In the following question, a sentence is given in Active voice. Select the option that best expresses the same idea in Passive voice: “The fire destroyed the whole neighbourhood.”

Introduction / Context:
This question examines your ability to change a sentence from Active to Passive voice while preserving tense and meaning. In active voice, the subject performs the action, whereas in passive voice, the object of the action becomes the grammatical subject. Understanding this transformation is essential for reading and writing formal English, where passive constructions are often used to focus on the result rather than the doer of an action.

Given Data / Assumptions:
- Active sentence: “The fire destroyed the whole neighbourhood.” - Subject: “The fire”. - Verb: “destroyed” (simple past). - Object: “the whole neighbourhood”. - Task: Convert this to passive voice, maintaining the same tense and overall meaning.

Concept / Approach:
In passive voice, the object “the whole neighbourhood” becomes the subject of the sentence. The main verb “destroyed” in simple past should be converted to “was destroyed” for a singular subject. The agent “the fire” can be added after “by” to show who or what caused the action. The standard passive structure for a simple past sentence is: object + was/were + past participle + by + subject. Applying this pattern gives: “The whole neighbourhood was destroyed by the fire.”

Step-by-Step Solution:
1. Identify verb tense: “destroyed” is simple past. 2. Identify object: “the whole neighbourhood”. This will become the new subject in the passive sentence. 3. Form the passive verb: for a singular subject in past tense, use “was” + past participle “destroyed”. 4. Attach the agent with “by”: “by the fire”. 5. Combine: “The whole neighbourhood was destroyed by the fire.” 6. Compare with the given options and select the exact match.

Verification / Alternative check:
Check the meaning: both the original and the passive sentence should indicate that the fire caused the destruction of the entire neighbourhood in the past. “The whole neighbourhood was destroyed by the fire” clearly maintains the same time reference and causation. The structure “was destroyed” confirms the past nature of the event, matching “destroyed” from the active sentence.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
- “The whole neighbourhood is destroyed by the fire.” uses present tense “is destroyed” instead of past, so it does not match the time of the original sentence. - “The whole neighbourhood was being destroyed by the fire.” represents a past continuous passive action and suggests an ongoing process, not a completed action. - “The whole neighbourhood is being destroyed by the fire.” uses present continuous passive and implies the event is happening now, which again changes the tense.

Common Pitfalls:
Learners often forget to preserve the original tense when changing voice or choose continuous forms when the original sentence is in simple past. Another mistake is using “were” instead of “was” for singular subjects, which breaks subject-verb agreement. Remember the pattern: object + was/were + past participle + by + agent, and always match the tense of the original verb.

Final Answer:
The correct passive form is The whole neighbourhood was destroyed by the fire.