Identify the sentence that uses passive voice.

• A. The cat ate the mouse.
• B. The mouse was eaten by the cat.
• C. The cat will eat the mouse.
• D. The cat is eating the mouse now.

Answer: (B)

Passive voice happens when the subject receives the action rather than performs it. In the sentence “The mouse was eaten by the cat,” the action of eating is directed at the mouse, and the doer (the cat) appears later in a by-phrase. The verb form uses a form of “to be” plus a past participle (was eaten), which signals the passive construction. The focus is on the mouse as the recipient of the action, not on the cat doing the eating. The other sentences show the cat as the subject performing the action (ate, will eat, is eating), which is active voice.