Question

Change the following statement into passive voice:

Who taught you English?

• A. By whom English was taught to you?
• B. By whom you were taught English?
• C. By whom was English taught to you?
• D. By whom are you taught English?

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

By whom was English taught to you?

A sentence is in the active voice when the subject performs an action.

A sentence is said to be in the passive voice when the subject receives an action.

While changing an interrogative sentence to passive voice, the subject 'who' changes to an object 'by whom'.

The passive form of 'taught' in the simple past tense is 'was/were taught'.

This can be seen in option C, hence it's the right answer.

Option A: The helping verb 'was' must come before the noun 'English'. This is because it's in interrogative form, the verb comes before the noun.

Option B: Similarly, the verb 'were' must come before the pronoun 'you'.

Option D: 'Are you taught' is in present tense whereas the given sentence is in past simple tense 'taught'.

Hence options A, B and D are incorrect.