In the following question, a sentence has been given in the Active voice. Out of the four alternatives, select the option which best expresses the same sentence in the Passive voice: "Mariam was writing a note to her boss."

Introduction / Context:
Voice transformation questions require you to convert a sentence from Active to Passive or vice versa without changing the original meaning or tense. The given sentence "Mariam was writing a note to her boss" is in the past continuous tense and Active voice. Your task is to identify the Passive voice form that accurately preserves both the tense and the sense of an action in progress in the past.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Active voice sentence: "Mariam was writing a note to her boss."
• Subject: Mariam; Object: a note; Indirect complement: to her boss.
• The tense is past continuous (was writing).
• We must choose the Passive voice equivalent from four options.

Concept / Approach:
To convert a past continuous sentence from Active to Passive:

• Identify the object in Active voice and make it the subject in Passive voice.
• Use the correct form of "be" in the same tense (here, past continuous → "was being" or "were being").
• Add the past participle of the main verb ("written").
• Include "by + agent" if we wish to mention who performed the action (by Mariam).
• Keep other parts of the sentence (like "to her boss") intact.

Thus, "was writing" must transform into "was being written", not simply "was written".

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Note the original structure: Subject (Mariam) + was writing (past continuous) + Object (a note) + to her boss. Step 2: Move the object "a note" to the subject position in the Passive voice: "A note ...". Step 3: Preserve the tense: past continuous of "write" in Passive form is "was being written". Step 4: Add the agent phrase: "by Mariam". Step 5: Retain the prepositional phrase "to her boss" at the end. Step 6: Combine all pieces: "A note was being written by Mariam to her boss." Step 7: Compare this result with the given options and see that it matches option (c).

Verification / Alternative check:
A quick tense check: "was being written" is clearly past continuous Passive because:

• "was" = past tense of "be".
• "being" = progressive marker.
• "written" = past participle of "write".

This matches the original progressive aspect of "was writing". If we used "was written", we would be changing the meaning to a simple completed action, losing the idea that the writing process was ongoing at that moment. Therefore, "was being written" is the correct and precise transformation.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Option (a) "A note was written to her boss by Mariam.": This is in the simple past tense, not past continuous, and suggests the writing was already completed, which changes the aspect of the original sentence.
• Option (b) "A note was wrote by Mariam to her boss.": Grammatically incorrect because "wrote" is the simple past form; Passive requires the past participle "written".
• Option (d) "A note was written by Mariam to her boss.": Same problem as option (a), it uses the simple past and ignores the continuous nature of the action.

Common Pitfalls:
Many students forget to preserve the progressive aspect when changing voice and mistakenly convert all sentences into simple past or simple present. Another common error is confusing past tense with past participle, using forms like "was wrote". To avoid these mistakes, always:

• Identify the original tense and aspect.
• Use "be" in the same tense + "being" if the original is continuous.
• Use the correct past participle for the main verb.

Final Answer:
The correct Passive voice form is "A note was being written by Mariam to her boss."