Select the option which best expresses the same sentence in passive voice:
We must endure what we cannot cure.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → What cannot be cured must be endured.
| Active | Passive |
|---|---|
| We must endure what we cannot cure. | What cannot be cured must be endured. |
Passive voice with modals:
- Object becomes subject: the object clause "what we cannot cure" becomes the subject: "What cannot be cured".
- Tense kept: the pattern is modal + be + past participle; the modal itself does not change. The sentence has two verbs:
- "must endure" (main clause) → must be endured;
- "cannot cure" (in "what we cannot cure") → cannot be cured.
- Agent (by ...): the doer "we" means people in general, so it is dropped (no "by us").
Example: We must finish the work today. → The work must be finished today.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: What we cure must be endured. — Incorrect.
- The clause "we cure" is still active.
- "Cannot" has been dropped, which changes the meaning.
Option 2: What could be cured must be endured. — Incorrect. "Could" replaces "cannot", which reverses the meaning: it now says that what can be cured must be endured.
Option 3: What cannot cured must endured. — Incorrect. The passive needs "be" before the past participle: "cannot be cured", "must be endured".