Choose the appropriate Active Voice of given sentence.
By whom were you taught French?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Who taught you French?
Passive question with "By whom" to active voice:
| Change | Passive | Active | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agent (by ...) becomes subject | By whom | Who | By whom asks about the doer, so in the active voice it becomes the subject Who. |
| Tense kept | were taught | taught | When “who” is the subject of a question, no helping verb “did” is used. The verb takes the tense of the passive: “were taught” is simple past, so taught. |
| Subject becomes object | you (subject) | you (object) | “You” goes back to the object position: taught you. |
| Full sentence | By whom were you taught French? | Who taught you French? |
The second object "French" stays as it is.
Example: By whom was this song sung? → Who sang this song?
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Who did teach you French? — Incorrect. When "who" is the subject, "did" is not used in a plain question. "Did teach" is used only for special emphasis.
Option 3: Who do teach you French? — Incorrect. "do" is present tense and does not agree with "who" (which takes a singular verb). The original is in the past.
Option 4: Who was teach you French? — Incorrect. "was teach" is not a verb form. "Was" cannot be followed by the base form "teach".