Choose the most appropriate option to change the following sentence into the Passive Voice :
He handed her a cheque.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option 1: She was handed a cheque by him.
The sentence is in simple past tense (“handed”), so in passive voice we must use was + past participle.
The sentence has two objects:
- Indirect object → her
- Direct object → a cheque
In passive voice, either object can become the subject, but the most direct and standard transformation is to make the indirect object (her) the subject.
So,
- her → She (subject)
- handed → was handed
- a cheque remains
- by him is added for the doer
Final sentence: She was handed a cheque by him.
Why the other options are incorrect:
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Option 2: Uses "is handed," which is Present Tense. The original sentence is in the past.
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Option 3: Adds the word "over," which was not in the original sentence, and it omits the agent ("by him"). While "A cheque was handed to her" would be a grammatically correct passive form, Option 1 is a more direct and complete transformation of the original structure.
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Option 4: Uses "been handed" without a helping verb (like "had" or "has"), making it grammatically incomplete.