Question

Active voice of: The room was cleaned.

• A. The cleaner cleaned the room
• B. The room should be cleaned
• C. I cleaned the room
• D. Someone cleaned the room

Hint:

When converting from passive to active and the agent ('by... a person') is missing, you must introduce a logical or general subject like 'someone', 'people', 'they', etc.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

Step 1: Understanding the Concept:
This involves converting a simple past passive sentence to the active voice. A key feature here is that the passive sentence has no agent (no 'by...' phrase).

Step 2: Key Rules for Conversion:
1. Identify Subject and Verb: The passive subject is 'The room'. The passive verb is 'was cleaned'.
2. Supply an Active Subject: Since no agent is mentioned, we must supply a logical but general subject for the active sentence. Common choices are 'someone', 'somebody', 'they', or a logical agent like 'the cleaner'.
3. Change Verb Form: The simple past passive ('was cleaned') becomes the simple past active ('cleaned').
4. Rearrange the Sentence: The passive subject ('The room') becomes the active object. The structure is `New Subject + Active Verb + New Object`.

Step 3: Detailed Explanation:
- Passive: "The room was cleaned."
- Let's supply a general subject: 'Someone'.
- The verb 'was cleaned' becomes 'cleaned'.
- The object becomes 'the room'.
- This gives: "Someone cleaned the room."
Let's check the options:
(A) "The cleaner cleaned the room" - This is a possible active form, but it assumes a specific agent ('the cleaner') that was not mentioned.
(C) "I cleaned the room" - This assumes the agent was 'I', which is not implied.
(D) "Someone cleaned the room" - This is the most appropriate conversion because 'someone' is a general agent that fits the context of an unstated agent. When the agent is unknown or unimportant, we often use a general pronoun like 'someone'.

Step 4: Final Answer:
The most suitable active voice is Someone cleaned the room.