Identify the correct Passive form of the following sentence from the options given below:
They have decided to increase the salary this year.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → It has been decided to increase the salary this year
Passive with an infinitive object:
| Change | Active | Passive | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Object becomes subject | to increase the salary this year | It ... to increase the salary this year | The object of “have decided” is the whole infinitive phrase “to increase the salary this year”, so the passive opens with “It” and keeps the infinitive at the end. |
| Tense kept | have decided | has been decided | Present perfect becomes has been + past participle: “has been decided”. |
| Agent (by ...) | They | – (dropped) | The agent “by them” is dropped, as it adds nothing. |
| Full sentence | They have decided to increase the salary this year. | It has been decided to increase the salary this year |
Time words stay the same: this year.
Example: They have agreed to close the road. → It has been agreed to close the road.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: This year salary has been decided to increase — Incorrect.
- It makes the salary the thing decided and the one that increases itself, which is not the meaning.
- "The" before salary is dropped.
Option 3: Salary has been decided to increase that year — Incorrect. Besides the same faulty structure, it changes "this year" to "that year". Voice change does not alter time words.
Option 4: That year salary had been decided to be increased — Incorrect. It changes the tense to past perfect and "this year" to "that year".