Question

Choose the correct passive form of past tense from the options given below:
T.V. ___ by John Baird.

• A. was invented
• B. invented
• C. was inventing
• D. were invented

Answer 1

The correct option is A was invented

A sentence in passive voice focuses on the person or thing that receives an action rather than the person/thing that performs the action.
For example, 'My room was cleaned by me.'
The basic structure of passive voice is:
the appropriate form of the verb 'to be' + past participle
Option A: The given sentence states an important event that happened in the past and completed in the past. Hence the sentence is in simple past tense.
So, the simple past form of 'to be', 'was' is used.
'Was invented' is the appropriate structure, formed by the past tense verb 'was' + past participle (invented). Hence option A is correct.
Option B: 'Invented' is a past participle which requires a helping verb (auxiliary: was) to help determine the tense. Without this helping verb, the sentence sounds incomplete. Hence B is incorrect.
Option C: Inventing is a present participle which isn't the correct form used in passive voice. The right form is a past participle. Hence C is incorrect.
Option D: 'Were' is a plural verb whereas the subject T.V. is singular. The subject and verb must agree to one another in terms of number.
Hence D is incorrect.