SSC CGL 2024 Tier-I · 19 September 2024, Shift 3 · English Comprehension · Question 18 of 99

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 expresses the given sentence in passive voice. Meenakshi could have sent a reply.

(a)A reply could have been send by Meenakshi.
(b)A reply could have be sent by Meenakshi.
(c)A reply could have been sent by Meenakshi.
(d)A reply could have sent by Meenakshi.

Answer

Why

Correct — C. The active verb is could have sent — a modal (could) sitting on a perfect (have + past participle).

Two pieces never move. After a modal the next word stays the bare have, and the passive of a perfect is have been + past participle.

could have sent → could have been sent
The object, a reply, moves to the front and the doer follows as by Meenakshi.

That is option (c).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
A reply could have been send by Meenakshi. — Every link of the chain is right except the last: send is the base form, and a passive needs the past participle sent (send - sent - sent). This is the option most people lose the mark to.
(b)
A reply could have be sent by Meenakshi. — After have the verb must be the participle been, not the bare infinitive be. 'could have be sent' is not a possible English verb chain.
(d)
A reply could have sent by Meenakshi. — It drops been altogether, so the chain stays active in form. As written it says the reply did the sending.

Concept

Turning an active sentence passive is one swap and one rebuild. The object moves to the front, the doer goes into a by-phrase, and the verb becomes be + past participle in the tense the original used.

A modal perfect is where candidates slip. Nothing after a modal is ever conjugated, so could have carries across untouched and only the lexical verb changes.

Active: could have + sent
Passive: could have + been + sent

The same shape gives should have been, must have been and might have been.

All four options open 'A reply could have' and close 'by Meenakshi.' The entire question lives in the two or three words between, so read only the verb chain and ignore the rest.

Key facts

The passive of a modal perfect is modal + have been + past participle, as in could have been sent.
Send is an irregular verb whose past tense and past participle are both sent.
After a modal (could, should, must, might) the next verb is a bare infinitive - have, never has or had.
The object of the active sentence becomes the subject of the passive one.

Study next

Passive of modal perfects: should have been, must have been, might have beenPassive of continuous tenses: is being done, was being donePassive of questions and imperatives: By whom were you invited? Let it be done.

Common traps

Writing could have been send, using the base form where the participle belongs.
Dropping been, which leaves a chain that is still active in shape.
Swapping could for would or can, changing the modal the sentence actually gave you.

Modal passives are asked at 11 Sep 2024, 16:00, English Q.5, where 'He must deliver pizza.' becomes 'Pizza must be delivered by him.', and at 25 Sep 2024, 16:00, English Q.6 with 'We should clean the house regularly.'

The plain future version sits in this same section at English Q.3, 'The school will hire new teachers.'

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.