Change the following from active to passive:
Historians considered the reforms emblematic of the regime's insecurity.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2 i.e. The reforms were considered emblematic of the regime's insecurity by historians.
To convert this sentence, we follow the rules for the Simple Past Tense.
1. Identify the Sentence Components:
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Subject (Doer): Historians
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Verb (Active): considered
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Object (Receiver): the reforms
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Complement: emblematic of the regime's insecurity (this describes the object and stays attached to it).
2. Follow the Conversion Steps:
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Step 1: Move the object (The reforms) to the subject position.
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Step 2: Since 'reforms' is plural and the original verb 'considered' is in the past tense, use the auxiliary verb were.
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Step 3: Use the past participle of the main verb (considered).
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Step 4: Place the agent/doer at the end, introduced by the preposition by (by historians).
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Step 5: Keep the complement (emblematic of the regime's insecurity) immediately after the verb for logical flow.
Hence, the chosen option is correct.