Question

From the below – mentioned options, identify the sentence which is in passive voice: 

A. He loves to paint.

B. She will write a letter to her father today

C. The painting was done by an old artist.

D. The boy smiled at the old man. 

Answer 1

Hint: A sentence is in active or passive voice depending on whether its verb is in active or passive voice. A verb is in active voice when its form shows that the subject does some action.

Complete answer:

A verb is in passive voice when something is done to the subject. In passive voice, the doer of the action may appear in the phrase, "by ....". This could be one easy way of identifying a sentence in passive voice. However, in some cases, this phrase is omitted.

Option A) He loves to paint – This option is not correct because He" is the subject. He (the subject) "loves" to paint i.e.  the subject performs the action. Hence, this sentence is in the active voice.  Option A is incorrect.

Option B) She will write a letter to her father today – This option is incorrect because She" is the subject. She "will write" a letter. i.e. She (the subject) performs an action in the future tense. Hence, this sentence is in the active voice. Option B is incorrect. 

Option C) The painting was done by an old artist – The correct option is C. "The painting" is the subject. It was "done" by an old artist i.e. an action was performed on the subject. Note the phrase, "by an old artist" indicating "the old artist" as the doer of the action. Hence this sentence is in the passive voice. 

Option D) The boy smiled at the old man – This option is not correct "the boy" is the subject. He (the subject) "smiled" at the old man. i.e.  he performed an action in the past tense. Hence, this sentence is in the active voice. Option D is incorrect.

Hence the right answer to this is option ‘C’.

Note: While choosing the correct option keep in mind that the tense should not change and you consider the subject – verb agreement and not a plural form of verb for a singular form of subject or the other way around.