Change the following from active to passive:
The artist was painting a mural that depicted the evolution of civilization.
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: C
Explanation
Correct Answer
A mural that depicted the evolution of civilization was being painted by the artist.
Explanation
The active voice sentence uses the past continuous tense ("was painting"). To convert a past continuous active sentence into the passive voice, the structural configuration changes to "was/were + being + past participle" (was being painted). The complete noun phrase acting as the object ("A mural that depicted the evolution of civilization") correctly moves to the front to become the new subject of the passive sentence.
To break down why the other choices do not fit the definition:
"A mural that depicted the evolution of civilization is painted by the artist" incorrectly shifts the main verb structure into the present simple tense.
"A mural was painted by the artist that depicted the evolution of civilization" incorrectly uses the past simple tense instead of preserving the continuous aspect.
"The artist had painted a mural that depicted evolution" remains in the active voice, cuts the sentence short, and incorrectly shifts the tense to the past perfect.
Key Points
Core Definition Passive voice shifts the focus of a sentence from the performer of the action to the recipient of the action.
Grammatical Role Passive transformation of the past continuous tense requires combining the auxiliary verbs "was being" or "were being" with the third-form (past participle) main verb.