Choose the correct passive construction(s) of the given sentence:
The bank manager turned down Raju’s loan application last week.
(A) Raju’s loan application was turned down by the bank manager last week.
(B) Raju’s loan application was turned by the bank manager last week.
(C) Raju’s loan application has been turned down by the bank manager last week.
(D) Last week, Raju’s loan application was turned down by the bank manager.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → (A) and (D) only
Passive of a phrasal verb (simple past):
| Change | Active | Passive | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Object becomes subject | Raju’s loan application | Raju’s loan application | The loan application receives the action, so it becomes the subject. |
| Tense kept | turned down | was turned down | “Turned down” is in the simple past, so the passive stays in the simple past: was / were + past participle (V3). “Was” because the application is one. |
| “Down” kept | turned down | turned down | “Turn down” means “refuse”. “Down” is part of the verb, so it stays right after “turned”. |
| Agent (by ...) | The bank manager | by the bank manager | The bank manager is named, so the doer comes after “by”. |
| Full sentence | The bank manager turned down Raju’s loan application last week. | (A) Raju’s loan application was turned down by the bank manager last week. (D) Last week, Raju’s loan application was turned down by the bank manager. |
Other verbs with a small word work the same way: the small word always stays with the verb. Example: The principal looked into the complaint. → The complaint was looked into by the principal.
(A) Raju’s loan application was turned down by the bank manager last week. — Correct.
- “Was turned down” keeps the simple past and keeps “down”.
(B) Raju’s loan application was turned by the bank manager last week. — Incorrect.
- “Down” is dropped.
- “Was turned” alone means it was moved round, not refused.
- Correct form: Raju’s loan application was turned down by the bank manager last week.
(C) Raju’s loan application has been turned down by the bank manager last week. — Incorrect.
- “Has been turned down” is the present perfect.
- It cannot go with a finished time like “last week”, and the active is in the simple past.
- Correct form: Raju’s loan application was turned down by the bank manager last week.
(D) Last week, Raju’s loan application was turned down by the bank manager. — Correct.
- Only the place of “last week” changes.
- “Was turned down” is right.