Understanding Active and Passive Voice

In English grammar, sentences can be written in either active voice or passive voice. The voice of a verb shows whether the subject of the sentence performs the action (active voice) or is acted upon (passive voice).

• Active Voice: The subject performs the action. Example:

  \(\text{The Principal gave her a warning}\).

  Here, "The Principal" (subject) performs the action "gave".
• Passive Voice: The subject receives the action. Example:

  \(\text{She was given a warning}\).

  Here, "She" (subject) receives the action "was given".

Converting Simple Past Active to Passive

The given sentence, "The Principal gave her a warning about coming late to school every day," is in the active voice and uses the Simple Past tense verb "gave". To convert a sentence from active to passive voice in the Simple Past tense, follow these steps:

1. Identify the subject, verb, and object(s) in the active sentence.
2. The object(s) of the active sentence become the subject(s) of the passive sentence. A sentence with both a direct and an indirect object can usually form two different passive sentences.
3. Change the verb into the passive form, which is \(\text{was/were} + \text{past participle}\) of the main verb. Use "was" if the new subject is singular, and "were" if the new subject is plural.
4. The subject of the active sentence becomes the agent in the passive sentence, usually introduced by the preposition "by".
5. Keep any other parts of the sentence (like adverbial phrases) in their appropriate place.

Analyzing the Given Sentence

Sentence: The Principal gave her a warning about coming late to school every day.

• Subject (Active): The Principal
• Verb (Simple Past): gave
• Indirect Object: her
• Direct Object: a warning
• Adverbial Phrase: about coming late to school every day

We can form a passive sentence using either "her" (indirect object) or "a warning" (direct object) as the new subject.

Passive Sentence using the Indirect Object ("her") as the New Subject:

1. The indirect object "her" becomes the subject "She".

2. The verb "gave" (past simple) becomes "was given" (was + past participle).

3. The direct object "a warning" remains after the passive verb.

4. The original subject "The Principal" is introduced with "by the Principal".

5. The adverbial phrase "about coming late to school every day" remains.

Result: She was given a warning about coming late to school every day by the Principal.

Passive Sentence using the Direct Object ("a warning") as the New Subject:

1. The direct object "a warning" becomes the subject "A warning".

2. The verb "gave" (past simple) becomes "was given".

3. The indirect object "her" is usually introduced with "to" or "for": "to her".

4. The original subject "The Principal" is introduced with "by the Principal".

5. The adverbial phrase remains.

Result: A warning was given to her about coming late to school every day by the Principal.

Evaluating the Options

Let's examine each option provided to find the correct passive form:

• Option 1:

  \(\text{She was giving a warning by the Principal about coming late to school every day.}\)

  Incorrect. The verb "was giving" is in the Past Continuous tense, not the Simple Past passive tense ("was given").

• Option 2:

  \(\text{She has given a warning by the Principal about coming late to school every day.}\)

  Incorrect. The verb "has given" is in the Present Perfect tense, not the Simple Past passive tense ("was given").

• Option 3:

  \(\text{She gives a warning to the Principal about coming late to school every day.}\)

  Incorrect. This sentence changes the meaning and structure significantly. It uses the Present Simple tense ("gives") and makes "She" the subject performing the action and "the Principal" the recipient, which is the opposite of the original sentence.

• Option 4:

  \(\text{She was given a warning about coming late to school every day by the Principal.}\)

  Correct. This sentence correctly uses "She" (derived from the indirect object "her") as the subject, the correct Simple Past passive verb form "was given", keeps the direct object "a warning", and introduces the original subject "The Principal" using "by". This matches one of the correct passive forms derived above.

Based on the analysis, Option 4 is the correct passive form of the given active sentence.

Revision Table: Active vs. Passive Voice

Additional Information: Using 'By' in Passive Voice

In passive voice sentences, the original subject (the doer of the action) is often mentioned using the preposition "by". However, the "by + agent" phrase can be omitted if the agent is unknown, obvious, or unimportant.

For example, if the sentence was "Someone stole my bike," the passive form could be "My bike was stolen by someone," but more commonly, it would be "My bike was stolen" (since "someone" is not specific).

In this question, "The Principal" is a specific and important agent, so including "by the Principal" in the passive sentence is appropriate and necessary to convey the full meaning of the original active sentence.