Choose the appropriate Passive Sentence from the following for:
The rain had drenched the pavement completely before the bus arrived.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → The pavement had been drenched completely by the rain before the bus arrived.
Past perfect active into passive:
| Change | Active | Passive | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Object becomes subject | the pavement | The pavement | The object “the pavement” becomes the subject. |
| Tense kept | had drenched | had been drenched | The past perfect “had drenched” becomes “had been + past participle”: “had been drenched”. |
| Agent (by ...) | The rain | by the rain | The subject “the rain” goes after the verb with “by”: “by the rain”. |
| Full sentence | The rain had drenched the pavement completely before the bus arrived. | The pavement had been drenched completely by the rain before the bus arrived. |
The rest of the sentence ("completely", "before the bus arrived") stays as it is.
Example: They had finished the work. → The work had been finished by them.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: The pavement have been drenched before the bus arrived by the rain. — Incorrect.
- "have been" is present perfect and plural. The past perfect singular "had been" is needed.
- "completely" is dropped, and "by the rain" is misplaced.
Option 2: The pavement was drenched before the bus arrived. — Incorrect.
- The tense changes to the simple past "was drenched".
- "completely" and "by the rain" are dropped.
Option 3: Before the bus arrived, the rain had drenched the pavement completely. — Incorrect. It only moves the time clause to the front. The sentence is still active.