In the following question, a sentence has been given in Active Voice. Out of the four alternatives suggested, select the one which best expresses the same idea in Passive Voice: "They found him lying dead on the roadside."

Introduction / Context:
This question tests your skill in converting a sentence with an object complement and a participial phrase from active to passive voice. The active sentence is "They found him lying dead on the roadside." Here, "him" is the object and "lying dead on the roadside" describes his state when he was found. The passive version must keep this description natural and grammatically correct while making "he" the subject.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Active sentence: "They found him lying dead on the roadside."
• Subject: "They".
• Object: "him".
• Verb: "found" (simple past).
• Complement phrase: "lying dead on the roadside".

Concept / Approach:
When converting to passive, "him" becomes "he", and the verb "found" becomes "was found". The participial phrase "lying dead on the roadside" should stay close to "he" to avoid awkwardness or ambiguity. The natural passive sentence is "He was found lying dead by the roadside." Note that "by the roadside" is the standard phrase, and "lying dead" remains as a present participle describing his condition at the time he was found.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Change the object "him" into the subject pronoun "he".Step 2: Convert the verb "found" into passive simple past: "was found".Step 3: Attach the participial phrase "lying dead" to the new subject to preserve the meaning: "He was found lying dead".Step 4: Change "on the roadside" to the more natural "by the roadside" in passive construction.Step 5: Combine everything to get the full sentence: "He was found lying dead by the roadside."

Verification / Alternative check:
Compare meanings: Original sentence indicates that when they found him, he was lying dead, and the location was the roadside. The passive version "He was found lying dead by the roadside" conveys exactly the same picture, with the same time reference and conditions. The only change is that the doers "they" are not mentioned, which is common in passive voice when the doer is either unknown or not important.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Option A: "The roadside found him lying dead" is absurd because the roadside cannot perform the action of finding.
• Option B: "He was lying dead found by the roadside" is clumsy and ungrammatical in normal English.
• Option C: "Lying by the roadside, he was found dead" is close in meaning, but the placement of "dead" after "found" slightly shifts focus and is less direct than the original structure.
• Option E: "He found lying dead by the roadside" is incomplete and ungrammatical because it lacks an auxiliary verb "was".

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes try to change word order without adjusting auxiliary verbs, leading to incomplete passive forms. Others might create unidiomatic phrases like "was lying dead found". Always remember that in passive voice you must have a correct form of "be" plus a past participle, and any participial phrase describing the object should remain close to the subject in the new sentence for clarity.

Final Answer:
The correct passive voice sentence is "He was found lying dead by the roadside."