---
title: Identify the sentence composed in the passive voice. — Active and passive voice, modal verbs · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the sentence composed in the passive voice. Exam question 1 of lesson 32 «Active and passive voice, modal verbs» of the English course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choice was wrong.
---

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# Exam question 1 · Active and passive voice, modal verbs

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the sentence composed in the passive voice.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you · **What happens:** identify, compose · **To what, where:** sentence, passive voice

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 32 «Active and passive voice, modal verbs» of the English course of Mova's primary school, asked in stiff, formal language. The page gives the question's syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause, then the 4 options as the student saw them, each with its tree and pragmatics. Every text is parsed by Mova itself. How the student answered it, with the score of every option and why: [the test at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/english/32-active-and-passive-voice-modal-verbs/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:32-active-and-passive-voice-modal-verbs:e1:1
# text = Identify the sentence composed in the passive voice.
1	Identify	identify	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	sentence	sentence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	composed	compose	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	passive	passive	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	voice	voice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **identify** | imperative | you *not said here* | the sentence |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent sentence=Theme |
| 2 | **compose** | participle |  | the sentence *not said here* |  | the passive voice |  |  | vn create-26.4-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandad is posting the letter.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:32-active-and-passive-voice-modal-verbs:e1:o1:1
# text = Grandad is posting the letter.
1	Grandad	Grandad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	posting	post	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **post** | present · progressive | Grandad | the letter |  |  |  |  | vn send-11.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent letter=Theme |

### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The letter was posted by Grandad.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:32-active-and-passive-voice-modal-verbs:e1:o2:1
# text = The letter was posted by Grandad.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	posted	post	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	Grandad	Grandad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **post** | past · passive | Grandad | the letter |  |  |  |  | vn send-11.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandad posted the letter.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:32-active-and-passive-voice-modal-verbs:e1:o3:1
# text = Grandad posted the letter.
1	Grandad	Grandad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	posted	post	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **post** | past | Grandad | the letter |  |  |  |  | vn send-11.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent letter=Theme |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandad will post the letter.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:32-active-and-passive-voice-modal-verbs:e1:o4:1
# text = Grandad will post the letter.
1	Grandad	Grandad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	post	post	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **post** | future | Grandad | the letter |  |  |  |  | vn send-11.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent letter=Theme |

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**Text:** the tests of Mova's primary school, written for Mova (`world/data/school/`), as the course runner gave them to the student. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each text read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

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