Question

Many buildings _____________ (to destroy) by the Great Fire in London in 1666. are destroyed were destroyed When we use a passive verb, we say what happens to the subject. In the test sentence the subject is ‘Many buildings’. The formula of the passive voice is ‘be (is/was etc.) + past participle (done/cleaned/seen etc.)’. If we want to say who does or what causes the action, we use ‘by’. In the test sentence the Great Fire caused the action: ‘by the Great Fire’. Here the Past Simple Passive should be used, because we have the certain date in the past – 1666.

Accepted Answer

had been destroyed destroyed d

Question	Many buildings _____________ (to destroy) by the Great Fire in London in 1666.
A	had been destroyed
B	are destroyed
C	destroyed
D	were destroyed
Answer	d
Remark	When we use a passive verb, we say what happens to the subject. In the test sentence the subject is ‘Many buildings’. The formula of the passive voice is ‘be (is/was etc.) + past participle (done/cleaned/seen etc.)’. If we want to say who does or what causes the action, we use ‘by’. In the test sentence the Great Fire caused the action: ‘by the Great Fire’. Here the Past Simple Passive should be used, because we have the certain date in the past – 1666.

Destroyed Great Passive Past Fire Test Sentence Buildings