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Passive with Prepositional Phrases

Introduction

Some verbs in English are followed by prepositions (like laugh at, look after, send for, depend on). When converting such sentences into passive voice, the preposition must stay with the verb. This pattern helps you handle passive constructions that include verb-preposition pairs correctly.

These are very common in competitive exams because they test both your knowledge of verb-preposition collocations and passive transformation accuracy.

Pattern: Passive with Prepositional Phrases

Pattern

Keep the preposition attached to the verb in the passive form.

Active voice: Subject + Verb + Preposition + Object
Passive voice: Object + Appropriate “be” verb + Past Participle + Preposition + (by + Subject)

Step-by-Step Example

Question

Convert into passive voice:
People laughed at him.

A. He was laughed at by people.

B. He was laughed by people.

C. He was at laughed by people.

D. He laughed at by people.

Solution

  1. Step 1: Identify key elements.

    Subject = People, Verb = laughed at, Object = him.

  2. Step 2: Move the object to subject position.

    Him → He.

  3. Step 3: Keep the preposition ‘at’ with the verb.

    It stays directly after the past participle.

  4. Step 4: Add the correct ‘be’ form for tense.

    ‘Laughed’ (past) → ‘was laughed at’.

  5. Step 5: Add the agent (optional).

    ‘by people’ completes the sentence.

  6. Final Answer:

    He was laughed at by people. → Option A.

  7. Quick Check:

    Preposition ‘at’ stays attached to the verb ‘laughed’. ✅

Quick Variations

  • 1. Send for: They sent for the doctor. → The doctor was sent for.
  • 2. Look after: Someone is looking after the baby. → The baby is being looked after.
  • 3. Depend on: People depended on him. → He was depended on by people.

Trick to Always Use

  • Step 1: Identify if the verb has a preposition (e.g., laugh at, look after, send for).
  • Step 2: Keep the preposition immediately after the past participle in the passive form.
  • Step 3: Use correct ‘be + V₃’ based on tense and subject.

Summary

Summary

  • Never separate the preposition from the verb in passive voice.
  • Preposition stays directly after the past participle.
  • Use correct ‘be’ form according to the tense of the sentence.

Example recap: “People laughed at him.” → “He was laughed at by people.” ✅

Practice

(1/5)
1. Convert into passive voice:<br>They sent for the doctor.
easy
A. The doctor was sent for.
B. The doctor was sent.
C. The doctor sent for them.
D. The doctor was for sent.

Solution

  1. Step 1: Identify elements.

    Subject = They; Verb = sent for; Object = the doctor.

  2. Step 2: Move object to subject position.

    The doctor becomes the new subject.

  3. Step 3: Keep preposition with verb.

    ‘for’ stays after ‘sent’ → ‘sent for’.

  4. Step 4: Add correct form of ‘be’ verb.

    → was sent for (simple past passive).

  5. Final Answer:

    The doctor was sent for. → Option A.

  6. Quick Check:

    Preposition ‘for’ remains attached to the verb. ✅
Hint: Never drop the preposition; keep it right after the past participle.
Common Mistakes: Writing ‘The doctor was sent’ (missing ‘for’).
2. Change into passive voice:<br>People laughed at the clown.
easy
A. The clown was laughed by people.
B. The clown was laughed at by people.
C. The clown laughed at people.
D. The clown was being laughed by people.

Solution

  1. Step 1: Identify components.

    Subject = People; Verb = laughed at; Object = the clown.

  2. Step 2: Make object the new subject.

    ‘The clown’ becomes the subject.

  3. Step 3: Keep the preposition with the verb.

    ‘laughed at’ stays together.

  4. Step 4: Add correct ‘be’ verb for tense.

    → was laughed at.

  5. Step 5: Add agent.

    ‘by people’ completes it.

  6. Final Answer:

    The clown was laughed at by people. → Option B.

  7. Quick Check:

    Preposition ‘at’ correctly follows ‘laughed’. ✅
Hint: Attach the preposition to the verb when changing to passive.
Common Mistakes: Dropping the preposition ‘at’.
3. Convert into passive voice:<br>They will look after the children.
easy
A. The children will be looked after.
B. The children will looked after.
C. The children will have been looked after.
D. The children were looked after.

Solution

  1. Step 1: Identify components.

    Subject = They; Verb = will look after; Object = the children.

  2. Step 2: Move object to subject position.

    ‘The children’ becomes subject.

  3. Step 3: Keep preposition with verb.

    ‘after’ stays with ‘looked’.

  4. Step 4: Convert to passive.

    Future → ‘will be + V₃’ → ‘will be looked after’.

  5. Final Answer:

    The children will be looked after. → Option A.

  6. Quick Check:

    Future passive uses ‘will be + past participle’. ✅
Hint: Future passive = ‘will be + V₃’; keep preposition after verb.
Common Mistakes: Leaving out ‘be’ after ‘will’.
4. Transform into passive voice:<br>Someone is looking into the matter.
medium
A. The matter was being looked into.
B. The matter is being looked into.
C. The matter has been looked into.
D. The matter is looked into.

Solution

  1. Step 1: Identify tense.

    Present continuous → ‘is looking into’.

  2. Step 2: Find object.

    ‘The matter’ becomes the subject in passive.

  3. Step 3: Keep preposition with the verb.

    ‘into’ stays after ‘looked’.

  4. Step 4: Use passive continuous form.

    → is being looked into.

  5. Step 5: Add optional agent if needed.

    ‘by someone’ is implied but can be omitted.

  6. Final Answer:

    The matter is being looked into. → Option B.

  7. Quick Check:

    Present continuous passive = ‘is being + V₃’. ✅
Hint: Continuous passive = ‘is/are being + V₃’.
Common Mistakes: Forgetting to include ‘being’.
5. Change into passive voice:<br>People have talked about the issue.
medium
A. The issue is talked about.
B. The issue was talked about.
C. The issue has been talked about.
D. The issue will be talked about.

Solution

  1. Step 1: Identify the tense.

    Present perfect → ‘have talked’.

  2. Step 2: Identify object.

    ‘The issue’ becomes the subject.

  3. Step 3: Keep preposition with the verb.

    ‘about’ stays with ‘talked’.

  4. Step 4: Form passive perfect tense.

    → has been talked about.

  5. Step 5: Add agent if needed.

    ‘by people’ is optional.

  6. Final Answer:

    The issue has been talked about. → Option C.

  7. Quick Check:

    Perfect passive uses ‘has/have been + V₃’. ✅
Hint: Perfect passive = ‘has/have been + V₃’; preposition stays after verb.
Common Mistakes: Dropping ‘been’ in perfect passive tense.

Mock Test

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