Choose the correct Active form of the given Passive sentence from the options given below:
This room was cleaned yesterday.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Somebody cleaned this room yesterday.
Passive to active (simple past):
| Change | Passive | Active | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Agent (by ...) becomes subject | – | Somebody | The passive gives no agent, so the active sentence uses “somebody” as the subject. |
| Tense kept | was cleaned | cleaned | The simple past passive “was cleaned” becomes the simple past active “cleaned”. |
| Subject becomes object | This room | this room | The passive subject “this room” becomes the object and goes after the verb. “Yesterday” stays at the end. |
| Full sentence | This room was cleaned yesterday. | Somebody cleaned this room yesterday. |
Example: The letter was posted last week. → Somebody posted the letter last week.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Somebody cleans this room yesterday. — Incorrect. The simple present "cleans" clashes with "yesterday" and changes the tense of the original.
Option 3: Somebody cleaning this room yesterday. — Incorrect. "Cleaning" alone is not a finite verb, so the sentence has no main verb.
Option 4: Somebody has cleaned this room yesterday. — Incorrect. The present perfect "has cleaned" is not used with a finished past time such as "yesterday".