Select the option that expresses the given sentence in passive voice.
Were you laughing at the poor masses?
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: B
Explanation
The correct answer is option 2 i.e. 'Were the poor masses being laughed at by you?'
To convert a sentence from active voice to passive voice, follow these steps:
Identify the tense of the sentence.
The sentence “Were you laughing at the poor masses?” is in the past continuous tense.
Structure of passive voice for past continuous tense:
Was/Were + being + past participle (V3)
Subject and object switch places, and the preposition (here, “at”) remains in place.
Apply it to the sentence:
Active: Were you laughing at the poor masses?
Passive: Were the poor masses being laughed at by you?
Hence, the correct passive form is:
'Were the poor masses being laughed at by you?'
Why the other options are incorrect:
Had the masses been laughed at by you?
- This is in past perfect tense, which doesn't match the original sentence's past continuous.
Have the poor masses been laughed at by you?
- This is present perfect tense, again, wrong tense.
Are the poor masses being laughed at by you?
- This is present continuous tense, while the original sentence is past continuous.