SSC CGL 2025 Tier-I · 14 September 2025, Shift 1 · English Comprehension · Question 12 of 100

We transcribed this text from the pictures on a candidate's response sheet for this shift; the answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. Solution last reviewed 11 September 2026.

Where this paper and its answers come from

SSC does not publish CGL question papers or a public answer key. From 2025 the candidate response sheet prints every question and option as a picture, so the text here is transcribed from those pictures for this shift and checked against them independently; where the layout carries meaning, the picture is shown as well. Each answer is the key SSC colour-marked on that sheet. SSC released a tentative key for challenge and later its final one, both only to candidates behind a login, and the sheet does not say which of the two it carries. The solutions are written by UnlockIAS.

Change the following from active to passive: The committee had been debating complex amendments when the bell rang.

(a)Complex amendments had had been been debated by the committee when the bell rang.
(b)Complex amendments had been being debated by the committee when the bell rang.
(c)Complex amendments had be being debated by the committee when the bell rang.
(d)Complex amendments had debated by the committee when the bell rang.

Answer

Why

Correct — B. The active verb had been debating is past perfect continuous: had been + the -ing form.

Its passive keeps both layers: had been for the perfect, being for the continuous, then the past participle debated.

The object, complex amendments, becomes the subject, and the committee moves into the by-phrase: "Complex amendments had been being debated by the committee when the bell rang" — option (b).

Why the others are wrong

(a)
Complex amendments had had been been debated by the committee when the bell rang. — had had been been debated repeats had and been. Debated is the main verb here, so each auxiliary appears once: had + been + being + debated.
(c)
Complex amendments had be being debated by the committee when the bell rang. — had be being puts the base form be after had. The perfect auxiliary had takes a past participle, so be must be been.
(d)
Complex amendments had debated by the committee when the bell rang. — had debated by the committee drops been and being. Had debated is the active past perfect, so it says the amendments did the debating, and the by-phrase no longer fits.

Concept

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

The past perfect continuous adds two layers: the perfect (had been) and the continuous (being). So had been debating becomes had been being debated.

It sounds heavy because been and being stand side by side, but each word does one job and none is repeated.

All four options keep by the committee and when the bell rang, so the whole decision rests on the verb phrase. The time clause has no object to move, so it stays as it is.

Key facts

Past perfect continuous active: had been + -ing form (had been debating).
Its passive: had been being + past participle (had been being debated).
The perfect auxiliary had is followed by a past participle: had been, not had be.

Study next

Passive of the present perfect continuous: has/have been being + past participlePassive of the past continuous: was/were being + past participlePassive of the past perfect: had been + past participle

Common traps

Rejecting had been being because it sounds heavy, when it is the regular passive of this tense
Choosing had debated, which keeps had but loses the passive be altogether

The same two-layer passive is tested in the present at 12 Sep 2025, 09:00, English Q.12, where have been neglecting is keyed as has been being neglected.

Related PYQs

No directly related past PYQ was found.

Topic: Active and passive voice — all 92 SSC CGL questions on it, every solved shift.