Choose the correct passive form of the given sentence:
Who painted this mural on the school wall?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → By whom was this mural painted on the school wall?
Passive of a question that begins with “Who”:
| Change | Active | Passive | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Object becomes subject | this mural | this mural | The mural receives the action, so it becomes the subject. |
| Agent (by ...) | Who | By whom | “Who” is the doer. In the passive it becomes “By whom” and comes at the start. |
| Tense kept | painted | was ... painted | “Painted” is in the simple past, so the passive stays in the simple past: was / were + past participle (V3). “Was” because the mural is one thing. |
| Question order | Who painted ...? | was this mural | The sentence is still a question. So “was” comes before the subject “this mural”. |
| Full sentence | Who painted this mural on the school wall? | By whom was this mural painted on the school wall? |
Other “Who” questions change the same way: Who wrote this letter? → By whom was this letter written? Example: Who broke the window? → By whom was the window broken?
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: By whom this mural was painted on the school wall? — Incorrect. The words are in the order of a statement. A question needs “was” before the subject: “By whom was this mural painted”.
Option 2: By whom has this mural been painted on the school wall? — Incorrect. This is the present perfect. The active sentence is in the simple past, so the passive needs “was ... painted”.
Option 4: By whom was this mural being painted on the school wall? — Incorrect. This is the past continuous. The active “painted” is simple past, not “was painting”.