Question

Change the following sentence from the active voice to the passive voice-
"The peon opened the gate."

• A. The gate is opened by the peon.
• B. The gate were opened by the peon.
• C. The gate has opened by the peon.
• D. The gate was opened by the peon.

Hint:

Always double-check that your auxiliary verb matches both the original tense and the number of your new subject: Singular Subject (The gate) + Past Tense $\rightarrow$ was

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Concept: This question focuses on converting a sentence from active to passive voice in the Simple Past tense. The core conversion formula for structural mapping is: \[ \text{Active: } \text{Subject} + V_2 + \text{Object} \] \[ \text{Passive: } \text{Object} + (\text{was / were}) + V_3 + \text{by} + \text{Subject} \]

Step 1: Deconstruct the active sentence components.
Let us analyze the components of the phrase: "The peon opened the gate."

• Subject: The peon

• Verb: opened ($V_2$, indicating Simple Past Tense)

• Object: the gate

Step 2: Reconstruct the sentence into passive voice.
Let us build the passive sentence step by step:

• Move 'The gate' to the beginning as our new singular subject.

• Because 'The gate' is singular and the sentence is in the past tense, we use the singular past auxiliary verb 'was'.

• The past participle ($V_3$) form of the verb is 'opened'.

• Add the original agent at the end: 'by the peon'.
Combining these parts gives: "The gate was opened by the peon."

Step 3: Cross-verify against the given options.
Let us double-check why the alternative options are incorrect:

• (A) *is opened* incorrectly switches the tense to the present.

• (B) *were opened* incorrectly uses a plural auxiliary verb for a singular subject ('the gate').

• (C) *has opened* changes the tense to the present perfect.
Thus, option (D) is the only grammatically correct selection.