Understanding Active and Passive Voice Conversion

The question asks us to convert a sentence from active voice to passive voice. Let's first understand what active and passive voice are and how they relate to tense.

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

In the passive voice, the subject receives the action. The action is performed by someone or something else, which is often mentioned after the verb using "by". The structure is typically: Object + Be (in the correct tense) + Past Participle of the Verb + (by + Subject).

Analyzing the Original Sentence: Active Voice

The given sentence is: "Mr. Gupta and his brothers remodelled their house to help it sell."

• Subject: Mr. Gupta and his brothers (They perform the action)
• Verb: remodelled (This is in the simple past tense)
• Object: their house (This receives the action)
• Additional clause: to help it sell (This indicates purpose)

The sentence is in the active voice because the subject ("Mr. Gupta and his brothers") is performing the action ("remodelled").

Converting Simple Past Active to Passive Voice

To convert a sentence from simple past active voice to passive voice, we follow these steps:

1. Identify the object of the active sentence. This becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
2. Use the past tense form of the verb 'to be' (was or were) that agrees with the new subject (the original object). Use 'was' for singular subjects and 'were' for plural subjects.
3. Use the past participle form of the main verb.
4. (Optional) Add "by" followed by the original subject.
5. Keep any other parts of the sentence (like adverbial clauses) in their place.

Let's apply this to our sentence:

Original sentence: "Mr. Gupta and his brothers remodelled their house to help it sell."

• Object: their house
• New Subject (Passive): Their house
• 'Be' verb in simple past agreeing with 'Their house' (singular): was
• Past participle of 'remodelled': remodelled
• 'by' + Original Subject: by Mr. Gupta and his brothers
• Additional clause: to help it sell

Combining these parts, the passive sentence is: Their house was remodelled by Mr. Gupta and his brothers to help it sell.

Evaluating the Options

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

1. Their house was remodelled by Mr. Gupta and his brothers to help it sell.

2. Their house is remodelled by Mr. Gupta and his brothers to help it sell.

3. Their house was to be remodelled by Mr. Gupta and his brothers to help it sell.

4. Their house was being remodelled by Mr. Gupta and his brothers to help it sell.

Option 1: Uses 'was remodelled', which is the correct passive form for the simple past tense. This matches our derivation.

Option 2: Uses 'is remodelled', which is the passive form for the simple present tense. The original sentence is in the simple past ('remodelled'), so this is incorrect.

Option 3: Uses 'was to be remodelled'. This structure ("was to be" + past participle) often implies obligation or arrangement in the past, which changes the meaning from the original simple action. It's not a direct conversion of simple past active to passive.

Option 4: Uses 'was being remodelled'. This is the passive form for the past continuous tense (e.g., "Mr. Gupta and his brothers were remodelling their house"). The original sentence uses simple past ('remodelled'), so this is incorrect.

Based on the analysis, Option 1 correctly expresses the original sentence in the passive voice while maintaining the simple past tense.

Revision Table: Active vs. Passive Voice (Simple Past)

Additional Information: Voice Change in English Grammar

Voice change is a common topic in English grammar that involves altering the form of a verb to show whether the subject performs the action (active voice) or receives the action (passive voice).

• The passive voice is often used when the action is more important than the doer, or when the doer is unknown or obvious.
• Not all verbs can be used in the passive voice. Only transitive verbs (verbs that take an object) can typically be changed into the passive voice. 'Remodelled' is a transitive verb as it takes the object 'their house'.
• The tense of the verb remains the same when converting between active and passive voice. For example, if the active sentence is in the simple past, the passive sentence must also be in the simple past passive form.

Understanding voice change rules for different tenses (present, past, future, perfect, continuous) is crucial for mastering this concept in English grammar.