Choose the most appropriate passive construction of the given sentence:
Does the school bus pick up the children from Sector 9?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Are the children picked up from Sector 9 by the school bus?
Passive of a “Does” question (simple present):
| Change | Active | Passive | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Object becomes subject | the children | the children | The children receive the action, so they become the subject. |
| “Does” changed | Does ... pick up | Are ... picked up | “Does ... pick up” is a simple present question. In the passive, “does” goes and is / are begins the question, with the past participle (V3) after the subject. “Are” because the children are many. |
| “Up” kept | pick up | picked up | “Up” is part of the verb “pick up”, so it stays after “picked”. |
| Agent (by ...) | the school bus | by the school bus | The school bus is named, so the doer comes after “by”. |
| Full sentence | Does the school bus pick up the children from Sector 9? | Are the children picked up from Sector 9 by the school bus? |
“Did” questions work the same way: Did ... + verb? → Was / Were ... + V3? Example: Did the gardener cut the hedge? → Was the hedge cut by the gardener?
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: Is the children picked up from Sector 9 by the school bus? — Incorrect. “Is” is for one person. “The children” are many, so it must be “are”.
Option 3: Do the children picked up from Sector 9 by the school bus? — Incorrect. “Do” is kept from the active. A passive question needs a form of “be” before the V3.
Option 4: Are the children being picked up from Sector 9 by the school bus? — Incorrect. “Are being picked up” is the present continuous. The active “does ... pick up” is the simple present.