Passive
Voice of Sentences Beginning with "Who"
Rule
Active
Voice: Who + Verb + Object + ?
Passive Voice: By whom + Helping Verb + Object + Past Participle (V³) + ?
Formula
Who + V
+ O + ?
→ By whom + HV + O + V³ + ?
Steps
Change
Who to By whom.
Make
the object of the active sentence the subject of the passive sentence.
Use the
correct helping verb according to the tense.
Change
the main verb into its Past Participle (V³) form.
Tense-wise
Rules and Examples
1.
Simple Present [play, plays/do play/ does play]
Who
+ V¹ + O + ?
→ By whom + is/am/are + O + V³ + ?
Example:
1. Who teaches you English?
Ans.: By whom are you taught English?
Ans.: By whom is English
taught to you?
2. Who helps the poor?
Ans.: By whom are the poor helped?
3. Who cleans the room?
Ans.: By whom is the room cleaned?
4. Who writes these letters?
Ans.: By whom are these letters written?
5. Who manages the office?
Ans.: By whom is the office managed?
2.
Simple Past [played/did play]
Who
+ V² + O + ?
→ By whom + was/were + O + V³ + ?
Example:
1. Who wrote this letter?
Ans.: By whom was this letter written?
2. Who broke the window?
Ans.: By whom was the window broken?
3. Who completed the project?
Ans.: By whom was the project completed?
4. Who painted the wall?
Ans.: By whom was the wall painted?
5. Who solved the problem?
Ans.: By whom was the problem solved?
3.
Present Continuous [is, am, are playing]
Who
+ is/am/are + V-ing + O + ?
→ By whom + is/am/are + O + being + V³ + ?
Example:
1. Who is cleaning the room?
Ans.: By whom is the room being cleaned?
2. Who is teaching the students?
Ans.: By whom are the students being taught?
3. Who is decorating the hall?
Ans.: By whom is the hall being decorated?
4. Who is repairing the car?
Ans.: By whom is the car being repaired?
5. Who is watering the plants?
Ans.: By whom are the plants being watered?
4.
Past Continuous [was, were playing]
Who
+ was/were + V-ing + O + ?
→ By whom + was/were + O + being + V³ + ?
Example:
1. Who was making the cake?
Ans.: By whom was the cake being made?
2. Who was painting the house?
Ans.: By whom was the house being painted?
3. Who was cleaning the classroom?
Ans.: By whom was the classroom being cleaned?
4. Who was teaching the lesson?
Ans.: By whom was the lesson being taught?
5. Who was carrying the box?
Ans.: By whom was the box being carried?
5.
Present Perfect [have, has played]
Who
+ has/have + V³ + O + ?
→ By whom + has/have + O + been + V³ + ?
Example:
1. Who has completed the work?
Ans.: By whom has the work been completed?
2. Who has written this book?
Ans.: By whom has this book been written?
3. Who has repaired the machine?
Ans.: By whom has the machine been repaired?
4. Who has prepared the report?
Ans.: By whom has the report been prepared?
5. Who has cleaned the room?
Ans.: By whom has the room been cleaned?
6.
Past Perfect [had played]
Who
+ had + V³ + O + ?
→ By whom + had + O + been + V³ + ?
Example:
1. Who had finished the work?
Ans.: By whom had the work been finished?
2. Who had completed the project?
Ans.: By whom had the project been completed?
3. Who had written the letter?
Ans.: By whom had the letter been written?
4. Who had repaired the road?
Ans.: By whom had the road been repaired?
5. Who had painted the wall?
Ans.: By whom had the wall been painted?
7.
Future Simple [shall play, will play]
Who
+ shall/will + V¹ + O + ?
→ By whom + shall/will + O + be + V³ + ?
Examples:
1. Who will organize the programme?
Ans.: By whom will the programme be organized?
2. Who will complete the work?
Ans.: By whom will the work be completed?
3. Who will clean the room?
Ans.: By whom will the room be cleaned?
4. Who will write the report?
Ans.: By whom will the report be written?
5. Who will solve the problem?
Ans.: By whom will the problem be solved?
8.
Modal Verbs [can play, could play]
Who
+ Modal + V¹ + O + ?
→ By whom + Modal + O + be + V³ + ?
Examples:
1. Who can solve this problem?
Ans.: By whom can this problem be solved?
2. Who may open the door?
Ans.: By whom may the door be opened?
3. Who should complete the task?
Ans.: By whom should the task be completed?
4. Who must obey the rules?
Ans.: By whom must the rules be obeyed?
5. Who could repair the machine?
Ans.: By whom could the machine be repaired?
