Passive form

[moniza]

Hi !
Good morning!
Why didn't they give him the machine?
Can you please tell me which one is the correct passive form of the above sentence? I am confused!.
1. Why was the machine not given to him.?
2. Why wasn't given the machine to him.?
3. why wasn't he given it ?

[dawoodusmani]

Originally Posted by moniza

Hi !
Good morning!
Why didn't they give him the machine?
Can you please tell me which one is the correct passive form of the above sentence? I am confused!.
1. Why was the machine not given to him.?
2. Why wasn't given the machine to him.?
3. why wasn't he given it ?

1. Why was the machine not given to him.? (correct)
2. Why wasn't the machine given to him.? (now correct)or "Why was the machine not given to him?"
3. why wasn't he given the machine? (now correct) or "Why was he not given the machine?"
Hope this helps.
Regards!

[baqarah131]

In actual use, avoid the passive whenever you can.
Active verbs are clearer, more direct.

[rewboss]

Originally Posted by baqarah131

In actual use, avoid the passive whenever you can.
Active verbs are clearer, more direct.

This is true in literary English. But very often, in news articles, accident reports, technical documentation and so on, the passive is used whenever the identity of the agent is either unknown or unimportant.

"Somebody had shot Mr Jones." -> Murder mystery novel
"Mr Jones had been shot." -> Newspaper report

[moniza]

Originally Posted by dawoodusmani

1. Why was the machine not given to him.? (correct)
2. Why wasn't the machine given to him.? (now correct)or "Why was the machine not given to him?"
3. why wasn't he given the machine? (now correct) or "Why was he not given the machine?"
Hope this helps.
Regards!

dawoodusmani
Thank you very much for the reply. it's great.
Regards
Moniza