Choose the correct active form of the given sentence:
Has the electricity bill been paid by your brother?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Has your brother paid the electricity bill?
Active form of a present perfect passive question:
| Change | Passive | Active | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doer becomes subject | by your brother | your brother (after “Has”) | Your brother does the paying, so he becomes the subject. |
| Subject becomes object | the electricity bill | the electricity bill (after the verb) | The bill receives the action, so it goes after the verb. |
| Tense kept | has ... been paid | has ... paid | “Has been paid” is in the present perfect, so the active stays in the present perfect: has + past participle (V3). “Has” because “your brother” is one person. |
| Question order kept | Has the electricity bill ...? | Has your brother ...? | It is a question, so “Has” stays before the subject. |
| Full sentence | Has the electricity bill been paid by your brother? | Has your brother paid the electricity bill? |
Other passive questions change back the same way: Was + subject + V3 by ...? → Did + doer + verb ...? Example: Was the window broken by Rahul? → Did Rahul break the window?
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Have your brother paid the electricity bill? — Incorrect. “Have” is plural, but “your brother” is one person.
Option 2: Did your brother pay the electricity bill? — Incorrect. “Did ... pay” is the simple past. The passive “has been paid” is in the present perfect.
Option 3: Your brother has paid the electricity bill? — Incorrect. “Has” comes after the subject, so this is the word order of a statement, not a question.