Question

Rewrite the following in passive voice without using 'somebody/they/people' etc.:
They cancelled all flights because of fog.

• A. All flights had to be cancelled because of fog.
  
• B. All flights were cancelled because of fog.
• C. All flights are cancelled because of fog.
  
• D. All flights got cancelled because of fog.
  

Answer 1

Answer: (B)

The given sentence is in active voice as the subject 'they' performs an action 'cancelled' against the object 'flights'.

To change to passive voice, the object takes the place of the subject and vice versa and the verb form of the sentence is also changed from active form to passive.

'Subject (They) + verb (cancelled) + object (all flights) + prepositional phrase (because of fog)' changes to:

'New subject (All flights) + verb (were cancelled) + prepositional phrase (because of fog)'

This can be seen in option D, hence it's the right answer.

The pronoun 'they' is indefinite, it does not refer to a particular person. Hence in passive voice it can be implied.

Option A: The verb form 'are cancelled' expresses the simple present tense whereas the sentence is in simple past tense.

Option B: The verb 'got' is used in informal English and hence isn't suitable here.

Option C: The verb form 'had to be' expresses compulsion and conveys a meaning different from the original sentence.

Hence options A, B and C are incorrect.