Difficulty: Medium
Correct Answer: When was my bike returned by Rohit?
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
This question assesses your understanding of voice change between Active and Passive forms in English, especially in interrogative (question) sentences. Transforming a question from Active to Passive voice requires careful attention to auxiliary verbs, tense, subject object reversal, and word order, while preserving the original meaning and time reference.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
To convert an active sentence in simple past to passive voice, we use the structure: object + was / were + past participle + by + subject. For questions, the auxiliary verb comes before the subject. We must also keep the question word "When" at the beginning. The meaning should remain: asking about the time at which Rohit returned the bike.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Identify object and subject. Object: "my bike". Subject: "Rohit". Verb: "returned".
Step 2: Choose the passive auxiliary for simple past. Since "bike" is singular, we use "was".
Step 3: Form the passive core: "my bike was returned by Rohit".
Step 4: Turn the statement into a question with "When". In passive interrogatives, "was" comes before the subject: "When was my bike returned by Rohit?"
Step 5: Compare this structure with the given options and match it exactly.
Verification / Alternative check:
Check each option:
Option (A): "When was my bike returned by Rohit?" fits the passive structure perfectly and preserves the time question.
Option (B): "When was it that Rohit returned my bike?" remains active because "Rohit" is still the subject of "returned". It is not a passive transformation.
Option (C): "Rohit returned my bike when?" sounds informal and is still active voice.
Option (D): "When did my bike come back from Rohit?" changes both the verb and structure. It is not a direct passive transformation; it paraphrases the meaning instead.
Therefore, only option (A) is a correct passive voice transformation.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Option (B) does not reverse the roles of subject and object. It keeps "Rohit" as the subject, so it is still in active voice.
Option (C) simply reorders the words but still uses the active structure, with "Rohit" as the subject and "returned" as the active verb.
Option (D) uses "come back" instead of "returned" and omits "by Rohit". It changes the focus of the sentence and is not a strict voice change.
Common Pitfalls:
A common mistake in voice change questions is to accept any option that seems to carry a similar meaning, even if it does not follow the formal passive structure. Examinations usually expect a precise grammatical transformation, not just a loose paraphrase. Students also forget that in passive questions the auxiliary verb comes before the subject, and the original object becomes the new subject. Always systematically identify subject, verb, and object before transforming the sentence.
Final Answer:
The correct passive voice transformation is "When was my bike returned by Rohit?".
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