Understanding Active and Passive Voice Transformation

The question asks to convert a given sentence from active voice to passive voice. The original sentence is: "The courier service had delivered the parcel."

This sentence is in the active voice, and its tense is past perfect. The structure of a sentence in active voice past perfect is:

Subject + had + past participle (V3) + Object

In the given sentence:

• Subject: The courier service
• Verb: had delivered (past perfect)
• Object: the parcel

To convert a past perfect active voice sentence into passive voice, we follow this structure:

Object + had been + past participle (V3) + by + Subject

Applying this structure to the given sentence:

• The original object becomes the new subject: The parcel
• The verb changes to past perfect passive: had been delivered
• The original subject is introduced with 'by': by the courier service

Combining these parts, the passive voice sentence is: "The parcel had been delivered by the courier service."

Analyzing the Options

Let's examine each option provided:

1. The parcel service was being delivered by the courier service.
   • This option incorrectly changes "the parcel" to "the parcel service".
   • It also uses "was being delivered", which is the passive form of the past continuous tense (was/were being + V3), not past perfect.
   • Therefore, this option is incorrect.
2. The parcel delivered the courier service.
   • This option significantly changes the meaning of the sentence.
   • It also remains in the active voice.
   • Therefore, this option is incorrect.
3. The parcel had been delivered by the courier service.
   • This option correctly uses "The parcel" as the new subject.
   • It correctly uses the past perfect passive verb form "had been delivered".
   • It correctly includes "by the courier service" to show the original subject.
   • This matches the expected structure for past perfect passive voice.
   • Therefore, this option is correct.
4. The parcel was been delivered by the courier service.
   • This option uses "The parcel" as the new subject and "by the courier service" correctly.
   • However, "was been delivered" is grammatically incorrect. The correct past perfect passive structure uses "had been" not "was been".
   • Therefore, this option is incorrect.

Correct Passive Voice Transformation

Based on the analysis, the correct transformation of "The courier service had delivered the parcel" into passive voice is "The parcel had been delivered by the courier service."

Revision Table: Active vs. Passive Voice

Additional Information on Voice Change

Voice change is a grammatical transformation that alters the relationship between the subject and the verb in a sentence. While active voice is generally more direct and energetic, passive voice is useful when the doer of the action is unknown, unimportant, or when you want to emphasize the action or the object receiving the action.

Key points to remember for voice change:

• Only transitive verbs (verbs that take an object) can be changed into passive voice.
• The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
• The subject of the active sentence becomes part of a 'by' phrase in the passive sentence (though this phrase is often omitted if the doer is unknown or irrelevant).
• The main verb's form changes to 'be' verb (conjugated according to tense and subject) + past participle (V3).

Understanding the structure for each tense is crucial for accurate conversions. For past perfect tense, the 'be' verb form used is 'been', combined with 'had' and the main verb's past participle.