In the sentence "The ball was thrown by John," the voice is described as which?

• A. Active voice
• B. Passive voice
• C. Middle voice
• D. Reflexive voice

Answer: (B)

This sentence uses passive voice. In passive construction, the thing that receives the action becomes the subject. Here, the ball is what’s being acted upon, not the one doing the action. The verb phrase “was thrown” combines a form of “to be” with a past participle, a hallmark of the passive. The phrase “by John” shows who performed the action, which is common in passive sentences to identify the agent. If it were active, it would read “John threw the ball,” with John as the subject doing the throwing. Middle and reflexive voices don’t fit this structure.