Convert the sentence provided below from its passive voice structure to an active voice structure: The funds were believed to have been misallocated by certain board members over several quarters.
- (a)Certain board members believed to misallocate the funds.
- (b)Certain board members are believed to have misallocated the funds.
- (c)It is believed that board members misallocate the funds.
- (d)Board members believed that funds were misallocated.
Answer
Why
Correct — B. No option is a fully active sentence that keeps the original's meaning, so pick the best on offer.
A true active version needs a believer as subject, such as People believed that certain board members had misallocated the funds. None is offered.
(b) turns the reported action active:
to have been misallocated → to have misallocated
by certain board members → Certain board members as subject
Its main verb, are believed, stays passive. But (b) alone keeps all three facts: the believers stay unnamed, the board members did the misallocating, and the misallocating came first → option (b).
Why the others are wrong
- (a)Certain board members believed to misallocate the funds. — Believed without are or were makes the board members the believers, which is not what the original says. And to misallocate drops the perfect infinitive that put the misallocating before the belief.
- (c)It is believed that board members misallocate the funds. — misallocate is the present simple, as if the misuse were a habit going on now. The original puts it before the belief with a perfect infinitive, and (c) also drops certain.
- (d)Board members believed that funds were misallocated. — Board members believed makes the members the ones holding the belief. In the original, others believe the members did the misallocating, and here the misallocation is still passive, with no doer.
Concept
Verbs such as believe, say, think, report and allege have a personal passive: Subject + was believed + to-infinitive.
Turning only the reported action active keeps that frame passive and turns the infinitive round: X was believed to have been misallocated by Y → Y was believed to have misallocated X.
A perfect infinitive (to have + past participle) places the action before the time of the main verb.
Option (b) moves were believed to are believed and drops over several quarters. No option keeps were believed, so (b) is the closest conversion.
In full, the same move reads: Certain board members were believed to have misallocated the funds over several quarters.
Key facts
- Personal passive with a reporting verb: He is said to be rich. The funds were believed to have been misallocated.
- The same report can use the it-frame: It was believed that certain board members had misallocated the funds.
- A perfect infinitive (to have misallocated) refers to a time before the main verb.
Study next
Common traps
- Choosing (d) because believed is active, although it makes the board members the believers
- Choosing (c) for its it-frame without checking the tense: misallocate is present, and the original act is past
14 Sep 2025, 12:30, English Q.14 keys the same agent-to-subject move: The land is believed to have been acquired illegally by the company through forged documents → The company is believed to have acquired the land illegally.
15 Sep 2025, 09:00, English Q.14 keys a different frame and supplies a believer: The accused was believed to have been hiding in the hills before being captured → Authorities believed the accused was hiding in the hills.
Related PYQs
No directly related past PYQ was found.