Choose the most appropriate passive construction of the given sentence:
Why did the coach drop Rohan from the school team?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Why was Rohan dropped from the school team by the coach?
Passive of a wh-question (simple past):
| Change | Active | Passive | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Question word kept | Why | Why | “Why” stays at the start of the question. |
| Object becomes subject | Rohan | Rohan | Rohan receives the action, so he becomes the subject. |
| Tense kept | did ... drop | was ... dropped | “Did ... drop” is in the simple past, so the passive stays in the simple past: was / were + past participle (V3). “Was” because Rohan is one person. |
| Question order | did the coach | was Rohan | In a question, “was” comes before the subject “Rohan”. |
| Agent (by ...) | the coach | by the coach | The coach is named, so the doer comes after “by”. |
| Full sentence | Why did the coach drop Rohan from the school team? | Why was Rohan dropped from the school team by the coach? |
Other wh-questions work the same way: question word + was / were + subject + V3. Example: Where did the police find the stolen car? → Where was the stolen car found by the police?
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 2: Why Rohan was dropped from the school team by the coach? — Incorrect. The word order is wrong. In a question, “was” must come before “Rohan”.
Option 3: Why has Rohan been dropped from the school team by the coach? — Incorrect. “Has ... been dropped” is the present perfect. The active “did ... drop” is the simple past.
Option 4: Why did Rohan drop from the school team by the coach? — Incorrect. It keeps the active “did ... drop”. Now Rohan seems to drop out himself, and “by the coach” does not fit.