Choose the correct passive form of the given sentence:
The municipal workers have not repaired the broken streetlight yet.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → The broken streetlight has not been repaired by the municipal workers yet.
Passive of a negative sentence in the present perfect:
| Change | Active | Passive | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Object becomes subject | the broken streetlight | The broken streetlight | The streetlight receives the action, so it becomes the subject. |
| Tense kept | have not repaired | has not been repaired | “Have not repaired” is in the present perfect, so the passive stays in the present perfect: has / have + been + past participle (V3). “Not” comes after “has”. We use “has” because the streetlight is one thing. |
| Agent (by ...) | The municipal workers | by the municipal workers | The doers, the workers, come after “by”. |
| Full sentence | The municipal workers have not repaired the broken streetlight yet. | The broken streetlight has not been repaired by the municipal workers yet. |
Other present perfect sentences change the same way: have cleaned → has / have been cleaned, has not posted → has not been posted. Example: The postman has not delivered the parcel yet. → The parcel has not been delivered by the postman yet.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: The broken streetlight was not repaired by the municipal workers yet. — Incorrect. “Was not repaired” is the simple past. The active sentence is in the present perfect, so the passive needs “has not been repaired”.
Option 2: The broken streetlight has not repaired by the municipal workers yet. — Incorrect. The word “been” is missing. Without it, the sentence says the streetlight did not do the repairing.
Option 3: The broken streetlight had not been repaired by the municipal workers yet. — Incorrect. “Had not been repaired” is the past perfect. The active “have not repaired” is present perfect, so “has” is needed, not “had”.