Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Her husband was divorced by Sushmita.
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This item uses a simple past sentence about a completed action. The original statement tells us that Sushmita divorced her husband. To answer correctly, you must identify the passive voice version that keeps the same time reference and clearly shows that the husband received the action of divorce.
Given Data / Assumptions:
- Original sentence: "Sushmita divorced her husband."
- Subject in the active sentence: "Sushmita".
- Object: "her husband".
- The tense is simple past, with the verb "divorced".
- The passive form must be in simple past and show that the husband was the person affected by the action performed by Sushmita.
Concept / Approach:
For simple past sentences, the passive voice is formed with "was" or "were" plus the past participle of the main verb. The object of the active sentence becomes the new subject. The original subject is introduced by the preposition "by". In this case, the past participle of "divorce" used as a verb is "divorced". The simple and clear change from active to passive must preserve the idea that the marital relationship ended through Sushmita action toward her husband.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the subject, verb, and object. Subject: Sushmita. Verb: divorced. Object: her husband.
Step 2: Move "her husband" into the subject position for the passive sentence.
Step 3: Use the auxiliary "was" for a singular subject in simple past passive.
Step 4: Attach the past participle "divorced" to form "was divorced".
Step 5: Add the agent phrase "by Sushmita" and verify that the meaning matches the original active sentence.
Verification / Alternative check:
The sentence "Her husband was divorced by Sushmita." uses the correct passive pattern "was divorced", keeps the subject as "her husband", and clearly indicates that Sushmita was the person who initiated the divorce. The time reference remains in the simple past, so the action is still understood as completed in the past.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Some options remove the agent or use incorrect word order, making the sentence incomplete or misleading. Others use irregular expressions like "Sushmita husband" or make it sound as if Sushmita is divorced by her husband rather than the other way around, which reverses the meaning. There are also clumsy noun phrases like "divorce of her husband has been", which do not follow the usual pattern of passive voice and may suggest a different time relation.
Common Pitfalls:
Learners may forget that simple past passive requires "was" or "were" plus a past participle and instead produce forms such as "is divorced" that change the tense. It is also easy to confuse who divorced whom when constructing the passive, so careful attention to subject and object roles is essential. Finally, some students rely on literal translations from their first language, which can result in unnatural English word order. Following the standard pattern helps avoid these errors.
Final Answer:
The correct passive voice sentence is "Her husband was divorced by Sushmita."
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