Which one of the following is the correct Passive Voice of the sentence?
He scrawled a message on a palm leaf with silver styles.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → A message was scrawled by him with silver styles, on a palm leaf.
Active to passive (simple past):
| Change | Active | Passive | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Object becomes subject | a message | A message | The object becomes the subject: “A message”. |
| Tense kept | scrawled | was scrawled | Simple past “scrawled” becomes was + past participle: “was scrawled”. |
| Agent (by ...) | He | by him | The doer becomes the agent: he becomes “by him”. The other phrases (with silver styles, on a palm leaf) stay as they are. |
| Full sentence | He scrawled a message on a palm leaf with silver styles. | A message was scrawled by him with silver styles, on a palm leaf. |
(To scrawl is to write hurriedly. Styles here are pointed writing tools.)
Example: She painted the door. → The door was painted by her.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: He was scrawled a message on a palm leaf with silver styles. — Incorrect. The doer "he" is kept as the subject of a passive verb, which makes it seem that someone scrawled him a message. The object "a message" was not moved.
Option 2: With silver styles, he scrawled a message on a palm leaf. — Incorrect. Only the order of phrases changes. The verb is still active.
Option 3: A message with silver styles was scrawled on a palm leaf. — Incorrect.
- "With silver styles" now seems to describe the message, not the tools used to write it.
- The agent "by him" is lost.