Understanding Active and Passive Voice

Sentences can be expressed in either active voice or passive voice. In the active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action.

The given sentence, "The rules forbid passengers to cross the railway bridge," is in the active voice because "The rules" (the subject) perform the action "forbid." We need to convert this sentence into the passive voice.

Analyzing the Given Sentence: Active Voice Structure

Let's break down the original sentence:

• Subject: The rules (This is performing the action)
• Verb: forbid (Present tense)
• Object: passengers (This is receiving the action of being forbidden)
• Rest of the sentence/Infinitive phrase: to cross the railway bridge

Converting to Passive Voice: The Process

To change an active voice sentence into passive voice, we follow these general steps:

1. Make the object of the active sentence the subject of the passive sentence.
2. Use the appropriate form of the 'be' verb (is, am, are, was, were, be, being, been) depending on the tense of the active verb and the new subject.
3. Use the past participle (V3) of the main verb.
4. Include the original subject in a 'by' phrase (optional, especially if the subject is general or unknown).
5. Add any remaining parts of the sentence.

Applying Conversion to the Sentence

Let's apply the steps to "The rules forbid passengers to cross the railway bridge":

1. The object is "passengers". So, the passive sentence starts with "Passengers".
2. The active verb is "forbid" (present tense). The new subject is "Passengers" (plural). The appropriate 'be' verb is "are".
3. The past participle of "forbid" is "forbidden".
4. The original subject is "The rules". We can include it with "by": "by the rules".
5. The rest of the sentence is "to cross the railway bridge".

Putting it together, the passive voice sentence is: "Passengers are forbidden by the rules to cross the railway bridge."

Evaluating the Passive Voice Options

Now let's look at the given options and compare them to the sentence we derived:

• Option 1: Forbidden are the passengers to cross the railway bridge.

  This option uses the past participle and 'be' verb but the word order is unusual and not the standard passive construction ("Forbidden are the passengers" instead of "Passengers are forbidden").

• Option 2: Forbidden by the rules, the passengers cannot cross railway bridge.

  This uses "Forbidden by the rules" as a modifying phrase and changes the main verb to "cannot cross", which alters the meaning slightly and isn't a direct passive transformation of "forbid".

• Option 3: Passengers are forbidden by the rules to cross the railway bridge.

  This option perfectly matches the structure we derived: Subject (Passengers) + 'be' verb (are) + Past Participle (forbidden) + by phrase (by the rules) + rest of sentence (to cross the railway bridge). This correctly expresses the original sentence in the passive voice.

• Option 4: Railway bridge is forbidden for the passengers to cross.

  This option incorrectly makes "Railway bridge" the subject of the passive sentence. The rule doesn't forbid the bridge itself; it forbids the passengers from crossing it. The object of the action 'forbid' is 'passengers', not 'railway bridge'.

Based on the analysis, Option 3 correctly expresses the given sentence in the passive voice.

Revision Table: Active vs. Passive Voice Key Differences

Additional Information on Passive Voice Transformation

When transforming sentences into the passive voice, it's important to maintain the original meaning and tense. The 'be' verb is crucial and must agree with the new subject in number and tense.

• The agent (the original subject introduced by 'by') is often omitted in passive voice if it is unknown, unimportant, or obvious from the context. In this sentence, "by the rules" specifies the agent, which adds clarity.
• The infinitive phrase "to cross the railway bridge" remains unchanged as it functions differently from the main verb and object transformation.
• Understanding which part of the sentence is the direct object is key, as it becomes the subject in the passive voice.