Question

Select the correct active/passive form of the given sentence.

The gardener cuts the grass with a mower.

1. The grass is cut with a mower by the gardener.
2. The grass has been cut with a mower by the gardener.
3. The grass was cut with a mower by the gardener.
4. The grass is being cut with a mower by the gardener.

Answer 1

Correct Answer - Option 1 : The grass is cut with a mower by the gardener.

The correct answer is The grass is cut with a mower by the gardener.

• First of all, we need to identify (S+V+O)Subject, Verb, and object in the active sentence to convert to passive voice, which is The gardener +cuts + the grass.
• As the sentence is in the present indefinite tense, so the conversion rule is sub+ is/are/am+v3+ object.
• Now, the object(the grass) is interchanged with the subject(the gardener), and the verb(cuts) is converted to the is/are/am+v3(is cut)which Is followed by (By, With, to, etc). Here we use By.
• Only option 1 follows the above rule of active to passive conversion.
• Hence, option 1 is the correct answer.

 The difference between active and passive voice:

• While tense is all about time references, voice describes whether the grammatical subject of a clause performs or receives the action of the verb. Here’s the formula for the active voice: [subject]+[verb (performed by the subject)]+[optional object]
  • Example: Raj kicked the ball.
• In a passive voice construction, the grammatical subject of the clause receives the action of the verb. So, the ball from the above sentence, which is receiving the action, becomes the subject. The formula: [subject]+[some form of the verb to be]+[past participle of a transitive verb]+[optional prepositional phrase]
  • Example: The ball was kicked by Raj.