steps to "A car full of explosives was apprehended today by the forces."

1. Agent: "the forces". This becomes the active subject.
2. Verb: "was apprehended". The tense is Simple Past. The active Simple Past form of 'apprehend' is 'apprehended'.
3. Passive Subject: "A car full of explosives". This becomes the active object.
4. Adverbial: "today". This remains in the active sentence.

Putting it together, the active sentence structure is: Subject (the forces) + Verb (apprehended) + Object (a car full of explosives) + Adverbial (today).

The resulting active sentence is: "The forces apprehended a car full of explosives today."

Evaluating the Options

Now, let's examine the given options and see which one matches our derived active sentence:

Based on our analysis, Option 4 is the correct active form of the given passive sentence.

Revision Table: Active vs. Passive Voice

Additional Information: Active and Passive Voice Across Tenses

Understanding how active and passive voice work in different tenses is crucial. Here are a few examples using the verb 'apprehend':

• Simple Present:
  • Active: The forces apprehend criminals.
  • Passive: Criminals are apprehended by the forces.
• Present Continuous:
  • Active: The forces are apprehending a suspect.
  • Passive: A suspect is being apprehended by the forces.
• Present Perfect:
  • Active: The forces have apprehended the culprits.
  • Passive: The culprits have been apprehended by the forces.
• Simple Future:
  • Active: The forces will apprehend the intruders.
  • Passive: The intruders will be apprehended by the forces.

Notice how the form of the verb 'be' and the helping verbs change in the passive voice depending on the tense, while the main verb is always the past participle. In the active voice, the verb form reflects the specific tense.