Change the voice of the sentence: The painting had not been painted by the famous painter.

Introduction / Context:
This question tests your ability to convert a sentence from passive voice to active voice without changing the original meaning or tense. The given passive sentence uses the past perfect tense and mentions both the action (painting) and the agent (the famous painter). Your task is to find the active voice version that accurately preserves tense, subject, and object relationships.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Original sentence (passive): The painting had not been painted by the famous painter.
• We must express the same idea in active voice.
• Options are four different active style sentences, with slight or major changes in tense and meaning.
• The past perfect negative meaning must remain the same: by that time, the famous painter had not done the painting.

Concept / Approach:
To change passive voice to active voice, identify the object of the passive sentence, the main verb, and the agent introduced by by. Then reorder them so that the agent becomes the subject, the object becomes the direct object, and the verb is converted from the passive form had not been painted to the active form had not painted. It is important not to introduce additional meanings like impossibility or never, unless those nuances are present in the original sentence.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the subject in the passive sentence: The painting. Step 2: Identify the agent performing the action: the famous painter. Step 3: Identify the verb phrase and tense: had not been painted, which is past perfect passive negative. Step 4: Convert to active: make the agent the subject (The famous painter), keep the past perfect tense (had not painted), and make the original subject the object (the painting). Step 5: The resulting sentence is: The famous painter had not painted the painting. Step 6: Compare this sentence with the answer choices and match it with option C.

Verification / Alternative check:
Check whether the meaning has changed. The original says that the painting was not the work of the famous painter. The active version, The famous painter had not painted the painting, expresses exactly that: the famous painter did not paint that specific painting. The tense had not painted keeps the past perfect sense, indicating a completed period in the past. No extra idea of impossibility, ability, or frequency has been introduced, so the transformation is faithful.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A says had never been painted by the painter who was famous. This introduces never, which suggests the painting did not exist at all, changing the meaning. Option B, The painter who was famous not had painted the painting, is ungrammatical because not is placed incorrectly. Option D, The famous painter could not have painted the painting, introduces modal could not have and suggests impossibility rather than simple non performance, which again changes the meaning and tense.

Common Pitfalls:
Students sometimes confuse had not been painted with could not have painted, but the latter adds a modal and suggests something stronger than the original sentence. Another pitfall is overcomplicating transformations by changing word order unnecessarily or adding descriptive clauses like who was famous in awkward positions. Always keep the tense and negative form consistent when changing from passive to active or vice versa.

Final Answer:
The correct active voice sentence is The famous painter had not painted the painting.