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Question

Select the correct passive form of the given sentence.

"Someone could have been using this password."

This question was previously asked in
SSC Stenographer 2025 Question Paper (06-Aug-2025) Shift 2
The correct answer is
This password could have been being used.

Transforming Sentence to Passive Voice

The task is to convert the given active voice sentence into its correct passive form. The original sentence is: "Someone could have been using this password."

Understanding the Original Sentence Structure

  • Subject: Someone
  • Verb Phrase: could have been using (Modal Perfect Continuous Tense)
  • Object: this password

Passive Voice Conversion Rules

To convert a sentence from active to passive voice, the object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence. The verb form needs to be changed according to the passive voice structure. For a modal perfect continuous tense (like 'could have been using'), the passive structure follows this pattern:

Object + Modal Verb + have been + being + Past Participle + (by Agent)

Step-by-Step Conversion

  1. Identify the object of the active sentence: "this password". This becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
  2. Keep the modal verb and auxiliary verbs as they are, but adapt them for the passive form: "could have been".
  3. Add the passive continuous marker "being" to indicate the continuous aspect in the passive voice.
  4. Use the past participle of the main verb: "used" (from 'use').
  5. Optionally, add "by Someone" (the agent), but it's often omitted when the agent is unknown or unimportant.

Applying these steps, the passive form is: "This password could have been being used."

Analyzing the Options

  • Option 1: "This password could have been being used." - This correctly follows the passive structure for the modal perfect continuous tense.
  • Option 2: "This password could be used." - This is the passive form of "Someone could use this password" (simple modal), not the perfect continuous.
  • Option 3: "This password could have been used." - This is the passive form of "Someone could have used this password" (modal perfect), not the perfect continuous.
  • Option 4: "This password can be being used." - This uses the wrong modal ("can" instead of "could") and an incorrect passive structure.

Therefore, the most accurate passive form of the given sentence is Option 1.

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Similar Questions

  1. Select the correct active form of the given sentence:

    "The preliminary results have been officially announced by the matriculation board."

  2. Transform the following sentence into active voice:

    The glass was broken.

  3. Select the correct passive form of the given sentence."He had lost the keys before the meeting."
  4. Select the correct passive form of the given sentence.

    "He helps the poor."

  5. Select the correct active form of the given sentence.

    "The damaged road will be repaired by the municipality."

  6. Select the correct active form.

    "Was the novel written by her?"

  7. Select the correct active form.

    "The temple has been visited by thousands of pilgrims."

  8. Select the correct passive form of the given sentence."She may have told them the truth."
  9. Transform the following sentence into active voice:

    How beautifully has the picture been drawn by the artist!


Important Questions from Active & Passive Voice

  1. Select the option that expresses the following sentence in passive voice.

    He had cleaned the bathroom.

  2. Select the option that correctly expresses the given sentence in passive voice.

    Why didn’t she bring her son to my house?

  3. Select the option that expresses the given sentence in passive voice.
    He will give a lecture on personality development.

  4. Select the option that expresses the given sentence in passive voice. 

    His behaviour vexes me sometimes.

  5. Select the option that expresses the given sentence in passive voice. Is he not driving a car?

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