Select the option that expresses the given sentence in passive voice. Rohan verbally insulted Stephen in front of his parents.
Stephen was verbally insulted by Rohan in front of his parents.
Understanding Active and Passive Voice
Sentences can be written in either active voice or passive voice. In the active voice, the subject performs the action. In the passive voice, the subject receives the action. The passive voice is formed using a form of the verb 'to be' followed by the past participle of the main verb.
Analyzing the Given Active Sentence
The given sentence is: "Rohan verbally insulted Stephen in front of his parents."
- Subject: Rohan (the one performing the action)
- Verb: verbally insulted (the action performed)
- Object: Stephen (the one receiving the action)
- Adverbial Phrase: in front of his parents (tells where/when/how)
The verb "insulted" is in the simple past tense.
Converting to Passive Voice: Simple Past
To convert a simple past tense sentence from active voice to passive voice, we follow these steps:
- The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive sentence.
- A form of the verb 'to be' is used according to the tense and the new subject. For simple past tense, this will be 'was' or 'were'.
- The main verb in the active sentence is converted to its past participle form.
- The subject of the active sentence becomes the object of a prepositional phrase, usually starting with 'by'.
- Other parts of the sentence, like adverbial phrases, usually remain in their position.
Applying these steps to our sentence:
- New Subject: Stephen (from the original object)
- 'To be' verb (Simple Past) + Past Participle: Stephen (singular) uses 'was'. The past participle of 'insult' is 'insulted'. So, 'was insulted'. The adverb 'verbally' remains with the verb: 'was verbally insulted'.
- 'By' phrase: by Rohan (from the original subject)
- Remaining phrase: in front of his parents
Putting it all together, the passive voice sentence is: Stephen was verbally insulted by Rohan in front of his parents.
Evaluating the Options for Passive Voice
Let's look at the provided options and see which one matches our conversion:
- Option 1: Stephen was verbally being insulted by Rohan in front of his parents.
This option uses "was being insulted," which is the passive voice for the Past Continuous tense (e.g., "Rohan was insulting Stephen"). This does not match the simple past tense of the original sentence.
- Option 2: Stephen has verbally insulted by Rohan in front of his parents.
This option uses "has insulted," which is related to the Present Perfect tense. The structure "has insulted by Rohan" is also incorrect for passive voice. It should be "has been insulted" for Present Perfect Passive.
- Option 3: Stephen was verbally insulted by Rohan in front of his parents.
This option uses "was insulted," which is the correct passive voice form for the simple past tense, and follows the structure we derived. This correctly converts the original sentence into passive voice.
- Option 4: Stephen had been verbally insulted by Rohan in front of his parents.
This option uses "had been insulted," which is the passive voice for the Past Perfect tense (e.g., "Rohan had insulted Stephen"). This does not match the simple past tense of the original sentence.
Based on the conversion rules for simple past tense, Option 3 is the correct passive voice transformation of the given sentence.
Revision Table: Active vs. Passive Voice
| Feature | Active Voice | Passive Voice |
|---|---|---|
| Focus | Subject performing the action | Subject receiving the action |
| Structure (Simple Past) | Subject + Verb (Past Tense) + Object | Object (becomes Subject) + was/were + Past Participle + by + Subject (becomes Object) |
| Example | Rohan insulted Stephen. | Stephen was insulted by Rohan. |
Additional Information: Uses of Passive Voice
While the active voice is generally preferred for clarity and directness, the passive voice is useful in certain situations:
- When the doer of the action is unknown or unimportant: "The window was broken last night."
- When you want to emphasize the action or the receiver of the action rather than the doer: "Stephen was verbally insulted."
- In scientific or technical writing, to maintain objectivity: "The sample was heated to 100°C."
- To avoid assigning blame directly: "Mistakes were made."
Similar Questions
Select the option that expresses the given sentence in reported speech.
Henry playfully asked the kids, “How can you split this paper further into pieces?”
Sentences of a paragraph are given below. While the first and the last sentences (1 and 2) are in the correct order, the sentences in between are jumbled up. Arrange the sentences in the correct order to form a meaningful and coherent paragraph.
1. It is said that health is wealth.
A. He uses his health for work.
B. He doesn’t talk about his health.
C. A healthy person can do his work well.
D. He reads about medical columns in newspapers and watches television programs.
2. He does not even imagine being ill.
Select the option that expresses the given sentence in direct speech.
I said that when it stopped drizzling we would have to start digging again.
Select the most appropriate ANTONYM of the given word.
Primeval
Select the most appropriate ANTONYM of the given word.
Infinite
Select the most appropriate option that can substitute the underlined segment in the given sentence. If there is no need to substitute it, select ‘No substitution required’.
The news that the examination were been cancelled upset all our plans.
- Select the option that expresses the given sentence in indirect speech. Sneha said to me, “I am doing my homework.”
The given sentence is divided into three segments. Select the option that has the segment with a grammatical error. If there is no error, select 'no error' as your answer.
He is going / to be wash / the dishes.
The following sentence has been split into four segments. Identify the segment that contains a grammatical error.
Mr. Ramesh and / his friends / have never come / here
The following sentence has been divided into parts. One of them may contain an error. Select the part that contains the error from the given options. If you don’t find any error, mark ‘No error’ as your answer.
It's a little lately / to go back to / where we started from.
Important Questions from Miscellaneous
Read the given figure and find the region representing persons who are educated and employed but not confirmed in job.
The magazine in which Mahatma Gandhi mentioned what he wanted the Constitution to do is:
Which gas shields the surface of the earth from ultraviolet radiation from the sun?
Which event is marked as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity by UNESCO?
Who has been conferred with the rank of the Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2018?
