Question

Change into passive voice.

m. The children were watching the birds.
n. They were painting the house when I arrived.o.Scientists have conducted experiments to test the hypothesis.
p. Over one-third of the students failed the entrance exam.

Answer 1

The given sentences have been converted into passive voice, where the subject is acted upon rather than doing the action, which is often used in scientific writing for neutrality.

Step-by-step explanation:

To change sentences into passive voice, we need to ensure that the subject of the sentence receives the action rather than doing it. Here are the sentences changed from active to passive voice:

• The birds were being watched by the children.
• The house was being painted when I arrived.
• Experiments to test the hypothesis have been conducted by scientists.
• The entrance exam was failed by over one-third of the students.

In passive voice construction, a form of the verb 'to be' is used in combination with the past participle of the main verb. Prepositions such as 'by' may also be added to indicate the doer of the action, if the sentence requires it. Sometimes, especially in scientific writing, the passive voice is used to maintain objectivity and neutrality.