Q. Choose the correct active form of the sentence. They were seen to go out.
a) I saw them go out.
b) They were seen to go out.
c) He saw them go out.
d) We saw them go out.
Correct Answer: d) We saw them go out.
Question from UPPSC Prelims CSAT 2025
Explanation:
Passive: They were seen to go out. With verbs of perception (see/hear), the passive pattern is be + past participle + to-infinitive, which corresponds in the active to: Subject + saw + object + bare infinitive (without to). The object is them (from they). Since the passive does not specify the agent, the standard neutral active uses a general agent like we/people. Hence: We saw them go out. Option 2 remains passive; Options 1 and 3 are grammatically possible actives but introduce specific agents not indicated by the original. The conventional active equivalent is Option 4.