In this voice change question, convert the sentence "Do you intimidate your younger brothers?" from Active Voice into the correct Passive Voice form by choosing the most appropriate option.

Difficulty: Easy

Correct Answer: Are your younger brothers intimidated by you?

Explanation:


Introduction / Context:
Voice change questions test your understanding of how to transform a sentence from Active Voice to Passive Voice without changing its tense or meaning. The sentence here is in the simple present tense and is framed as a question. You must convert it into an equivalent passive question where the object becomes the subject while preserving the sense and time of the action.


Given Data / Assumptions:
• Active sentence: "Do you intimidate your younger brothers?" • Subject in Active Voice: "you". • Object in Active Voice: "your younger brothers". • Main verb: "intimidate" in simple present tense. • Four possible passive forms are provided.


Concept / Approach:
To change a simple present question in Active Voice into Passive Voice, we use the structure "Are/Is/Am + object as subject + past participle + by subject". The auxiliary "do" or "does" used in the active question is replaced by the correct form of "to be" in the passive. Here, the subject "you" becomes the agent introduced by "by", and the object "your younger brothers" moves to the subject position. The main verb "intimidate" should change to its past participle "intimidated". The question form must be retained.


Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify that the active sentence is in simple present: "Do you intimidate your younger brothers?" Step 2: Move the object "your younger brothers" to the subject position in the passive sentence. Step 3: Choose the correct form of "to be" for plural "brothers" in simple present, which is "are". Step 4: Change the main verb "intimidate" to its past participle "intimidated". Step 5: Add the agent phrase "by you" and maintain the interrogative word order: "Are your younger brothers intimidated by you?"


Verification / Alternative check:
You can check the transformation by reversing it. Starting from the passive "Are your younger brothers intimidated by you?", convert it back to active. The subject in passive "your younger brothers" becomes the object, "by you" gives the active subject "you", and "are intimidated" in passive becomes "do you intimidate" in simple present active. This gives back the original sentence "Do you intimidate your younger brothers?", confirming that the tense and meaning match perfectly.


Why Other Options Are Wrong:
"Were your younger brothers being intimidated by you?" uses past continuous tense, which changes the time of the action and is not equivalent to simple present. "Have your younger brothers being intimidated by you?" is grammatically incorrect because "have" should be followed by "been", not "being", in the present perfect passive. "Are your younger brothers being intimidated by you?" uses present continuous passive, which again alters the tense and implies an action happening right now rather than a general habit or repeated action.


Common Pitfalls:
Learners often focus on the verb form and forget to keep the tense unchanged when shifting between voices. Another common error is mixing continuous or perfect forms with the simple present. Some students also struggle with the word order of questions in passive voice. To avoid these issues, practise transforming many examples, always starting by identifying the original tense and then applying the correct passive structure for that specific tense using a clear set of rules.


Final Answer:
The correct Passive Voice form is "Are your younger brothers intimidated by you?".

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