Passive Voice

The passive voice is a grammatical construction in which the subject of a sentence is the receiver of the action, rather than the doer of the action. In passive voice sentences, the focus is on the action being done rather than the person or thing performing the action.

Identifying the Passive Voice Sentence

To identify a sentence written in the passive voice, we look for two key features:
1. The main verb is in the past participle form (usually ends in -ed or -en).
2. The subject of the sentence is the receiver of the action, not the doer.

Examples:
a) The teacher explained the lesson clearly.
b) The storm destroyed the house.
c) The flowers were watered by the gardener.
d) I will complete the project on time.

In the given options, sentence c) "The flowers were watered by the gardener" is an example of the passive voice. Let's break it down further:

- The main verb is "watered," which is in the past participle form.
- The subject of the sentence is "the flowers," which is the receiver of the action.
- The doer of the action is "the gardener," but in the passive voice, the doer is often not explicitly mentioned or is placed in a prepositional phrase introduced by "by."

Therefore, sentence c) meets both criteria for the passive voice construction.

Why is Sentence C) Passive Voice?
In sentence c), the focus is on the action of watering the flowers rather than on the gardener who performed the action. The sentence emphasizes the flowers as the receiver of the action, making it an example of the passive voice.

When we rewrite the sentence in the active voice, it would be: "The gardener watered the flowers." In the active voice, the subject (the gardener) is the doer of the action, and the sentence is structured in a more straightforward and direct manner.

It's important to note that the use of passive or active voice depends on the context and the writer's intentions. Both voices have their own uses and can be appropriate depending on the emphasis or information being conveyed.