Question

Napoleon __________________ (to defeat) in 1815. was defeated will be defeated We often use the passive when we want to talk about an action rather than a person or thing that does or did the action. We do it when we know or can guess who does or did the action. But we are more interested in the action than the person who did it. In the test sentence the definite year is given – in 1815, therefore, we choose the form of the past simple. We make the passive of the past simple with ‘was’ (the singular form of ‘be’) or ‘were’ (the plural form of ‘be’ + the past participle.

Accepted Answer

is defeated defeated b

Question	Napoleon __________________ (to defeat) in 1815.
A	is defeated
B	was defeated
C	defeated
D	will be defeated
Answer	b
Remark	We often use the passive when we want to talk about an action rather than a person or thing that does or did the action. We do it when we know or can guess who does or did the action. But we are more interested in the action than the person who did it. In the test sentence the definite year is given – in 1815, therefore, we choose the form of the past simple. We make the passive of the past simple with ‘was’ (the singular form of ‘be’) or ‘were’ (the plural form of ‘be’ + the past participle.

Defeated Form Past Passive Action Person Napoleon Defeat