Change the following from active to passive: Why did the editor overlook the substantial stylistic anomalies?

Correct — D. The active verb is did overlook: did + base form, the simple past, set in a question.

The simple past passive is was/were + past participle. The new subject, the substantial stylistic anomalies, is plural, so were, and overlook becomes overlooked.

In a question, were moves in front of the subject, and the editor becomes by the editor: "Why were the substantial stylistic anomalies overlooked by the editor?" — option (d).

Why the others are wrong

• (a)
  Why have the substantial stylistic anomalies been overlooked by the editor? — have been overlooked is the present perfect passive. The active did overlook is simple past, so this option shifts the tense from past to present perfect.
• (b)
  Why are the substantial stylistic anomalies being overlooked by the editor? — are being overlooked is the present continuous passive. It moves a single, finished past action into the present and makes it ongoing.
• (c)
  Why did the substantial stylistic anomalies be overlooked by the editor? — did ... be overlooked is not English. In a be-passive the tense sits on be itself, so did drops out: Were they overlooked?, not Did they be overlooked?

Every passive is be + past participle, with be carrying the tense of the active verb.

Simple past: overlooked becomes was/were overlooked. Present perfect: has overlooked becomes has been overlooked. Present continuous: is overlooking becomes is being overlooked.

Because the tense sits on be, a passive question fronts was or were, not did: Did the editor overlook ...? becomes Were the anomalies overlooked ...?

Key facts

• Did + base form in a question marks the simple past: Why did the editor overlook ...?
• Simple past passive: was/were + past participle.
• The passive auxiliary agrees with the new subject: anomalies is plural, so were.

Common traps

• Keeping did in the passive, the mistake option (c) is built on
• Picking have been overlooked because it sounds natural after Why, without checking that it turns the simple past into present perfect

No directly related past PYQ was found.