Choose the correct passive construction for the given sentence .
People were telling me all the time what to do and I didn't enjoy it.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → I didn't enjoy being told all the time what to do.
Passive gerund:
| Change | Active | Passive | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| Object becomes subject | me | I | The person who receives the action (me) becomes the subject (I). |
| Passive gerund | were telling | being told | After “enjoy”, English uses a gerund. The passive gerund is being + past participle: telling becomes being told. |
| Tense kept | and I didn't enjoy it | I didn't enjoy | The past tense of “didn't enjoy” stays, and the two clauses become one sentence. |
| Agent (by ...) | People | – (left out) | The doer “people” is general and unimportant, so the by-phrase is left out. |
| Full sentence | People were telling me all the time what to do and I didn't enjoy it. | I didn't enjoy being told all the time what to do. |
Example: She does not like being interrupted during meetings.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: All the time people were telling me what to do and I didn't like it. — Incorrect. It is still in the active voice: "people" still do the telling. Only the word order has changed.
Option 3: I was told by people all the time what to do and I don't enjoy it. — Incorrect.
- The tense changes from past to present: "didn't enjoy" becomes "don't enjoy".
- "Was told" turns a continuing action (were telling) into a single past act.
Option 4: I didn't enjoy people telling me what to do. — Incorrect. It is grammatical but not passive: "people telling me" is an active gerund phrase, and "all the time" is left out.
Contrast: "people telling me" is an active gerund. "Being told" is a passive gerund.