Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: The sanctuary is roamed by majestic Asiatic lions.
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This question checks your understanding of transforming a sentence from the active voice to the passive voice without changing its tense or meaning. The original sentence is a simple present tense statement of fact about animals and their habitat. Competitive English exams frequently test the ability to recognise the correct passive form among very similar sounding options, so it is important to focus on tense and subject object roles carefully.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
In active voice, the subject performs the action. In passive voice, the object of the active sentence becomes the new subject, and the original subject may appear after by. For simple present tense, the passive structure is: am or is or are plus past participle of the main verb. Here, roam is the base verb and its past participle is roamed. The place phrase the sanctuary changes from the object of the verb roam to the grammatical subject in the passive sentence. The lions, which were the subject in the active sentence, can appear after by in the passive form.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the object or affected element in the active sentence; here, the sanctuary is the place being roamed.Step 2: Move the sanctuary to the subject position in the passive voice, so the new sentence begins with The sanctuary.Step 3: Choose the correct auxiliary for simple present tense with a singular subject. The sanctuary is singular, so use is.Step 4: Convert the main verb roam to its past participle roamed and place it after the auxiliary: is roamed.Step 5: Add the agent phrase by majestic Asiatic lions to show who performs the action.Step 6: Combine the parts to obtain the passive sentence: The sanctuary is roamed by majestic Asiatic lions.
Verification / Alternative check:
If we convert the passive sentence back to active voice, we take majestic Asiatic lions as the subject, use the simple present form of the verb roam, and keep the sanctuary as the object: Majestic Asiatic lions roam the sanctuary. Adding the determiner the before majestic does not change the core meaning. This reverse transformation confirms that the tense and sense have been preserved, so the chosen passive sentence is correct.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A changes the tense to simple past roamed and adds an unnecessary clause which are majestic, so the time reference no longer matches the original general fact. Option B is grammatically possible but does not strictly represent the standard passive transformation; it adds new words the place where and shifts the focus, which is not required. Option D uses present perfect continuous have been roaming, which is a different tense and implies ongoing activity rather than a general habitual fact.
Common Pitfalls:
Students often get distracted by options that sound more descriptive or impressive but do not match the original tense. Another frequent mistake is to accept paraphrased sentences such as Option B that are logically related but are not true passive voice conversions. Always check three things: whether the original object has become the new subject, whether the tense has been preserved, and whether the main verb appears in a be plus past participle structure. If all three conditions are satisfied, you have likely found the correct passive voice option.
Final Answer:
The correct passive form of the sentence is The sanctuary is roamed by majestic Asiatic lions.
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