Choose the most appropriate passive construction of the given sentence:
I expected him to give us financial aid.
(A) It may be expected by me that he will give us financial aid.
(B) He may be expected to give us financial aid.
(C) It was expected of him to give us financial aid.
(D) Let it be expected that he would give me financial aid.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → (C) only
| Active | Passive |
|---|---|
| I expected him to give us financial aid. | It was expected of him to give us financial aid. |
Passive of a simple past sentence with "expect + object + to-infinitive":
- Object becomes subject: the object "him" becomes the subject "He" (He was expected to give us financial aid), or the sentence begins with "It" and keeps "of him" (It was expected of him to give us financial aid).
- Tense kept: "expected" is in the simple past, so the passive verb is also simple past: was expected. The passive must not add "may" (possibility) or "let" (a command), and "us" stays "us".
- Agent (by ...): the doer "by me" is usually left out, as it adds nothing.
- Other standard changes: is/am/are + V3 (simple present), was/were + V3 (simple past), has/have been + V3 (present perfect), is being + V3 (present continuous), will be + V3 (simple future).
Example: They expected her to win the prize. → She was expected to win the prize.
(A) It may be expected by me that he will give us financial aid. — Incorrect. "may be expected" turns a past fact into a present possibility, and "will give" moves the action into the future.
Correct form: It was expected that he would give us financial aid.
(B) He may be expected to give us financial aid. — Incorrect. The pattern is right, but "may be expected" again replaces the simple past; it should be "He was expected to give us financial aid".
Correct form: He was expected to give us financial aid.
(C) It was expected of him to give us financial aid. — Correct. It keeps the simple past (was expected) and the pronoun "us"; of the four sentences only this one reports the past expectation without adding "may" or "let".
(D) Let it be expected that he would give me financial aid. — Incorrect. "Let it be expected" is the passive of a command, not of a statement, and "us" has become "me".
Correct form: It was expected that he would give us financial aid.