Change the following from active to passive: The nurse will give you the injection.
- (a)You will be given the injection by the nurse.
- (b)You are given the injection by the nurse.
- (c)You will have been given the injection by the nurse.
- (d)You were being given the injection by the nurse.
Answer
Why
Correct — A. The active verb will give is simple future: will + base verb.
Its passive is will be + past participle, so will give becomes will be given. The tense stays future and only the voice changes.
The indirect object you becomes the subject, the injection stays after the verb, and the nurse moves into a by-phrase: "You will be given the injection by the nurse" → option (a).
Why the others are wrong
- (b)You are given the injection by the nurse. — are given is simple present passive. The active will give points to the future, so the tense has slipped from future to present.
- (c)You will have been given the injection by the nurse. — will have been given is future perfect passive, the passive of will have given. It adds a completed-by-then sense that will give does not carry.
- (d)You were being given the injection by the nurse. — were being given is past continuous passive. It moves the action into the past and makes it ongoing, so neither tense nor aspect matches will give.
Concept
A passive is be + past participle, with be carrying the tense of the active verb. Simple future will give therefore becomes will be given.
Give takes two objects: the person (you) and the thing (the injection). Either can become the passive subject.
When the person takes the subject slot, the thing simply stays after the verb: You will be given the injection.
All four options open with You and close with by the nurse, so the decision rests on the verb phrase alone.
The alternative passive, The injection will be given to you by the nurse, is equally correct but is not among the options.
Key facts
- Simple future passive: will be + past participle (will give → will be given).
- With two objects, either can become the passive subject: You will be given the injection, or The injection will be given to you.
- Future perfect passive: will have been + past participle (will have given → will have been given).
Study next
Common traps
- Picking are given as the plainest passive without checking that the tense is still future
- Being thrown by the two objects, when the indirect object you can take the subject slot
A two-object give with will is turned passive at 26 Sep 2024, 09:00, English Q.15: Will you give me an independent project? becomes Will I be given an independent project by you?
24 Sep 2024, 12:30, English Q.7 runs the same verb the other way, from He was given a reward ... by the Governor to The governor gave him a reward.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.