Choose the correct active form of the given sentence:
By whom has the attendance register been misplaced?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Who has misplaced the attendance register?
Active form of a “By whom ...?” question (present perfect):
| Change | Passive | Active | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doer becomes subject | By whom | Who | “By whom” asks who misplaced the register. In the active, that person is the subject, so “by” drops and “whom” becomes “who”. |
| Tense kept | has ... been misplaced | has misplaced | “Has been misplaced” is the present perfect passive, so the active stays in the present perfect: has + past participle (V3). Only “been” goes. |
| Subject becomes object | the attendance register | the attendance register (after the verb) | The register receives the action, so it goes after “has misplaced”. |
| Full sentence | By whom has the attendance register been misplaced? | Who has misplaced the attendance register? |
Other “By whom” questions change back the same way. Example: By whom will the prizes be given? → Who will give the prizes?
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Who misplaced the attendance register? — Incorrect. “Misplaced” here is the simple past. The passive “has been misplaced” is the present perfect.
Option 3: Whom has misplaced the attendance register? — Incorrect. “Whom” is the object form. The doer is now the subject, so it must be “Who”.
Option 4: By whom has misplaced the attendance register? — Incorrect. “By” is kept. “By” belongs only to the passive, so the question has no subject.