Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: The car was being driven by Sunny so fast that it slipped at the turn.
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This question tests your understanding of active and passive voice transformation. The original sentence is in the active voice, with "Sunny" as the subject who performs the action of driving. You are asked to choose the option that expresses the same idea in the required voice without changing the meaning. Such questions are common in competitive exams because they check both grammar and sense preservation. The correct answer must maintain the tense, aspect, and cause effect relationship while shifting focus between subject and object appropriately.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
In voice change, the subject of an active sentence becomes the object or agent in a passive sentence, and the object of the active sentence becomes the subject in the passive. Here, "Sunny was driving the car" converts to "The car was being driven by Sunny". The auxiliary for past continuous passive is "was being" plus past participle of the main verb, in this case, "driven". The cause effect part "so fast that it slipped at the turn" needs to be preserved exactly, because it explains why the slip occurred. We must also ensure that the new subject of the passive sentence is "the car".
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify the verb phrase in the original: "was driving", which is past continuous.
Step 2: Identify the subject and object. Subject: Sunny. Object: the car.
Step 3: Form the passive of "Sunny was driving the car" by making "the car" the subject: "The car was being driven by Sunny."
Step 4: Retain the reason clause "so fast that it slipped at the turn" and attach it to the new passive structure.
Step 5: The correct transformed sentence becomes "The car was being driven by Sunny so fast that it slipped at the turn."
Step 6: Match this sentence with the options. It corresponds exactly to option C.
Verification / Alternative check:
Check each option. Option A, "Sunny slipped at the turn as he was driving the car so fast", wrongly suggests that Sunny himself slipped, not the car. Option B uses an inverted active form "So fast was Sunny driving the car that it slipped at the turn", which is stylistic emphasis but not a change of voice. Option D, "The car slipped at the turn as Sunny was driving it so fast", is essentially the same as the original, still active voice with focus on the car as subject in the second clause only. Only option C produces a clear passive structure for the main action "was driving" using "was being driven by Sunny".
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option A changes the meaning by implying that Sunny slipped, which is incorrect because the original sentence states that the car slipped.
Option B keeps the sentence in active voice, only using inversion for emphasis, so it does not satisfy a requirement to express the sentence in the opposite voice when that is intended in such questions.
Option D mixes focus and remains essentially active; it does not show the main verb phrase "was driving" in passive form.
Common Pitfalls:
Students often confuse stylistic rearrangements with genuine changes of voice. In voice questions, always look for the structure "be + past participle" for passive forms and check whether the old object has become the new subject. Another pitfall is accidentally shifting meaning by changing which noun is doing the action or experiencing the result. When solving, write a quick passive version yourself and then match it to the options, rather than trying to choose among options first. This reduces errors caused by attractive but incorrect rearrangements.
Final Answer:
The car was being driven by Sunny so fast that it slipped at the turn.
Discussion & Comments