In this active and passive voice question, choose the correct passive form of the sentence "The travel agent is making all the reservations."

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: All the reservations are being made by the travel agent.

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
Voice change questions test your ability to convert a sentence from active voice to passive voice or the other way round while maintaining the same tense and meaning. Here, the active sentence "The travel agent is making all the reservations" is in the present continuous tense. We need a passive form that correctly reflects the same time frame and action, with "all the reservations" becoming the subject of the passive sentence.


Given Data / Assumptions:

  • Active sentence: "The travel agent is making all the reservations."
  • Subject in active voice: "The travel agent".
  • Object in active voice: "all the reservations".
  • Tense: present continuous (is making).
  • We want a passive voice structure: object of the active becomes subject of the passive.


Concept / Approach:
The general rule for changing present continuous from active to passive is: subject + is or are + being + past participle + by + agent. In the given sentence, "all the reservations" is a plural noun phrase, so it must take "are". The main verb "make" in passive past participle form is "made". Therefore, the passive structure should be "All the reservations are being made by the travel agent." Any option that breaks the plural agreement, changes the tense improperly, or uses the wrong verb form must be rejected.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify subject, verb, and object in the active sentence.Step 2: Recognise the tense as present continuous: "is making".Step 3: Move the object "all the reservations" to the subject position in the passive sentence.Step 4: Use the passive structure for present continuous: are being made.Step 5: Place the original subject after "by" to get "by the travel agent". The resulting sentence is "All the reservations are being made by the travel agent."


Verification / Alternative check:
We can double check by converting the proposed passive sentence back to active. Starting from "All the reservations are being made by the travel agent", we identify "all the reservations" as object, "travel agent" as subject, and "are being made" as passive verb. Converting back gives "The travel agent is making all the reservations", which matches the original exactly. This confirms that option C is correct.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:

  • Option A "All the reservations is made by the travel agent" is incorrect because "reservations" is plural and should take "are", and "is made" does not show continuous action.
  • Option B "All the reserving will be made by the travel agent" changes the tense to future "will be made" and also changes the noun from "reservations" to "reserving".
  • Option D "All the reserving is made by the travel agent" again changes the noun and tense, losing the continuous present meaning.


Common Pitfalls:
Students often forget to retain the original tense when switching between active and passive voices. They may also confuse gerunds like "reserving" with noun forms like "reservations". Always maintain the same time reference and use the correct past participle form in passive constructions, and keep the main noun phrase unchanged unless the exam question specifically tests nominalisation.


Final Answer:
The correct passive voice form is "All the reservations are being made by the travel agent."

More Questions from English

Discussion & Comments

No comments yet. Be the first to comment!
Join Discussion