SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 12 September 2024, Shift 3 · English Comprehension · Question 19 of 100

Text as printed on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; answer per SSC's tentative key as marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 6 September 2026.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. The questions and options here are reproduced as printed on a candidate's own response sheet for this shift — the Commission's text, unchanged. Each answer is SSC's tentative key as marked on that sheet; SSC allowed challenges to it and never publishes a final key. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

Select the option that correctly expresses the following sentence in passive voice. Who invited you to this party?

(a)By whom you are invited to this party?
(b)By whom are you invited to this party?
(c)By whom you were invited to this party?
(d)By whom were you invited to this party?

Answer

Why

Correct — D. The active verb is invited, simple past, so the passive must stay in the simple past: were invited, never are invited.

The sentence is also a question, and a question keeps interrogative order. The auxiliary comes before the subject: were you invited, not you were invited.

Only option (d) does both. Who, the subject of the active, becomes the agent, and after the preposition by English uses the objective form whom.

Why the others are wrong

(a)
By whom you are invited to this party? — This carries both faults at once: are is present where the active was past, and you are keeps statement order instead of inverting to are you.
(b)
By whom are you invited to this party? — The word order is right, so this is the popular wrong answer, but are invited is present tense while the active invited is simple past. Changing voice never changes tense.
(c)
By whom you were invited to this party? — The tense is right and the order is not. You were is statement order, so the line reads as a report of a fact rather than the question the active was.

Concept

Changing voice never changes tense. Fix the tense of the active verb first, then build the passive from the matching form of be plus the past participle: invited gives was or were invited.

A question adds a second requirement. The passive is still a question, so it must keep the auxiliary in front of the subject.

The active subject who becomes the agent, and after by the objective whom is the required form.

By whom were you invited to this party? is the formal shape. Everyday English prefers Who were you invited by?, but the keyed answer keeps whom beside its preposition.

Key facts

In the passive the object of the active becomes the subject, and the active subject becomes the agent after by.
The tense of the active verb is preserved: simple past invited becomes was or were invited.
A passive question keeps interrogative word order, with the auxiliary before the subject.
Whom is the objective form of who and is the form used after a preposition such as by.

Study next

Passive voice of questions beginning with who, what and whichPassive voice of imperatives and of sentences carrying two objectsInterrogative word order inside reported speech, as at English Q.12 of this paper

Common traps

Writing By whom you were invited, which is a statement wearing a question mark
Shifting to the present tense because the passive sentence is being written now

Voice change turns up as a statement and as a question in the same paper: English Q.1 rewrites I will never overlook this creativity and tests where never goes, while this item tests tense and question order together.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.