Understanding Active and Passive Voice Conversion

The question asks us to find the correct passive form of the sentence "They are making elaborate arrangements for the party." This involves understanding how to transform a sentence from active voice to passive voice, specifically when the active sentence is in the Present Continuous tense.

What is Active Voice?

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

Example: They (Subject) are making (Verb) elaborate arrangements (Object).

What is Passive Voice?

In the passive voice, the subject of the sentence receives the action. The structure is typically: Object + Verb (in passive form) + by + Subject (optional).

The focus shifts from who is doing the action (the subject) to who or what is receiving the action (the object).

Converting Present Continuous Active to Passive Voice

The original sentence "They are making elaborate arrangements for the party" is in the Present Continuous tense. The structure for the Present Continuous tense in active voice is:

\( \text{Subject} + \text{is/am/are} + \text{Verb} + \text{ing} + \text{Object} + \text{...} \)

To convert a sentence from Present Continuous active to passive voice, we follow these steps:

1. Identify the object of the active sentence. This object will become the subject of the passive sentence.
2. Identify the verb and its tense in the active sentence.
3. Determine the correct form of 'to be' (is, am, or are) that agrees with the new subject (the original object).
4. Add 'being' after the form of 'to be'.
5. Use the past participle (V3) of the main verb.
6. Add the rest of the sentence components (like prepositional phrases).
7. (Optional) Add 'by' followed by the original subject. This is often omitted if the subject is general or unknown (like 'They', 'Someone', 'People').

Applying the Conversion Steps to the Sentence

Let's apply these steps to "They are making elaborate arrangements for the party."

• Original Sentence: They are making elaborate arrangements for the party.
• Subject: They
• Verb: are making (Present Continuous)
• Object: elaborate arrangements

Now, convert to passive voice:

1. The object is "elaborate arrangements". This becomes the new subject.
2. The tense is Present Continuous.
3. "Elaborate arrangements" is plural, so the correct form of 'to be' is "are".
4. Add "being".
5. The past participle of "making" is "made".
6. The rest of the sentence is "for the party".
7. We can omit "by them" as "They" is a general subject.

Combining these parts, the passive sentence is: "Elaborate arrangements are being made for the party."

Evaluating the Options

Let's compare our derived passive sentence with the given options:

• Option 1: Elaborate arrangements have been made for the party.

  This is the passive form of the Present Perfect tense (have been made).

• Option 2: Elaborate arrangements were being made for the party.

  This is the passive form of the Past Continuous tense (were being made).

• Option 3: Elaborate arrangements are made for the party.

  This is the passive form of the Simple Present tense (are made).

• Option 4: Elaborate arrangements are being made for the party. 

  This structure (are being made) matches the passive form required for the Present Continuous tense.

Based on our analysis, Option 4 correctly follows the rules for converting a Present Continuous active sentence to its passive form.

Revision Table: Active vs. Passive Voice Conversion Rules

Additional Information on Voice Change

Changing the voice of a sentence changes the emphasis. In the active voice, the doer of the action is important. In the passive voice, the action itself or the receiver of the action is more important.

The passive voice is often used in:

• Scientific writing (e.g., "The experiment was conducted").
• News reporting when the doer is unknown or less important (e.g., "A new policy was announced").
• When we want to avoid mentioning the subject (e.g., "Mistakes were made").

Not all verbs can be used in the passive voice. Transitive verbs (verbs that take an object) can be used in the passive voice, while intransitive verbs (verbs that do not take an object, e.g., 'sleep', 'walk', 'happen') cannot.