Question

Choose the correct passive or active form of the given sentence. “Who did this damage?”

• A. By whom was this damage done?
• B. Who was this damage done by?
• C. By whom this damage was done?
• D. Whom was doing this damage?

Hint:

To easily check your word order in passive questions, make sure the auxiliary verb comes right before the object: "By whom + was/were + object + V3?"

Answer 1

The Correct Option is A

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
When converting an interrogative sentence starting with "Who" into the passive voice, the word "Who" (subject pronoun) transforms into "Whom" (object pronoun) and is preceded by the preposition "by". Because the sentence is a question, it must maintain an interrogative word order, meaning the auxiliary verb must come before the new subject.

Step 2: Detailed Explanation:
Let's break down the active question: Active components: Interrogative subject ("Who") + simple past verb ("did") + object ("this damage"). Passive transformation rules: 1. Turn "Who" into "By whom". 2. Because "did" is simple past and "this damage" is singular, use the auxiliary verb "was". 3. Place the auxiliary verb before the subject to keep it an interrogative sentence: "was this damage..." 4. Use the past participle (V3) form of the main verb: "done". Putting it together gives Option (a): "By whom was this damage done?" Option (c) uses assertive word order ("By whom this damage was done?"), which makes it grammatically incorrect for a direct question. While option (b) represents an acceptable informal alternative ("Who was this damage done by?"), option (a) is the standard, formally structured choice for academic testing.

Step 3: Final Answer:
The correct passive form is option (a).